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

I don’t know howto get someone to just enjoy running.

You Either Love it or Leave it Alone

Are there events you haven’t ever run before? I trained extremely hard in a high level college program and couldn’t ever get back to that peak performance in my 1500m-5k events when having to deal with a job, wife, kids, homeownership, etc. after college. Just how life goes, pulled in 10 different directions instead of full 110% five into the sport in the incubator of college athlete life.

I started training for events I never ran in college like half and full marathons, road 5Ks & 10ks, trail races, training pure speed for a month & hopping into a couple 400m races unattached, etc and was able to find enjoyment setting personal bests that I couldn’t compare apples to apples to my college events because I never ran them. Sure my half marathon PR doesn’t stack up to what my college 8-10k XC PR extrapolates to, but it’s still my best time nonetheless and I can work to improve it.

Alternatively maybe find ways to enjoy running outside of the competitive side. Try trail running, making a run-streak of how many days in a row you can run, maybe try out triathlon training? If the PR days are over doesn’t mean you can’t still have fun mixing it up.

Become a gym bro instead.

I moved from distance to 800 meters and set a state record for 50+. In high school I was one of the least talented runners in my state and even with overachieving I couldn't make the state meet in the 2 mule, my best event then.

But the main thing is I love running in any way shape or form

Why not shake it up and give something new a try? A new event range or maybe a new training method?

This summer I finished up my collegiate running career as primarily an 800m runner, and although I think my 800m journey is far from over, I am pretty mentally burnt out about doing 200-800m reps over and over and over again for the last 6 or so years. I ultimately decided I’m going to work on half and full marathons during summer/fall and 3k-5k during track season.

I know my maximum potential in 3k-5k amongst my peers is probably just to “fit in” at the collegiate racing level, and I sure as hell am not gonna be doing anything super noteworthy at the marathon distances, but I’ve found myself REALLY enjoying the experience. I made a fool of myself running my first marathon the other day, split a tad under 1:15:00 through the half marathon mark and barely broke 3:00:00, I feel like if I did something similar in an 800 or mile, I would just feel stupid and embarrassed, but to me the marathon and the horrible bonk I experienced was nothing but pure fun. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to just go out and have fun in a race, and laugh at myself instead of being very angry with myself for racing in a less than smart fashion.

I realized by switching from 200m repeats to 2 mile repeats, 10 mile “long runs” to 20 mile long runs, I’d killed the expectations I’d learned to have for myself during workouts, because I no longer knew what I expected, and that alleviated the stress and anxiety I’d started feeling about training and racing over the years. I realized there’s 2000something people in this race, no one gives a F*^+ what I’m going to run including me, I don’t have to worry about not scoring for a team or maintaining a good standing on said team or validating some kind of insecurity. I’m just another dude running a race.

From a pacing perspective, from what I achieved in the training leading up to this marathon, and the level I’ve raced at before this marathon, my end result was an objective failure. There are people not as talented as me, that didn’t train as hard as me, that kicked my trash that day. A lot of them. I even got chicked a few times over. That hasn’t happened to me since my soph year of highschool. I bested the 5k PB of most people and the half marathon PB of many of the people that beat me during this race. That’s embarrassing and sad if I still had a coach you’d bet they’d be pissed at me. I did not hit my A, B, or C goal during this race nor did I stick to my race plan. Yet this marathon was one of my most favorite races of my life and I can’t wait to do another one.

The point I’m trying to get at is that accepting hobby jogger status can be freeing. I think you’ve always had a sense of pressure on yourself to perform, and now you cannot satisfy that pressure because you trained hard in your prime and saw most of your potential realized, and now that you are out of your prime you won’t be hitting that level of performance again. The lesson I’ve learned is who cares? Go run cause you love the sound of your feet striking the road while you feel a crisp breeze on your face. Go run a race because it feels good starting out smart and passing tons of people as the race progresses. Fall back in love with the process and realize maybe there isn’t as well defined if a destination anymore.

You must be young to even think of that.

