Have you ever been on a run and you’re just done after 5 or 10 minutes? You’re not physically tired or injured, you just can’t be bothered continuing…just bored with running.

Maybe you’re checking your watch continuously, and wishing that this run will just end. Maybe you’re even berating yourself for lacing up in the first place.

And during this internal dialogue you tell yourself that next time you need to run a new route, or that you need better music, or even that you somehow need to mix things up…but don’t actually know what or how to mix things up.

But what if feeling bored with running isn’t something to fix and is in fact an important piece of running data?

Boredom on your runs is often where the real mental training begins. And if you keep distracting yourself out of it, you not only stay stuck with the boredom, but you are missing out on the opportunity to build mental strength.

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Welcome back to the podcast: Your Running Coach with GMacSpurr.

If you’re new here – hello, I’m Gillian, a running mindset coach, and I help runners – particularly those who already know how to train – reconnect with their runner identity, build self-trust, and perform at a level that actually matches their capability.

I release new running mindset podcast episodes every week, please subscribe so you don’t miss an episode.

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Now, this episode is inspired after a conversation I had with a client this week, she was bored on her long run. I’ve been thinking about it over the past couple of days.

Feeling bored with running or bored on a run is so widespread. I did a quick Google search and the amount of blog posts with the titles “how to make running less boring”, or “bored of running, do this”, or “10 ways to make your runs more fun” is into the thousands of entries.

And don’t get me wrong, it’s great that there are resources out there to help runners get out of their head into running and using tools to enjoy themselves.

But today, I want to go deeper than “10 ways to make your runs more fun”.

This is about why your runs feel flat in the first place and what that says about your mindset, your identity, and your current ceiling as a runner. 

Because boredom is not random, its diagnostic. Most runners think boredom with their running means there is something wrong with them or perhaps more so, their training plan isn’t right. 

I disagree – your training plan is possibly perfectly fine. It’s your brain that’s the issue. Your body is doing its thing, but your brain is running the show TELLING you that you’re bored.

Side note: we need to be bored some of the time, but life is such a way these days that we have 101 things we could do to fill that space – but the space doesn’t need to be filled all the time. Some quiet space aka boredom is where ideas can flow.

Anyways, back to the episode. 

Yes, you can use distraction on your runs – music and podcasts are the two most popular. Totally cool, I’ve used both during my runs. You want to use them on all your runs, you do you. But there are other options that help you USE that boredom or help you explore what your brain is telling you in the moment.

Let’s get straight into it.

Bored with running – what is boring you? Have you ever sat with that question? 

Is it the route? What about the route is boring you?

Is it the distance? What is boring about the distance?

Is it your training in general? What in general is boring?

Is it your pace? What about your pace is boring? Now, I do hear from a lot of runners that doing their LSD – aka long slow distance, it’s really difficult for them to run slowly, and boredom sets in with the slow pace. We’ll dive into that specific scenario later on in this episode coz it’s a biggie.

I want you to be specific when thinking about being bored with running or bored on your run. Specific with what your brain is saying is boring, when the thoughts shows up on your runs, the frequency of the thoughts, and how you react in the moment – what action do you take if any.

See, this is where being aware of your thoughts being a data source is so important.

If we were to be curious about boredom, it appears in moments when we are in our head and not present. For running, that’s often when we are lost in our thoughts, lost in our head, vs listening to our body or being aware of what’s happening around us. So for that reason, the thought “I’m bored” can be a great trigger in itself to be consciously aware to get out of your head and into your body. 

And by that I mean go inward by noticing your breathing – is it heavy, do you need to slow down?, assessing your effort – doing this by feel, not by looking at your watch – is the effort where it needs to be for this run type?, and listening to you body to notice any points of discomfort or even how great things feel physically.

You might be thinking, “it’s easy for you to say that now, but in the moment I don’t want to” – and that’s your brain at work. It’s telling you that doing the work, asking the questions, shifting your awareness to being present is boring or dull or you can’t be arsed.

Is that true? Are you stuck in a thought pattern when actually you could refocus to the present? What I know to be true is it can feel unfamiliar, be met with resistance and require you to intentionally refocus the thoughts.

That mental effort requirement can in itself be a barrier to avoiding doing the work.

Zero judgement, I know I am certainly guilty at times of wanting to take the easy way out. There was a time when a mindset buddy of mine called me Little Miss Resistance. I stayed in my ugh patterns for way longer than was necessary coz it’s comfortable vs doing something new that takes time, effort, work, patience and perseverance. 

Being present in your run can mean feeling the effort, being curious with your thoughts, and sticking with mental discomfort. Telling yourself you are bored with running and leaning into that narrative becomes an easy way out. Again, judgement free.

Going back to the external distractions of music, podcast or audio book – I forgot that one earlier – you outsource your experience of running to an external factor, and that’s a biggie.

