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Spice Up Your Running With These 5 New Challenges

Spice Up Your Running With These 5 New Challenges

 

We know you love running. But maybe you’re looking for something to liven up your regular routes and races. We’ve got some great ideas for you!

There’s nothing quite like heading out on your regular “round the block” training lap, or exploring your local area by footpath and trail. And we all have annual races that we love to run every year.

But what do you do when you’ve been running for a while and want to spice things up a little bit? The great news is that there’s no need to leave your beloved hobby behind. There’s a whole world of running challenges out there for you to try.

Here are 5 ways to freshen up your training and racing in the second half of 2015.

Take It Off-Road

If most of your training and racing is on the road, here’s an easy (and free) way to shake things up. Take your training off-road! Whether you live in a flat, urban, hilly or coastal area, there’s bound to be footpaths or byways near you. Choose an easy-run training day, and head off road. You’ll probably need to slow the pace down (or leave your watch at home completely) and take your focus away from pace, time and distance covered. Instead, you’ll get to concentrate on changing terrain, some lovely views, and less impact on your body. And running off-road presents a brand-new challenge to your cardiovascular system and muscles, too.

Commit To New Training

Be honest, has your training got into a rut? Then make yourself a promise: add one new type of running training to your weekly schedule this month. Choose from hill sprints, a track session, off-road running, or race-specific sessions like tempo runs. Adding something new to your training will boost motivation, get you fitter, challenge you, and blast calories too. There’s always something new to do no matter how long you’ve been running!

Join A Club

As you know from being part of the Running4Women family, running can have a fantastic sense of community support. If you enjoy sharing your running with others, join your local running club. Running clubs vary in type from more serious athletic clubs, to local groups of like-minded folk who meet once a week for a group run. Joining a club will give you access to group motivation, expert coaching, discounts on kit and races, help with travel to events, and access to running tracks and other specialist training sessions.

Obstacle Courses

Obstacle course races, adventures races and crazy one-off challenges are taking the endurance sport world by storm. Entering one of these challenges will certainly shake up your running! You’ll need to train a little differently, adding strength work and agility into the mix. You’ll get the chance to tackle obstacles which aren’t usually available to us as adults. And you’ll have an amazing time. Do one of these events with a group of friends, make unforgettable memories, and have a load of fun post-race stories to tell!

Take A Break

Not a break from running… a break that includes running! There’s still time to get away this year, so why not book an active holiday. There are some great holidays out there designed with runners in mind. Some are more like training camps, with daily runs, technique workshops, talk and training sessions. Others are more varied, with lots of different activities available to you. One thing’s for certain, it makes a change from a beach holiday. And you won’t have to worry about staying in shape whilst you’re away (in fact, you’ll come back fitter and stronger!) Book with your training buddy, or with a group of running friends. Or go alone – these types of holidays are very social and you’ll make new friends out there.

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