When you stand back and look at the whole concept of spring marathon training it has to be said, it’s quite a ridiculous sport!

Months and months of training, day after day of running through the horrendous British winter. All with the sole purpose of a single race over an arbitrary distance on a random spring day.

So why do we do it and how can we keep ourselves motivated?

The simple answer is that it’ll be worth it come race day. There’s no better feeling than knowing that your months of hard work have resulted in a PB over 26.2 miles, I guarantee there won’t be many things in life which will be more deserved or better celebrated!

Keeping that target in mind on every training run you do will help you to keep focused and motivated.

Every time you consider binning one because you aren’t in the mood, do a quick calculation of the number of days and runs you’ve still got until the big day, you’ll be surprised how significant that “one run” is, don’t forget consistency is key.

Targets, goals and race day are going to get you a long way on the motivational front but if that’s all you’ve got going for you then it’s going to be a tough journey ahead.

The other key thing to keeping on track is to make your training fun. Sounds simple but it really works.

Make sure you run with others as often as possible, especially those long ones.

Make training a social thing to look forward to either in real life with training partners or “virtually” with the help of social media and training apps like Strava.

Count the days, cross off the runs, focus on the goals but do the whole thing with a smile on your face with as many friends as possible.

Enjoy the journey and get ready to celebrate the rewards of all your hard work!

Training Tip

Treadmills aren’t cheating!

You’ll come across a lot of seasoned runners who turn their noses up at treadmills; I’m not one of those people!

If you have access to a treadmill during the winter months then my opinion is they can be a great aid with your training. When conditions are bad or even dangerous, get that planned run done inside if necessary. As long as you work to the right effort levels (you can never trust a treadmill speedo), that time on feet will count just as much even if you are watching TV at the same time. No need to feel guilty.