How to stay motivated about training in running when you know you'll never PR again?

Find a new sport or activity that will give a reason to workout. Cycling and weight lifting.

So then don’t run so much. Why do you need to run a lot and run fast? It’s stupid and absolutely pointless. Make something more useful of that time. That’s my tip.

I'm just focusing on setting PRs for my age bracket. I will never run a sub 5 minute Mile again, but I can definitely get myself into 5-5:30 range (if I stay healthy - always a problem at any age for me). To be honest, my motivation now is just to get out there, get into better shape, and feel like each day I actually walk onto the track is good enough reason to be out there.

Realistically, you either find/maintain the love for the sport or as others have recommended, find a new sport that motivates you now. I hear Pickleball is a lot of fun! ;)

That's the downside to actually running fast when you were younger. I'm 48 now and a lot faster than I was in high school. I still expect to get some PRs, but they might not comes as easily. You can also compete in your age group or run a distance where you don't have a PR already or just run trails.

48 years of essentially daily running and I'm 45 minutes slower in the half marathon. How do you stay motivated? You always compare yourself to where you are at today not what you could do 10 or 40 years ago.

i'll echo what others said - hit the trails. each course is unique w vert/technicality there really isn't much comparing of PRs/etc.. just ppl enjoying running around in the mountains

It's about beating people and being better than them. As long as you're still beating people it's ok. Always strive to beat more people.

I've never understood runners that weren't motivated. Your competitors are others in your age group. There are adult masters cross country races. Some of these guys are incredible. Trail runs are a blast. There are tons of local competitive races. Join a track / running club where runners push each other. I won some age group races in my 50's. Every 10 year age group, you throw out the old PR's and set new ones. And finally, a long run by yourself in a beautiful natural setting is one of the best highs there is. If I was the only human on earth, I'd still do long runs.

yep, hard to stay motivated when you age. Now I am running seriously, i compare my performance with my age group record as when i was young.

When I ran 50.4, WR was 43.29, so my race was about 85.9%. Now i am to get similar with my age group. WR for 60-64 is 53.88 so i need to do around 63 seconds.

You can improve from your current fitness without a lifetime PR. I have also tried other (shorter and longer) distances which I suck at. I will never be in the 4:40s again but going 6:10->5:23 was still fun.

If a time traveler told me that I'd never PR in any event ever again, I would still run pretty much every day. Can you imagine never going out early on a fall morning for a 10mi fartlek on dirt backroads ever again? I can't

It's crazy how I know intellectually that the second mule is the same size as the first, but seems so much bigger in competition 🤣

Do you love to run? If not, why bother doing it after your PR days are done (beyond jogging for health)? I would get up and run around even if I was alone on a desert island. I like running. I like the feeling of being fit. You can get that feeling from other sports though, so don't bother unless you actually like/love running.

As for tips, here you go, my top eight at 8:00.

1. My friends are runners so we use a weekly group run for social time (and do our hardest workout each week together).
2. I do new distances that I never did when I was young and chasing 1500m/5000m PRs. I did my first real ultra at age 50.
3. I love staying lean so I can eat whatever I want.
4. I love feeling pumped up after a true hard run (runner's high).
5. Get a bunch of new Master's PRs when you turn 40.
6. Go to destination races in places that I love. My family loves going on vacations to cool race locations.
7. I joined a Masters team and we have a ton of new (fast) guys, cool uniforms, a cross team, and so on. It is motivating because I don't want to get dropped by guys who are older than me and much faster
8. It provides balance when contrasted with my job with something physical.

PENENTRATE ALL THE CASUALS at your local 5k run/walk weekends

If you just love running for running it should never be an issue. Some people run because they love the competition and hitting new PRs. Other people run purely for enjoyment and the outdoors. It might be just that you need a change in mindset.

Run for joy and fitness end don't worry about your times. If you start your running career that way you never have to worry about motivation when your times aren't coming anymore.

I don't care if you can run a 15 minute 5K or a 40 minute 5K, they're both running as far as I'm concerned and as long as you enjoy them who cares what the clock says?

The thrill and satisfaction of improvement (setting a PR) can provide positive reinforcement, feedback and motivation.

If you really benefit from competing and pushing yourself, and enjoy setting PRs, try this to set new PRs every season as you get older.

Every season (whatever a season is for you, but its best if it is 3 months long or longer) repeatedly run over a new different course of your choosing for time. Select a course you like (long, short, flat, hilly, trails, roads, etc.). Do not measure the course and turn do not use a GPS to measure your pace.

It should be a course you do not know the distance. You will only be competing against yourself and the course for time during that season, and how far you run in a certain time is irrelevant.

Tempo your first efforts over this course, and train to improve your times over this course as your season progresses. As the season progresses, try to gradually run your course a little faster each time. Depending on how long your course is, you might try to run over it for time once every one to three weeks.

As you learn, train for and adapt to your course, you should cover it faster and faster, setting a new PRs for that course as your season progresses.

Its good to note and remember a few splits at landmarks (not at measured distances) along the way. This will help you guage and compare your efforts as you go. If you repeatedly run your course many times, you will want to experiment with different strategies (going out very hard, even effort, finishing hard, or ?) to see which work best for you.

For each new season, select a new different course and you can set PRs forever.

No need to ever measure how far these courses are. You really do not want to know how much slower you are running as you age. Just enjoy the satisfaction you get by trying your best and improving just a little bit on your course every season.

it's called the Nike AlphaOmegaFly ProMaxUltraExtreme 8%

I take a few months off each winter to avoid the ice, and I can't stand running on a treadmill. During that time I do some stair stepper, weights, etc. Starting back up in the spring takes a while and I run really slow times. I usually pick a new course every year on trails somewhere. I run that consistently, and pick part of it for time once a week or two or whatever I feel great. Nothing is planned. I run according to how I feel on any given day. No hurry. No race to prepare for. I never know what I am going to do until I start, and see how I feel. I run every day.

I am 65, still running, and love it. I only have to run for myself.