How to Set a SMART Running Goal

Whether you are a new runner or an Olympic marathon gold medalist, setting goals is worth your time. Selecting a goal helps you determine where you want to be in the future. The goal-setting process forces you to plot the route to get there and provides you with a roadmap to refer to as you chase your goal.

The key to successful goal setting is to choose a smart goal. It is not easy to conceptualize a challenge and build a roadmap without some support, so I have my athletes use a variation of George Doran’s 1981 SMART goal framework. By placing their goal in this framework, my runners can determine if their goal is one that will be appropriately challenging, and they can start to understand what they need to do to accomplish it.

Let’s unpack the SMART framework.

Specific – Ask yourself, “Is my goal specific and well defined?”

Measurable – Ask yourself, “Can I measure my goal? Will I know when I’ve achieved it?”

Attainable – Ask yourself, “Is this goal in the optimal challenge zone for me – not too challenging and not too easy?” An impossible goal will demoralize you and an easy goal will demotivate you. Choose a goal you believe you can accomplish but you know you will have to work hard to achieve.

Realistic – Ask yourself, “Do I have the time and other resources to devote to this goal and what might stand in my way?” You may have the physical ability to accomplish your goal but if you don’t take into consideration your family life, work, and other responsibilities, you may find your goal is out of reach.

Timely – Ask yourself, “What is the timeframe for me to accomplish this goal?” Is there a race you are training for or how much time do you need to achieve your goal?

Let’s see how a new runner might update their goal after seeing if it fits within the SMART framework.

Original New Runner Goal: “I want to run more often.”

Is this goal specific or timely? No, it’s vague and open-ended. Our new runner could update her goal to, “I want to run four times a week for two months.” Now, her goal is specific, timely, and measurable because she can track her progress and know when she achieves it. Is this goal attainable and realistic? That depends on the runner’s current physical capabilities—and her life outside of running. She may be physically capable of running four times a week but if her life is extremely busy, upon reflection she may not think four times a week of running is realistic so she will choose three times a week instead.

SMART New Runner Goal: “I want to run three times a week for two months.”

Now this new runner knows where she’s heading and can start to plan the route to get there. Try turning your goal into a SMART goal!