Making it the Year of the Runner

This year can be the one you seize the day and take your running to the next level. Follow our series on how to make it the year of the runner!

You’ve come to this article with good intentions. And that’s crucial to make it the year running truly becomes part of your daily life, giving it the power to transform you. Choosing to be a runner is choosing to live well.

But, as we all know, good intentions are not enough to carry us through the vicissitudes of life. Saying a new year resolution out loud is not enough. Something deeper is required if it’s to last.

In each article of this series, there will be tips, motivation, and also tasks you are invited to complete to make this the year of the runner. Even if you’re already a dedicated runner, following these articles will help freshen up your running.

In this first article we are beginning with commitment.

Head and the heart

Here’s your first task: Finding the why

Make yourself a coffee, grab a pen and piece of paper or your journal. Sit down, and ask yourself why you want to get serious about running. Don’t write anything yet. Just sit there and ask yourself the question, wait a few minutes and see what pops up.

Now write down why you really want to run. Try to fill the whole page. Maybe there’s more than one reason. Is weight loss what is really driving you? Or do you also want to feel great, be disciplined and set a good example to your kids, or explore your town or city on foot?

Connecting to the real reason why you want to run is going to help you stay committed. We need both the head and heart – our passion.

Next task: Obstacles

Now do the same as above with this question: what obstacles are you likely to encounter? Sit with the question for a few minutes. What’s going to trip you up? Maybe long working days when you end up feeling tired? Write down the main obstacles and then what you think you need to do to overcome them.

The pledge

It’s time to make a commitment now. On a fresh piece of paper, write a pledge, in your own words, to become a runner.. Something like: “I, Clark Davis, pledge to make 2019 the year of the runner, when running truly becomes part of my daily life.” Sign your signature underneath the pledge, and stick it up on your refrigerator or somewhere prominent that you, and your family, will see often. It’s now official.

Time to get moving

If you haven’t already, go and get yourself a well fitted pair of running shoes, set up the Sports Tracker app on your mobile phone, get your running music playlist ready, and head out the door!

Running task:

Start jogging three times a week for 20 to 30 minutes each time.

 

We’d love to hear what you’ve learned or discovered from reading this article, including why you run, in the comments below. Stay tuned for the next article in this series scheduled for next week: Staying on course.

 

Josh Gale – Kiwi journalist tracking adventures great and small

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