Keep motivated

What keeps me going when I am running is setting goals to keep myself motivated. The goals only need to be short-term and personal, but achievable. It makes you focus on the present, rather than the huge task ahead of you. My favourite goal is to find someone in the crowd who is slightly faster than you and follow them, making sure you try to beat them by the time you get to the finish line. The charity element of the City2Sea is also a great inspiration to help keep you motivated, you are running for a cause and helping to provide a positive impact on your community. 

Read more of Tim's training tips here. 

Once upon a time most runners would have considered running to be enough when it came to fun run preparation (if they bothered to prepare at all). Nowadays we know preparation is the key, whether you are experienced or a beginner.

Smart preparation will make the run easier, more fun and will assist with injury prevention. It’s also a great way to keep your fitness on track through winter!

An average weekly training program should include a mix of long runs, fartlek training, hill sprints, recovery sessions and strength training.

Read Ben's top strengthening tips here.

Tackling and conquering a 15km run is ideally a desire that comes from within. It comes from your heart and soul. It’s during your campaign and preparation that you bank thoughts as to how much you will apply yourself come race day. Visualize yourself running strong through various stages in your 15km challenge. You’ll be able to call on these thoughts (as well as remind yourself of a challenging training run) when the going gets tough.

Read Pat's top training tips here.

When it comes to working out, warming up properly is one of the most important things you need to do.

Getting your muscles and joints loose, warm and active will help keep you strong and reduce risk of injury.

Virgin Active Personal Trainer Vanessa Leone swears by a dynamic warm-up rather than remaining still and holding a stretch.  A dynamic warm-up will get your blood circulating and allow you to perform at your ultimate, with maximum flexibility allowing for proper form which will maximise your results. And who doesn’t love results? 

Read Vanessa's warm up tips here. 

The day before the race is an important time in your preparation. Make sure that you have everything that you’ll need on race day ready to go the night before. This will include your clothing and shoes for the race (which you should test out in training beforehand), your race number and timing chip and warm, dry clothes for before and after the race.

Ensure that you are properly hydrated by the day before and avoid alcohol and caffeine, as these may lead to dehydration. Eat a carbohydrate rich meal the night before, which may include pasta, rice or potatoes. 

Read more of Rupert's race day tips here. 

Running season is well and truly underway. As the weather slowly getting warmer, there's never been a more perfect time to get out and hit the pavement ahead of summer. And with the City2Sea just around the corner, what better time to begin than now.

While there are plenty of hot tips and tricks to get you mentally prepared for the annual 15km run between the Melbourne CBD and St Kilda, help in the form of footwear and race gear can go make a huge difference on the day.

Read more about these tips here.

The best way to start running is to just get up and go, right? Not so fast. If you haven't been exercising on a regular basis—30 minutes a day, five times a week for at least six weeks—walking at a moderate intensity is the best first step you can take.

Read more about this article here. 

We all know the runner's high is real, but science still isn't certain about why it occurs. We spoke with Dr Greg Gerdeman, an assistant professor of biology at Eckerd College, to understand the current theory.

See the video here.