Become a better runner (i.e. someone who actually runs... ever) in 9 easy steps.

As we gear straight out of summer and into winter, more and more people are considering how to avoid slipping back to their old winter habits. You know the ones I mean – sitting on the couch in oversized trackpants, staring at screens and shovelling food into your mouth until it’s time for bed.

The answer? Running. It’s a brilliant way to keep fit and, best of all, it’s easy. All you really need to do is put some clothes on and push yourself out the door and onto the pavement.

But if you’re looking to get more serious with your running, you might like to consider some of the below items. Some are expensive, some are free, some are almost-free. But each of them will make you a better runner. Promise.

1. A training buddy

What is life without a friend to lend you a helping hand? I’ll admit it – I’m rarely truly motivated to exercise if I’m exercising all alone. Hence why I usually do my training with friends – you can bully each other into getting your butts off the couch! Hurray!

Try to get yourself a repertoire of friends to dance/run/barre body/surf with, so if one bails you don’t just give up on the whole exercising idea completely.

2. An awesome sports bra                         

Running can be truly terrible for your boobs if you’re not battle-ready with the correct bra. I am cursed – or blessed, haven’t decided yet – with E-cups and used to run wearing two super-tight crop tops. I could barely breathe, but at least my boobs didn’t move.

My life changed with a Berlei running bra that appeared under the Christmas tree one year. It’s comfy and offers extreme support. If you know of any other awesome sports bra brands, please share in the comments.

3. Decent running shoes                                             

If your runners are a few years old, invest in a new pair. As long as they’re of decent quality and correctly fitted, they may change up your running completely. I just got a pair of adidas Boost sneakers, which I adore because they’re so light (thank you adidas!), but find a pair that works for you and your needs.

Nat’s new Adidas runners.

4. The treadmill

Treadmills are actually easier to run on than running outdoors – you don’t have uneven terrain, grass, small inclines, big inclines, wind, etc. all getting in the way and hindering your performance. For this reason, most runners far prefer to train outdoors. However, a treadmill can still be your best friend if you have time or weather constraints.

5. A fitness tracker or similar device

Brilliant for keeping track of all sorts of things, fitness trackers are your key to success if you’re REALLY serious about your running. And everyone else thinks so too – sales of them have gone up 700 per cent in the last year. I went through a bunch of the most popular watches in this post, and you can also win a running watch and heart rate monitor at the bottom of this post if you scroll down to the bottom of this post.

6. Strength-training

If you’re hoping to become a better runner, you should also do strength training that works to strengthen your ankles, feet, legs and core. It’ll only serve to benefit you. Plus, it’s excellent to mix up your training to ensure that you don’t become too fatigued by only doing one type of exercise.

7. Water

Being dehydrated lends itself to a myriad of issues: headaches, tiredness and dry lips/eyes/mouth being just a few of them. You won’t be able to work out nearly as effectively if you’re not drinking enough water all day, every day. If you have trouble keeping track of your water intake, buy this Michelle Bridges water bottle (it’s labelled by the hour) or even better, make your own:

8. Music

Music makes even the most painful of runs infinitely more enjoyable. Especially, if you have some pump-up anthems on your iPod, scheduled to come on just when you’re doing those hill intervals. If you’re battling to think of music to add to your exercise playlist, you can go here and here for some inspirations. Thank me later.

9. A bribe or motivational factor

Currently, I’m training for the Nike She Runs event on the 5^th May. I want to run a decent time and not embarrass myself by only being able to run 500 metres – so it’s great motivation for me to actually keep up my training.

If you can, sign yourself up for a fun run to train for. There’s a list of them here. Alternatively, look up various runs in your city to find one with a distance that you’d like to aim for. If you’re in Sydney, the City 2 Surf and the Blackmores Bridge Run are both gorgeous and a decent challenge, at 14km and 9km respectively.

If you don’t want to sign up for anything? Bribe yourself. Chuck a dollar in a jar every time you go for a run and once you have a decent amount of money in there, treat yourself to something amazing. A massage. A new pair of shoes. Or a shiteload of Gelato Messina.

What helps you run?

If you’re really keen on a watch to help you improve your fitness – you’re in luck. I’ve got eight to give away from the lovely people at Magellan.

The watch is the Magellan Echo watch with a heartrate monitor, valued at $199. It’s the first dedicated Smart Sports watch in Australia that uses Bluetooth Smart technology to wirelessly connect to an iPhone, so it’ll stream details from the fitness apps on your phone – such as distance, time, calories, heart rate and pace – directly to your wrist.

This means you can tuck your phone away in your armband or pocket and have complete control of your workout, as well as your workout music, from your Echo. Clever AND easy.

There’s also no need to plug the Echo into a computer to upload your stats – all the data is stored in your fitness apps, ready to be shared online. Oh, and the device also runs on a replaceable battery with up to six months battery life, so it doesn’t need to be charged before every use.

Even better, it comes in four colours – black, orange, blue and pink – and winners will get to choose the colour they want.

To win….

1) Hop on over to the Mamamia Health & Fitness Facebook page and hit the like button.

2) Fill out the form below and make sure you answer the question: Why do you want to improve your fitness?

Competition closes next Saturday 19th April and the best answer wins – go go go! x

• Name:
• Address:
• Phone number (only used to contact you if you win):
• Email address (only used to contact you if you win):
• Why do you want to improve your fitness?