5 Ways to Make Running a Habit

Most runners aren’t born runners. We evolve into runners because we make running a habit.

Habits help us achieve stuff. Like running. Or waking up.

Let’s liken running to drinking coffee for a moment, shall we?

Do you like coffee? Tea? A strong shot of whiskey? (kidding) 

Well, whatever liquid wakes you up, I bet it didn’t always do that. You probably had to try it again and again until you liked it, and figured out what worked, right?

My first taste of coffee was bitter, and acidic and AWFUL. Do you remember your first sip? 

Now, 20+ years after that first gross sip…I couldn’t possibly be a human without coffee. Because I made it into a habit. A questionable habit…given my deep reliance on it….but you get the point!

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What is a Habit? How do Humans Form Habits?

Great question. Let’s examine this quickly before moving on.

A habit is defined as:

A settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up.

James Clear writes about forming habits and references a study that shows it takes an average of 66 days to form a new habit. For some people, it takes less and others, it takes more.

Additionally, James Clear also writes about Identity-Based Habits, which is fascinating to me.

In a nutshell: an identity-based habit means: to successfully form a habit, you must create a new “identity” that believes you are a person who does this habit.

So to make running a habit, you have to believe you are a runner.

Then you create mini goals around behaviors that embody being a runner, to ultimately make running a habit, and part of who you are.

Ok, so how do I Become a Runner (and make Running a Habit)?

Habits don’t form overnight. Neither does creating this new “I am a runner” identify.

That’s why you should follow these 5 steps to make running a habit by becoming a runner over time by completing a series of micro-goals.

Ready to go?

1.) Set One Small, Clear Goal at a Time

Being unclear with a goal is bad.

It usually means you won’t achieve it…because you weren’t sure what the goal really was to begin with.

Here’s a (bad) Example: I once said: I want to eat healthier this year!

Result: Sometimes I ate salads, but other times I ate cake. And ice cream. But a few times, I ate an orange first.

So…did I achieve the “goal”? Who knows?! (probably not). Because the goal was not clear and actionable.

For running, pick one small goal to start.

Don’t go straight for a marathon.

Here’s A Good Running Goal Example: I will run for at least 10 minutes a day, 5 days a week, for 30 days.

Then, once that becomes a habit, you can pick your next micro goal.

So say you want to become a morning runner, your next micro goal could be: I will wake up 30 minutes earlier every day. That will help ease you into the next next goal of running in the morning.

GET YOUR FREE RUNNING GOAL GUIDE! 

Examples of micro goals to help you make running a habit:

• Walk for 20 minutes a day for 30 days (If you don’t already a run sometimes now)
• Run for 10 minutes a day, 3 times a week for 30 days (start here if you already run)
• Run for 10 minutes a day, 4 times a week for 30 days
• Run for 10 minutes a day, 5 times a week for 30 days
• Set your running gear out the night before every day for 30 days
• Create a running schedule for the next 30 days and stick to it (see next section for more details on this)
• Wake up 30 minutes earlier
• Wake up 30 minutes earlier and run 5 days a week
• Etc.

Smaller steps like these become building blocks to forming a running habit over time!

2.) Schedule Time on Your Calendar to Run

To make running a habit, you must plan time into your schedule to make it happen.

You’re probably busy.

Busy with work, or kids, or household chores, family or friends…I totally get it.

But to create a habit….you must repeat the desired action. Consistently. So it becomes part of your life. Make it a routine.

How do you help yourself in this area? Actually schedule it on your calendar.

Use a smartphone? Put in on the digital calendar with a reminder.

Use a wall calendar? Write it in so you see it everyday and remember it’s part of your routine now.

Now comes the other important component of scheduling – contingency planning.

What does contingency planning mean?

It means having a backup plan in case your original plan won’t work out.

Example: Weather often affects running plans. We know this.

So have a backup plan.

Is it raining? Snowing? Go to them gym. Or get a treadmill for home. Or find an indoor track. Etc.

