I have recently embarked on a renewed habit; A habit of running at least 5 km every 2 to 3 days. I initially started running as a way to stay healthy and behind all the fun that it is, there is still the health reason.

However, I have to admit that it can be a struggle to maintain motivation over a long period of time. I have written this post in the hopes that what worked for me will work for you as well.

Way #1: Running to lose weight

The first way and the one with which I started was to lose weight and to stay healthy by making it a habit. It can be hard to keep up running with that goal though because although it is easy to lose weight at the start, it starts to become harder as time goes on and as your body becomes accustomed to the running.

Way #2: Try new running routes

Running the same track every day will get you bored. Try new routes and a good way of doing this is to:

  1. install the Strava app
  2. Go to any clubs which is in your location
  3. There you can find those who are running and the routes that they are taking

This was an invaluable piece in me realising where I could run. I had just moved to a new country so I was not familiar with any routes but Strava routes really opened the way for me.

Way #3: Running socially

There is a social network for everything but my way of finding friends to run with are either on Facebook groups or to just take my family members along. Although a lot of times they won’t be able to match your pace you can work around that by finding a route which has a cycle. You can then take advance loops around them.

Way #4: Realise that running improves your mood

I am not sure about you but running clears my mind and improves my mood throughout the day. May be this is the case for all exercises.

Way #5: Running will keep you healthy and you will live longer

My latest motivation is that human evolution has made us into running/walking machines. Running actually makes your body and legs stronger. There is actually strong scientific evidence around this. I would suggest you watch this short video for more information.

Way #6: Breaking previous records and participating in challenges

Another way, again through the Strava App, is to keep track of your previous records. Strava automatically keeps track of your best 1k or 2 miles. Getting the achievements is really satisfying and gives you a way to improve your performance.

I have grouped this together because this uses Strava again (not a sponsored post). You can also participate in challenges on the app and I find this really fun because the app is also a social platform. For example when there is a new month, there is usually a 5 km and 10 km challenge. Whenever you or a friend has completed the challenge you will be able to see it. Somehow, it makes running less lonely, if you know what I mean. I find that it really helps, at least for me.

Anyway I hope that at least one of ways will make you more motivated to run.