Your running should always ultimately be..... Fun. There is always a risk of getting caught up in the desire to set a new PB (personal best), beating your fellow club members or shifting that extra few pounds and forgetting the fun factor as the golden rule.

Running provides us with a means to work towards goals and change our lives for the better. Running is a sport that allows us to test ourselves, compete against other runners or be part of a collective, sharing an activity and interest.

Whenever you found running, from your school days or later on, as a way of getting fit at 40 for example, running should always remain essentially a fun activity that allows you to relax and enjoy ourselves.

If it no longer feels fun then you should remind yourself that it should; regularly. There is nothing wrong with wanting to better your facts and figures, better your statistics, beat someone you know or train with; thrash that guy or gal from a rival club, reach that target weight; etc........but surely not at the expense of being miserable... remember.

Ways to enjoy your running

Run For Yourself - Why do you run? To truly enjoy your running you should run for internal reasons. Run for yourself, not for anyone or anything else. Run for the pure joy of running.

Variety - is the spice of life. Try something new once in a while, join a club, do some speed sessions, try hill running, go for a long run with a partner, on your own, change your pace, try some new routes, do some existing routes in reverse, visit some new areas, maybe even try the dreaded treadmill!

Let go and Sprint - if you are a recent convert to running give a short burst of sprinting a go. Cut yourself loose and open up, stride out; get your heart rate up and see how it feels. Warm down afterwards but just test the water. If you are a seasoned runner push yourself once in a while; allow a sprint to relax you and relieve the stress of your day. Run safe and seek some advice from your club colleagues; but pick a 100m length; start running at a moderate pace and smoothly accelerate to your full sprint speed by about 80m; tail off for the final 20m.

Run Barefoot - Barefoot running provides a sense of freedom and awareness - finding your feet if you like! A good place to start with barefoot running is on nice, even surfaced, deep grassed areas or as below; the beach. Begin with one lap. As your feet get stronger start to increase the distances. Running barefoot is an excellent training tool and can improve your lower leg strength, efficiency, stride and ultimately injury prevention. You can get a feel for your foot type which could ultimately assist in the correct choice of running shoes.

Don't Force the issue - We can all put too much pressure on ourselves and although you need drive to reach goals you also need base miles and recovery runs. Quite often doing what can seem like less actually achieves more. Quite often you can have your best sessions when you are not expecting too much and vice versa; you can feel let down when you are full of energy and want to get so much from an effort. So relax a little and don't fall into the overtraining trap. Relax yourself and take away the pressure of training once in a while replacing this with a plain good old simple run out instead.

Lose yourself - Whilst an essential tool for training purposes many competitive runners (and even some recreational runners) can become slaves to their running watches. Every phase of their running is ruled by the digits on their watch. Give yourself a break from the figures and leave your timepiece at home; just run by feel and effort level once in a while. This will help you regain the basic enjoyment factor and allow you to judge pace by feel, a valuable skill that will improve your race performance. You can go back to your figures and record what the break from the facts has done for you on your training log afterwards!

Visit the coast - Unless you already live along the coast a run along the beach is a welcome change to your normal route. The feeling of sand or shingle under foot, deep lung full's of fresh sea air, the wind and light of the coast at whatever time of year will surely re-establish just why you are a runner and allow you a break from your usual training regime so that you can take stock and reassess/reinvigorate your goals.

Talk about it - Tell your friends, family and work colleagues about your regime and achievements. In fact bore them with it. Take the high ground and be proud of your healthy lifestyle or healthy efforts, your fitness or training programme. Knowing what they are up to can make you realise just how well you are doing and what a healthy lifestyle you lead in comparison.

Less Racing/Event participation - Competitive runners can become a bit obsessed with their race performance. So much so that any failure to meet high and strict standards set can result in major frustration and ultimate unhappiness. One could also start to feel an apprehension or fear of upcoming races or events. A fear of failure even? You need to rediscover running for the joy of running. Volunteer to be a marshal at your club or even offer your services to other clubs for their events. The inspiration you will gain from seeing and encouraging others compete or just take part will be worth its weight in gold. This should reinvigorate you, refocusing your reasons to run and reinforce your being part of the running community.

Join a Club - running can be thought of as a somewhat lonely, solitary sport. But it only is if you want it to. Running can also be a social event. Join a local running club. Be inspired, lead and be carried by the club, enjoy club nights, be part of the club events and any other activities. Learn about running and soak up the experiences to make your running so much more than forcing yourself out. If you aren't already, become part of the running community.

Pat yourself on the back - Don't forget how far you have come. A Training Log however simplistic, a few vital statistics maybe, can serve as a great reminder of what you have achieved and the reasons why you keep on running. Whether you are making a pact to keep fit at 40, on a mission to lose weight, out to improve technique or distance times or just wanting to get outdoors; look back, reflect and 'pat yourself on the back'. Reward yourself to a day or night out, a sports massage or some new running kit; or simply be smug with the knowledge that you are trying to lead a healthy lifestyle!