Running News Daily

Our lives are busier than ever.

We are all frantically juggling family life and long working hours; some statistics showing the average working week in the US to be close to 36 hours, with some professions working 40 or more.

That’s before we even include cooking, housework, gardening and DIY, social engagements, study and additional commitments.

With so many demands placed on us, it’s no wonder that training slips down the list of priorities.

But lets look at things a little more closely.

Are we really that busy? Or are we just poor at time management or just making excuses?

Today we are going to dive into where our time goes, and how we can make sure running remains enough of a priority to consistently keep up with training. We will share things to think about when it comes to being creative with your training, and then 5 helpful ways to fit training in when life gets hectic.

Why Is There No Time For Running?

This chart is from The Bureau of Labor Statistics 2014 showing average leisure time of Americans (over the age of 15). A typical American has 5 hours of leisure time a day.

Take a look at the blue section of the chart.  Imagine how much time we’d have for running if we didn’t spend nearly 3 hours of it watching TV? So if you’re spending a bit too much time in the blue segment of this chart, then the answer to the ‘How do I find time to run?’ question is quite easy.

Turn off the TV! And work on spending a bit more time in the purple section.

But lets say you don’t spend 3 hours a day watching TV.

Lets say you work long hours but on top of that, you might have children to care for, dogs to walk, housework, cooking, washing, ironing and admin to take care of. Finding time to run can be really tough.

Make running a priority using creative runner friendly hacks

The busier we get, the more creative we have to be about how we spend our time.

It’s easy to waste many hours on the internet, watching TV, on your mobile phone or just frittering time away. You have to get tough with yourself and become incredibly efficient – don’t get distracted by things are less important.

In our frantic, busy lives, if you really want to find time to run, you have to find a way to make it work and get organized.

According to Tony Phillips, aka ‘A Mile A Day’ from the UK, the main thing that stops us finding time to exercise is not giving it a high enough priority in our lives.

‘When we have enough time, we usually manage to fit exercise in’ he explains ‘but when we get busy, exercise is the thing that gets pushed aside, because it’s not deemed as important. But running is one of the best ways to help us deal with stress and overwhelm. Yet the time when we need it most, is the time we tend to short-change ourselves’.

We all know intrinsically that exercise is one of the most important things we can do for our health and we need to make it a top priority, but it’s easier said than done.

‘People who make exercise high in their list of priorities are generally the ones who manage to fit it in’ explains Tony, ‘They understand the connection between physical fitness, health and mental wellbeing’.

That is certainly true for me.

I’ve learned over the years that running is a vital part of my life. It’s like medication, and without it I feel physically sick, grumpy and can’t function well.

That doesn’t mean I’m always joyful about going for a run, it just means that I need it in my life and on the days I run I ALWAYS feel better.

So I’ve learned to prioritize. It might mean I go to bed early, or it might mean I miss out on a social event or a TV show, so I can get up early the next day to run.

Rather than going out for dinner too often with my husband, we choose to have a ‘date run’ instead. We get to spend time together and catch up, but we’re doing it at the same time as running, rather than over a bottle of Rioja. Same goes for catching up with girlfriends for a coffee. Instead, we meet for a run or at the very least a dog walk.

It’s not an obsession; it’s just a choice. And in our busy lives, we can’t have it all. We have to make choices.

Schedule your run into your day for a guaranteed win

According to Tony, there are two other behaviors that set successful runners apart from the ‘excuse makers’.  ‘The other thing they do is schedule it into the day’ says Tony ‘they know it’s high priority, and they don’t immediately move it when something else comes up.

They also recognize that a short run is better than none at all.  Even just one mile a day is easier to fit into gaps in your schedule, and keeps you in the routine of regular exercise’.

Little and often is the key.

It’s better to be consistent, but do regular short runs, rather than overwhelm yourself with big mileage goals.

On that note, I find standard training plans for busy people often don’t work. You need to devise your own flexible plan to fit in around your own lifestyle or work with a coach who understands you and can tailor your training to your life conflicts. This is where Runners Connect individualized training comes in!

Learn HOW to train, what you need to do to meet your goals and work with your schedule to make it happen. A strict training plan (which isn’t personalized to you) can add more stress and the sense of failure when you don’t manage to follow it.

Make it a challenge to find creative ways to get your run in

Developing a ‘growth’ mindset is a vital tool to helping you become more efficient at prioritizing your running.

The ‘growth’ mindset is a concept developed by Carol Dwerk, a Professor of Psychology at Standford University.

Now:

It’s much more than having a ‘positive attitude’.

