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10
Resolutions To Run Healthier, Happier, and Have More Fun
Forget
weight loss. Throw out advice on how to “optimize”
your life. This year, we want to keep things simple.
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New Year’s resolutions can get a
bad wrap. Less than 8% of people are able to stick to
their resolutions, but every year, the pull to set new
goals is almost irresistible.
I’m a resolution apologist. I started running as
a New Year’s resolution, and that one did stick.
What started as a New Year’s resolution for me is
now a full-time career and a very fulfilling hobby that
consistently encourages me to take better care of my body
and mind. So, you never know. I’ve always loved
singer-songwriter Woody Guthrie’s “New Year’s
Rulin’s”, which contains sage advice for any
age. Read good books, wash teeth (if any), dance better,
write a song a day, keep rancho clean, and the ever-relevant
– beat fascism. My favorite has always been keep
the hoping machine running. God, I love that. That’s
what this list is all about, living in a way that aligns
with our values and prioritizes what’s important
to us, rather than what sells more shoes, diet apps or
newfangled recovery products.
Here’s how I’m keeping the
hoping machine running into 2026.
1. Fuel for running and life
The human body is a miracle. It can transform pizza into
the energy to run ultramarathons. It’s amazing!
Treat it as such!
The point of your body is not to shrink
to its smallest form. The point is to give you the energy
to show up for everything in your life, from a run, to
grocery shopping, to vacation with your family, to setting
a PR on the Sunday crossword puzzle. Rather than focusing
on counting macros or restricting calories, focus on fueling
in a way that makes you feel good and gives you the energy
to go after your goals. Want to be a stronger athlete?
A better parent? A more caring community member? There’s
an app(etizer) for that!
Stop focusing on what you should and shouldn’t
eat, and focus on eating enough. No one wants to go to
their deathbed wishing they had eaten one more pizza bagel.
2. Buy less gear
Over 10 percent of global carbon emissions come from the
apparel industry – more than all international flights
and maritime shipping combined.
Aside from choosing clothes and gear made
in countries with stricter environmental regulations,
like Canada, the E.U. and the U.S., you can keep clothing
out of landfills and reduce your environmental impact
by following the three R’s: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
And recycling should be the last resort. More and more
brands are instituting repair programs for just this reason,
so before you replace something, see if it can be fixed
instead.The priority should be to reduce the amount of
gear that gets made and contributes to environmental degradation
by using precious resources and producing waste. The single
biggest contribution you can make is to buy less, and
only buy what you need.
3. Forget what you think “strong”
is supposed to look like. Strength train for health and
function, not looks.
If you already do a bit of functional strength and mobility,
disregard this paragraph and use your extra time for Resolution
#7.
Forget six-pack abs and cantaloupe biceps.
If you don’t currently have a strength program you
like, we recommend this beginner cheat sheet, or this
regimen for injury prevention. Both are designed with
the movement patterns and injury risks of trail runners
in mind.
The best strength program is the one you
can complete consistently without feeling excessively
tired or sore, and ideally, one you enjoy. Strength training
should support your running, not take away from it. It
should make you a better, stronger, happier runner. You
don’t need to get #swoll or get a six-pack to be
strong. Focus on feeling good and staying healthy, not
looking a certain way.
4. Start a training log
One of the biggest changes you can make to level up in
your training is to start seriously recording and tracking
what you’re doing. While activity and health apps
like Strava and Whoop have benefits, taking time offline
to record your runs and track more subjective information
can spur intimate reflection on how you’re really
feeling.
Instead of, or along with, training data,
record how you feel, how you slept, your perceived effort
on a run, if you saw a cool animal or a rainbow or something
you’re grateful for. When you have a paper training
log, you’re in charge of what you pay attention
to.
Our favorite thing about offline training
logs is that they’re just for you. You don’t
have to show anybody else, and there’s no comparison
like you might find on Strava (which is why our assistant
editor avoids the app entirely). Be honest and vulnerable.
You’re the only person who will ever see it! Accept
the bad days along with celebrating the good ones, knowing
that everyone experiences both. Putting pen to paper (or
cursor to word doc) gives some distance from the data
and allows us to reflect on what matters to us. Paying
attention to patterns in energy and fatigue can help identify
potential injury precursors and will help you stay more
consistent and healthy. You can see our favorite training
log here.
5. Focus on activity level, not
weight
Brace yourself: inboxes are about to flood with emails
insinuating that January 1 is a great time to recommit
to a restrictive diet (it’ll work this time, we
promise!!) and lose the Covid 15. DON’T LISTEN.
Research shows that people who focus on
being more active rather than losing weight end up improving
their cardiovascular health and reducing all-cause mortality.
Most people who use diets or weight loss regimens fail,
and emphasizing fitness and activity rather than weight
creates a more sustainable and attainable goal –
with better health outcomes overall.
Throw away your scale (unless a medical
professional has advised otherwise) and stop counting
calories. Focus on moving your body in a way that feels
good and brings you joy.
6. Prioritize mental health
If you’ve read this far on a list of health-related
New Year’s resolutions, you probably have a demonstrated
interest in health and performance. But one of the most
overlooked aspects of health, for athletes particularly,
is mental health.
The brain is a body part, and mental health
struggles should be treated just like physical injuries.
