Marathon training: How to stay motivated

Let’s face it…marathon training is LONG! If you are like me, then you find the training part often more difficult than the actual event itself. It will get tiresome, it might occasionally get lonely and you may damn well not want to run all of those miles. This is when you motivation really needs to hold strong! Here are a few tips for keeping your motivation up whilst training for a marathon.

Trust the process

If you are following a plan, have a trainer or are using some type of structure to get you ready for the big day…trust in the process. It has been created with you (the runner) in mind. There are a lot of different programs to follow which can make your choice harder, but go with one and stick to it as best you can. Remember the plan does the majority of the thinking for you; you just got to put in the action!

Do what you can

Even when following a program for marathon training, things don’t always go to plan! Don’t let one blip in the road completely derail your efforts. Training for a marathon is a long road and no journey is perfect. There will be days where you ache or just don’t want to run. Remember that one day will not ruin everything you have achieved so far. Recharge, reprocess and run!

Find a team-mate

A problem shared is a problem halved. Finding a running partner or running group often does an amazing job for motivation. When you are feeling slightly down, use someone else’s energy to bring you up. Same goes for the opposite. If you see that your team-mate/mates are not feeling up to the task, bring them up! You will feel better for it. If you are not being motivated, be the motivator! (You can use that one later)

Focus on your progress

How far could you run without stopping and gasping for air before this process? The answer is probably nowhere near as far as you can go now! This is what your marathon training has done so far. You have already come so far, so why stop and lose motivation now. You are already doing an amazing job so keep up with the momentum!

Imagine the race without training

This is generally my go to thought process when it comes to training of any type and my own motivation levels: how much harder is this race/event going to be if I don’t train for it? You already know the answer, so let’s not try to find out.

Marathon training is tough and making sure your motivation levels maintain throughout the process is even tougher. Hopefully these few tips can be put into play when you are having an off day and need that extra boost to get up and go!

What do you do to keep your motivation high? Do you already use any of these tips? Is there anything you can advise me to do? Let me know in the comments below and thanks for reading!

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