New Year’s Resolutions? Throw them in the bin and start thinking running goals
Running Tales takes a look at a few habits that will help improve your running and reach your goals in 2023
The fact it’s January 6 and we’re only just writing an article with New Year’s Resolutions in the title probably tells you how serious we are about them.
Every year people are gripped by the need for a new start, and dive head first into broad pledges that most of them won’t stick to for longer than the first week (that’s tomorrow folks!).
A recent YouGov survey showed one in five Brits planned to make a New Year’s Resolution for 2023.
But the same poll revealed of those who made resolutions at the end of 2021, only 28% of them kept all of them - and one in six didn’t keep any.
The main issue with New Year’s Resolutions is that they are too vague: I want to lose weight, I want to be healthy, I’d like to run a marathon.
You are far more likely to stick your goals - that’s enough of resolutions now - if you make them more specific.
Planning how you are going to reach your target is vital. For example, if you aim to run a marathon, put together a training plan and perhaps enter an event to give yourself that extra, vital accountability.
When it comes to running, there are a host of things that can help get you moving, take you a step closer to your goal or simply allow you to enjoy what you’re doing every day.
Here are just a few of them…
Form a new habit
If you have certain goals in mind, it makes sense to think about how you are going to get there and who can help you.
Forming new habits to get you running regularly can be a real help. The Couch to 5k programme is one of the most popular training regimes out there for beginners, while joining a running group can really help with accountability - and enjoyment - whatever level you may be at.
Lacing up your trainers and getting down to your nearest parkrun is another great way to find motivation and provides a regular tick in your running regime.
If you’ve been hiding under a rock and haven’t heard of the 5k run, it takes place throughout the UK - and these days far beyond - at 9am every Saturday. And it’s free!
Many people will just stick with their regular 5k, gaining fitness and friends along the way while others - such as Claudia Burrough, whose journey has taken her from Bushey parkrun to the Comrades Marathon - use it as a launchpad to bigger things.
Strength training is important
Runners love to run. Spending time in the gym or throwing dumbbells around doesn’t always appeal.
Strength training too often gets pushed to the back of the ‘To Do’ queue.
Any training plan should include strength and conditioning workouts. Make sure to add them into your calendar - and don’t skip them.
Strength training really will make you a better runner. Don’t believe us? Maybe, you should listen to this bloke…
Spending time on strength training minimises the risk of injuries allowing you to increase your mileage or get faster - as well as to improve your running form.
Make a marathon effort
Of course, running isn’t all about those 26.2 miles which captivate so many of us, but for many it is the ultimate bucket list goal.
Getting a proper training plan from a qualified coach, or some advice from those who have been and done it, is hugely helpful.
This is a distance that really needs to be respected - don’t think you can just turn up and blast it, however strong you may have felt over the 10k or half-marathon distance.
One of the most common mistakes we’ve heard on Running Tales is from people who’ve assumed they can run a marathon in twice the time in takes to do a half.
In fact, many marathon runners say the event comes in two rather more uneven halves: the first 20 and the often gruelling final 6.2 miles.
If you need some help and advice from those who’ve taken on the distance more than most, you might want to take a listen to our podcasts (while running of course) from the likes of Steve Edwards, Adam ‘Tango’ Holland and Andy Cottrell
Steve Edwards, perhaps the king of the distance, is currently on course to reach the 1,000 marathon mark at an average time of under three-and-a-half hours per marathon.
Adam Holland became the youngest person to complete 100 marathons when he was only 23 - beating Steve Edwards’ previous record.
With a personal best 2:24:24, he has more marathon/ultra marathon wins than anyone else in the UK.
Of course, it’s your marathon at your pace - not Adam’s! Someone who knows that slow and steady wins the day is Andy Cottrell.
Andy only started running when rugby became too much for his body, but it became an obsession to the point where he is now a member of the exclusive 100 Marathon Club.
What’s your reason to run?
Improving and enjoying your running, or just carrying on getting out there, doesn’t have to be about smashing your 5k time or doing a marathon.
Being fit and healthy or losing weight are popular goals, while plenty of runners have taken up the sport for the good of their mental health or to kick an addiction.
Peter Currington swapped drinks, drugs and a spell in prison to re-find his love of running and become a mental health champion with England Athletics.
That sort of change doesn’t come from a hastily made New Year’s Resolution.
For Jeff Kase, a star runner growing up in Michigan, running rescued him from the grips of alcoholism.
The sport became his new addiction, propelling him all the way to completing 100 mile races and taking part in the American National Senior Games.
Ben Davies only started running three years ago after his young niece sadly passed away.
Struggling with his mental health, he suddenly stumbled across ultra running - and without stopping along with the way to tick off the distances in-between he started clocking up big numbers and competing in ultras, including the 145 mile Grand Union Canal Ultra.
Do something amazing
Giving something back can certainly help keep your running motivation on track, whether that be through volunteering at events or raising money for charity.
Earlier this week, we covered the fantastic stories of Gary McKee and Tony Collier, who both completed their own challenges to run every day in 2022.
Gary McKee raised more than £1m for cancer charities by completing a marathon every day in the year, but you don’t have to push yourself to such extremes to tick off your own goals and help out along the way.
You only have to look at the thousands of charity runners enjoying the London Marathon every year to see how closely running and fundraising go hand in hand.
Take the example of Ross Jeavons, who slowed down from his usual time of just outside of three hours to take on this year’s London event after his son, Corey, was born in February with Oesophageal Atresia and Tracheo-Oesophageal Fistula, a condition which means his food pipe was not connected to his stomach.
Keep on keeping on
So there you go. Who needs a New Year’s Resolution? Not us and not you!
Find your goal, your inspiration, your reason for running, and the plan what you’re going to do to get there,
Most of all make sure you enjoy it (and listen to Running Tales!) along the way.