Speedrunning Basics Guide: Everything You Need to Start Breaking Records

Here’s a wild stat for you — the world record for completing Super Mario Bros. is under 4 minutes and 55 seconds. Let that sink in. A game most of us spent weeks trying to beat as kids, and someone just blazes through it like it’s nothing!

I stumbled into speedrunning about six years ago completely by accident. I was watching a random YouTube video, clicked on a Games Done Quick marathon stream, and honestly my jaw just dropped. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing — glitches, frame-perfect tricks, and runners who knew every pixel of a game by heart.

If you’ve ever been curious about speedrunning but felt overwhelmed, this speedrunning basics guide is gonna walk you through everything. Trust me, getting started is way easier than you think.

What Even Is Speedrunning?

Speedrunning is the practice of completing a video game as fast as possible. That’s really the core of it. But there’s so much more depth once you start digging in.

There are different categories that runners compete in. The most common ones are “Any%” where you beat the game by any means necessary, and “100%” where you have to complete everything — all collectibles, all levels, the whole shebang.

Some games also have unique categories that the community creates. For example, in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, there’s a category called “All Dungeons” that’s somewhere between Any% and 100%. The community over at Speedrun.com defines and tracks all these categories, and it’s where you’ll eventually submit your own times.

Picking Your First Game

Okay so this is where I messed up big time when I started. I tried to learn Ocarina of Time speedrunning as my very first game. Terrible idea. The tricks were insanely hard and I burned out in like two weeks.

My advice? Pick a game you already love and one that’s relatively short. Games like Celeste, Portal, or even shorter indie titles make fantastic first speedruns because the learning curve isn’t brutal.

Also consider how active the game’s community is. A game with an active Discord server full of runners willing to help is worth its weight in gold. I cannot stress this enough — the community aspect was what kept me going during those frustrating early days.

Essential Tools and Setup

You don’t need anything fancy to start. Seriously. But there’s a few things that’ll make your life way easier.

• A timer program like LiveSplit — this is basically the industry standard and it’s free
• Recording software such as OBS Studio so you can review your runs
• Access to game-specific guides and route documents
• A decent controller or keyboard you’re comfortable with

When I first started timing my runs, I was literally using my phone’s stopwatch. It worked but it was kinda janky. LiveSplit changed everything because it shows you splits for each section of the game so you know exactly where your losing or gaining time.

Learning Routes and Strategies

Every speedrun has what’s called a “route” — the optimal path through the game. Finding the current route for your chosen game is usually as simple as watching the world record holder’s run and studying it.

Here’s a tip that saved me tons of frustration: don’t try to learn the entire route at once. Break it into segments. I’d practice one section until it felt comfortable, then move to the next. Think of it like studying for a test — chunk it up.

Watch tutorial videos on YouTube from experienced runners. Most popular speedgames have dedicated beginner guides that walk you through the route step by step. Taking notes helped me a ton too, even if they were messy scribbles on a notepad next to my desk.

Dealing With Failed Runs and Frustration

Let me be real with you — you’re going to fail. A lot. I once had a personal best pace in a run and choked on the final boss so badly that I didn’t play for three days.

That’s normal though! Every single top runner has been through it. The key is remembering that every failed run teaches you something. Patience is genuinely the most important skill in speedrunning, not fast fingers.

Your Turn to Hit Start

Speedrunning has honestly been one of the most rewarding hobbies I’ve ever picked up. It transformed games I thought I knew inside out into completely new experiences. Whether you want to compete for world records or just challenge yourself, the journey is what makes it special.

Start small, be patient with yourself, and don’t be afraid to ask the community for help. And hey, if you enjoyed this guide, check out more gaming and tech content over on the Voltzora blog — we’ve got plenty more where this came from!