Look at so-called "age-grading calculator" (easy to google) and try to remain at the same level in terms of %.

Of course, if you are, e.g., a 13 min 5K runner, it would be uneasy to stay afloat, but for an absolute majority it might give certain motivation.

E.g., I was a hobby runner in my youth with 15:05/5K that results in 85% according to the AG calculator. Now at 65+ and 18:28 it returns 89%, so I am "outperforming myself" :-)

After 40, lifting becomes more important.

Perhaps you should consider the hammer throw?

Late-30s & early-40s are still a time to PR imo. The half marathon & marathon seem the most likely distances. But if you've spent your 20s/30s at those distances, you might be able to run a 1500/mile PB if you never really spent time there. I've trained with a lot of good master's runners who ran fast into their 40s. There's also a lot of master's miles at bigger meets that seem like easy races to "get up for." Then there's the trail/ultra scene. So many short trail races at odd distances. I have a local 7 mile trail race near me. Plenty of 50ks out there with varying degrees of difficulty. You could do a triathlon. There are so many ways to find new challenges as a run.

& I agree with what others have said. If you've been running for this long it shouldn't be about PBs. I would hope that at some point you've really enjoyed yourself in the sport.

Not reading dumb articles helps.

find races in places u wanna visit, use it as an excuse to travel

Why do you want to run in the first place? The answer to that should be your main motivational driver.

Beyond that, I would point out that motivation is a poor partner when it comes to getting stuff done. It will come and go. If you want to achieve whatever goals you set for yourself, you need to find a way to get out there when you don't feel like it, too.

For most people who no longer run to chase personal best, I think health, fitness, and improving your quality of life is the main reason. Physical, yes, but there's a signficant link between running and mental health as well. Something to keep in mind as your ponder your "why".

I’ve been back running for about 2 years after a 5+ year break. I was never very competitive but a decent casual runner.

Start with small goals. My first was to BQ, which took me 2 tries and about 15 months.

Next goal is to break 3 hours, I was 8 min off that last race.

Lofty goal is a PR, another 7 minutes for 15 minute drop in time.

I’m 45, so I figure I have about a 4 year window to get back there if I train harder than I did when I was 30.

It doesn’t keep me up at night. I still miss workouts due to other obligations. I enjoy the process and it keeps me healthy.

I'm about your age, and I've struggled with this since college. To me the answer is you'll never have the same drive you did in college, you just have to run for the satisfaction it gives you. Trail running, hitting new routes, trying random workouts, and running around new cities on vacation are all things that keep it fresh.

Also, consider trying something new. Learning a new sport from the ground up and you'll get the buzz of setting PRs all over again. I took up masters swimming, crossfit, multi-day hiking, and surfing at points over the past 10-15 years, and it was fun to ride that improvement curve again.

You either enjoy the process or you don't.

If you enjoy the process, motivation isn't an issue. I'm 48. After 35 years of running (since junior high track), I know I'll never PR again. I'm okay with that because I still enjoy running every morning. I still enjoy picking a race, setting a goal (even if it is slower than past years), and training for it.

I still enjoy racing, even though I'm further back in the pack now. I still like the excitement and energy of being at the start. I still like trying to run down whoever happens to be ahead of me. I still like the exhausted satisfaction at the finish line. Then I like signing up for the next race and doing it all again.

If you don't enjoy all that, then move on to something else.

At 50, I stay motivated to train because I enjoy it and it makes me feel good. Each daily run makes me feel like I started the day with a personal victory.

You (and I) may (or may not) break certain PRs. But we can run faster than our last race or our last age-graded time. We can also try a new event or distance, PR at that and keep trying to lower that PR.

I I get older, simply being able to run at all, keeps me fitter, looking better and feeling better than 99.9% of the population my age. That alone is a growing motivation as the years go by.

The 2 mule is my favorite event, just like steeplechase or hurdles except every so often, you have to jump over two mules.

Ultras baybee.

Get off the roads and find some beautiful trails to run.