As my Running Motivation series continues, I look for motivation from Ironman Mark Hatton. Mark suffered a calf tear earlier this year when he was in peak shape, only to come back, complete Outlaw middle distance and secure a Boston Qualifier. He is taking part in Boston Marathon 2020 where he will claim his 6th star. You can follow Mark on Instagram HERE.
What has been your highlight of 2019
The easy answer would be running a 16 minute PB at the Tokyo Marathon and gaining a Boston Qualifying time but I would say my biggest highlight and achievement for 2019 was crossing the finish line at the Outlaw X middle distance triathlon. Whilst I have completed middle distance triathlon before, what made this one more special was coming back from a grade 2 calf tear sustained 15 weeks prior, missing 3 months of racing and not just coming back to finish the event, but coming back and knocking 33 minutes off my PB and meeting the GB Age Group qualifying standard.
What are you most looking forward to in 2020
That’s easy!! running the Boston Marathon and picking up my Abbotts World Marathon Majors 6 Star Medal but also achieving my long term goal of running in the Boston Marathon. It was this race that inspired me to make the step up to the marathon distance, being able to take part in this race has been something I have dreamt of for the past 4 years. I never thought I would be able to run a qualifying. That weekend is going to be a special one with memories that last a lifetime.
What are your top 3 tips to stay motivated to run?
Remember your why:
Why did you start running in the first place, what are you training for, visualise yourself crossing that finish line then go out and make it a reality. Each run is a small step towards that end goal, keep moving forward, you’ve got this!! When I am working towards a big A race, from time to time I like to go onto YouTube and watch videos of that race from previous years. Get yourself hyped up and motivated to make that day special.
Small achievable steps:
If your goal is to run a marathon, it can be very daunting starting the training block. Looking at it as one big block of training runs can soon demotivate you and make it feel like a chore. I like to plan races into my training blocks. Starting off building up to a Parkrun, then racing a 10k, 10 miler, half marathon. Always having a race to aim for keeps me motivated to train and improve and by stepping up through the distances as the week’s tick by keeps me on track to that bigger goal of running the marathon
Keep it varied:
After a while running the same route can get boring. Mix it up by running different routes, drive out to parks or lakes to give yourself something different to look at and different terrain to run on. Run different sessions. I break my week up into easy runs, speed/interval runs and a long run.
Ultimately, the hardest part of any run is taking that first step to get out of your front door. Lots of things can persuade you not to head out. It’s cold, its raining, you had a late night / early morning etc but once you force yourself out, 99% of the time you feel better for it when you are a mile into your run.
A good video I found on this subject was Mind Games by Casey Neistat – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLXG6ITzLIo
pickupthepacepaul 
A great post again and brilliant advice. Mixing it up can be great fun – friends and I went on a totally new route and loved it and we need to plan more of that. I’ve also had a calf tear (going from running only on a treadmill over the icy winter straight to a long run outside one spring) and they’re horrible, so kudos to him there!
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How long did it take you to recover? Yes mixing it up can be the best way to keep yourself interested
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It was a very long time ago but ages and ages, I recall!
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