It teaches us that we can change the way we think; finding solutions to problems rather than seeing barriers. Becoming more resilient and resourceful.

Someone in the fixed mindset (which is bad) might say ‘I have a long commute to work I don’t have time to train’.

Whereas someone in the growth mindset would think ‘I have a long commute, could I spend some of that running, change my stop on the train or run part of the way home? How can I make that happen? What do I need to do to make it work?’

It’s about looking for creative solutions and finding ways around barriers.

Don’t ‘go hard’ all the time

There is no scientific evidence for this (you heard it here first), but it’s something I’ve noticed over the last 20 years of my coaching work.

Running hard every single time you go out could be making it difficult for you to stay on track with your training.

Runners Connect often posts about the importance of easy running, how 80% of your runs should be easy, even if you are only running a few times per week.

”If your brain always associates running with pain, eventually it’ll persuade you to stop.”

If on the other hand, your brain associates running with pleasure and enjoyment (perhaps a slower pace and gradual increase of miles) then it’s far more likely you’ll continue and WANT to go running, rather than dread it.  Try it and see what happens.

5 Ways To Fit Your Training Into A Busy Schedule

‘Get your training done as early in the day as you can’ advises Tony. ‘Go to bed early, get up early and get it done. It sets you up for the day and makes your more productive. There will ALWAYS be something else to do, so get your run done first’.

‘Make it a habit’ continues Tony ‘Habits are easy to form when you do them every day. Even if you don’t run every day, try to make it the same TIME each day you run. It helps to have a trigger. For example, you run immediately after getting up, or always at lunchtime at work. The idea is that you embed it as something you do automatically’.

Don’t underestimate the power of a training partner. Training with someone else at least once a week is a great way to make sure you get out there and run. Book in with a friend or group session. The commitment of meeting someone else will mean you’ll be less likely to let them down and you’re more likely to train. If you do not have anyone else in your area to run with, get many of the same benefits by joining a running community like Coach Jamie Dodge talked about in the podcast Do I Need a Running Coach?

‘Make sure your training schedule works for everyone else in the household’ advises Tony. ‘If you’re finding it tough to get out, and the people around you are complaining or encouraging you stay at home, it makes it doubly difficult’. Perhaps get them to join you? Or at least make sure they know your plans and how important it is to you. Don’t allow anyone else to derail you or your enthusiasm.

And finally, leave some gaps in your schedule. Life has a habit of disrupting plans and things always take longer than you think. ‘All time management systems work best when you build some spaces in for contingency’ says Tony. ‘It reduces stress and gives you another window to run when things go off schedule’

And if you’re still struggling, here’s a final piece of advice from Life Coach and time management guru Tony Philips:

“You have 168 hours each and every week. If you work a 40-hour week and sleep 8 hours every night, that leaves 72 hours or just over 10 hours per day.

Of the remaining time how much of it do you spend doing things that benefit you less than training, such as watching television, wasting time on your computer, playing video games or on your mobile phone?

Jakob Ingebrigtsen brought his remarkable 2026 season to a fitting close on home soil, winning the men’s street 1500m at the inaugural Runfest Norway in Sandnes on Friday.

Competing in front of an enthusiastic hometown crowd, the Olympic and world champion took control of the race from the early stages and maintained his authority through the finish, stopping the clock at 3:40.7.

Andreas Fjeld Halvorsen followed in second in 3:43.3, while Sigurd Tveit completed the podium in 3:47.8.

The unusual street race added another dimension to the occasion, with 273 runners taking part on the same road and sharing the course with one of Norway’s most accomplished distance runners. For the recreational participants, it offered a rare opportunity to compete alongside Ingebrigtsen in an event that brought elite athletics and mass participation together.

The victory also provided a fitting final chapter to a season that began with significant uncertainty for Ingebrigtsen. After undergoing major Achilles surgery in February, the Norwegian was forced to miss a substantial portion of the summer campaign as he worked his way back to full fitness.

His return, however, quickly developed into another championship-winning chapter. In Birmingham, Ingebrigtsen captured European 5,000m gold before adding another major title at the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest, where he won the 5,000m.

Those performances transformed what could have been a disrupted season into another year defined by championship success and a determined return to the highest level.

Now, with the Sandnes victory added to his 2026 record, Ingebrigtsen closes the year exactly where it began in spirit — overcoming adversity, rebuilding his form and once again competing at the front.

From Achilles surgery in February to major championship victories and finally a 1500m win before his hometown crowd, the Norwegian has given his 2026 season a memorable final scene.

