My dad says no one beats me at making excuses—and he’s absolutely right. The thing is, no one knows you better than you. It’s so easy to come up with an excuse and put off going for a run, as easy as deciding to “prioritise” a task you *have* to do no matter what, just to justify staying in and not running.
I’ve been running for six years and I still find it hard to get out for a run. It’s hard after a great week of training. It’s hard after a good race. It’s hard in the morning, in the afternoon, or at night. Maybe it’s just my mindset. Maybe it’s because running is hard—and it’s even harder when you don’t have a social network, meaning a group of people, to help you and support you1.
It doesn’t matter if you’ve written your day out on a Post-it, blocked out time slots, and picked the exact window for your run—when the moment comes, the doubts return, or yet another “urgent” task shows up.
For me, there are two main ways to stop procrastinating—and far from being mutually exclusive, they complement each other. You can build iron discipline and willpower (though even the most disciplined people still struggle), or you can run with others—in other words, create commitment by making plans with someone. You can always bail, sure, but you’ll agree with me: it’s a lot harder when you’ve already arranged to meet someone.
How easy or hard is it to run with someone? It depends—on your lifestyle, your schedule, and where you live. If you’re in a big city like Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Zaragoza, Málaga, or Murcia, chances are there are other runners near you in the same situation. The question is: how do you connect with them?
I suggest you use Buddy Pacer, where you can join another runner’s activity or create your own based on your preferences: day and time, location, workout type (an easy run or short/long intervals), and your pace. You can also choose to accept people manually or automatically, and if you’re a woman, decide whether your activity is visible only to women or to the whole community. No more excuses to keep procrastinating. Connect and run with others on Buddy Pacer.
Eliud Kipchoge, a two-time Olympic marathon champion, puts it like this: “The problem in Europe is that most people run alone.” It’s in your hands to change that 😉
References
1.Franken R, Bekhuis H and Tolsma J (2022) Running Together: How Sports Partners Keep You Running. Front. Sports Act. Living 4:643150. doi: 10.3389 fspor.2022.643150
