Most people do not wake up and think: “I’m motivated to run today!” When asked, many will tell you that they started running as a way to train for a different sport. What is the definition of the word “motivation”? 

Meaning; the reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way.

For example; "escape can be a strong motivation for travel"

We are going to answer the question many people have; 

How Do I Find Motivation To Run?  We can take the word run away and replace it with any workout you want. In today’s stressful world, many find it difficult to find either the time or the motivation to work out. I would like to take the time to help you slow down a bit, and give you 15 ways in which you can become motivated and stay motivated to run. I also got a chance to throw this question out there to the running community and got tons of feedback as to what’s keeping them motivated to run. You can listen to this weeks podcast to hear from a 31-year-old store manager from South Carolina who just picked up running four years ago. Emma Kennebeck believes motivation may have gotten her started but it is beyond that now, that has been keeping her going. 

This topic is so deep and so rich that we will be doing part two of this same topic in the near future.

Let’s go back to our meaning and example of the word motivation. Meaning; the reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way. For example; "escape can be a strong motivation for travel" With this meaning and example in mind, that leads me to my #1 Tip

1. Identify Your Reason for Running. If you don't know why you're running, it's hard to stay motivated. Here are some quick examples. “Running can be a strong motivation to help me lose weight.” Running can be a strong motivation to ward off illness.” You fill in the blank here “Running can be a strong motivation for me to be a better ________________

2. Set goals. A goal without a plan is just a dream. Write down your goal, place it on a calendar, tell friends, and go crush that goal. Goals do not have to be big and scary. They can be small. Setting out to run 15-20 in the morning before work. Setting out to run your first 5k. Goals can be big like running a marathon. Big goals do not have to be scary either. All we have to do is take a big goal and break them down into smaller obtainable goals. 

3. Dress for the exercise you want to do: How do you feel when you buy something new? Good! That good feeling will help you want to lace up those new running sneakers, that new running shirt, or for our lady runners, strap on that new sports bra, and go run. 

4. Track Your Stats w/ App: Apps like Nike Run Club help keep me motivated as I see my miles pile up. I enjoy earning new badges as I achieve certain milestones. I connect with other runners around the world. I can go back in time to compare my growth as a runner as I recently saw my mile time go down. I recently accomplished a 6:50 mile on April 13th, 2021 for my mile test. Tracking allowed me to go back to my last test which was February 23rd in which my time was 6:58 for the mile. This progress keeps me motivated and wanting more speed day workouts. (How To Improve Your Mile Time) 

5. Run With Other People: When I was younger, I didn’t like running with people because I didn’t want to hold them up. Ironically, I coach a running group training program in which it’s all about running with others. I love it. I get to help individuals find their life again through running. I get to see people regain their passion for other things in their lives due to them deciding to use running as a way to improve their health. Running with others is very motivating. 

6. Feel The Endorphins: You feel so good after a workout! Many use running as an escape from everyday stress. The feeling that we seek is the endorphins, the happy hormone. The beautiful thing about endorphins is that it is legal, we won’t go to jail for being on the (Runners High) and we won’t have a headache the next day. 

7. Explore New Terrain: To stay motivated to run, it is a must to switch up your scenery. I enjoy the track, boardwalk, bike paths, and my neighborhood. Running on vacation is fun too as we get to explore the town on foot. 

8. Give Yourself a Break: In last week’s blog/podcast we talked about the importance of Run - Rest - Repeat. It's so important to allow your body to heal properly after a great run. Without proper rest, you may get injured, and lose your joy from running.

   Did You Know? If you check your resting heart rate every morning and it’s usually 55bpm. Check your resting heart rate the morning after a hard run and you may see 65bpm. This is an indication that your body has not fully recovered from your previous workout.

9. Lower Your minimum Time: To stay motivated to run, don’t feel as though you need to grind for an hour. If 10 minutes is all you have, make it the best 10 minutes ever! 

10. Maintain a Healthy Weight: Let’s face it, we all like to eat. Now I don’t believe you can outrun a bad diet. I was 217lb in 2009 and now I have been able to maintain 167 - 175lbs for the last 3 years. To keep me focused I teach others how to eat real food to help support their running goals. (Keeping It Real Health Challenge) Some injuries are attributed to running but it wasn’t the running that injured you. Sometimes it’s inflammation caused by our food choices.  

