How to Stay Consistent With Running (Even When Motivation Fades)

It’s mid-January.

Some people are still riding that New Year high. Some people already feel behind. And some people, if they’re being honest, are quietly wondering if this year is going to look a lot like the last one.

For me, mid-January always feels like this strange in-between. I still have motivation, but I can feel it starting to thin out. Not because I don’t care, but because I know how this works. With running, with health, with habits, with change in general: real progress doesn’t happen overnight.

Right now, I’m training again. I’m also trying to dial back in my nutrition. I put on some weight over the last couple of months, and I want to feel more like myself again. But just like running, weight loss doesn’t show up after a few good days. There’s no instant proof that what you’re doing is “working.”

And that’s usually when motivation starts to fade. Not because we’re lazy, but because we’re human.

We like feedback. We like visible results. We like knowing that our effort matters. When those results are delayed, our brain starts to whisper: Is this even worth it? This is the part no one really prepares you for.

Not the starting, but the staying consistent. 

Why Staying Consistent With Running Feels So Hard

Most people think consistency is about motivation. About discipline. About wanting it badly enough.

But after years of running, and years of stopping and starting before that, I’ve learned something different. Consistency isn’t about being intense. It’s about being sustainable.

If you’ve ever wondered how to stay consistent with running, especially when life gets busy or the excitement wears off, the answer usually isn’t “try harder.”

It’s: make it easier to keep going. 

The Real Secret to Running Consistency

Here’s what consistency actually needs.

Not hype. Not pressure. Not perfection. 

It needs systems that support you when motivation fades.

These are the five shifts that changed everything for me and they’re the same principles I teach inside Run More, Quit Less. 

1. Create a Default Version of Your Run

For a long time, I believed a “real” run had to happen outside. Fresh air. Proper gear. The full experience. And while I still prefer running outdoors, especially when the weather is nice, that rule made winter miserable.

Canadian winters are not exactly forgiving. Dark mornings. Cold air. Slippery sidewalks. Every run started to feel like a negotiation.

So I adjusted. Now, my default winter run is on the treadmill. Is it my favorite? No. Does it feel glamorous? Also no. Does it keep me running? Absolutely.

This was a huge mindset shift for me. I stopped asking, What is the best possible version of this run? and started asking, What is the version of this run that I will actually do?

That’s what I mean by a default run. Not your fantasy version. Your realistic one. 

• Ten minutes.
• One loop.
• Run/walk.
• Treadmill.

Whatever removes the drama and gets you moving. If you want to build a sustainable running habit, this matters more than almost anything else. 

2. Use a Start Rule, Not a Finish Goal 

This year, I have a marathon in October. I’ve run marathons before. I’ve even run an ultra. But this one still intimidates me.

My stretch goal is to reduce my walking significantly (maybe even eliminate it altogether, but I'm not ready to fully claim this goal just yet). And that feels big. Almost too big. I’ve never completed anything beyond a 10K without walking.

So yes, that goal exists. But it cannot be the thing that runs my daily decisions. Because when goals feel heavy, they stop being motivating. They start becoming pressure. So instead of asking myself, Can I run this marathon the way I want to? I ask a much smaller question: Can I start today’s run?

That’s it.

Shoes on. First step. Two minutes. Start rules protect consistency. Finish goals often threaten it. 

3. Remove Friction From Your Running Routine

Winter brings its own challenges: darkness, cold, and the mental heaviness that comes with both. But one of my biggest friction points is guilt. Guilt when I don’t follow the plan perfectly. Guilt when I choose the treadmill over going outside. Guilt when life gets in the way.

And guilt is sneaky. It doesn’t usually motivate you: it drains you.

One of the most helpful shifts I’ve made is removing friction wherever I can.

I run first thing in the morning now. Not because I’m super disciplined, but because it makes everything easier. I don’t spend the day thinking about it. I don’t negotiate with myself. I don’t carry that background stress of “I still have to run.”

I just… start.

And that changes everything. 

4. Build a Comeback Plan Before You Need One

Last year, I was supposed to run a 50K. A few weeks before the race, I made the decision to switch to the 25K. Not because I was injured. Not because I couldn’t physically do it. But because I wasn’t having fun anymore.

And that mattered more to me than finishing a longer distance.

I’m not in this to prove anything. I’m in this because I want to be running for many, many years to come.

I used to think missing runs meant I was failing. Now I see it differently. Missing runs is part of being human. What matters is how you come back.

That’s why I always encourage people to decide their comeback plan in advance.

Not if you fall off, but when you do.

For me, that looks like this: I restart with one short run. No punishment. No making up for lost time. No spiraling.

Just a reset.

Consistency is not built on perfection. It’s built on recovery. 

5. Track Proof, Not Performance

I used to run based on distance. Now, I mostly run based on time.

Sometimes that means I run 4 kilometers. Sometimes it’s 5. Sometimes it’s 7. But the point is not the number.

The point is that I showed up.

That’s what I track now. Not just pace. Not just distance. Not just performance. I track proof. Proof that I’m the kind of person who keeps going. Proof that I come back. Proof that I don’t disappear when it gets hard.

That kind of tracking builds identity. And identity is what makes consistency feel natural instead of forced. 

Motivation Comes After Consistency

Motivation doesn’t come first. Consistency does.

Motivation is a response to evidence. Evidence that you are capable. Evidence that you are showing up. Evidence that this is becoming who you are.

If mid-January feels heavy, it doesn’t mean you’re failing. It means you’re in the quiet part of the process. The part where habits are forming but results are still invisible.

This is the work. And it matters. 

How to Run More and Quit Less

If you want to build a running habit that actually lasts, one that bends with your life instead of breaking, I built Run More, Quit Less around this exact philosophy.

Not pushing harder. Not being stricter. Not trying to be perfect. But learning how to stay. More on that soon.

For now, just know this: You are not behind. You are building.

And that is enough for today.