15 Benefits Of Running Without Training For A Race

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.

1. You don’t have to wake up at 6 a.m. on a Saturday to do a long run.
2. You save money on gear, race travel and race entry fees.
3. You can run from however long you want to whenever you feel like it.
4. There’s more time for cross-training.
5. There’s more time for social events.
6. You are free from religiously following a training plan.
7. You can focus on improving your weaknesses
8. You can overhaul your running form without having to worry about running efficiency.
9. You can take more risks during workouts, because it won’t impact your training.
10. Run with friends more often because you don’t have a specific workout on your schedule.
11. If you don’t feel like running, you don’t have to run!
12. You can be spontaneous with your workout and do whatever suits your mood at the time.
13. It clears up mental space for other things because you spend less time stressing about paces and workouts.
14. You can join in on group runs without being concerned about what the workout of the day is going to be.
15. You won’t annoy your non-running friends with ceaseless chatter about your how your training is going.