I've only been running a year so I can't really wrap my head around running "xxxx" miles a year. I simply want to follow my training plans and eventually complete my first marathon in November. Besides that I'll run a lot of shorter races. Above all, I want to be injury-free all year.

Some goals now that I have the running bug (staying healthy is the prereq):

1. Finish my first HM race shooting for 1:50
2. Finish my first FM race shooting for 4:00
3. 50 min 10k
4. 5k under 22 min
5. Log 1200 miles for the year
6. Be able to race with the same passion as ZenInTexas!

My goals are modest:

Do a sub 40 minute 5K.

I'm almost middle aged, still obese and run slower than a sloth on valium so any increase in speed is huge for me (best time currently is 41:23). I plan to slowly increase my mileage and introduce speed work/intervals - cautiously, because the last thing I want is an injury.

My 2014 running goals:

1) PR my half marathon with a 1:50
2) Run my first full marathon....hopefully under 4:00

and running related

3) 3:00 Olympic distance tri. Was almost there in 2013 but had such a bad run it didn't happen...will work a lot on running after riding!

Goals for 2014:

1. CONSISTANCY ( no more than 2 days without a run )
2. MAF train to 8:00 mile without breaking MAF
3. Glass City Marathon (Apr 27) under 4:15 (PR)
4. North Face Endurance - Madison 50 miler under 11:00 (Qualify for Western States)

My running goals are probably directly linked to my goal of going to the mid range weight for my height. I believe it will make a difference. Giving myself about 3 months to do so as its about 10-15lbs. Going to be challenging as I'm doing a half in Jan, Feb, March, and April and possibly two in March. I get so hungry after those.

I won't run an official 5k till May.
5k goal: Under 27 minutes.

I am not too worried about time on my half right now. I did two in December and my time was 2:17 on both. Still into just "completing them"

My main goal is to run a marathon in under 4:00. My best so far is 4:13 and I was very happy with it, but it's time to step it up and do some speedwork.

I'm going to follow a more aggressive plan this year with my goal time in mind. I'm thinking of giving up trying to find a free one and buying the Runners World 4 hour plan. Until now I've used the free Hal Higdon novice plans. If anyone has any better advice, feel free to let me know.

Why not step up to the next level Higdon plan? His intermediate plans have a pretty good amount of mileage and his advanced plans include speed work.

Hi! I'm new here!

Taking up distance running has been wonderful, but there have been a few negatives. My goals are to try to correct some of the things that distance running has done to my body. So... to that end....

1. Lose about 10 of the 15 lbs I've put on since taking up ultrarunning, and figure out how to keep it off.

2. Work on my upper body strength, which has drastically decreased. I USED to have small children, and I got a lot of strength from lifting them. Now they are too old to carry and I'm practically a skeleton up top.

Hi. I'm new to the site and new to the group. I ran my first marathon last year: The Asheville City Marathon. I took it on short notice and only trained for 2 months. I finished but it wasn't great. At the halfway mark I was on pace to finish under four hours but at mile 18 my thighs cramped and I spent the last 8 miles alternating between running and walking. I finished in 4:46:02.

My goals for this year are to run both of the marathons in my city: The Asheville Marathon at the Biltmore Estate and the Asheville City Marathon again and to finish both in under four hours. The first is in March and the second is in September. Looking more long term this is part of my goal to run the Mt. Mitchell Challenge 40-miler up to the peak of Mt. Mitchell in February of 2015.

Non-running goal: lose 40 pounds.

sub 20 5k is my only goal. I have 29 seconds to shave off. I have a fast and flat 5k in 3 weeks so fingers crossed!

1. 1000 Miles
2. Run 2 Half-Marathons sub 2:00 in the fall.

Hi, everyone! I only became a runner in 2013, so setting running goals is a very odd feeling. :-)

1) Complete my first half marathon in April. If I can do it in under 3 hours, that would be a bonus, but I'm really just focused on finishing and enjoying the first-time experience.

2) Address some of the nagging little discomforts I experience, like strengthening my upper body so I don't get that pain between my shoulder blades after a long run.

3) Run at least 50 miles each month.

4) Slowly improve my 5K time. I don't really care about being a speed demon, but my 5K times were 33:30 and 34:49. I'd like to get down to around 32 minutes this year, but I won't be working on that until the summer I think.

2) Address some of the nagging little discomforts I experience, like strengthening my upper body so I don't get that pain between my shoulder blades after a long run.

This is probably caused by carrying too much tension in your shoulders and possibly holding your arms too high. Make a concerted effort to relax your shoulders and let them drop during the run and see if it makes a difference.

4) Slowly improve my 5K time. I don't really care about being a speed demon, but my 5K times were 33:30 and 34:49. I'd like to get down to around 32 minutes this year, but I won't be working on that until the summer I think.

Consistently running more easy miles will improve your 5K times more than anything else right now. Just keep getting out there, running easy, and going a little further each time. Instead of 50 miles per month, try to gradually move that to around a 100 miles a month and you'll see dramatic improvements in your 5K time.

Ooh, fun!! Ok my primary goal for this coming year is to be able to train pain free and injury free!! And beyond that I would like to do a 21 minute 5k, a 45 minute 10k, a 1:45 Half and a 3:40 full. Might take more than a year to make those but I'm sure going to try!! I would also like to log 2000 miles in 2014. And I want to do a sprint Triathlon. It's going to be a busy year!

Twins! I too am looking to mainly get through the year without injuries.
Also, a 21 minute (or sub) is my goal as well as a sub 3:40 full. Awesome year ahead. Good luck!

I'm hoping to run a sub 4 marathon (I know I have one in me. The last marathon I ran in fall 2012 was a 4:01. UGH). I also want to race at least once a month. It would be nice to PR in the 10K and half, but I'm really focused on the sub 4 this year.