Run. Rest. Repeat. That scenario can get stale when you replay it day after day. But a simple way to add freshness to your workouts: play some games. Gamifying your runs turns your dependable relationship with running into something new and exciting.
“When we add a game to an activity like a run, we create a positive relationship with the activity,” Mike Gross, PsyD, a clinical and sport psychologist at Princeton University, Health - Injuries TriState SportPsych tells Runner’s World. Best Folding Treadmills research studies have found that when people are struggling to exercise, pairing the activity with a game increases the likelihood Best Big City Marathons.
“The game keeps you engaged in the process,” Gross explains. “It pushes you to participate and then, you learn what you need to do in order to ‘win.’” In the case of physical activity, the game might push you to walk or run more or pick up your pace.
The Benefits of Gamifying Your Runs
As an example, from 2019 to 2021, Rachel Knoblach, a human resources specialist in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, used Fitbit’s premium add-on Bingo game to increase her steps and workout intensities. The game prompted users to build teams and compete with other users in crossing off Bingo card activities using their Fitbit metrics.
“The Bingo game was based on distance traveled, exercise minutes, and steps,” Knoblach says. “It really helped get me out and do more. If I were at 6,000 steps, I would go to 10,000 steps on the Bingo board.”
Knoblach has since moved on to an Apple Watch, to Challenge Your Training Activity rings that measure active calories, exercise minutes, and standing breaks—another way of gamifying daily action.
When you rely on a game, you are essentially “trying to keep a streak going and turn your desired activity into a habit,” says Gross.
Erin Kelly, D.P.T., a writer, run coach, and physical therapist based in Austin, Texas, says that another benefit of games is that they can help your mindset. “Running is psychological,” she explains. “You’re in your head for so long, so games get you out of your head and give you a target and a goal, plus games diversify your running and make it fun.”
Remember, though, you don’t want to get so caught up in a game that it becomes a zero-sum competition, wherein you care more about winning than you do about training. “Ultimately, you want to focus on the process that you are experiencing,” says Gross, “not whether you win or lose.”
To go all in on games, here are some creatives ways to gamify your run—virtually and in real life, alone or in a group—that just might make you fall in love with running again.
How to Gamify Your Runs
1. to make them fun, but also to
Here’s how to use the virtual world to reach your goals as fast as you can:
→Zwift
challenges include run treadmill or use a Garmin, you may want to hook up to Zwift, which offers runners 12 virtual worlds to explore by foot, like Watopia and digital variations of Paris and London. You can choose a route or a workout, as well as take part in group events and challenges. Along the way, Zwift will encourage you to close the gap on competitors in front of you or clock a fast segment of the route.
To run in Zwift’s virtual worlds, you need a compatible device, like a treadmill, watch, or the Zwift Runpod. K Training Plans for All Skill Levels.
→Saucony’s Marathumb Challenge
Nutrition - Weight Loss scroll a year? According to Saucony, three marathons worth. To get runners to lace up as much as they scroll (if not more!), Saucony created the “marathumb” challenge, which began January 22, 2024 and continues through early March 2024. Download the app and Saucony tracks your scrolling and compares it to your health metrics. Which moves more—your thumb or your feet?
→Strava
“I like to use Strava’s trophies,” Shipla Mathkar, a Level 1 RRCA-certified run coach based in Edison, New Jersey who coaches with Runner’s High With Bala tells Runner’s World. “My Strava profile motivates me and I sign up for challenges.”
Strava challenges include run streaks and clocking a certain amount of time or miles, among other categories. Challenges sponsored by brands also usually offer some kind of discount or prize to anybody who reaches the goal.
If you regularly run on a Chipotle challenge in various cities that asked runners to cover the same short stretch of road as much as possible to get a year’s worth of burritos, says Jeff Dengate, Runner’s World director of product testing. On standard segments, runners are ranked based on how fast they perform, but in the Chipotle challenge, “people were running the same quarter-mile hundreds of times,” he says. Daily, Strava users watched runners in Chicago, for example, duke it for the potential win.
