In the doldrums with your running due to injury or monotony? Trained hard for a race last year and lost your mojo? Just starting off and not quite sure you’ll ever enjoy it? Never fear, we’ve got some fail-safe ways to find the joy in every run

Words: Lucy Waterlow

Anew year always heralds resolutions to get fitter and faster, with many people taking up running for the first time with gusto. But what if you’ve already been bitten by the running bug and are now finding your motivation has started to wane? How can you relight your fire to run again? Whether you’re new to running or you just need a little nudge to get moving in the right direction again, here are the tried and tested top tips of experienced runners and coaches to help you revitalise your love of running!

Run with others

Running solo can give you time to think, to listen to a podcast and to run at your own pace. But it can be hard work to constantly motivate yourself to go out alone, and you might find, out of habit, that you always end up doing the same time, distance and route. This could make you feel like you are in a running rut – you are being consistent but you aren’t improving, and it might get a bit boring.

If you can arrange to run with a friend, the experience can be so much better. If you need to fit in an early morning run before work, when it might be cold and dark outside, then knowing someone else has made the effort to get out of bed to meet you should help you avoid hitting the snooze button on your alarm.

Chatting and running makes the miles fly by. You might discover a new route, or find you can run faster or further than you thought by running with someone slightly fitter than you. There’s also safety in numbers.

Friends Lydia Norman and Becky Franks started running together during the 2020 lockdown. They found having one another for company made a huge difference to their mental and physical health at what was a very difficult time.

“We bonded over the countless miles and became each other’s biggest cheerleaders,” Becky said. “We inspired each other to dream the impossible and set ourselves some big challenges: a marathon, an Ironman and an ultra marathon. Together, we made these challenges seem possible, and two years on, we are always there to support one another during training.”

The pair enjoyed running together so much, they were inspired to start up their own women’s running group in Salford – runtheworldMCR (Insta @runtheworldMCR) – so others could join them. A year on, hundreds of women of all ages and abilities have attended one of their free, weekly meet-ups to run, walk and socialise.

Becky said: “We never imagined it would have been so popular, we are often asked if we’ll do other evenings, different times or launch in another location.”

Friendships are formed and grow thanks to mutual endeavours so get some friends together and pick a new challenge for 2023

If there’s a similar running group operating in your area then you won’t regret joining. Or why not start your own group? This could either be an informal arrangement between friends, or you could complete the British Athletics Leadership In Running Fitness course and set up your very own RunTogether group.