Limewave, you weighed over 300 lbs when you started? Wow. You look fantastic in your avatar pic. What an inspiration.

Blueberry, I tried an experiment in August. I planned to do a 5k every day in August. I got five days in when I hurt my knee -- I overdid the jog portion. I was attempting to do what Limewave described: alternate walking with jogging, and slowly increasing the jogging portion. I ended up hurting my right MCL and I was off my feet and in a knee brace for about two full weeks, and I'm still limping when I get up from sitting for a while. And I was wearing the cushiest running shoes Nike makes, according to the Shoe Dog guy at Road Runner Sports.

I suggest if you go to get good shoes, make sure the person who is assessing you is experienced. My guy wasn't. He'd just moved here from Arizona because a buddy of his got him a job at the store. He was an athlete, but maybe not so much an expert in helping people with special needs pick out shoes.

I weighed 225-230 when I hurt my knee, so yes, I'd say I was too fat to run, but that's me. You may be in a lot better shape than I.

Good luck with your search for good shoes and taking up running.

Roxy