There is no need to kill yourself doing it. All it takes is three days a week.

At times people ask me how many days a week I run.  When I say three days, they stare back in disbelief.  Many people have the notion that they need to do this at least five or six days a week, if not seven.  The thought seems to be that if exercise is good, then more of it should be even better.  Morever, when you do exercise unless it gets harder and harder it is of no use.  That is just hogwash.  Unless you are a competitive runner, all you need is three days a week - or at most four - depending on your goal; and even for competitive runners, most of the training is of easy to moderate intensity. Almost never so hard as to need support on the knees, as you see in some pictures. In my case, I have never run more than three days a week.  The body needs the intervening days to recover and rebuild to prepare for the next day.  Every time we put our body through stress micro level tears occur at the cell level.  The body needs time to recover and rebuild (hence the importance of protein in the diet). Also, the body kind of  goes - "Man, that was nasty. This guy may do that again. I  better be prepared."  The body strengthens itself for repeated stresses in the future during these recovery days. For folks like us with health and fitness as a goal three days a week is enough to take us a long way.  Also, there is no need to stick to a strict time schedule. I do my running these days in the mornings. I have done it after dark in the night also - very important to stay visible using headlamps and fluorescent vests, and on occasion at noon when I couldn't find a favorable window otherwise. The point is to do what works best for you.  If you miss a day, that's alright, too. Don't beat yourself up. Also, don't ever try to make up for it by running more the next day. That is too hard on the body.

"The journey of a thousand miles start with a single step."

So how do you start running?  Start with walking. Here is a sample program at the end of which you will be able to jog for 30 minutes nonstop!

Ability to jog non-stop for a half hour at an easy and comfortable pace is a major milestone, in my experience. If you feel up to it, you may try starting at an intermediate level above instead of at the start.  I am not ashamed to admit that I've spent extra time on several of the steps before moving on to the next:-)   What's the rush? You are not on a race against anyone else. Your race is against your own past fitness, and the past is standing still. Just keep at it, and you're sure to beat it.