8 Lessons To Make You A Better Runner

With over 100 years of combined running experience between them, we asked eight runners to each share one valuable lesson that they’ve learnt during their running journey. 

SHOW UP

For Andy, 99% of running is just showing up and doing it.

It’s not about fancy workouts and flashy trainers, it’s just getting out and running. You have to be consistent over a long period of time to really see improvements.

Being consistent means being able to come back again the next day or the day after, and that means not doing too much on any single run, and also knowing how to recover to allow you to run again. 

Show up today, show up tomorrow, show up next week, and before long, you’ve put in months of hard work, and that’s how you get better.  

HAVE PATIENCE IN THE PROCESS

Progress takes time. It can take months of training to take a few minutes off of your personal bests, and there are no shortcuts. We have to do the easy runs, add in some speed work, some longer runs, and focus on the things which help us to feel good after a run, like nutrition, sleep and mobility.

Each run is a brick that you stack. On their own, it’s just a single brick, but run-by-run, and brick-by-brick, you’re building something substantial.   

This can feel more challenging if you’re new to running or if you’ve had a break from running. Anna is returning to running after having a baby, so she knows that she can’t go straight back to her pre-baby PBs, so instead she’s setting smaller incremental targets to improve her post-baby PBs. And she’s celebrating those little milestones along the way to recognise those improvements. 

Trust the process of each individual run and how they come together to help you improve over the long term.

ACCEPT IT’LL BE HARD

Running is difficult, but we work through those challenges because we know that by doing it, we’ll see improvements in what we do. That’s an amazing thing about running: if we stick with it, we improve. Run. Improve. Repeat.

But it is hard. As Tom says, if it was easy then everyone would do it. He often hates the thought of going for a run, but getting out and running can be a big boost to his physical and mental health. He’s never regretted going out for a run, but he’s often regretted the runs he didn’t do. 

Accept it’ll be hard, know that sometimes it’ll suck, but you’re going to feel great once it’s done and if you’re consistent then you’ll see measurable improvements. 

LOVE THE PROCESS, NOT JUST THE GOAL

Having a goal is great as it gives you something to structure your training towards and to motivate you. But imagining how good it’ll feel to cross the finish line and claim your medal often isn’t enough to keep you going. 

Some training blocks will last for four to six months, so you need to find ways to embrace and enjoy the process of training or it’s going to be a psychological struggle as well as a physical one. 

Jess asks how you can love the process? Find friends to run with, incorporate cross training, sign up to local races and use them for your long runs, plan a great brunch for after your long run, celebrate small goals along the way, write a weekly journal to track your progress (or note your challenges). Do whatever you think will help you enjoy the process.

There will be hurdles to overcome in every training block, but they can help you to become more motivated and to make the end result even more meaningful.

BE PRESENT 

For Mo, running requires a mindful approach of being present before, during and after. 

Before you run, you shouldn’t be thinking about how hard the run might be or how the weather isn’t very nice. Instead focus on right now. Think about getting ready, going through your warm up, lacing up your shoes just right, and doing what you need to get out and run. 

During the run, focus on how you are running in that moment, focus on your form, your breathing, and enjoy the situation; focus on the mile you’re in, not the miles still ahead. 

After your run, appreciate what you’ve just achieved, whether it was a good run or one that wasn’t so good. You can learn from positives and negatives, but that’s for another time. Right now, take some time to celebrate yourself and do the things that are important to help you recover, like eating, drinking and resting.

REMEMBER YOUR WHY

It can be easy to lose motivation when running, especially when you’re in the middle of a challenging training block, where the race can feel (literally) many miles away. So as James says, if you think of why you started running in the first place, then that can really help you stay committed. 

What are your reasons for running? Why are you taking on the latest challenge? Why does this mean something to you right now?

Having a why is what can keep you motivated, especially when things get difficult. So any time you think that you don’t want to run, or stretch, or do your strength training, go back to your why. 

FIND A FRIENDLY RUNNING COMPETITOR 

Sarah has found that having a friend to run with can really help, especially if that friend can also be a ‘competitor’. 

When you train with someone who is a similar pace, has similar personal bests, and trains for similar things at the same time, then it’s a great way to jointly encourage and challenge each other. 

As she says, you can train and race together, but it’s more than that: you have faith in them, and they have faith in you, and you can cheer for each other, and help each other, especially when things get harder.

You could even take a more remote one-way approach to this competition, and your ‘competitor’ could be someone you follow on social media or Strava, and a person who is a similar ability or even a bit quicker than you, where the thought of running better than them can be a great motivation for you. 

Just one warning: try not to compare your own training to what others are doing. You need to follow the training that is right for you and your running ability, and comparing your paces and distances to others can lead to negative thoughts. Friendly competition is good, but over-exerting yourself to ‘beat’ someone else likely won’t lead to the result you want.

RUN HOLISTICALLY

Running is just one part of your life, says Rick, and you need to think about it holistically, particularly when it comes to the three pillars of running, nutrition and sleep. 

If any of those things become strained, then it can shift the entire balance of your training – and life. 

In other words, if you increase your running, you need to increase the quality and quantity of what you eat and drink, and also try to get more quality sleep. 

If you have a few days with poor sleep, or you’re feeling stressed in your life, then think about reducing your training load until the sleep improves, or you could begin to feel some negative effects or even start to develop injuries or illness. 

Running only works if it’s in balance with the rest of your life.

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Here are the team explaining their lessons in their own words.