15 Benefits Of Running Without Training For A Race
Here's why you may want to take a break from racing and instead just enjoy the love you have for the sport by running for fun.
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For the first few years I ran, I was addicted to races. The challenge of completing new distances was thrilling. After I completed my second marathon, I mainly ran just for fun for seven years. I got back into racing again when I was intrigued by the challenge of trying to run faster.
Now five years after focusing on setting PRs, I’m back to running just for the love of running and I couldn’t be happier. Here are 15 reasons running without a race on your schedule is so great.
- You don’t have to wake up at 6 a.m. on a Saturday to do a long run.
- You save money on gear, race travel and race entry fees.
- You can run from however long you want to whenever you feel like it.
- There’s more time for cross-training.
- There’s more time for social events.
- You are free from religiously following a training plan.
- You can focus on improving your weaknesses
- You can overhaul your running form without having to worry about running efficiency.
- You can take more risks during workouts, because it won’t impact your training.
- Run with friends more often because you don’t have a specific workout on your schedule.
- If you don’t feel like running, you don’t have to run!
- You can be spontaneous with your workout and do whatever suits your mood at the time.
- It clears up mental space for other things because you spend less time stressing about paces and workouts.
- You can join in on group runs without being concerned about what the workout of the day is going to be.
- You won’t annoy your non-running friends with ceaseless chatter about your how your training is going.