3 Resources For Getting (and Staying) Motivated in 2016!
Check out these three great resources for getting—and staying—on track in the new year.
As this year quickly comes to a close, many runners are looking for new ways to get motivated, stay excited and be held accountable for the long haul of 2016.
While considering resolutions and setting goals for next year, check out these three great resources for getting—and staying—on track:
Run The Year 2016
Can you run (or walk) 2016 miles in 2016? Of course you can! Building off the success of their “Run The Year: 2015 in 2015 Challenge,” Olympian Adam Goucher and Tim Catalano of Run The Edge, an online training community that prides itself on inclusiveness, education, motivation, and reward, are back for another go with Run The Year 2016—this time with even more perks for participants.
Kicking off on Jan. 1 (but registration is open now), Run The Year 2016 challenges runners to cover 2,016 miles—or 5.5 miles a day—in 2016. The program, which costs $25 for an individual membership, is also open to teams of two, three or four people, who can divvy up the workload in order to tackle the mileage goal.
Along with access to a custom mileage tracker, the registration fee includes exclusive access to a first-of-its-kind online virtual race expo, which features several booths providing exclusive training, nutrition and injury prevention content from leading industry coaches and experts to help participants reach their goals. It also includes access to Run The Edge training plans, entry into 365 days of giveaways from a number of popular running brands, a forum where you can interact with other participants, and a Listening Lounge featuring podcasts and the ability to share your favorite playlists. Over 25,000 runners took part in the program this past year, inspiring Goucher and Catalano to offer even more resources to help participants go after their goals in 2016.
“The interaction, support and motivation that exists in this community is contagious,” Goucher says. “And the introduction of the virtual race expo is only going to help take that to the next level. We’re super excited to help even more runners reach their goals in 2016!”
Strava
Need to be held accountable to your weekly mileage goal? Or want something to help push you to climb more hills each month? Or perhaps you’re looking for other people to measure yourself against? On the competitive side of the spectrum, Strava provides a GPS-based platform not only to track your daily runs and workouts, but also a community where you can follow and interact with other runners (and cyclists), and start or join teams and clubs. Using the website or the mobile app, you can also set weekly mileage goals, take part in climbing and mileage challenges, see how much you’ve improved on your favorite routes, as well view various leaderboards to see how you stack up against others who run the same roads and trails the you do on a regular basis. There’s a free version, but premium membership—which costs $59 a year—gives you access to more data, deeper analysis tools, training plans and other exclusive content to help you achieve your goals.
Believe Training Journal
Not a fan of online logs or virtual communities? The Believe Training Journal, created by professional runners Lauren Fleshman and Roisin McGettigan-Dumas, sells for $19 and is part workbook, part training log, and part inspiration manual that will guide you on the path to going after your running goals next year, regardless of where you fall on the experience scale. Deeply personal, the Believe Journal provides you—and only you—the pages to not only plan and record your workouts but also the tools to set goals, learn more about yourself, establish good nutrition habits, optimize recovery, evaluate performances and more.