If you got a stress fracture, you wouldn’t tell
your femur to just get over it. You’d give it TLC,
allow it to rest and come back slowly, showing some extra
love to the injured area. Make sure you’re giving
your brain the same love and judgment-free attention.
This year, double down on taking care of your mental health.
Meditation, journaling or any other mindfulness practice
is great mental health pre-hab.
While running and exercise are great tools
to ease and prevent some aspects of mental illness, they’re
not the whole toolbox. Invest in other methods of self-care
and mental wellbeing like therapy with a professional.
Mental and physical wellbeing are deeply interconnected,
and when you prioritize the brain, the body will follow.
7. Listen to your body
Just like speed or endurance, the ability to listen to
your body is a skill that can be cultivated. Make listening
(and responding!) to your body a priority. If you’re
tired, rest. If you’re hungry, eat. If something
hurts, don’t run. Make a habit of listening and
responding to your body’s natural cues, rather than
pushing through. As the saying goes, listen to your body
when it whispers so you wont’ have to hear it when
it screams.
And don’t forget, as our friend,
coach and columnist David Roche says: the body knows stress,
not miles. When you have a hard day and the big workout
you had on your training plan just seems like too much,
give yourself some grace. If the idea of running inspires
dread and not joy or motivation, make a change.
Forcing a run when you’re tired,
hungry or hurt isn’t a sign of strength. Making
intentional, informed decisions about what’s going
on in your body, is.
8. Rest intentionally
Most of us face a bias toward action and productivity.
We overemphasize doing hard workouts and super long runs
just like we do working longer hours and getting more
done. But remember: the most important training adaptations
happen when we’re resting.
Without rest, your body can’t adapt
to the stimulus you’re giving it. Stress+rest =
adaptation. Stress+stress+stress, with no rest = disaster
(injury and overtraining). Work and rest are equally important
in training, even if rest doesn’t get you any kudos
on Strava.
Stress+rest = adaptation. Stress+stress+stress,
with no rest = disaster (injury and overtraining).
Make resting intentionally a part of your
training. Write your rest days in your training log! (See
Resolution #6.) Celebrate the days you intentionally spend
on the couch. Resting before you’re hurt or overtrained
is what allows you to stay consistent in the long term
and adapt over time.
9. Invest in your community
Around the start of the year, many people draw up ambitious
running goals: a new race distance, a PR, a new mileage
or vert record. Racing is fun, and is a great way to find
community through competition. But, without a deeper “why”
behind your running, that connection may become unfulfilling.
This year, reallocate time and energy toward something
that gives back to your community – wherever your
heart may be.
Last year, I started volunteering with
Runners For Public Lands, a climate-justice non-profit
that helps connect runners around the U.S. with environmental
and social justice initiatives in their area. Now, I have
an opportunity to represent an organization I’m
passionate about, and that gives running a deeper resonance.
Find something that you care about and
dig in. Maybe it’s a local initiative to conserve
public lands or increase outdoor access. Maybe you can
spend a little extra time building trails or picking up
trash. Volunteer to crew a friend at their big race, or
contact a local race director to help mark or clean up
a course.
Running can feel mostly self-centered,
but there are countless ways to use it as a platform for
good. Find one that resonates with you, and invest in
it. Supporting others and connecting with your community
isn’t just good for others, it may help improve
your performance too!
10. Have more fun!
I love this quote from A Summer Day by Mary Oliver: “Tell
me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious
life?”.
This article won’t give you the
steps to PR your marathon or get six-pack abs. But we
hope it helps you live in a way that recognizes we’re
only here for a short time. At the end of my life, there’s
no way I’ll wish I had spent more time on Twitter
or checking after-hours emails. Most of my regrets will
be about the summits I wish I’d reached, or the
cheesecake I wished I had eaten.
This year, get serious about having more
fun. Resist the temptation to over-optimize in ways that
prioritize productivity to the detriment of fun-ductivity.
We only have this one wild and precious life, and I want
to freaking send it, even if that means missing a few
emails, slowing down to enjoy the view and weathering
cheesecake-induced GI issues. We want you to send it too.
Fun isn’t the opposite of focus
in an athletic life. It’s a critical part of one,
allowing us to laugh at the fact that we love and want
to get better at something that feels as silly as trail
running. If not for the fun of it, why do we do this in
the first place? I always write and run my best when it’s
coming from a place of fun, not forced seriousness.
Each year, one of my favorite writers,
Brendan Leonard, re-publishes a blog post he first wrote
in 2011, “Make This Year The Year of Maximum Enthusiasm.”
Each year, it rings true.
“Your life, even the bad parts,
is fucking amazing. And most of the small things that
make up your life are amazing, too — mountain bike
rides, rock climbs, ski runs, sunsets, stars, friends,
people, girlfriends and boyfriends, dogs, songs, movies,
jokes, smiles … hell, even that burrito you ate
for lunch today was pretty phenomenal, wasn’t it?”
Don’t just think about what you
can do to have more fun, think about what you already
have that is fun as hell. This life is wild and precious,
and you get to decide what to do with it. So many resolutions
passed down by influencers and magazines like our own
emphasize getting fit, losing weight, buying stuff, being
productive or emphasizing some exterior achievement to
the detriment of a fulfilled life, whatever that looks
like for you.
The most important thing you can do this
year is to have more fun. 2026, let’s do this!
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