Whether you would like to improve your fitness, run a mile in a specific time, or participate in a marathon, setting realistic goals is the key to staying motivated and getting the most out of yourself. In this article, I share some mental and physical tools I hope can inspire and help you.

Remember, even champions once were beginners. Here I describe my early days in an awesome sport that has the advantage of keeping you fit without requiring much more than a pair of running shoes, some time, somewhere to run… and a little love for it.

Staying on a path to better fitness and health might feel difficult and intense at first, but a joyful journey will most likely guarantee that you can achieve your desired goals—one single step at a time.

Our writer finally catches up with 1970 Boston Marathon champion Ron Hill for a nostalgic reunion—nearly 47 years after they shared an emotional moment neither will ever forget as Ron left his expectant homeland to strive for “double gold” in the Tokyo Olympics.

The dedicated runners of the Hoyt Foundation raise a record $125,000 for charity and help Boston’s legendary duo, Dick and Rick Hoyt, beat the odds to complete their most challenging marathon.

“I’d dreamed of running the original course since the Athens Olympics,” said Nick Simonelli. On an historic day in Athens, 12,500 runners pay homage to the hardy course where the marathon was born 2,500 years ago.

How the magical legend of the marathon was born: looking back 2,500 years to a runner called Pheidippides and the epic feat that is still inspiring marathoners around the world today.

Only one runner in the Western Hemisphere has ever won an Olympic gold in the 10,000m: Native American Billy Mills. In a special interview with Take The Magic Step®, Billy reflects on that magical moment 46 years ago in Tokyo and reveals his own personal struggles and how they empowered him to win.

Haile Gebrselassie is one of the best long distance runners in history. He runs because he loves the feeling it creates in his body and mind, and he wants everyone to experience the elixir of running and the benefits it can bring to you.

Visually impaired runner Peter Gottwald shares the inspiring story about his journey to the silver medal at the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing. He teaches at West Chester University and is currently working for his Master’s Degree in Education.

At age 16, Jothy Rosenberg lost a leg to cancer, and at 19, a lung. But with amazing courage and true grit he has become an accomplished athlete, and along the way has raised more than $100,000 for cancer research.

It can be the most important move of the day—simply starting your workout! It’s comforting to know that even the best athletes in the world sometimes have trouble getting out the door. Some tips from Uta to help you take the magic step on days you don’t feel like working out.

The Philadelphia-based charity, Back on My Feet, uses running to get the homeless off the streets and back on the road to a new life. And their unusual approach works. Take The Magic Step® visited this remarkable charity.

In 1997, Thomas Geierspichler was abusing drugs and alcohol to forget the wheelchair beneath him and the 1994 car crash that had put him there. But then he began an inspiring journey that brought him the title World Champion and a world-record time in winning the marathon at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing.

Uta answers questions from young people about how to get started on a healthy lifestyle that will help you look and feel the way you would like to, and can help assure you of greater happiness and confidence.

You can miss so much if you don’t pack your running shoes for that out-of-town journey. Runner and author Scott Douglas shows how the most famous landscapes can take on a whole new meaning viewed from a runner’s-eye perspective.

One of the great things about aerobic exercise is how sharing a workout with a relative stranger can create an instant friendship. It might even happen that you agree to run together the next day again.

Celebrated 1976 Boston Marathon champion Jack Fultz, who teaches sport psychology at Tufts University, shares his thoughts on how to measure your successes—and be truly happy with your accomplishments.

A workout at any time of the day is great. But those at the bookends of the day are special not only visually, but also in how they give meaning to the hours that lie before and after them.

How satisfying to get in a workout while helping to reduce greenhouse gases! Tips to help you help the environment—from making your own no-wrapper energy bars to saving shower water.

Experiencing all of what nature has to offer is one of running’s greatest treats. There can be rewards waiting when you make up your mind to hit the trail despite the elements, says Scott Douglas.

“Why don’t you do something useful with your running?” Scott has spent two decades trying to come up with an answer to his brother’s question, even fantasizes about it, and shares his solution.

When you think about something being fun, you usually picture yourself smiling and laughing. But there’s a whole other aspect of fun that gradually gets revealed to you when you’re fit, says the author.

Bill won the Boston and New York City marathons four times each and was ranked #1 in the world three times. Now, he is still competing. But more importantly, Bill has become an elder statesman and ambassador for the sport of running. (A 2006 interview.)

Scott Douglas answers the sedentary critics who insist that solitary running has to be joyless and masochistic. They can only guess, he says, at the release and relaxation that a good run can provide.

After an invigorating workout with Uta, Take The Magic Step’s Mike Reger gained a special insight into the mind of a champion, and he shares the lessons he learned during an (almost) 20-mile bike ride.

Uta describes how running captured her heart as a child—doing 100-meter laps in her parents’ back yard—and how that early experience blossomed into a life-long romance with the sport.