Have you ever experienced a running slump? Most runners have gone through these periods at one point or another, when running just feels “blah”. There are many reasons for a running slump. Maybe the weather has been awful, or you’re overtrained, or haven’t had any goals to work towards. Once you figure out why you may be experiencing a running slump, there are some things you can do to try to get out of it!

Tips for Overcoming a Running Slump
Track your training
Start writing down all of your workouts, and use that information to guide your running schedule. (This could also help you identify WHY you are in a running slump.) Make notes about how you feel before, during, and after a run. Keep track of your shoes here too so you know when it’s time to replace them! Pay attention to when you are doing your strength workouts and how that may impact your running, along with how many rest days you take each week.
Consider other life factors that could impact stress levels
Our bodies can’t recognize the difference between “training stress” and “life stress”, so if one is high it could impact the other. Even during periods of low mileage, if we are dealing with a stressful time at work or in other areas of our lives it can definitely affect running. Try to find a good balance and see if that helps your running to improve.
Focus on recovery during a running slump
Are you sleeping enough? Eating well? Taking enough rest days? Foam rolling or doing other strategies to help your muscles recover? Giving yourself a mental break? Also, make sure you are taking planned breaks from running!
Set a goal
Sometimes a running slump can simply be due to “going through the motions” with no real goal in mind. Setting a goal like a race or even something related to a particular workout or long run can help.
Find intrinsic motivation
While it’s good to have goals, they are less meaningful if they don’t come from within ourselves. Try to think about your “why”. Why do you run? Why do you want to improve? Why did you start exercising to begin with? Why are you frustrated with your training? Once you figure out your internal motivation, it will be easier to call upon that when working towards your goals.
Try something new during a running slump
Sometimes we may just get sick of running (gasp!) and that’s ok! There are so many other ways to exercise, and by doing a different activity it could lead to a renewed sense of running enjoyment when we return to the sport.
Take some time off or cut back significantly
Burnout is a real thing, and it’s important not to push through when we start to notice signs that our bodies need a break. Often times this can feel like a running slump. This can often lead to injury or other health issues. It’s good to take a week or two off each year, especially during the off-season, and it can also be helpful to schedule cut-back weeks regularly.
Respect where you are during a running slump
If you have been running for awhile you probably know that sometimes our bodies just do not cooperate in the way we would like them to and there is often no rhyme or reason to this. It’s best to just accept this, and train in a way that feels right at the time. Just believe that your speed/endurance/motivation will come back when the time is right!
You may also like:
How Can You Maintain Motivation for the Long Run?
How To Schedule Rest Days From Running
What To Do (And Not To Do) on a Rest Day
How do you overcome a running slump?
Do you take time off running when things aren’t going well?
How do you keep track of your training?
Now it’s time for the Runners’ Roundup! Link up your running and fitness posts below! Join myself, Coach Debbie Runs, Confessions of a Mother Runner, Runs with Pugs , and Laura Norris Running to post your favorite running tips, experiences, race and training recaps, workouts, gear, and coaching ideas.
Great ideas here! I don’t often find myself in a slump but if I start to feel like running isn’t interesting to me, I cross train or run less and then I feel better and back to my running normal. I also think that running too many races can cause the burn out too, at least from what I see others go through. I only run a few a year and it’s probably for the best.
I agree that too much racing could cause burn out! I don’t think I could handle racing much more than once a month.
Get injured, then you’ll be itching to get back! lol BUT SERIOUSLY DON”T DO THAT
SUZ!!!! 😀
Been there, done that, and would rather not do it again!!
I haven’t really taken time off, but I’ve definitely taken myself off of any kind of training/pace plan. There’s much to be said for running what you feel like and not putting pressure on yourself.
Absolutely! I think sometimes we need to just relax and run what we feel like. Other times a plan can help us stay motivated.
Great tips! I love how we both posted on the same topic, yet our posts and even our suggestions are so different. Thanks for sharing at the Running Coaches Corner!
I know, that’s why blogging is so great- no two posts are ever exactly alike:) Thanks for hosting!
Lately I’ve been in a weird place where mentally and physically I’m feeling really good and highly motivated when it comes to running. My body is super fatigued though, in ways that are not related to running at all. I’m looking forward to my blood test results to find out what’s going on. Stress could be a part of it (we’re going through changes at work) but I think it’s probably something else too.
