Running skills
Realistic goal setting
New year, new goals, but don’t go gung-ho when it comes to running… Here’s how to plan
Words: Anna Harding
In the words of C SLewis, “You’re never too old to set a new goal or dream a new dream” but when it comes to running, make them realistic
womensrunning.co.uk The start of the year is a popular time for people to evaluate where they are in their life, work and hobbies, and perhaps look to set some goals for the future. Now, we’re not here to peddle the you-must-improveyourself vibe – because you’re ace the way you are – but there is something neat and tidy about starting the year with some good intentions and goals.
Rather than just saying ‘I’m going to run a parkrun PB this year’, we want to give you the tools you need to really take a deep dive into goal setting and to give yourself the best chance of succeeding at whatever it is you choose to put your mind to.
What is a goal?
A goal is when you plan and commit to achieving something, usually within a defined timeframe. It’s something that you want to execute and have to work towards achieving. Having a clearly defined goal, with the steps required to get to the end result, is a powerful tool for giving purpose to what you’re doing. It’s all well and good saying ‘I’m going to run a marathon this year’, but without knowing why you’ve set yourself that goal, and planning your approach properly, it can be easy to lose motivation, not stick to the plan or not perform as you would have liked to when race day comes. That’s why taking the time to sit down and write out the goal and how you’re going to achieve it is invaluable.
Whether your goals are specific and set in time, or more esoteric and personal, planning will make them more achievable
Three types of goal
Research in the 1960s by psychologists Dr Edwin Locke and Dr Gary Latham looked into goal setting and how having a clearly defined goal can lead to motivation. Their research mostly looked at employees in the workplace, but it can be applied to all areas of our lives, including running plans.
They found that the bigger and seemingly more difficult the goal, the harder people tended to work to achieve it and the more motivated they were, because it felt more of an accomplishment to achieve something that they’d worked really hard for. But that self-motivation can be difficult to muster at times and is sometimes the reason we fall short of our goals.We’ve some top tips on how to stay motivated later on in the article, but for now, let’s look at goals, which are generally split into three different categories: