The main question that interests most beginner runners is how to breathe correctly. There are a huge number of breathing techniques, each of which tries to be universal and the only correct one.

Breathe through your nose and mouth
There are many theories that you should only breathe through your nose while running. These theories are right, but only partially. Indeed, oxygen that enters the lungs through the nose is better absorbed. However, due to the low patency of the nasal cavity, little oxygen enters the body. And if this amount is enough for walking and everyday life, then when there is an increase in physical activity, which requires more oxygen, then the nose alone cannot cope.

Therefore, it is necessary to increase the amount of oxygen entering the lungs with the help of the mouth. Yes, such oxygen is absorbed worse, but there is a lot of it. And in total, the oxygen that came through both the nose and the mouth will be enough when running. All professional distance runners breathe this way. Look at the photo. All athletes have their mouths open. Remember, just because you breathe through your mouth and nose does not mean you have to open your mouth as wide as possible. It needs to be opened quite a bit, which will be enough to consume the right amount of air.
If you don’t quite understand how it is to breathe through both your nose and mouth at the same time, then do a simple experiment. Open your mouth a little and take a slow breath through your mouth. Cover your mouth with your hand at any time. You will feel that the nose, if it is not blocked, continues to inhale air. This suggests that the nose inhales much less air than the mouth, therefore, with this method of nasal breathing, it is not even audible.

I also recommend slightly intensifying breathing through the nose. That is, breathe through both your nose and mouth, but control the process artificially, trying to inhale more through your nose. Then you will receive more easily digestible oxygen, which will also give a positive result.

Breathing rate
Breathe as you breathe. This is the main principle of breathing while running long distances. Breathing rate будет зависеть от многих факторов. From whether you run uphill or downhill, in winter or summer, whether your lungs are trained or not. And your body itself will choose the frequency depending on these factors. At the same time, try to breathe while running for long distances. evenly. This will help keep your breath down. But you need to understand that uniform breathing should be your own in different areas. Since the uniformity will be one uphill, and another downhill.
What does uniform mean. This means that if you have chosen a way of breathing, for example, take two short breaths and one deep exhalation. So that’s how you breathe. You don’t have to hold your breath. So now you have taken one breath. then one breath, then two short breaths, a long breath. then one inhalation and two short exhalations. Choose a frequency that is comfortable for you to run and run.

And don’t try to match your breath with your steps. It doesn’t make any sense. Breathing should be natural. It is very important. An example is any Kenyan runner who, from an early age, runs as their own body tells them to.
Start breathing from the first meters
A very important principle. It is necessary to force yourself from the very start to breathe as if you had already run half the distance. If from the very beginning of the path you begin to breathe correctly, then the moment when your breath starts to go astray will come much later. Usually beginners at the beginning of the run talk a lot, breathe badly and do not think about the uniformity of the lungs. Most often, at the end of the journey, they no longer utter a word and convulsively grab the air with their lungs. To prevent this from happening, or to happen as late as possible, you need to supply your lungs with plenty of oxygen at all times, even when it seems to you that you have a lot of strength. “Don’t forget to breathe” is the favorite saying of any distance running coach.
Also, the basic principles of breathing include the fact that the more you exhale, the more oxygen you inhale. This is quite logical, but not everyone uses it. Therefore, while running, exhalation should be slightly stronger than inhalation in order to free the lungs as best as possible for air to enter.

And always listen to your body. He knows best how to breathe.