May 26, 2019

Setting Running Goals: Tips and Training Plans for Reaching Common Goals


I have had this post in my "drafts" folder for over two years now! Haha, I finally finished it and am now publishing it.)

There is something about this time of year that makes me feel motivated to set goals. This is also the time of year that people think about signing up for fun novelty races in the summer, or start training for a fall longer-distance race.

Whether goals are big or small, they are all significant. I created this list of common running goals, and included my blog posts and training plans associated with each goal. Some of the posts and/or training plans are applicable to several of the goals, and some are unique. But whatever the goal, chances are, I've written about it ;)

So, here are the goals--whether it's taking that first step out the door or running a full marathon, running a sub-30 5K or a personal record in the 10K. Hopefully these posts will be helpful in setting and reaching some running goals!


Goal: To get in the habit of running regularly

For: Those who have perhaps finished a 5K training plan or who have just reached the point of being able to run a few miles at a time, and would like to make running part of their lifestyle

To read:


To train:




Goal: To run your first 10K

For: Those who have run a 5K and are now ready to take on the 10K

To read:


To train:



Goal: To run your first half-marathon

For: Those have experience with 5K's and 10K's, and are ready to step up to the half-marathon distance

To read:


To train:



Goal: To run your first marathon

For: Experienced runners who have run regularly, and are hoping to tackle the marathon distance

To read:


To Train:




Goal: To get faster

For: Runners who have a solid base of easy running, and whose bodies are conditioned enough to start working harder (a good base is about 300-500 miles total)

To read:


To train:



Goal: To run a personal record

For: Experienced runners who want to improve their time for a particular race distance, and are willing to put the time and energy required into reaching this goal

To read:


To train:


Goal: To make running enjoyable

For: Runners who aren't necessarily interested in racing but who want to continue to run and not get bored

To read:



Resources that I have found to be very helpful when training and/or writing my running plans:

  • Hansons Marathon Method (even if you aren't running a marathon, the information in this book is invaluable)
  • 80/20 Running (this is what helped me get my fastest; but even if not training for speed, it is great information to get stronger, stay injury free, and simply train properly. I highly recommend buying the paperback rather than Kindle version, because you will do a lot of flipping back and forth between pages.)
  • After reading 80/20 Running, I suggest reading about The 180 Formula by Dr. Phil Maffetone. I used this formula to calculate my heart rate when doing easy runs.

In addition, here are my favorite books/movies about running that you can use for inspiration :)

Finally, I have a ton of other posts that may be helpful when setting goals, which can be found on my "Running" page, as well as several free training plans. I hope this is helpful!


1 comment:

  1. Katie I love that picture of you! That smile! Running's hard, but it makes us so happy and feeling good. I'm getting ready for a sweat session on the treadmill. I keep my Runners World magazines and still read about your story, how much it took to get to where you are. You'll never know just how much we need your inspiration. Thank you!

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