2024 - Goal-Setting for Your Most Successful Running Year 

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My goal is to try a second marathon and do it under 4:00. I ran my first 3 years ago and it was 4:55. I've since lost 30 pounds and I've become a much better runner. I recently ran a 1:50 half and 48:00 10K so I know I can run the pace, the question is can I run it for 4 hours. Oh yeah, I'm 63 and just started 3 years ago. Actually the wild crazy long shot ultimate goal is to run 3:50 and qualify for Boston, but if I don't make it this time, then I need 4:05 next year. Thats kind of why I picked 4:00 as the goal since I think that's achievable.

This is such a great way to think about goals- thinking about what you want to celebrate! I would love to celebrate a sub 3:45 marathon time by the end of next year :)

My one big goal is to run my 3rd marathon in fall 2024 and hit around 5 hrs. (2nd marathon was 5:25). I trained for my 3rd this past fall...but i didnt listen to my body when i needed to rest and it resulted in my first DNS.

I have some reoccurring injuries. I’m trying to do some rehab and exercises this winter to help me achieve an injury free 2024, which will include more strength work and slower slow runs.

Happy New Year, Jane and family! Some of your insights really pinpoint some of the agonizing that I've done within my own psyche over the past eight weeks. While I've identified the what and the why, and even some of the how, I have not yet brought myself into absolutely proclaiming to myself or those few other close people you mentioned the specific goal that I'd like to celebrate by the end of 2024, even though I know that I'd like to complete my first full marathon in under five hours by then. I've known this since 5 November, when I witnessed first-hand the atmosphere, energy, and grandeur of the NYC Marathon, albeit as a spectator watching two friends complete that race. The event was amazing, with deference to the crowds, police, or runners themselves, and I had a truly great time watching. But throughout the day, I was struck over and again by the personal question of why wasn't I on the other side of the barriers, competing in that race? The two friends that I followed and I had trained together throughout the fall, and I realized that if I would have joined them for just a couple of more long runs (I was training up for two half-marathons), that we could have been a trio coming across that finish line, rather than me cheering them on and meeting up with them afterwards. I'm not at the point where I can share this goal with either of those two guys yet, and am kind of stuck in a realm where I'm ready to do the work and training, but not outright say to myself (or anyone else) that it's my absolute resolution to complete the marathon this year (it's going to be a big reach for me, hence the fear of failure). I feel like my safety net right now is that I've haven't actually outright stated this objective yet to anyone, not even myself.

My big running goal this year is to run a sub-4 hour marathon. I've signed up for Edinburgh in May which will only be my second marathon. When I did my first one in 2023, the aim was just to finish (preferably between 4 and 4:30) - I had to walk for some of it and ended up finishing in 4:26. I've already gotten faster over shorter distances since then and am looking at increased mileage for the upcoming training plan compared to last time.

Happy New Year. Only interested in being ready to participate in the 2025 Boston Marathon. Satisfying the 75 good for age is unrealistic but I may get a place via a ballot. I'm considering an intermediate autumn (fall) half marathon target.

Happy New Year Coach Jane. I always smile when I see one of your recent videos, I know the message is going to be "bittersweet", there's going to be some awesome positiveness enjoyable pep talk, and then there is going to be the "straight talk", "get out there", "get it accomplished" the reality part of the discussion. I LOVE all your videos, and I will always consider this such a win for me, this journey on your channel. Have an awesomeness and safe New Year, Coach Jane.

This is very similar to what I did for 2023 and I’m getting ready to run my first marathon! For 2024, I want to work on PR’ing my half in the fall.

I just saw this come up on my feed. My big goal for the year is to get to 140 or less (I started the year weighing 186.8 and I'm already down to 157.4), because I figure once I lose the weight (my best racing weight is 125-135, but I figured that making it to 140 by year's end would be doable) it will make my racing times more feasible. My racing calendar for 2024 has two races, and my goal was to get to 50% or better in age-graded performance. With the weight I'd lost by mid-April, I already hit 53.7% in the 5K, which was my first 50% or more performance since before my car got T-boned in Dec. 2019 :-D Now, I'm looking at 55% for my big mile effort in August.

I make a new years resolution every month of the year :o) I'm going to train smarter by going to the gym more and running fewer miles so I can spend more days doing faster shorter distances. I'm still going to do one or two 30 milers and maybe even add a little more elevation gain to it but I want to spend at least two months concentrating on more up hill speed so I'll have to do fewer big mileage days to avoid overdoing it. Fewer 20 mile days which has been my staple for a couple of years and more easy 10 miles between hill days. I'll figure out the details as I see how my body responds. Extra gym days seems to be speeding my recovery and now my calves dont hurt as much. Seems like the opposite should be true but it's working.

My big goal for this year is a 10min/mile marathon (4:22) which is about 10% faster than last year. So far I decreased my Lactate Threshold pace to 8:11 from 8:57 (around the marathon) and had some big PBs in 10k and Half. This goal is important as a stepping stone to a Boston Qualifier.

Sub 20 min 5k, get under 200 lbs by end of year. Simple but challenging for me.

Very good. Thanks and happy new year. Besides process goals, I like to include intermediate goals. Process goals tell you what to do and intermediate goals where you are. They should be milestones on the way. My main goal last year became a 10k PB. Two 5ks were intermediate goals with the last close enough for the time to be a good predictor for what I was up to and in helping me define the A, B and C goals for the 10k and a more conservative approach to the race itself. In the end, it allowed me to over-achieve on the initial goal for the 10k, even though I seemed far away and I had lowered my expectation.

Break my 1:39:10 half time at age 65.

Happy New Year! My goal is a 3:45 fall marathon. (Not sure which one yet.) Also will try for a sub-45 10K at the Bolder Boulder.

My goal is to complete my first marathon and survive!

Happy New Year to you and your family Jane. My big goal in '24 is to run my first marathon in minimalist shoes. I've been transitioning away from the high stack, soft foam shoes with a bigger drop, to the flat, flexible, low, wide toe box, minimal running shoes. Xero shoes are my favorite brand, if you've heard of them. I love the ground feel and how they have helped strengthen my feet while minor nags and other chronic issues have gone away. I've been at this for the past 2+ years, had no injuries, and I'm up for a marathon this year. If I could go under 4:00 that would be icing on the cake. I think 3:55 is very doable 9 min/mile. I'm really trying not to care about the time and just enjoy it, but you know us runners.........

I just want to complete my first marathon since college now that i am 61 years old

Ran my first marathon in 5:39 this year I want to get under 5 hrs.

Hi Jane! I have been binging your videos now for the past week - love them so much. I’m hoping to get your input on something .. I am fighting for my life trying to come up with the perfect split right now. I am trying to run 4 days a week (long, speed, 2 recovery runs) and lift 3 days a week (2 lower, 1 upper .. trying to build my glutes). Hoping to somehow combine an upper day with a recovery run or something? Is this split attainable? What is the best way to do this do you think ? I want to progress as a runner.. im not currently training for anything but want to complete my first half marathon this year so I want to improve… but I also want to build muscle specifically in legs and glutes. However I know rest is important and I don’t want to overtrain my body.

Sub 1:30:00 half marathon in april and 10k sub 40:00 maybe by the end of the year. Another goal is to hit and stay at average 80k+ (50miles) per week. Currently at around 40 miles per week