11. Get Competitive: Join challenges. This goes in harmony with setting goals. I host 3 free challenges per month on Nike Run Club App; 1) Keep Calm April Showers 60 Miler 2) Run To The Best You Spring Fling 80 Miles 3) Rain Hard/Run Hard Coach Tadris April 100 Miler 

    To join one of the challenges friend Tadris Parker on NRC app and click your desired challenge. 

12. Sign Up For a Race: There is nothing like the energy that you get from a live race event. The sense of accomplishment, the fans cheering you on, and seeing others that inspire you along the way. Beginners would want to find a 5k to start. If you have been running 5 or 10k’s for a while sign up for your first half marathon. Here in South Jersey, I encourage you to check out https://www.acraceseries.com/ pre-Covid they had everything from 5k to the full marathon. Now due to Covid restrictions on the number of people that can gather in 2021, there will be 8k’s and half marathons in the spring. In the fall, all events will be available, the 5k, 10k, half, and full marathons. Any of their race series can also be done virtually as well. 

13. Create a Training Plan: Of course, you may have a plan in mind already. However, this is where I come in. I have been helping people cross the finish line for nearly a decade. I help a lot of parents who do not have unlimited time to train. Our plans are designed to help you run less, yet run faster and further. We help online participants like Danielle Selassie cross the Chicago Marathon finish line. We are currently working with a member Gina Davidson in the United Kingdom to improve on her mile times, and soon her first half marathon. Local participants would sign up for our RunA5K program. Online participants would subscribe to my online coaching through my Online Accountability Group.

14. Use Running as an Excuse: When staying motivated to run and friends want you to join them for happy hour after work, remember how sluggish you feel after drinks and snacks. Use running as an excuse. You could say; “I would love to, but I’m training for a half marathon, I have to get up early tomorrow morning!”

15. Reward Yourself for Running:

When hitting certain milestones of your running, reward yourself with something new. Perhaps after 100 miles, you invest in a smartwatch like a Garmin or Apple Watch. After 200 miles of wearing the same sneakers, reward yourself with a new pair.

(Pro-Tip - Change your sneakers every 200 - 300 miles) 

Now that I gave you some ways in which you can motivate yourself to run,

let’s see what others had to say:

Christine (Colorado)

Sign up for a race

Nazeema (South Africa)

Have a running buddy or group. They keep you accountable and motivate you. On the days when you know you can but don't want to, they make sure you have a great run.

Amanda Montgomery:

Find a running budding that's equally dedicated to meet up and run together! (#85 - 7 Tips For Running Accountability Partners w/ Chris Ballard and Katie Ayers)

Lawrence (Ireland)

Having something to train for helps me stay motivated. I've recently found running with others makes running more enjoyable. If I ever feel like missing a session I just remind myself why I took it up in the first place - because I was getting tubby!

Chelsea (South Dakota)

This sounds guidance counselor-y, but the commitment to my goals transcends motivation 🙂

Nikki (UK)

It's not always motivation or inspiration... you must have discipline every time. Some days you can't find motivation, but that shouldn't stop you. If you are disciplined and have the drive to get to where you want to be, that’s what will get you there, not motivation! 💯👌

Dairys (Florida)

I count calories. This is a great way to get lots of calories out in a short time. I have kids. I can’t be all day exercising. This is my motivation. I run for 30 minutes or walk for 1 hour.

Sue Pomush-Stoffel:

Sometimes it’s discipline.

Jon Evans:

I look at my fat butt in the mirror 🤷‍♂️

Emma (South Carolina)

Motivation isn’t the driving factor anymore. Yes, I’m training for a race but dedication is what gets me out there every day. Before I go to bed, I look at what I have to do tomorrow and I figure out how to structure my day. Set my alarm if I need to and I go to sleep knowing that tomorrow it isn’t a choice to do it. It’s my requirement for the day.

Emma not only commented on this topic, but we got her on the phone. Hear her explain from her perspective on this week’s podcast. 

Coach: Thanks for being on the show. I want to end the article with a closing quote from you. This article is designed to help people find the motivation to take up running for the first time. This article is also to help a person who used to run get motivated to pick it up again. What would you say to that person to that person that is ready to start their journey tomorrow?

Emma:

You will accomplish nothing if you never start. So start today and find out how far you can go tomorrow.

You may surprise yourself.

How do you stay motivated? We would love to hear your thoughts. Comment below.

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- Happy Running - Coach Tadris