Is it too hot during the day? Run early in the morning.

Is it too cold in the morning? Run mid day instead.

Doesn’t matter what the solution is, just have a backup plan.

Or, learn how to run in the rain, or how to run in the snow.  I learned both recently and it’s made a HUGE impact on making running a habit!

3.) Be Accountable

How can we be accountable to ourselves for establishing a habit?  And what pushes us to stay on track?

In my experience, a few things work:

• Committing to the micro goals I set (and focusing ONLY on that) – the bigger picture can get overwhelming sometimes, so I focus on 30 day chunks. That seems easier, and once I commit, I can stick to the plan in the short term. Stack one 30-day “short term” plan on top of another and you’re on your way to forming a running habit! Plus, by the end of the 30 days, it’s not overwhelming to move onto the next mini goal.
• Setting Reminder (at the beginning) – I live and die by my iPhone reminders. So at the beginning of a 30 day period when I have a new micro goal, I set an alarm to remind me to do it until it becomes habit.
• Getting an Accountability Partner – This works the best for me! Find someone responsible to be your accountability partner. Check in with this person daily (or weekly). If you’re not on track? Ask them to provide some tough love (and motivation). If you’re on track? They can celebrate with you…which is awesome incentive to keep working!

4.) Track Your Progress

For running specifically, using a fitness tracker helps automatically track progress.

Pen and paper work fine too. Or an excel spreadsheet.

Track each run, including the date, time you started, time you ended, and the total distance you covered.

Again, an app will do this work for you – I use the FitBit Charger 2 fitness tracker (which comes with an app) but Runkeeper has a free app that I love too, and anyone with a smartphone can use it.

Some fun progress-tracking hacks to make this task more fun:

• Use Sticky Notes: Set up colorful sticky notes on a wall. Make 1 for each required run (so if you committed to 5 runs per week, for 30 days, then create 20 sticky notes numbered Run 1- Run 20). Start them under “RUNS LEFT TO GO” and move them to “RUNS COMPLETED!” when you finish each run!
• Use Marbles in a Jar: Start with 20 marbles in the “RUNS LEFT TO GO” jar, and move them into the “RUNS COMPLETED!” jar after each run.
• The Jerry Seinfeld Method: Don’t Break the Chain – read more about the origins of this hack here, but basically you put up a calendar on your wall and mark a big colorful X across each day you complete your running habit. It creates a chain. Don’t break the chain and you’ll make running a habit!

I’m sure there are digital versions like these, but for me, there’s nothing like a real-life visual!

5.) Reward Progress!

Rewarding milestones gives you a boost of energy and momentum!

But in order for humans to actually associate the reward with the desired behavior, the reward has to happen fairly close to the action.

With running, this can be kinda tough to nail down.

You’ll need to experiment with rewards. 

For me: 2 rewards work well.

1.) Food or Wine: Once or twice a week, when I return from an evening run, I reward myself with a glass of wine. I truly love wine, so it works as a wonderful incentive to make running a habit. Obviously wine is not my morning run reward 🙂 After a morning run, I make myself a giant cup of coffee and read. Because, caffeine.

2.) Checklist Complete: I love the feeling of accomplishment. I constantly make lists. Checking items off the To Do list is incredibly gratifying. So when I return home from a run, I check the item off the list. (Underwhelming? Maybe. Effective for me? Yup! Especially so I “don’t break the chain”)

Figure out what motivates you to run…

Maybe it’s buying an expensive latte.

Maybe it’s having a cold beer at the end of the day.

Maybe it’s indulging in a delicious little macaroon. Whatever works!

Next: Rinse and Repeat

Create a new micro goal every 30 days until you’ve made running a habit!

It’s ok to be imperfect along this journey- you’ll make mistakes. Don’t let it derail you!

Ready to make running a habit and become a runner? Go get it! You got this.

You might also like:

20 Running Tips (to make running easier)

15 Running Hacks, Revealed

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