With the current world circumstances, quarantine, social distancing, restrictions on many activities, and race cancellations, it can be confusing and disheartening to figure out how we are going to continue running. 

In many areas, outdoor activities have been restricted to members of your own household. Running groups and friendships have been reduced to checking up on one another on Strava and Instagram. 

In the past, maybe your running buddies got you out of bed and helped give you a reason to show up and run. Now is the time to search for that motivation within yourself. Why did you start running to begin with? Think back to when you made those first steps out the door. Why? Were you trying to get healthier? Trying to lose weight? Looking for a way to ease stress? Improve your mental health? 

This is a good time to think about what motivates you to run.  We’ve discussed re-evaluating your why in recent weeks. Use that now to think about the day to day process of running. 

For me, dealing with the chaos of the world and everything in our routine changing, including my beloved Boston marathon being postponed, it’s been a really great opportunity to revisit why I’ve been running all this time. Is it really about training for that race? Is it really about hitting a certain finish time? 

For me, the answer is no, it’s not. It was never about the race. Running started out as a means to combat postpartum depression. I discovered the Runner’s High. That amazing daily dose of endorphins carried me through many years of running. Racing definitely played a factor and I did get swept up in trying to get faster and place higher. A few years ago, I discovered trail running. That was a game changer for me. Today, being able to wander on familiar trails, as well as discovering new trails I didn’t know were there, is a great distraction from the stress of the world. 

Today, it’s about feeling the wind on my face, the intensity of my breath, the burn in my muscles and the view of this beautiful world. It’s about connecting my soul and my body. Running does that for me. And no other thing has been able to compare to that meditative mind and body connecting experience that running gives me. That, my friends, is my why. That is what motivates me. 

So your race got cancelled. And you’re finding it hard to come up with reasons to keep running. Consider this: maybe it was never about the race. Maybe it was never about chasing a PR or winning your age group. Maybe it’s about finding out what you’re made of. Maybe it’s a way for you to get to know yourself. Maybe it’s about improving yourself, getting out of your comfort zone and expanding the person you are. 

Do you need a race setting to do that? Do you need a finisher’s medal and a race time in Athlinks to prove yourself? Maybe you can get out and see what you’ve got anyway. Maybe this is a chance to slow down and enjoy running just for the sake of running. 

Can you think of reasons that serve as your own motivation to still get out and run? 

What are some fun and creative ways to continue running on your own and still connect with your running friends? 

What is your why? What is your motivation? Look inside yourself. You’ll find it.