5 Things You Really
Sign Up For When
You Sign Up for a Race

When you sign up for a marathon, you assume that you are signing up for high mileage running weeks, blisters on your feet, and a whole lot of muscle soreness.

However, you are really saying yes to SO much more than that! 

I  wanted to share some thoughts that I had on what I think you are really signing up for when you sign up for a marathon or a half marathon.

Of course you are signing up to run the race and cross the finish line. But signing up is just the tip of the iceberg.

As you click on that Register button and you feel a little nervous about it, just know that you are signing up for so much more than just a race.

Related: Are Downhill Marathons Easier to Get a PR? 

You are really choosing to:

1. Live a more disciplined life.

You are signing up to manage your time better:

• To perhaps waking up earlier
• To saying no to going out when you never really wanted to anyway, 
• To spending less time on your phone or sitting and watching TV.  

But you are saying yes to you and taking care of yourself in one of the best possible ways.

Here are some tips to waking up earlier to run. 

Here are some tips on finding time to run. 

2. Think about your body differently.

If you have ever had any type of negative self talk about your body or about what your body can do (i.e. I don’t have the discipline, I’m just like this, there’s nothing that can change me) then get ready to listen to a different tune. 

Your body is going to amaze you in what it can do! 

And yes, YOU can run a marathon, meet that time goal, do the thing that you thought was out of your reach.

Related: Health Assessment for Runners

3. Change the way you eat.

You might currently feel frustrated about how you are choosing to fuel your body. 

You wish you would eat more nutritious foods but sometimes food is just that one thing that brings you that bit of joy. 

The amazing thing though about all the marathon training and running is that it naturally leads you to WANT to give your body the fuel that it needs and craves to run long distances - healthy, nutritious foods! 

What better things can you give to yourself than nutritiously dense food and movement?!

You can find tons of information specifically on marathon nutrition over here on this page! 

Related Page: Ideas for Easy Meal Prep for Runners 

4. Improve your relationships as a spouse, partner, parent, etc.

We’ve all heard the term of cascading events and that is also a term that can be applied to signing up for a marathon. 

You want to run the race for one reason or another and so you sign up. 

Because you are spending so much time out there on the road you want to eat right and feel good. You begin to enjoy self-fulfillment in seeing how far you are able to progress. 

Because you feel good about yourself and you are taking care of yourself (you’re also sleeping better and improving your mental clarity) you begin to translate that back into your relationships - you feel as if you have the time, energy, bandwidth and happiness to really show that you care about others and to show up for them in the way you want and need to.

5. Find out what’s really Important in life.

So many people make mountains of molehills when most of the time our worries are just peanuts. 

Signing up to run a marathon or any race will lead to so many beautiful adventures, friendships, insights and joys. 

You will look back with relief that you chose a deeper purpose and higher sense of fulfillment in your life when you cross that finish line. 

You might have almost missed it but you took a chance and you signed up!

Related Page: The Amazing Benefits of Running 

If you have run a marathon before (or half marathon or 10K or anything like that) what did you almost miss out on if you hadn’t signed up for the race?

I think it would be fascinating to hear!

If you are looking for FREE Marathon Training Schedules you can find some listed on this page.

If you are looking for FREE Half Marathon Training Schedules you can find some listed on this page. 

Also here are some resources that might help you if you are thinking about training for a marathon:

🌟The RUN YOUR FIRST MARATHON TRAINING PROGRAM >>

🥗The EAT LIKE A MARATHONER NUTRITION COURSE >>

No matter what stage in your running or marathon journey you are at, I hope you realize just how much of a difference you are making in your life!

Related Pages:

Sign up to receive the free printable strength exercises for runners: 👇

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