Getting a running partner can dramatically increase your motivation to run.

If you're a runner, a serious runner or even just a casual runner, a great tip to make sure you continue to run is to find a running partner. Running partners are great motivators. On days where you don't want to run, or on days when the weather is miserable and you'd rather curl up inside with a good book, your running partner will do what it takes to get you out running. Cajoling, bargaining, pleading, even threatening - they're all things a running partner will try to get you moving - and let me tell you, they work.

When I first started running I was living in Dallas, Texas. Dallas is not the best place to begin your running life as it's freezing cold and incredibly windy in the winter, and boiling hot with 100% humidity in the summer. So I often made up excuses for not running that day. I ran alone, so on really hot or really cold days, it was so much easier to say to myself "I don't really need to run today", than it was to get my running gear on and actually get out there. This continued for a few months until I decided I needed to get serious. Then, at the running track one day, I fell into conversation with a woman, Laura, who I'd seen there many times. She was around my age, about my fitness level and I'd noticed we ran at about the same speed and around the same length of time. So, during the conversation, I asked her if she'd ever considered having a running partner. Long story short, from that day on, we ran together almost every night.

Running with Laura, I got a great running partner who encouraged me to get out on the track, even when I didn't want to. If it was cold, she'd show up with a flask of hot coffee and two cups and that would be our reward once we'd finished our run. She would call me on the hottest day of the year and remind me there were frozen Slurpees to be had at the 7-11 - but only available after an hour on the running track. And I would do the same for her.

Another great thing about having a running partner is you're never bored when you're running. When I ran alone, I would get bored. I used to take a Walkman with me, but my ears would hurt after half an hour and, besides, it's dangerous running with headphones on if you're running on streets. With Laura, we talked about everything while we ran. Funnily enough, she was a topless dancer (a profession I knew nothing about), but she was working her way through college at the same time, to get IT project management certification, and then move onto a 'proper career'. While I ran with her, I learned all about the topless dancing world - fascinating for someone like me who had never even been to a topless bar.

So, if you're finding you lack motivation getting out on your daily run, ask a neighbor, friend, relative or someone you see running in your neighborhood and get a running partner. You'll see your motivation to run increasing, and often your running stamina will also improve, as you'll be so busy talking you'll run faster and further than you expected to.