Again and again, I’ve found a way to stay motivated in my fairly new running habit…
Work at crossing off my bucket list races!
There’s a very distinct formula I follow for this. I pair a race distance I haven’t yet tried with a city I’ve been meaning to visit. What I ended up with was an awesome bucket list of races. Planning for and setting personal and running PRs has never been more rewarding.
I recommend taking races in increments: I started off with 5Ks, moved up to 10Ks, then started registering for half marathons and sprint triathlons. Then I put a few marathons on the horizon to keep me focused each and every week. Here’s a general guideline you can consider following:
- If you’re just starting out, think about signing up for a 5K or 10K race.
- If you’ve been running 3-5 miles a few times a week, consider signing up for a half marathon.
- If you’re looking for the ultimate challenge, consider signing up for a marathon.
- Dress for Success (in progress!)
- RAINN
- Team in Training/Lymphoma and Leukemia Society
- AIDS Project Los Angeles
- Give Your Sole
- Meals on Wheels
- Paralyzed Veterans of America
- Best Friends Animal Society
- Special Olympics
- Operation Smile
- Children International
- St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
- Vitamin Angels
My first major bucket list item was going to Europe and running a marathon, so I naturally combined the two and registered for the Athens Classic Marathon. It’s coming up in November! By putting in my goals into a bucket list, I’ve found that they have been much easier to attain, mainly because I hold myself accountable to achieving them.
Amara in Training 