Speedrunning for Beginners
The hardest part of speedrunning is not execution. It is picking a category you will still enjoy after fifty attempts.
The short answer
Starting speedrunning is easiest with a shorter category in a game you already know well, since run length directly determines how many attempts you can complete and therefore how quickly you improve. Any-percent categories are typically the most popular but not always the most beginner-friendly, as glitch-heavy routes can require difficult execution. Submitting a first time to a leaderboard, however slow, is the standard entry point and the community norm.
Verified and last updated August 12, 2026.
- Time needed
- 13 min
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Read time
- 3 min
Speedrunning looks like it requires extraordinary execution and mostly requires patience plus a good category choice.
The category choice is the part beginners get wrong, and it determines whether you are still doing this in a month.
Run length is the deciding factor
A thirty minute category gives you several attempts an evening. A four hour category gives you a handful a week. Attempts are how you improve.
Choosing a game and category
Any-percent is the most popular category and not automatically the friendliest, because those routes frequently depend on difficult glitches. Glitchless or hundred-percent categories can be more approachable despite taking longer.
An active community matters more than people expect. It means route documentation exists, questions get answered, and there are recent runs to learn from.
The tools
A timer with splits is essentially required. The standard tools are free and take ten minutes to set up.
Recording software is needed for leaderboard submission in most communities. A simple setup is fine; production quality is irrelevant to verification.
That is genuinely all you need. Elaborate setups are something people accumulate later.
Learning a route
Do not attempt to learn the whole run at once.
- Watch a current run with commentary if one exists. Commentary explains reasoning that raw footage does not.
- Read the community route notes. Most communities maintain written routes, which are easier to reference than video.
- Practise segments individually, especially anything with a trick. Practising the opening thirty times is more productive than running the whole game thirty times.
- Do a full run early anyway, badly, to understand the shape of it.
- Submit that time. Getting on the board is motivating and it is the normal entry point.
On submitting a slow time
Speedrunning communities are unusually welcoming, which surprises people expecting elitism.
Every leaderboard has a long tail. Everyone near the top was once at the bottom. Submitting a slow first run is the standard way to start, not something to apologise for.
The realistic experience
Most attempts end early. You will restart within the first five minutes constantly, because a bad opening is not worth continuing when a run takes thirty minutes.
That reset cycle is the actual activity, and whether you enjoy it determines whether speedrunning is for you. Some people find it meditative and some find it maddening, and there is no way to know which without trying.
Choosing a short category makes that cycle tolerable. Choosing a four hour game makes it brutal.
The emulation guide covers accurate setup for older titles, where timing accuracy matters for legitimacy. If you end up enjoying it, the streaming guide covers broadcasting attempts, which is how many runners find their community.
What works
What doesn't
Key takeaways
Frequently asked questions
What game should I speedrun first?
One you already know well with a category under an hour, because run length determines how many attempts you get per session and attempts are how you improve. A thirty minute category lets you complete several runs an evening and learn from each. A four hour category means a handful of attempts a week and much slower progress.
What does any percent mean?
Reaching the credits as fast as possible with no requirement to complete optional content, which is usually the most popular category. It is not always the friendliest for beginners, since any-percent routes often rely on difficult glitches. Categories such as hundred percent or glitchless can be more approachable despite taking longer.
Do I need special software?
A timer with split tracking is essentially required, and the standard tools are free. Recording software is needed for leaderboard submission in most communities. Beyond that nothing is necessary, and elaborate setups are something people build later rather than a prerequisite for starting.
Will my slow first time be mocked?
Speedrunning communities are unusually welcoming to new runners, and submitting a slow first time is the normal entry point rather than something to be embarrassed about. Every leaderboard has a long tail of times and the people at the top were once there. The norm is encouragement, which surprises people expecting elitism.
About the author
Competitive & Settings Editor
Dan played CS:GO semi-professionally in a regional ESEA Main roster between 2017 and 2020, and has hit Radiant in VALORANT in three separate acts. He now spends most of his competitive energy on the unglamorous side of the game: input latency, sensitivity consistency and warm-up routines that actually transfer.
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