Thanks as always for providing helpful tips and advice!
I hope you get some answers soon!
Hi Kristina! Hope all is well. Stress definitely can wear on you.
I definitely relate to the burnout part – and I’ll switch up my workouts. Good point about tracking your shoes too!
Switching up workouts can help so much! Usually I miss running pretty quickly.
Great tips! Trying something new is a great way shake up your training. I’d also say try to run somewhere new or shake up the routine.
Great ideas! I actually ran a new route (one that i hadn’t run in a long time) last week and it was a great way to change things up!
I use an online site to track my training – http://www.running2win.com. I love using that, but I’m always afraid what happens if the site goes away? Will I lose all my training documentation?? I’d certainly hope that wouldn’t happen, but I like how I can see graphs and it adds everything up for me, etc. I could probably do the same on my own in Excel though too. And of course my blog to write more in-depth about my training! It’s always fun to go back and read what I wrote about some of my runs.
I agree, I love documenting my running on my blog so I can go back and look at it! Online training logs are useful too but this year I have been trying to use my training journal to write down details about my runs.
A week off after a race or during travel/holidays helps so much for me preventing burn out. I felt so burnt out after finishing Hansons last year and I think part of it was not having cutback weeks. Those are needed in marathon training!
I had the same issue with the Hansons plan! I think I adjusted some weeks to cut back a bit, because it was just alot overall!
This is a great post. Normally February is my running slump month but to be honest, I think March has been worse for me. I haven’t been progressing as I would like. These are great tips and I think that anyone can benefit from tracking their mileage at any time!
I have definitely noticed that I either get injuries or go through a slump around February. This year I just backed off alot and I think that helped. But now I am trying to get back my motivation and some speed but it is taking longer than I would like!
I absolutely take time off when things aren’t going well or when I feel ‘blah.’ I try to always maintain a decent base, but I don’t force myself to run if I’m just not feeling it because I know if I do, I’ll just get irritated even more. I actually don’t keep track of training unless I’m training for a specific race, then I’ll write my workouts down in my planner.
That’s smart! Its always good to take some time to be more laid back about running and not stick to a specific plan.
Great post! I love that you took the time to research and make thoughtful suggestions instead of just the usual “treat yourself to new running gear!” or “find a new route!” Also, that’s very interesting that the body can’t recognize the difference between training stress and life stress. I just learned something new!
Taking time off is so important to me. I was so burned out after my goal marathon last June that I had to take an entire 6 months off from “training” for anything. I still ran, but only 2-3 times a week and a few times took the entire week off. It was a weird time for me, because I craved the structure of training to bust out of my rut but I also knew I just wasn’t ready for it yet. I learned a valuable lesson from that though, and now I know I need to prioritize post race recovery, and be more selective about goal-setting and committing to races. Improvement is great, but it comes and goes like seasons and needs to be balanced with unstructured time for best results 🙂
I can definitely relate! My last marathon was in November and I havent been ready to follow a schedule or even think about racing until now.
I mix things up so I don’t get bored. I don’t think I’ve had burnout since I started running, but I have a self-imposed break every summer. I can focus on strength training during that time and only run occasionally.
The breaks are so important, both mentally and physically!
Hmm… this is making me think. And maybe I’ll get criticized for this but it’s better to just be honest. I think… that I don’t *allow* myself to get into a slump. Like, I push through it I guess, to build mental strength. For me, running is my freedom, my time alone, my mental health, so if I feel like ugh, not going for a run that day because it’s rainy or windy or cold, then it’s almost like at that point I KNOW I have to go because the reward will be that much greater. And it always is, even if it’s a bad run and maybe even especially if it’s a bad run because my mind will be that much stronger. I’ll feel like I can get through anything.
I don’t think anyone would criticize you for that. We all have different ways to approach things and what works for one person might now work for someone else. I think the slump happens when a tough run happens every day, and mentally we don’t feel better after the run. It sounds like the difference for you is that after all of these runs you feel better. I also know that I can’t handle running every day, so I really want to make the runs I do go on count and be as good as possible.
great tips, i just try to stick with it until it passes, which it has every time 😉
Yep, it always does:)
Excellent post, thank you! I really think that the ‘life stress’ factor is huge when it comes to the energy we have available for our training. If you have a lot of emotional and mental stress in your life, it can beat you down to a pulp….to the point where you are lying in bed trying to sleep, and every muscle in your neck and chest is so tight that it’s seems impossible to relax. This definitely takes a toll on our day to day energy and motivation I think.
