Great Running Tips 

Manners
  1. Remember to say “Thank You!” to race volunteers (e.g. when you get that cup of water at the aid station) and family and friends who support you.
  2. Conscientiously share the trail with walkers, bikers and other runners.
  3. Always try to balance running with the people you love by making a schedule that involves and is considerate of everyone.
  4. Don’t carry loose change. It will annoy those who are running with you.
  5. Don’t neglect and irritate your family and friends by spending all your time running and talking about running

Safety Tips
  1. Be aware of cyclists approaching you from behind and try to keep to the right. Try to pay special attention when running with music.
  2. Run facing traffic.
  3. Never assume a car sees you.
  4. Give horses wide berths on trails and walk as you pass them unless you enjoy a hoof to the melon.
  5. Always carry I.D. because you just never know.

Nutrition Tips
  1. Buy the powdered sports drink mix instead of premixed. It’s cheaper and more similar to race drink mixes.
  2. Each pound you lose makes running a little easier.
  3. Hydrate. Make it a habit to drink water throughout the day.
  4. If you are running very long distance drink enough electrolytes (e.g. Gatorade).
  5. On long runs eat something every hour—whether you feel like it or not.
  6. During longer runs if you don’t like to carry water take some cash in your pocket pouch or a shoe wallet. Run a route where there’s a corner store that you can use as a pit stop to pick up your water and maybe use the bathroom.
  7. Avoid eating spicy foods before running and the night before your long runs.
  8. To aid recovery the most crucial time to eat and drink is in the hour immediately after you run.

Racing
  1. Race day is not the day to try new shoes, eat new foods, or wear brand new clothing.
  2. Do not try a marathon as your first race.
  3. For races longer than 5k start out slower than you think you should.
  4. If you conserve your energy during the first half of a race, you can finish strong.
  5. When you pick up drinking cups at aid stations, squeeze gently so it folds slightly and is easier to drink from it while you are moving.
  6. A plastic garbage bag on race day is a very fashionable cheap disposable raincoat.

Motivation
  1. Sign up for a race as soon as you feel up to it.
  2. Find a committed running partner. It is much harder to skip a run when you have someone else depending on you.
  3. Remember that you will have plateaus in your progress and tough days along the way.
  4. It gets easier.
  5. Accept and appreciate the fact that not every single run can be a good one.
  6. Be prepared to remove the words “can’t” and “never” from your vocabulary.
  7. “Do not compare yourself to others. Run within yourself and for yourself first.
  8. Don’t expect every run to be better than the last one; some of them will hurt.
  9. Don’t think too much about it or you won’t do it.
  10. Even a bad run is better then no run at all.
  11. If you normally run with music try skipping it and listening to your feet to hear your pace and your gait.
  12. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t experience weight loss immediately.
  13. Start a running blog.
  14. Running is not an excuse to triple your intake of doughnuts because runners gain weight too.