3 Reasons Runners Over 40 Should Focus on Enjoyment Over Performance
And how it might also make you faster
Most runners I know are serious, goal-oriented, competitive people who are willing to train through injuries, bad weather, social commitments and more in the name of dropping five minutes off their marathon PR.
And hey, there’s nothing wrong with that. If you’re that kind of runner (I was for most of my running life, still am to a degree), far be it from me to tell you to do otherwise.
However, as I age (I’m 56 and have run for closing in on 50 years now) I feel like maybe there’s a lesson that all of us hyper-motivated runners are missing.
Namely that running can actually be fun.
Not only that, but, wonder of wonders, perhaps by leaning into that notion of enjoying your running, we might actually get better results as well.
My former university track coach, Mike Dixon, took me aside once when I was struggling and frustrated with my lack of progress and said, “Look I just want to see you go back to having some fun with your running. When you do that, not only will you be happier, you’ll run better too.”
I didn’t believe him at the time, but now I’m convinced he was right. Here are three reasons why focusing on enjoying your running (especially for us, runners of … ahem … a certain age …) can also make you faster.
It Takes the Pressure Off
Running for fun takes the pressure off. Try running a race at less than full effort and just focus on enjoying the sights and getting around the course in one piece.
I used this strategy to great effect at the Ottawa Half Marathon in 2023. I was in decent shape but teetering on the brink of injury with a sore Achilles tendon. The night before the race, the courtyard below our hotel room was filled with a loud and obnoxious crowd who were several beers past their bedtime. This continued until 3:30 am. I hardly slept at all. To make matters worse, the next day dawned sunny and warm with temperatures approaching 25 degrees Celsius.
Convinced that my race was ruined, I decided just to try to get around the course at a comfortable pace without needing to bother the paramedics. I started slowly, waved to the crowd, high-fived the kids along the way, and generally just ran it at a comfortably hard training effort. I took in the sights, and enjoyed my slow tour of this beautiful city.
Then, as I passed the 10km mark, it occurred to me I wasn’t actually all that far behind my goal pace and I was feeling better than expected. My natural competitiveness started to kick in and I picked up the pace and started passing other runners and moving up through the field. Running is way more fun when you’re doing the passing instead of being passed. With 6 km to go, I was in full-on race mode and by the end hit my original goal time.
None of this would have happened had I gone into the race with the intention of running as fast as I could from the start. I’m convinced that had I stuck to my goal, I would’ve started falling off the pace early and probably struggled to finish. But by intentionally aiming to just have fun with it, I ended up running much better than I would’ve expected.
As a bonus — entering a race with the intention of running for fun is the perfect antidote to pre-race nerves.
Enjoyment Leads to Consistency
Consistency is the key to running faster.
Ask four-time Boston and New York City Marathon winner Bill Rogers. In his book Bill Rodgers’ Lifetime Running Plan: Definitive Programs for Runners of All Ages and Levels, Rogers speaks of the importance of consistency and how, in the end, his main goal is just to be consistent.
Consistency allows the small gains you get from your daily runs to compound and lead to significant fitness increases over time.
Yet most highly motivated runners fail the consistency test. We run too hard, too much, and too soon. Before long, we find ourselves on the sideline with an injury, on the couch due to exhaustion, or packing it in due to lack of motivation.
The key is to stop trying to do so much. Relax and enjoy the process.
Try new running routes, run with a friend who is slower than you but gives fascinating conversation. Leave your watch at home, even once a week. Maybe run a bit less than usual (sacrilege I know).
People like to do things that are fun, and if you truly enjoy the process, you’ll find yourself wanting to get out there and run more often. And from that will come better running.
Enjoyment Leads to Trying New Things
Finally, focusing on running for fun gives you the freedom to try new things.
Instead of hammering away at your marathon PR every spring and fall, maybe try focusing on 5k races for a bit. Or take a few months to see how fast you can run a mile. The speed you get from these little digressions can help make your marathon pace seem ridiculously easy when you decide to start your next build-up.
Or you could go the other way and try an ultra or trail race. Maybe you’ll learn something about yourself you never expected to find. Maybe you’re tougher than you ever imagined. You won’t know unless you try.
If you always run road races, why not find a track meet? There are masters age group track meets all over Canada and the US. There’s even a World Championship held each year!
Canadian masters multi-world record holder, Karla Del Grande, now 71 years young, has talked about how she returned to running in middle age and immediately tried road races because that’s what everyone else was doing. She even ran the 30km Around the Bay race in Hamilton before realizing she wasn’t enjoying the long distances.
She switched to sprinting — 100m, 200m, 400m, and even recently hurdle races because she enjoyed them more. Now she has a dozen world age group records to her name. She trusted her intuition and did what she enjoyed and her running blossomed as a result.
Not everyone will experience such a running renaissance, but trying different distances and disciplines often leads to a significant improvement in your target distance.
Keep in mind, most of us aren’t running world records or winning Olympic medals. Is it really justified to make running a stress-filled, exhausting means to an end when we could be out there running for fun and probably running better than ever as a result?