Olympic 100m hurdles champion Masai Russell has announced her engagement to longtime partner Robert “Robbie” Springfield, adding a major personal milestone to the remarkable journey of one of America’s leading track and field stars.

Russell shared the news with her followers, revealing that Springfield had proposed and that she had accepted. Reflecting on their relationship, the Olympic champion described him as her best friend and expressed her excitement about spending the rest of her life with him.

The couple’s relationship dates back to their college years at the University of Kentucky, where both were student-athletes and competed in track and field. Russell established herself as a standout hurdler, while Springfield competed in the long jump, giving them a shared understanding of the demands, sacrifices and pressures that come with pursuing success in athletics.

Springfield has since transitioned from competition into coaching. A former collegiate long jumper, he is now part of the coaching staff at Morehead State University, where he works with the programme’s sprinters and jumpers.

Their relationship has developed alongside Russell’s rise to the top of the sport. The defining moment of her career came at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where she captured gold in the women’s 100m hurdles, securing her place among the sport’s Olympic champions.

Away from competition, Springfield has remained a familiar part of Russell’s journey, sharing in the demanding periods of training and competition that accompanied her pursuit of Olympic success. Their connection has consequently grown from a college athletics relationship into a long-term partnership.

The engagement now marks another significant chapter for Russell, this time away from the track. After reaching the pinnacle of her sporting career in Paris, the 100m hurdles champion is beginning a new phase of her personal life alongside a partner who has been part of her journey since their university days.

From competing on the same collegiate stage to building a future together, Russell and Springfield’s story has evolved alongside two careers shaped by track and field. The Olympic champion will now balance this new personal chapter with her continuing ambitions in athletics

The women’s race at the 2026 TCS Amsterdam Marathon is shaping up to be one of the most competitive editions in recent years, with a deep international field set to take on the fast Dutch course on Sunday, October 18.

At the centre of the contest will be four Ethiopian athletes who have already broken the 2:20 barrier, creating the prospect of a fascinating battle for victory and a possible assault on the course record of 2:16:52.

Defending champion Aynalem Desta will return to Amsterdam looking to retain her title after producing the biggest performance of her career at last year’s 50th edition. Desta won in a personal best of 2:17:37, establishing herself among the leading marathoners in the field and setting the benchmark for this year’s contenders.

Standing in her way will be fellow Ethiopian Meseret Belete Tola, a former Amsterdam champion who knows exactly what it takes to succeed on the course. Belete Tola captured the 2023 edition in 2:18:21, and her return adds another layer of experience and proven quality to an already formidable lineup.

The field also includes Mestawut Fikir Truneh, who arrives with an impressive marathon pedigree. Truneh finished runner-up at the 2024 Berlin Marathon in 2:18:48, demonstrating her ability to compete at the highest level on one of the world's major marathon stages.

Completing the quartet of sub-2:20 Ethiopians is Buze Diriba, whose personal best of 2:19:34 places her firmly among the leading contenders. With four athletes possessing credentials below 2:20, the race is likely to develop into a tightly contested battle from the opening kilometres.

The depth extends well beyond the leading quartet. Desi Jisa Mokonin, representing Bahrain, Yeshi Kalayu Chekole of Ethiopia and Nazret Weldu Gebrehiwet of Eritrea have all established themselves as serious marathon competitors with performances approaching the 2:20 mark.

Another major name to watch is Abeba Aregawi, the former 1500m world champion representing Sweden. Aregawi has successfully transferred her talents to the marathon and made headlines earlier this year by setting a Swedish national record of 2:23:12 on her debut. Her presence adds another intriguing dimension to an already high-quality field.

Amsterdam’s marathon course has consistently provided an opportunity for elite athletes to produce fast times, and this year’s women’s lineup has the depth to turn the race into a genuine test of both championship racing and outright speed.

With four athletes already inside 2:20, two former Amsterdam champions returning to the start line and several other accomplished marathoners ready to challenge them, the battle is expected to remain open deep into the race.

The ultimate target will be the Amsterdam women’s course record of 2:16:52. Whether the leading contenders can threaten that mark remains to be seen, but the quality assembled for October 18 ensures that the record will be firmly in the spotlight when the race reaches its spectacular finish inside the Olympic Stadium.

The 2026 Valencia Half Marathon is shaping up to be a thrilling contest of speed, endurance and tactical brilliance, with some of the world’s finest road runners set to converge in Spain on October 25.

Kenya’s Daniel Ebenyo and Alex Matata will be among the leading contenders, facing a formidable Ethiopian challenge spearheaded by Jemal Yimer and Tadese Worku. The field also features Rodrigue Kwizera, who boasts the fastest personal best among the leading entrants at 58:16.

