Running the Extra Mile

Casual and Regular runners alike can benefit from building a few more games into their workouts and training routine

When the promise of fresh air isn’t quite enough to get you out for a run, sometimes you need an added boost. Races are one option, but that can get expensive. Weekly or monthly mileage targets are another classic, but can get boring pretty quickly. Are you looking for more? Here are a few ways you can spice up your running incentives:

Make your own Race

Time trialing yourself is a great way to motivate yourself and is particularly effective at shorter distances. Pick a distance, say 800 meters or 2 loops around a standard track. Then, set aside one day each month to “race” your previous best effort. Tracking that improvement will be motivating and give you something to work toward throughout the month, and mixing in some speed work will help other aspects of running as well.

Maximize Your X over X

X over X is a point at which your count of runs at a distance is at least the distance. As an example: if you’ve done 5 runs of at least 5 miles in a month, your X over X for the month is 5, assuming you haven’t done 6 runs over 6 miles.

This challenge is fun because each level gets progressively harder to reach: going from 3 over 3 miles to 4 over 4 miles may not be too bad, but going from 7 over 7 miles to 8 over 8 miles takes substantial effort. Nevertheless, it’s a good way to push yourself toward slightly longer runs and finishing off that last mile.

Start this with whatever number is right above your average run. E.g. if you normally run 5 miles, try to do 6 runs over 6 miles next month. You’ll be surprised how much this can motivate you!

Climb a Peak

Hills are just one of the vegetables of the running world: no one likes them, but they are good for you! To make them a bit more palatable, you can set a goal to climb the equivalent of a real world peak in a month. Don’t know where to start — here are a few options, and choose the one closest to 50*(your monthly mileage) to get started!

• 345 vertical feet — not feeling too ambitious? Even you can climb the highest point in Florida, Britton Hill.
• 1,235 vertical feet — take it a step up and climb the equivalent of Charles Mound, the highest point in Illinois.
• 3,213 vertical feet — more ambitious but still manageable is to climb the equivalent of Mount Davis, the highest point in Pennsylvania
• 5,280 vertical feet — one vertical mile, and also almost approximately the height of Baxter Peak in Maine (5,267 feet).
• 6,684 vertical feet — tallest mountain in the Eastern US (Mount Mitchell in North Carolina)
• 8,749 vertical feet — the tallest mountain in Texas, Guadalupe Peak, would present a tough challenge for a month, and likely require some trail running.
• 11,239 vertical feet — Mount Hood, the tallest peak in Oregon, will be a tough push for anyone who isn’t an experienced hill climber!
• 14,494 vertical feet — the tallest peak in the continental US, Mount Whitney
• 20,320 vertical feet — are you actually climbing mountains this month? If so, try to reach the equivalent of Denali, the highest peak in Alaska.

Go for a Streak

Find days where you just don’t want to go for a run? Try going for a monthly streak where you run at least some distance every day, even if it’s just doing a light jog for one mile. You’ll be surprised how quickly the mileage can pile up!

Challenge Your Friends

You can combine any of these approaches with some friendly competition! Get a group of 3 to 10 people together and see who can do the most climb in a month, mileage, or more! If the skill levels are relatively unequal, then you can evaluate each person vs. their own target, or team people together to make it a fair fight! The opportunities are endless with a little imagination!

And there you have it! Five ways to spice up your running life (and all things you can easily track in WeAchieve!). What methods do you use to add some variety? Let us know in the comments and we’ll add it to the list.

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