HIT YOUR STRIDE Seven Steps To Keep Up With Your Running Goals

If you're looking to get into running or trying to pick it back up after quitting, here's seven tips from a marathon runner and elite performance coach to help you stay on track

- Ravi Raj

Reeti Sahai has everything she could ask for. She had a loving family and a successful corporate job from which she derived a lot of gratification. But as the job grew more demanding, leaving no time for her to do what she enjoyed, she started feeling disillusioned by everything around her. One fine day, she grabbed a pair of shoes and started running on the treadmill of her office gym. Reeti couldn't have anticipated that a decision made on the spur of the moment would transform her life forever. Soon, the treadmill would be replaced by the trails, and running became an intrinsic part of her life. “There was no looking back. The satisfaction I felt was indescribable, both in tangible and intangible ways. Nothing in life has ever compared to this experience,” says Sahai, who has completed World Marathon Majors six times and Boston Maraton twice.

Her journey is not only inspiring but also an outlier, since most of us who start running never manage to stick with it, and we just drop it at either any minor inconveniences or just out of pure laziness. Of course, the idea of getting another hour of sleep or just lazing around is more enticing than putting yourself out there on the road. Pankkaj Dhiman, the founder of the New Delhi Road Runners Club, feels that one shouldn't wait for inspiration. “The most important thing is willingness and discipline. Everything else is secondary,” says Pankkaj, who helps aspiring runners reach their true potential.

If you want to hit the ground running this new year and maintain it for weeks, months, and years to come, here are seven practical advice from a marathon specialist Reeti and a running coach Pankkaj that will set you up for success.

Find Your Why