How to Build a Successful Running Habit

1. First of all, you just have to run frequently, no matter how far or how fast. Get into the routine of going out for a run (or a run-walk) at least three times a week. You could use any of the dissociation or goal setting tools to help you at this stage, but regardless of progression, this creates a habit, and from doing this repeatedly, you will get better.

2. You will begin to find your running form and pace and start to feel more comfortable as you become fitter and run better; this is known as mastery. It's well known that when we master something, when we are good at something, we enjoy doing it so much more.

Make a list of things that you are good at and a list of things you do regularly in your leisure time - you should find that your list overlaps, as the things you do regularly are the things you become good at (or master), and the things you excel at are the things you do on a regular basis.

I'd love to run regularly but I get bored'
You may need exercise dissociation until you begin to enjoy running for itself. Have a look at these suggestions to see what might help.

- Dissociation techniques such as running with others or listening to music will help.
- Think about where you run - maybe you need a new route or a number of routes to make your runs more interesting and keep motivation high. It's a good idea to have shorter and longer routes, and runs of different difficulty levels and times. In the same way that you change your food or your social habits to avoid getting bored, you should also adapt your running to keep it interesting.

- Setting yourself goals can also inject extra interest and motivation into each run - add on an extra lap, aim for a personal best or try a new running format such as interval training.

'I don't seem to be getting any better at it'
Very often the same run can feel more difficult than usual, yet when you check your run time, you may find you have knocked minutes off your previous personal best. Of course, if you are not measuring these things, it will be very difficult to understand why it felt more challenging, or know how much you have improved. In order to know whether your running and-or fitness is improving, you have to have tangible things to measure your progress against. This in itself makes running more interesting and motivating, and can form the backbone of your running habit.

You could measure the following:
- Run times on each run that you regularly do (measuring speed)
- The distance ran on each individual run or cumulative distance over a week or a month (increasing endurance or distance ran)
- Total time spent running (measuring endurance and running time)
- Total number of runs per week or month.

If running is a means to an end for you i.e. you are running to achieve a goal such as weight loss, this could be the goal that you choose in order to measure your progress and success, for example:

- Measure weight loss or body fat lost if weight loss is your goal
- Measure lung capacity or reduction in asthma medication if this was your reason for taking up running
- Measure your progress towards a specific running distance (for an event) or running speed (for military, police or fire entry tests).

Linking your running to something that is important to you can be very motivating, but to achieve a goal, you have to set it in the first place. Goal setting is one of the most useful tools in building any type of exercise habit, especially running.