By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro

A friend of mine- unfortunately, I can’t remember who, forwarded me an Instagram reel recently from the @therunningweek account. A running coach who did not identify himself was delivering advice from the entrance arch in Iten, Kenya’s iconic running town, renowned for producing many Olympic and world champions. This one resonated.

He said:

“Don’t want to run today? Good!

In Kenya, we have a rule for days like this. Put on your shoes. Go outside. Run for five minutes. Only five. Then you’re free to stop, no guilt. But watch what happens after minute three: the legs warm up, the head goes quiet, the excuses get tired, and you keep running. Not because you must, but because now you want to.

I coach runners in Iten. Even champions lose to the bed some mornings. They do not fight for 40 kilometers; they fight for the first five minutes. Because the hardest part of running is not the running; it is the starting. So, forget the 10 kilometers. Win the five minutes.”

There is so much to deconstruct in these 118 powerful words. So much.

Every runner, regardless of their commitment to the craft, has a day when they do not feel like training. Excuses are endless; explanations to justify them are plentiful, and alternative activities to rival today’s session always seem more appealing. It is human nature.

Like the coach stated in his brief yet powerful declamation: “Even champions lose to the bed some mornings.” If Eliud Kipchoge, Jacob Kiplimo and Sebastian Sawe have days like these, what’s left for us? We weekend warriors, in addition, must deal with work, deadlines, unpaid bills, cranky bosses, spouses, kids, daily commutes, and whatnot.

This is the genius of the Kenyan 5-minute rule. We are thinking about running but looking for a way out. Let’s take advantage of the thinking part and commit just five minutes to it. And if it is not your day, then you stop, go home, and life goes on. No guilt required. We are not machines. We live to run another day.

We must be vigilant, though. This 5-minute rule is not a way out of today’s run and definitely shouldn’t become an excuse for complacency or a mask for laziness. Quite the contrary, we apply it to give today’s run a chance of happening. We give ourselves an honest chance for personal victory.

But we know, because it has happened a million times, that once we start running, we will feel better. We have experienced that post-run euphoria. We know that once we are done, we will be thrilled that we did not skip it. Yet, seldom, when it is time to change into our running clothes, leave the A/C comfort of our car to face the summer heat, or proceed to the starting point, our will to push forward is nowhere to be found.

Don’t focus on it as a guilt-free card. If elite Kenyan’s do it?. The spirit of this rule is not permitting yourself to go home guilt-free. It is what happens as you experience those tough first five minutes:

Like the coach said: “Watch what happens after minute three: the legs warm up, the head goes quiet, the excuses get tired, and you keep running. Not because you must, but because now you want to.”

And there it is: You are running because you want to, for the pleasure of it. And it only took the discipline to commit to five minutes to see what happens. And now, if it is not there, then you pack it up and go home, yes, guilt-free. You don’t look back, and tomorrow you resume your scheduled program.

Feel free to share your thoughts about this in the comment box below. I want to know what real runners think about the Kenyan 5-minute rule.

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