What is success to you as a runner? Is it the same now as it was (if you’ve been running that long) 10 years ago? Is it the same as you expect it to be 10 years from now?
I kind of hope not. I also hope not everybody says success is the same thing.
There was a time, like many high school and collegiate runners, when I defined success very simply: doing my best on race day. It wasn’t always a win or a PR but it was very narrowly defined as competitive success.
That wasn’t necessarily the wrong thing for me at the time. It also is not at all the right thing for me now.
This is the key. For different people and even for the same person at different times, success can mean different things. It might mean doing your best on race day. It might mean finding a place of satisfaction or contentment. It might mean accomplishing or maintaining a healthy lifestyle, either or both physically and mentally. It might mean exploring different areas on foot. It could mean any or some combination of all of these things and many more.
The thing to keep in mind is that whatever success means for you, as long as you find what truly matters to you, there is no wrong answer. What success looks like to me probably should be different than what success looks like to you. What success looks like to you 10 years from now hopefully will be different than what success looks like to you now.
For me, success now means a level of competitive accomplishment, combined with maintaining physical and mental health, while doing things that matter to me like running with my daughter any time she asks, all while finding ways to keep running interesting and exploring different challenges. That’s far different than it was for me 25 years ago and I’m happy about that.
So figure out what success means to you. Ask yourself what your priorities are. Then, strive for that success no matter what it looks like.