What Is Speedrunning?
Speedrunning is the practice of completing a video game — or a specific portion of it — as fast as possible. What began as informal competition among friends has grown into a massive global community with dedicated websites, annual charity marathons like Games Done Quick, and world records watched by millions. Whether you want to compete for world records or just find a new way to enjoy your favorite games, speedrunning is incredibly rewarding.
Understanding the Categories
Before you start, it helps to understand the main types of speedrun categories:
- Any%: Complete the game as fast as possible using any means — glitches, skips, and sequence breaks are all fair game
- 100%: Complete everything the game has to offer in the fastest time possible
- Glitchless: Complete the game without using known glitches or major skips
- Low%: Complete the game with as few items, upgrades, or collectibles as possible
As a beginner, Any% or Glitchless are usually the best starting points.
Choosing Your First Game
Picking the right game makes a huge difference. Look for:
- A game you genuinely enjoy — you'll be playing it hundreds of times
- An active community — check speedrun.com for leaderboards and community size
- A beginner-friendly run length — games with 15–60 minute runs are ideal to start
- Good documentation — look for games with written guides and tutorial videos already available
Popular beginner-friendly speedgames include Celeste, Portal, Super Mario Odyssey, and A Short Hike.
Essential Tools and Setup
You don't need anything special to start speedrunning, but these tools help:
- LiveSplit: A free, customizable timer that tracks your splits (segments of the run). It's the standard tool in the community.
- speedrun.com: The central hub for leaderboards, guides, and community forums for almost every game
- OBS Studio: Free recording/streaming software — useful for capturing your runs for verification or sharing
Learning the Route
Every game has an established speedrun route — the optimal order to complete objectives. Find your game's community on speedrun.com or Discord, and look for a "beginner's guide" or "new runner resources" section. Watch current world record runs to understand what the route looks like at the highest level, then focus on the basics first.
Key Techniques to Learn
Depending on your game, you'll encounter some common speedrunning techniques:
- Movement optimization: Maintaining maximum speed through jumps, angles, and cancels
- Menuing efficiency: Navigating menus as fast as possible
- Sequence breaking: Using game logic to reach areas or triggers out of intended order
- Reset culture: Knowing when to reset a run that's behind pace — this is a skill in itself
The Mindset of Speedrunning
Progression in speedrunning is slow at first and then suddenly fast. Your first runs will be messy — that's completely normal. The community is overwhelmingly welcoming to newcomers. Focus on learning one section at a time, celebrate your own personal bests (PBs), and connect with other runners. The journey of improving your time is the real reward.