Running is a great path to take in order to get healthy. Most people start to run as a gateway exercise to losing weight. All you need is a good pair of shoes, some space, and the right motivation and you can get started already!

As a form of aerobic exercise, running can significantly improve your physical health. It helps build up your cardio, improve your heart, and burn up excess calories. At the same time, it can help with your mental health as well. There have been cases where running can help a person reduce stress or even symptoms of depression.

But for a lot of people, getting motivated to run is the most difficult hump to get over. Having or finding the motivation to get up and go each day in order to continuously move towards their goal. A lot of beginner runners end up giving up on their goals because they lose motivation, which is why this is the first thing you need to get into.

How to Get Motivated to Run for Beginners

It is important to remember that getting healthy and improving your running takes time and effort. Consistent training is the key. With that, here are some ideas on how you can create your motivation to keep moving:

Get a Running Buddy!

One of the most effective ways to keep your promise to run is to involve someone else. Not only will you enjoy your run more when you are with your friends or family. You would also feel extra motivated not to let them down. This is especially true if it’s your special someone that you invite to run with you.

Join a Running Event

Whether it’s a race or a fun run, it doesn’t matter. Once you sign up for a running event and pay for it, you have no other choice but to really go for it now!

It can be a simple 5KM fun run. The important thing is that it’s an event that you have never done before so that you have something to look forward to. Just make sure you have enough time to train too.

Buy a Bathroom Scale

So most beginner runners have the goal to lose weight. But how would you know that you’re achieving your goal? Get a good bathroom scale like this one.

Before you start running, get your initial weight and set a realistic target. Now, this is the most important part about this, have a piece of paper beside your bathroom scale to list your progress each day. Seeing how you slowly progress towards your goal can be very motivating.

You can take this one step further by keeping a progress journal where you list every detail of your day such as how long did you run, where, how did you feel about it, what was your beginning weight, what’s your weight after, what did you eat, etc. All this information can help you form the best plan to get to your goal.

Track How you are Doing

With today’s technology, it’s actually very easy to track your running progress. You don’t have to invest in expensive equipment right off the bat, you can stick to what you already have or go with simple solutions.

As mentioned above, a bathroom scale, pen, and paper can be a good starting point to track your progress. You know what your weight is now, and how much it is after a week.

You can also use your smartphone to download fitness apps that help track your progress as well. There are a lot of free apps out there that you can use for running. You simply turn them on before running and it will track your current run. It will then provide you with different data such as your pace, the route you took, and many more.

Of course, if you really are into it, you can get different gadgets specifically tailored for running such as a smartwatch that can track more data for you including your heart rate.

There are many options to track your progress when you start to run and it’s all up to you which to use and how to use it. The general idea is to see how you are doing and if you are getting closer to your goal. And if not, what can you change to see better progress?

Learn the Correct Running Form

When you start to run, it’s easy to just go out there and put your foot in front of the other as fast as possible. It’s important to learn the correct running form for you for a variety of reasons:

1. It can help you get the most out of your running session
2. Get faster and more efficient
3. Avoid injuries

Here is a quick breakdown of the proper running form:

Time, Place, and Pace

Part of getting motivated is finding the three aspects of a running session; time, place, and pace.

Time to Run

Another big obstacle for those starting to run is to find the time. Most people have jobs with a fixed schedule. Mornings are dedicated to getting ready and the commute, most of the day is for work, the evening is for getting home and resting.

For most, the easiest is to wake up an hour or two earlier to get a run in before they go to work. Others can opt to run once they get back. But, if you are lucky enough to be a few kilometres from work, then you can actually opt to run to and from work.

Place to Run

When you start to run, try to get a route marked in your head already. An ideal place to run is a park where there’s little to no vehicle traffic and a lot of trees to provide fresh air. It should give you enough space to create a route fit for your needs.

Another consideration for the place is dependent on each person. Some runners like to do their session in the same place again and again because this gives them a better gauge of their improvement by measuring their laps. Then there are runners who like to mix it up to keep motivated and engaged with their running sessions.

Plan ahead and take time to discover what you like and dislike.

Pace your Run

There are people who doubt themselves that they can keep running for an extended period of time. That’s normal. Once you start running, the trick is to find your pace or cadence. This basically refers to how fast you put your foot in front of the other.

As a beginner, it’s best to start at a slow pace. Just try to jog and listen to your body. If you feel that this is very doable, then you can start increasing your pace little by little until you find that sweet spot wherein you are running without having to catch your breath every now and then.

Listening to your Body

One of the great things about starting to run is that you get to learn more about yourself and your physical capabilities. You learn to listen to your body and understand what you are capable of.

Most importantly, you have to listen to your body if something aches. If you feel some pressure in your ankles, knees, back, shoulders, or anywhere in your body during or after a run, then there might be something you need to adjust. It can be your form, pace, or anything else depending on the situation. You will need to do this in order to avoid injuries that can drastically derail your progress towards your goal.

So, take it slow at first, find what you like, listen to your body, and most of all, try to have fun with your run!