Running more is a common New Year’s resolution. But what if you already run quite a bit?  Here are On The Run’s top running resolutions for people who already run.

  1. Do a different sort of race. If you’ve only ever run road races, give some dirt, mud or mountains a go. If you’ve only ever gone long, try the 100m hurdles. If you’ve never been to Newtown Park ask the officials one Saturday if you can have a go at long jump.
  2. Write a song for your relay team. 180 beats per minute is apparently the ideal tempo for runners. If your feet match the beat, you’ll be flying along. So, “Livin’ La Vida Loca” Ricky Martin, “Love is a Battlefield” Pat Benatar and “03 Bonnie & Clyde” Beyonce and Jay-Z is what you are trying to mimic. Extra points for coming up with something that rhymes with “Scottish B”.
  3. Try to catch a free range chicken – not one of those ones in a plastic bag at the supermarket but one that is actually still free-ranging about. I promise your running will improve if you succeed. You need not eat it.  Just like with fishing, you can catch and release.
  4. Support a small local community group by entering their small event. Ironman NZ™ is not going to suffer if you pass up another one of its glamorous $100+ events. Take your money to a local community-run event that needs the entrants to help keep running going in their region – try the Kaituna Ridges Ramble, the Raetahi Gutbuster or the Manawatu Striders Marathon. Enjoy the lamingtons at the prizegiving afterwards.
  5. See how much airtime you can get if you run off the edge of the wharf beside the Kupe statue. Work on your speed, work on your power and extension, work on your glorious splash. Gather together a crowd of spectators for this one and combine some sprinting practice with a fruju ‘ooh-aah’ finish.
  6. Be a helping hand. Stand on the side of a windswept road wearing a neon vest and pointing dazed runners in the right direction. Boil a big pot of tea for everyone while they are out running. Ring the last lap bell at Newtown Park.
  7. Win a club handicap race. Not all of us can have the natural athletic advantages that the M60s have when it comes to club handicap races but that doesn’t mean we can’t dream. Start fooling James the handicapper early. Get a long secret block of Swiss Alps altitude training in while falsely claiming you have switched to a fondue-based diet.
  8. Go a month without talking about your injury. Is it possible? No one yet knows. But the rumour is that this is what caused those silent Tibetan monks to stop speaking.  They got sick of hearing about each other’s injuries and are yet to come up with a new conversation topic. 
  9. Drink kombucha. There is no evidence to support its many claims of goodness, but it tastes ok and comes with an aura of moral superiority.