Gotta admit – there are times when it’s tough to get out there and do the running. Not because of minor aches and pains that may greet you in the morning. Not even because of that chill wind you know is waiting to pick up as soon as you head out the door.

Most of those aches are gone. And a March lamb’s been grazing in this part of the country lately. The glaciers have pulled back, leaving little lakes in their wake.

Still, some days, I’ll wake up with this Gollum-like creature rattling around my brain.

“Must stay in bed,” it says. “Our bed is so warm. Evil Master Gord, he wantsss to kill us! Murder us with thirty-six kilometres!!!”

Gord, our running-route wizard. He’s got our best interests at heart. Doing the mileage, getting stronger, mean running the best marathon you can. The work must be done. That’s usually enough to get me going.

“But we already have the precioussss,” the Gollum-thing hisses, again. “The precioussss. We have it.”

Last year, Boston, Chicago, Athens. Who could ask more than to run glorious tradition-rich Boston, set a personal best at one of the largest marathons in the world and then cap it off by running THE MARATHON, the one that actually starts in Marathon; the one the Olympians will run this year? How do you follow up a year like that?

It’s a bit of a motivational quandar. Does my personal Gollum have a point?

It’s an issue I’ve been struggling with a bit lately – an issue I’ve also had a hard time addressing in this space.

So this week, I turned to members of our regular Sunday morning group, which recently formed a running team – Nomads Running – to find out what keeps them going.

Evil route master Gord Nelson broke through the three-hour barrier last fall. He’s highly motivated, he says, to do that on the tough Boston course. “I am interested to see how I’m affected once that is achieved. Where do I go from there? We’ll see.” He’ll give it a whirl next month.

Sadik Tokgoz – with more than 40 marathons under his shoes – has already crossed that bridge. His goal is 100 marathons. Notched seven of them last year.

“It gives me some security that I will be running for a good amount of time – unless I have some injuries that stop me permanently.” He’s already making running plans for life after 100 marathons.

Unofficial team captain Bryan Mulligan is always looking for that perfect run.

“It’s the process of training that I enjoy the most - the instant feedback you get every day when you run. And how you hate to miss a day of training, in case it’s one of those hard-to-find days that feels so easy and makes you feel so good.”

Tony DiCristofaro and Dawna Wong love being in the best shape of their lives – and setting healthy examples for their young kids. And John Willan – who smoked the three-hour mark last fall and appears to have sprouted wings this year – says he loves the competition. He finished tenth in a very competitive field of almost 500 last weekend in Grimsby, Ontario, at one of the first half marathons of the season – part of this year’s well-run Niagara Running Series.

Here at the CBC, Radio News parliamentary bureau chief, Dave Taylor, got into the sport a couple of years back.

“Besides the good feelings I have when I run (and afterwards), I am motivated by the memory of how I felt before I started to run. I lacked energy, I got more colds, I ate badly, I was heavier and grumpier. I don't want to go back there. I suppose that's fear. It's a good motivator too.”

Me? I’m getting used to being able to feel my hipbones. They used to be so well padded. And while it can be tough to get out the door, I know it’s a lot tougher living with myself if I let my personal Gollum keep me down.

It’s good to feel good, but feeling good can be hard work. Like anything else worthwhile in life.

Think I’ll put in a good 36 k run this weekend. Afterall, it’s only seven weeks to Boston. So preciousssss.

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