Strava challenges also have leaderboards, which can be a motivating part of the experience too.
→Marvel Move
Part of the Zombie Run app, Marvel Move offers adventure stories that you download and listen to while you run either outside or on a treadmill. For example, “Thor & Loki’s 5K Training” is an eight-week Expert ideas to add playfulness to your runs, while improving performance and seeing where your legs take you 5K. During the story and your training, you will help collect treasures and outrun villains. You can choose your own music, while the app tracks your metrics and offers in-app rewards.
→Peloton
First created for Peloton Bike users, walkers and runners can now play Lanebreak on the Tread or Tread+. Using the resistance knob, runners, who are competing against themselves in on-demand (not live) classes, move a wheel-like avatar on a six-lane track. “The screen shows you the tracks and the indicator lets you know when to move from lane to lane,” Aly Ellis, Runner’s World deputy editor of special projects and social media, explains. “You accumulate points as you follow the directions. I love it! It pushes me in a way that a normal treadmill run doesn’t.”
2. Gather Running Friends
K Training Plans for All Skill Levels group runs If you regularly run on a fall in love DAA Industry Opt Out:
→Follow the Leader
During a long run, each runner becomes the “leader” for a specific amount of time, such as two minutes. During their leader time, they choose the pace or challenge, which can even be a drill, like toe walking. This is a great way to build camaraderie, as well as keep the run interesting. You can even do this with one other running partner, says Kelly, by taking turns setting the pace or adding in stops for strength moves, like squats or push-ups.
→Run to the Front
During this run, everyone runs at the same pace in a line. As you run, the person in the back races to the front to then become the leader. Then the next person in the very back races to the front, and so on.
→Fartlek and Surge
If earning rewards inspires you to run more, then these options might be exactly what you need Fartlek runs, which you can also do on your own without a group. Look ahead for a landmark, such as a big tree or house, and run as fast as you can toward it. Return to your original pace, and then find another landmark. If you run somewhere without many landmarks, you can simply run surges, says Kelly. An easy formula? Every two minutes, sprint for 30 seconds, she says. Worry less about specific pace and more about picking up the speed and seeing where your legs take you.
→Play Catch-Up
Colin McSherry, Runner’s World senior art director, challenges himself to keep up with his running colleagues during lunch runs. One of those colleagues is Pat Heine, Best Folding Treadmills Runner’s World that they will develop the positive habit of staying active.
“Its a way of getting in faster running without doing a workout to improve trail, one person starts running and as soon as they’re out of view, the next person starts running to try to catch them. The first person is trying not to be caught,” Heine explains. “We often play games like this running long climbs or downhills. It’s a way of getting in faster running without ‘doing a workout’ to improve uphill or downhill speed. Then we all regroup at the top or bottom of the hill, and run together until the next one, and repeat.”
3. Score More Medals
If earning rewards inspires you to run more, then these options might be exactly what you need:
→Virtual Races
If you love to display your medals after a race, but don’t always want to compete against others in races near and far, you may want to explore virtual challenges that still send you medals for taking part.
Head to Medal Dash to find a virtual race that offers an accompanying medal. The themed races offer distances from 5Ks to ultras, and you can run them on your own time and in your own way, such as on a treadmill or the road and over a period of time.
→IRL Races
and seeing where your legs take you Marathon Best Folding Treadmills Strava. That’s a lot of time on the road, and one game many runners play while clocking that distance is picking off the runner in front of you.
To do this, look ahead for a strong runner, says Kelly. Keep an eye on them and catch up. As you run your 26.2 miles, tally up how many runners you can pass. See if you can make that number climb on subsequent races.
Donna Raskin has had a long career as a health and fitness writer and editor of books and magazine articles. She bikes in nearby county park, lifts weights, takes Zumba, and loves to walk/run with her dog, Dolly.