If your runs only feel good or enjoyable when:

• you’ve got the right podcast,
• the perfect playlist,
• a scenic route with beautiful weather,
• your running BFF running with you.

Then your experience of running is externally controlled. And that’s you balancing on a knife’s edge coz what happens when your headphones die, or the section of the race your running has no crowds or music or gets tough, or you’re left alone with your thoughts?

You’ve got nothing to anchor into. Time for a runner identity shift.

Elite-level runners – mentally – don’t rely on entertainment. You don’t see them listening to music when they are winning Boston. They create internal engagement.

There’s also the possibility that you’ve outgrown your current way of running and what I mean by that is you are ready for a higher level of engagement.

You might be running on autopilot with the same pace awareness, same thought loops, and same emotional experience.

And your brain is going “There’s nothing happening here”.

Not because running is boring but because you’re not evolving within it. Time for a runner identity shift!

I want to share some protocols to use in your next bored run, but before I do I want to return to the pace boredom that I mentioned earlier. If you find yourself bored only on your slower paced runs it is so important for you to do the mindset work. How we do one thing is how we do others, so if your brain is seeing running at a slower pace as boring, then it’s also telling you that slowing down, not hustling or pushing in another area of your life is boring too. This is how we burn out if we are go-go-go all the time.

A LSD run is an important run type for your physical health, but I’d also argue it’s just as important for your mental strength. It’s an opportunity to pull back, to listen, to challenge yourself in a different way. 

The story of the tortoise and the hare – you know that one? Running fast is great but the true secret to running, to running strong, to running fast is actually your weekly slow run. I promise you.

Let me share my MENTAL SWITCH-UP protocol so the next time you are feeling bored with running, you could use a distraction technique, or you could do one of these instead.

Pick ONE focus for 2–3 minutes at a time or for your whole run:

Body Scan Mode

What do your feet feel like hitting the ground?
Where is tension sitting?
What’s your breathing rhythm?
Focusing on your body gets you out of your head AND it helps you become aware of what your body is telling you

Effort Calibration Mode

On a scale of 1–10, where are you?
Can you adjust slightly up or down? Not going from easy run to tempo, just a subtle increase or decrease.
What changes in your body and thoughts?

Thought Awareness Mode

What are you thinking right now?
Is it helpful?
Is it true?
Is it neutral?
Is it draining?
Observing thoughts helps you become consciously aware of your thought patterns. 

Identity Cue Mode

Ask yourself “How would the runner I want to be show up in this exact moment?”
And then be her, think like her, run like her for 2 minutes.
This turns your run from: “Something to get through” into a space you actively work within.

There was a period of time when I lived in Victoria, British Columbia – gorgeous spot for running by the way – where I remember not feeling connected to my running. I was in between training cycles and running just felt like I was going through the motions but had no emotion toward it. I was bored by it.

I was running my same tempo, steady and easy run routes.
I was running my same paces and effort.

So I tried changing things externally – to try and make my runs more exciting and interesting and fun. I changed up my music, got into listening to podcasts, I ran around different neighbourhoods, I joined different run clubs, I tried trail running, But no matter what I changed, I just felt meh.

The shift only came for me when I became consciously aware of the fact that I wasn’t bored with running, I was disconnected from myself within running.

I was ticking boxes – oh I love a good box ticking – but I wasn’t engaging with running or myself as a runner.

And when I started actually being in my runs again – not just changing the external factors – everything shifted. Not straight away, but after a few weeks I noticed a huge pivot in my energy and excitement to lace up.

Each episode I give you some running mindset journal prompts for you to dive deeper into the topic. So grab your notepad and pen, let’s go:

• When do I feel most bored on my runs? Be specific, is it a pace, route, specific time, what?
• What might I be avoiding in those moments? You may notice some resistance with this question, or maybe nothing comes to mind straight away. Sit with it though.
• Where am I relying on external stimulation to get through?
• What would it look like to be more mentally present in my runs?
• What kind of runner am I becoming when I choose distraction over engagement?

If this episode shifted something for you, make sure you hit follow or subscribe, because this is the work we do here every Tuesday.

Not surface-level motivation.
Real mental performance.
Real identity shifts.
Real change in how you experience running.

And if you’re reading this thinking: “This is exactly where I’m stuck…” then The Runner Identity Project  is where we go deeper into this.

We build:

• Self-trust under pressure
• In-the-moment decision-making
• Identity-level performance

So you’re not just getting through your runs, you’re showing up in them fully.

You can DM me the word “TRIP” on Instagram, or check the link in the show notes to learn more.

And next time you feel bored on a run…don’t escape it, lean into it. That’s where your next level is waiting.

Thank you for listening, and if this episode sparked something in you, come join the Your Running Coach with GMacSpurr FB community. And if you want to chat about how I can support you in achieving your running goals, check out the link in the show notes on how to book a free consult call with me.