RunPackGuides · 4 min read
Running goals: ideas for the year, alone or with friends
Ideas for running goals you’ll actually keep: consistency, distance, race and group goals, how to make them specific, and how friends help you stick to them.
Good running goals are specific, have a date, and fit the life you actually have. “Run more” rarely survives February. “Run twice a week until June, with Sam on Saturdays” usually does.
Consistency goals
- Run at least twice every week this year.
- No week without a run from now to the end of the season.
- One group run every week.
For most people these matter more than any distance. Consistency is what makes the rest possible.
Distance goals
- Your first run of 5, 10 or 21 km.
- A yearly total that’s a little above last year’s.
- A longest run that grows a little each month.
Race goals
- Your first 5K, 10K or half marathon.
- A race in a city you’ve wanted to visit.
- The same local race as last year, a bit faster or a bit happier.
Group goals
- Start a running crew and keep it going for a year. See how to start a running group.
- Get a friend to their first 5K.
- A weekly crew goal you hit together. See streaks vs crew goals.
Making a goal stick
- Write it down with a date.
- Break it into weeks: a year goal is fifty-two small ones.
- Tell your friends. Better still, share your runs with them.
- Expect bad weeks. A goal that allows for them is one you’ll keep.
Need something shorter-term? Try one of these running challenge ideas.
How RunPack helps
RunPack keeps your crew’s runs in one private feed, so everyone sees each other keeping at it. With RunPack Plus, the crew can set a weekly goal together, and the crew gets streaks and a weekly recap. Free for crews of up to 4. See how a crew works.