Training This Month: Setting a Goal That Actually Motivates You
Official Chicago Marathon training kicks off this month, and before you lace up for that first run, it’s worth pausing for an honest conversation with yourself. What are you actually doing this for? Marathon training is long. There will be 5 a.m. alarms, hot July long runs, blisters, and at least one Sunday when you really, really don’t want to go. The Heroes who finish strong — and who hit their fundraising goals — are almost always the ones who got crystal clear on their why before mile one.
Name Your Starting Line
Goals look different depending on where you’re coming from, so start by being honest about yours. Maybe this is your first marathon and the goal is simply to finish, healthy and proud. Maybe you’ve run before and you’re ready to chase a PR. Maybe this is your fifth, tenth, or twentieth race, and you need a new reason to make this one feel different from the rest. Or maybe you’re running for someone specific — a kid, a family member, a memory, a cause that won’t let you go.
There’s no wrong answer. But the answer you choose shapes everything that comes next: the workouts you prioritize, the way you talk about the race, and the story you tell your donors.
Set Two Goals, Not One
The most resilient runners we coach always set two goals before training starts. The first is an outcome goal — the finish-line version. A time, a distance milestone, a fundraising number, a feeling at mile 26.2. The second is a process goal — something inside your control week to week. Hit every long run. Send one donor email a week. Strength train twice a week. Get to bed by 10.
Outcome goals are inspiring. Process goals are what actually get you there. When the outcome feels far away (and it will, somewhere around week nine), your process goal is what keeps you moving forward one workout at a time. Write down both, and treat them as equally important.
Tie It to a Bigger Why
You signed up to run Chicago with Mercy Home for a reason. Maybe the mission grabbed you. Maybe you know what it’s like to be a kid who needed a safe place. Maybe a friend told you about it and something just clicked. Whatever it was, write it down. The clearer you are now, the easier it will be in August when the miles get heavy.
A few prompts to help you get there: If you could change one thing for the youth at Mercy Home, what would it be? When training gets hard, who is the one person you want to think about? If you hit both your time goal and your fundraising goal, what does that say about you? And what would make you proudest to tell your donors at the finish line?
If you need a spark, spend ten minutes reading Our Stories. Bookmark the one that hits you hardest. You’ll want to come back to it in August, and again at the start line.
Make It Specific. Make It Visible.
Vague goals lose to specific ones every single time. “I want to do my best” is a hope. “I want to finish under 4:30 and raise $5,000” is a plan. Write your goals down somewhere you’ll actually see them: on a sticky note by your coffee maker, on the lock screen of your phone, on the inside cover of your training log. Bonus points if you share them publicly. Tell a friend. Put them in your next donor update. Goals you’ve said out loud are far more likely to get done than goals you only think about.
Your 5-Minute Goal-Setting Worksheet
Grab a pen. Answer these before your next run.
My #1 outcome goal for race day is: ______________________
My weekly process goal during training is: ______________________
My fundraising goal beyond my minimum is: $______________________
The person, story, or moment I’ll think about at mile 20 is: ______________________
One sentence I can text a donor that captures my why: ______________________
Where I’ll keep these goals visible: ______________________
Whatever your goal is, remember that you’re already doing something most people never will. You said yes to 18 weeks of training and to running for kids who needed someone in their corner. That alone is a win worth celebrating. Now go set the goal that makes you a little nervous. Those are the ones worth chasing.
Heroes don’t just show up. They show up with a why.
