Racing Racing can be a good motivator! Need a reason to get out the door this winter and do your running? Just plan on racing next year. Don't worry, speed is not going to be a main issue, unless you so desire. Just run the races to add some fun to your training. Can't run fast? So what? Realistically, there's only a half dozen people who actually have a chance of winning these races anyway. You just might get lucky and win or place in your division. My niece, Shelley did. She won her age division in her second race. Her time wasn't that fast, but nobody in her age division was any faster. I would think she would be very proud. But don't worry about winning. Have some fun. You'll mix with other runners from your area. Enjoy the experience. It's really a lot of fun. Lots of munchies after the race, a tee shirt you can be proud to wear. And, certain races actually benefit more than just the runners. We ran a race Thanksgiving day where the profits went to feed the homeless. Just plan on running a few next year. It will help you stay motivated and give you a goal to work towards. Gives you an idea as to how much you've improved It might just be nice to get an idea how much you improve from year to year, or even month to month. Start out and run a 2 mile run. Don't worry about the time, just run it and enjoy yourself. The next 2 mile run, you might set a goal to beat the previous time (not necessary, but you may find you want to). Or, you might run a 5K race next, just to see how much harder it is to step up in distance. Did your time per mile drop . . . stay the same . . . increase? Are you motivated to better your times? Or run a longer race (maybe even a marathon)? If you are, then you need to decide what your goal might be, and set up a plan to reach that goal. Now, don't get too carried away here. Increases should be small. If you ran that 2 mile race in 22 minutes, maybe the next one you might try to run in 21 1/2 minutes. Don't decide to run the next in 16 minutes, or even 18 minutes. Give yourself a reasonable goal and, if you don't reach that goal the first time out, analyze your training and decide what you need to do to reach the goal the next time out. Do you run farther, run more speed sessions, or what? And please, don't get discouraged if you don't reach your goals every time out. This is, after all, supposed to be fun. The goals simply help you tailor your training to fit your needs. It really does make it more enjoyable, and you really feel great when you do eventually reach that goal. Galloway's Book on Running. This is a book every serious runner should own.