Exactly! I think sometimes we can forget about how much the other stuff going on in our lives can affect our running.
Spot on! I haven’t taken any time off except for injury, but when I start feeling sluggish and unmotivated, I opt for easy, no stress runs. Thanks for linking up!
Taking it easy for a bit can definitely help! I have also found that it helps me to take some time off after a tough training season.
I love how you have a glass of wine when planning out your workout schedule. Luckily I don’t feel like I am in a running slump. And now that it is getting warmer and staying lighter out, it’s even more of a reason to want to run.
Yes, the weather is a huge motivator!
I love using the Believe journal to track my training! These are great tips, thanks for sharing. Usually I find that signing up for a race gets me motivated again, but sometimes I just cut back on running and do other classes and workouts. Usually I start craving a run pretty quick!
Yep, I also find that cutting back on running helps me to get excited for it again!
I’m not recording my training, except for the amount of miles I hope to be able to run by the end of each month. But having a goal is really helping me through the ups and downs, and setbacks. I am trying to visualize being there on race day when I get tired during practice runs. 🙂
That is a great strategy!
Great post. I don’t think a lot of us think about being in a running slump, but I know when I take time off, I can’t wait to get back on the road again. Believe it or not, I’m looking forward to a break after Big Sur. I’m so tired of being in pain!
I’m not surprised! I’m sure everything you are dealing with is really frustrating. I think it will be good when you have no pressure to run or train and can just take the time you may need to recover.
This is a great topic, Lisa!
There have been times when I’ve had a lot of stress at work and didn’t have time for running. When I did go, I felt stressed because I thought of all the work I still had to do.
In times like these, it’s ok to cut back on running, because it was adding to the stress instead of relieving me from stress.
Definitely! Running should be a way to help us relax, and when it becomes stressful then its a good idea to back off.
My blog is my running log. It keeps me motivated. I need something to write about lol
I rarely take time off. I sign up for a race. Racing is a goal. It keeps me on track.
Obviously the pandemic derailed me. But I just ran virtual races.
Its great that races keep you so motivated!
oh yes for sure we all do! For me, taking a little extra rest or just doing something else for a few days will help to take care of it
Sometimes thats all it takes!
The more I think of it, I think I was in a bit of a slump and didn’t even realize it (prior to my marathon cancelling). Granted, my hip/groin was feeling funky, but my heart just wasn’t “feeling” those long-long runs….so everything worked out with perfection 😉
Its funny how sometimes we realize those things after the fact!
These are really good tips. I think we all go through running slumps sometimes.
For most runners who have been training or even just running for a long time, its part of the process!
I never really get in a slump. Sometimes I get tired of the same old route-but it’s easy to mix things up then.
I like Susie’s comment (from a while back)- get injured! That will get you out of a slump in a hurry. You’ll never complain about running again!
Ha! Yes thats so true! I think all my years of injuries made me less likely to experience running slumps. And these days I’m more willing to back off when things aren’t going great.
I definitely think it helps to switch things up a bit with more cross-training. Scaling back a bit can help to instill some new life into your runs. Great post!
Yep, sometimes we just need a little change to get past a running slump!
Interesting post with great tips.
Despite I use web programs (Garmin Connect and Running Ahead) I keep on tracking my runs and important related news (illness, injures, slumps etc.) also on a logbook that I have been filling (with a pen) since 1985, the year when I began to run.
Thanks to it I noticed that, getting older, in the latest years I get in a slump in July/August period. The solution is not easy but I keep it easy cutting the mileage and with a slower pace. The motivation is changing routes choosing the more scenic and, of, course shady.
That’s great that you were able to notice when you needed to cut back! And finding good routes can really make a difference.
Love that journal!
For me the slump lately has been weather. But I found that I felt better if I went out and did something – even if that something was a walk/run for a mile than if I just stayed in. Usually river breeze too.
Oh yes the weather can really cause a slump. Especially when its the end of a season and you’ve been dealing with either extreme cold or extreme heat for months. But I agree, getting outside and doing a little something can really help!
Always fabulous tips! Thanks!
Great tips, as always! Winter often gives me a bit of a slump, so I just go with it.