Keep Running: 5 Ways to Keep Yourself Motivated

Keeping yourself motivated to run is a good way to maintain your hobby and make it a habit later on. Use these 5 easy tips to stay on the tracks and to appreciate the hobby of running even more.

1. Set mini-goals for yourself.

Never run a marathon, an entire course, or even pull a Forrest Gump unless you are 100% ready for it. If you are getting started with your running hobby, set mini-goals for yourself: run a 3-kilometer course, then a 5-kilometer course before you take on the bigwig. As they say,  great journeys, or in this case, long, fruitful marathons, start with small steps, short runs around the race track or around the neighborhood.

2. Join a local running club or start your own so you can run with friends or socialize with like-minded people.

If you haven’t found a good reason to stay on point and keep running, then find people to motivate you. By joining a running club, you can run with people you know, meet people with a similar interest as yours (running), and find yourself some healthy competition. Plenty of things motivate a lot of people: some get theirs from healthy competition, others from socialization.

3. Make running an excuse to explore your neighborhood. 

This works best if you have recently moved into a new city, but works just as well even if you have stayed in the same address for the past 20 years. Use running as a means to meet new people or to see new places in your area. Take a new route every day or go through old routes and try to memorize the features of the area.

4. If you are getting started, run with your dog.

Running with your dog is a good way to keep your best friend fit and a good reason to keep your speed. Dogs tend to run faster than humans and make ideal competitors. You can also make running a reason to spend time with Fido if you are usually busy and find almost no time to even take your dog out for a walk.

5. Run to stay fit or lose weight.

In other words, find a very good, life-changing reason to keep running. If you want to live a healthier lifestyle, start by running. If you want to lose weight, the easiest way to do so is by running a few kilometers everyday. Remember, other people can inspire you, but true motivation comes from you and within you, alone.