Agreed, Leo’s post had a lot of great tips. One I thought that was immensely helpful was number nine – Have a reason to keep going at the end.

For my first marathon (Chicago 2007), I ran on a local charity team for a children’s hospital and this year I’m running for a no-kill animal shelter called PAWS Chicago.

Joining a charity team gives you a sense of “cause” ownership and each time you go for a run, you’ll think about that cause and how much you’re helping.

The team might meet regularly for group runs too. The buddy system always helps!