Ebenyo arrives with a personal best of 59:04, placing him firmly among the athletes capable of sustaining a demanding pace over the 21.1-kilometre distance. Matata, who owns a 59:11 best, adds further Kenyan strength, while Andrea Kiptoo brings another sub-60-minute credential to the race.

Yimer has already established himself as one of the fastest athletes in the field with a 58:33 personal best, while Worku has clocked 58:35. Kenya’s Owen Korir, with a best of 58:58, further underlines the remarkable depth of the men's lineup.

Valencia Half Marathon 2026 Entries

1. Rodrigue Kwizera (Spain) — 58:16

2. Jemal Yimer (Ethiopia) — 58:33

3. Tadese Worku (Ethiopia) — 58:35

4. Owen Korir (Kenya) — 58:58

5. Daniel Ebenyo (Kenya) — 59:04

6. Alex Matata (Kenya) — 59:11

7. Andrea Kiptoo (Kenya) — 59:11

8. Thierry Ndikumwenayo (Spain) — 59:42

9. Said Mechaal (Spain) — 1:00:24

10. Adel Mechaal (Spain) — 1:02:30

Kwizera, who finished second in Valencia last year, leads the field on paper and will be seeking another standout performance on the famously fast Valencia course. With several athletes carrying sub-60-minute credentials, the race has the ingredients for an aggressive battle from the opening kilometres.

Beyond the headline names, the men’s field is deep and highly competitive, bringing together a strong collection of experienced international athletes with proven ability over the half-marathon distance. With so much quality packed into the lineup, the race promises an intriguing battle in which tactics, endurance, positioning and finishing speed could all play a crucial role in determining the eventual champion.

Yet personal bests will count for little once the gun goes off. The title could ultimately be decided by patience, positioning and the ability to respond when the pace begins to rise in the closing stages. Every surge, every tactical move and every second saved could prove decisive on the road to the finish.

With Kenya, Ethiopia and Spain represented by athletes of exceptional quality, Valencia promises a high-octane men's showdown in which the leaders are likely to be separated by only a handful of seconds. The final kilometres could provide the defining moments of a race packed with speed, ambition and anticipation.

On October 25, the question will be simple: who has the strength to command the streets of Valencia and claim the coveted half-marathon crown?

 

April 19, 1982. The Boston Marathon unfolded under unusually warm, sunny conditions, and by the closing stages, the race had become a private battle between two very different American runners: Alberto Salazar, already one of the biggest names in distance running, and Dick Beardsley, the Minnesota runner who had emerged as a serious marathon contender.

For roughly nine miles, from the Newton Hills toward the finish, Beardsley did much of the leading, with Salazar tucked close behind. Neither man could shake the other. They ran deep into Boston locked together, trading surges and refusing to surrender an inch as the crowds along the course grew louder.

Salazar finally made his decisive move with less than a mile remaining. He opened a small gap, but Beardsley refused to disappear. The Minnesota runner chased him through the final streets, closing again as they approached the finish.

Then came the final sprint.

Salazar held his form and reached the finish first in 2:08:52, with Beardsley only two seconds behind in 2:08:54. It was an extraordinary result: both men broke 2:09 in the same Boston Marathon, and both shattered the previous course record.

The race became known as the “Duel in the Sun,” and it remains one of the most celebrated head-to-head battles in Boston Marathon history. Beardsley had not won, but his performance established him as one of America's elite marathoners.

For Salazar, however, victory came at an enormous physical cost. Immediately after crossing the finish line, he collapsed and required emergency treatment, including several litres of intravenous saline. The combination of heat, dehydration and an all-out effort had pushed his body to the limit.

Salazar's marathon career would never again produce quite the same kind of performance. His celebrated 1981 New York City Marathon victory had produced what was initially considered a world record, although the course was later found to be short. His Boston triumph therefore became one of the defining victories of his career.

Beardsley's story would take an even more difficult turn. Injuries disrupted his career, and after returning to the highest level, he suffered a devastating farm accident in 1989. Further accidents, surgeries and severe physical pain followed, eventually leading to a long battle with painkiller addiction.

He eventually overcame that struggle and transformed the darkest chapters of his life into a story of recovery, resilience and redemption.

That is what makes the 1982 Boston Marathon more than a two-second victory.

For one extraordinary afternoon, Salazar and Beardsley produced a marathon duel in which neither man was willing to give way. One crossed the finish line first. The other finished only two seconds behind him.

Two seconds separated them at Boston. Decades later, their legendary duel remains one of the greatest chapters in marathon history.