Stay motivated with resolutions

A lot of people set New Year resolutions, but how many people actually achieve their goals?

A recent study in America (University of Scranton) showed that it’s only eight per cent.

With 80% of people giving up by the second week in February.

The main reason for this (in my opinion) is that they don’t have a specific target to keep them motivated past the first couple of weeks.

If your New Year resolution is fitness related a great way of staying motivated for longer is to sign up for a running event.

Go online, find an event and sign up for it.

Don’t just talk about it, actually book it, make it solid and official.

Make it a “no-going-back” commitment and stand by it.

Let the people close to you know that you’re going to do it so it gives you extra accountability.

But, pick something realistic. If you’re new to running don’t sign up for a marathon, start with a 3 or 5K, and give yourself enough time to improve your fitness.

In most cases two to three months is enough, you can make huge improvements in that space of time.

Then you can set a bigger target once you’ve smashed that one.

Signing up for an event with a specific date is great for motivation because once you’ve committed and told your friends and family, it’s hard to back out.

You’ll be more devoted to your running training than you would be with your gym training plan, where you often have little accountability. And, when you take on a new chalThese lenge, you’re competing with yourself and it can get addictive when you start to see improvements.

So, if you’re wanting some extra motivation for your fitness related New Year resolutions, sign up for a running event!

Here’s 10 events in the North East area that may be suitable for you: Dalton Park 10k – March 3; Hamsterley 10k – April 20; Pier to Pier Race, South Shields – May 19;

Race For Life 5k and 10k, Herrington Park – June 2;

Colour Obstacle Rush, Newcastle – June 15;

Durham Coast Half Marathon – June 16;

Pretty Muddy Race For Life Kids, Newcastle – July 13;

Gung Ho! North East, Herrington Park – September 14;

The Tommy 10kK Run, Seaham – November 10.