How To Stay Accountable With Your Running

“Sometimes the hardest part of running is just heading out the door.”

Long distance runners Georgia and Margo share their quick and practical tips to help you stick to your running workouts. We all fall off track of our training sometimes, but these excuse-busting tips will give you the motivation you need to lace up and work towards your fitness goals.

Catch Georgia and Margo’s tips and our summary below.

1. Be prepared

With the right running shoes and running clothing close at hand, you’ll be more motivated to hit the pavement. Laying out your running kit the night before means you don’t have to waste any time digging through your drawer in the morning.

Even treating your feet to technical running socks can make a huge difference to your comfort so you’re less likely to put off your running workouts. Besides setting aside your top running clothing, you may want to strap on a fitness tracker to give you that extra motivational boost.

Keeping your best running shoes somewhere you can see them when you first wake up also acts as a visual reminder to lace up and spring into action.

2. Get a running buddy

Be proactive about your running program and lock in runs regularly with a friend. On those days you’d rather hibernate in bed, having this commitment will help steer you away from the snooze button.

If you enjoy friendly competition, your running buddy can help you push for more speed or distance – but keep in mind that measuring progress should be based on comparing your performance to your past self, not others.

Running with a friend can also improve your running safety and adds a social element to your everyday fitness. If a human running buddy isn’t available, running with your dog can help you and your four-legged pal have fun, stay fit and keep you working towards your fitness goals.

3. Develop a routine

Committing to your running program helps create a healthy habit that will stick. Consistency is key and often it’s when we break this commitment, that it’s the most difficult to stay on track of our training.

If you run regularly 4 times a week, in a few months lacing up will simply be a part of your active lifestyle – you won’t have to overthink it, just do it. It’ll feel natural, even to the point you may feel a little weird if you skip a session.

Saying that, it’s also important to be flexible in your running program – unexpected life commitments may pop up, but it doesn’t mean that has to put a permanent pause on your training. Adapt your running routine to suit your lifestyle, lace up and run on.

4. Enter a race

Entering a race gives you a long-term goal on the horizon and something to work towards. It adds an extra layer of emotional investment, knowing that with each running workout you’re running stronger, improving your endurance and can naturally breathe better on your runs.

You may have pre-race butterflies in your belly at the starting line, but you’ll feel confident knowing you’ve trained for this, your body is in its best physical shape and you’re ready to run.

5. Set small, attainable goals

Setting small, realistic goals can give you extra drive to lace up. It could be as simple as running 4 times a week or clocking up a certain number of Ks each week with your running watch to keep count.

You may like to plan the week ahead and tick off each running workout – holding yourself accountable but also giving you the satisfaction of celebrating every run. Share your goals with friends for an additional motivation boost, or even compete with them in a step count challenge.

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Happy running!