I've spent a bit of time pondering this question as I have recently seen friends struggling to keep their own motivation to run. I don't seem to have trouble staying motivated so I started to think about why that is? The conclusion I have come to is that it is derived from my constant goal setting. As soon as I achieve a goal I have set myself, I create a new one. These aims keep me going. They keep me excited to run. And the following is my account of 2017 in parkrun goals and stats.
2017 began with me completing my goal to be come a Victorian parkrun 'statesman'. A statesman is someone who has completed all parkrun events in a particular state. So, on the 7th January 2017, I ran at Balyang Santuary and became the 9th Victorian Statesman (A Mexican), aptly receiving a certificate of awesomeness from Victoria's first female Statesman - Jo MacCarthy.
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| Receiving my certificate from Jo |
This meant 2017 peaked quite early, so a new challenge was needed. Luckily I had discovered 'alphabetouring' which involves running a parkrun beginning with every letter of the alphabet. So while also being kept busy with new launches to retain my statesmanship, and joining friends for milestones, I planned a 'family holiday' at Easter to the ACT to run Ginnindera and get the 'G' not currently available in my home state. The 'G' was followed by another 'holiday' later in the year to Queanbeyan for a 'Q' and with it went a couple of long training runs around Lake Burley Griffin and lots of sightseeing. With G and Q in the bag this leaves 4 letters to complete the challenge - O, U, X and Z (and plenty more adventures to plan).
Another point of interest for the passionate parkrunner is their NENDY (Nearest Event Not Done Yet). Mine was Mount Gambier and I had heard so much about the beautiful blue lake. Coincidentally, through my newly formed running group, I had met a group of lovely Mount Gambier parkrunners. Yep, you guessed it, another trip was planned to visit Mount Gambier parkrun on their 4th anniversary (which lined up beautifully with the Blue Lake fun run the following day).
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| Mount Gambier parkruns 4th anniversary |
Luckily for me, there is always a new Nendy to explore, and mine is now Wagga parkrun in NSW. An event I am excited to visit due to its military ties. So between alphabetouring and nendy's, as well as the many other parkrun 'clubs', there is a virtual smorgesboard of motivation awaiting me. So far in 2017 I have completed 47 parkrun/walks at 36 different locations (37 tomorrow), volunteered 7 times, attended 14 launches, ran 4 interstate parkrun events and even managed a 5 km PB or two. Keep in mind all this fun and shenanigans is in addition to the paid running events that I have trained for and completed!
How can I not be motivated?
My thoughts are turning to 2018 and what achievements lay ahead. Moving house also means a new parkrun 'home' so perhaps more time will be spent becoming a part of the new community at Toolern Creek. Talk of a parkrun adventurer trip may offer an opportunity to add another letter to my alphabet and of course there is always new launches to visit bringing with them the social connection synonymous with parkrun. There is no such thing as a dull weekend for a passionate parkrunner!
#loveparkrun #parkrunadventurer #passionateparkrunner
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