This November, Find Motivation in Taking Gratitude for a Run

November can be a time to give thanks and seek new motivations—which may seem more challenging than usual this year. In this post, NYRR Coach Cassie Wangsness offers guidance on finding gratitude on the run and using the power of that gratitude to fuel your motivation in the weeks and months ahead.

Looking for company on your gratitude and motivation journey? Check out NYRR Coaching Lab Offseason, an online community to help you recover, build strength and stamina, and have fun as you look toward 2021. Sign up now; the eight-week program starts this week.

Ah, Thanksgiving. Traditionally it’s a day to crowd around a family dinner table, share stories of the recently completed (or spectated) TCS New York City Marathon, get motivated for next year’s training, and of course, have a slice of every pie. That is how everyone celebrates Thanksgiving, isn’t it?

Okay, so there may be some runner biases there. Regardless, our Thanksgiving plans this year will differ greatly from years past—namely, we will expect much smaller gatherings and stories of virtual marathons. And perhaps this year we can also find new traditions of giving thanks—not just on Thanksgiving Day but all month long—and use our monthlong gratitude as motivation to run.

As a coach and runner myself, I know that finding motivation to run this time of year is often difficult: it is colder, darker, and for many, racing season is now over. But just like a bit of ice cream can complement any Thanksgiving pie, a dose of thankful thoughts can complement one’s relationship with running and help foster motivation along the way.

I encourage you to find your gratitude and take it for a run. There is inherent motivation in simply performing the activity that has helped us move through the pandemic and remain connected to our beloved running community. Runners uniquely understand the strength needed to keep moving through tough times, and it can be extremely motivating to reflect on how these qualities have helped us this year. You will find that your reflections can help build motivation and momentum as you go!

For some of us, feelings of gratitude may be hard to summon, given the seemingly endless challenges that have plagued our world this year—from the suffering and threats brought on by COVID-19 to heightened awareness of racial injustices and inequities to economic hardships experienced by so many. Yet consider that in response, we have seen an outpouring of human greatness. There is power in the thanks we give to frontline workers and those protesting for long overdue change, and power in how we continue to care for those in need. There is power and motivation in giving thanks to ourselves.

This year’s inaugural Virtual NYRR Run for Thanks 5K may be a space for you to explore ways to put your thanks into action. You can seek new ways to connect to running and our community, such as by signing up for NYRR Coaching Lab, where gratitude and strength from the community form the heart of training. Wherever your run brings you, may that space be lighter and stronger from your gratitude run.

And maybe you will feel motivated to make your gratitude run a bright new Thanksgiving running tradition, born from the hardships of our year.