Assign teens to teams or running buddies with similar running ability. Differentiate training based on the ability of the team or pair. Teens enjoy social activity with their peers. Running with their peers, with similar ability, encourages teens to run.
Set goals for teens. Involve teens in the goal-setting process by asking them to come up with their own goals. Break up large goals into smaller chunks and celebrate each step that is accomplished. For example, if a teen wishes to increase his distance from one mile to two miles a day, break the goal down into a quarter-mile improvement per week, giving the teen a month to double his distance. Goals can be set for things like endurance, speed, attitude and distance.
Run in different locations. A change of scenery makes running more rewarding. Rather than sending teens around the same track day after day, shake things up a bit. Take teens running around town and vary the routes. If there is a river or forest nearby with a path, let them run there. Teens will discover places that they prefer to run and eventually you can ask them to decide where they want to run.
Play music over a loud speaker system if possible. If the teens are running on an indoor track, crank up some music. Or offer times at an outdoor track where music can be played over the speaker system while teens run – but make sure the music will not distract the rest of the school or neighbors. Many students have MP3 players that could be used to listen to music quietly. When appropriate – students are running in a safe place where there is no traffic or there is no need to hear their peers – let them listen to their own music.
Model a healthy lifestyle and a passion for running. If you expect teens to be motivated to run, expect to teach by example. When you are full of energy and display a spark of passion for running, teens will pick up on it and get excited about running themselves.
Explain the health benefits to teens. Teenagers understand illness and disease. Provide teenagers with statistics and facts that support running as a healthy activity and specify exactly what the benefits to individuals are. Examples that teens might be interested in include running for stress management, weight loss, strength or reducing their risk of certain diseases.
Practice safe running. Have teens stretch, warm up and cool down to avoid injury or pain from running. Educate teens on safety issues when running, such as drinking plenty of water, what to do if they are lightheaded, watching out for other runners and watching out for cars in public areas.
Play running games. Have teens set records and compete for awards. While teens can have fun competing against one another, limit competitions to groups of teens with similar running ability or have teens compete to break their own records. Running performance is influenced by more than just effort. Performance can also be affected by health, heredity and experience. Asking teens to compete unfairly might result in teens losing motivation.