Every July it happens. The routine slips. The alarm gets snoozed. The training plan that felt so solid in spring starts gathering dust while life takes over, holidays, kids off school, long warm evenings that somehow make it harder, not easier, to lace up.
And then comes the voice. I’ll start properly in September. When things calm down. When the kids are back. When I have more time.
Here’s the thing. Things don’t calm down. They just change shape and in September you will feel exactly the same as July, unless in July you decide to do something about it.
This week we watched something happen in sport that stopped us in our tracks and reminded us exactly why consistency beats waiting every single time.
Josh Kerr and the record that stood for 27 years
On Saturday 18th July 2026, British runner Josh Kerr broke the men’s mile world record at London Stadium, running 3 minutes and 42.66 seconds, beating the record set by Morocco’s Hicham El Guerrouj in Rome in 1999 by nearly half a second.
“It was just me, my shoes and the track,” Kerr said afterwards.
A 27-year-old world record. Broken by a man who announced his intention months in advance, trained through injury, through setbacks, through a torn calf at last year’s World Championships that ended his title defence before it began and came back fitter, stronger and more focused than ever.
His coach noted that Kerr was fitter heading into this record attempt than at any previous point in his career — his tempo work sharper, his strength better. Not because he waited for the perfect conditions. Because he kept showing up, quietly and consistently, when nobody was watching.
That’s the lesson. Not the 3:42. The showing up.
What this has to do with you
You are not Josh Kerr. You don’t need to be.
But the principle is exactly the same whether you’re chasing a world record or your first 5km without stopping. The people who make progress in summer are not the ones with the most time or the most motivation. They’re the ones who make it slightly easier to say yes than no.
Here’s what that looks like practically:
Run before the day has a chance to talk you out of it. A 6am run in July light is one of the most genuinely joyful things you can do for yourself and it’s done before the noise starts.
Swap pace for joy. Unless you have a specific race in mind, summer does not need to be the time to hammer pace sessions on hot tarmac. It’s the time for trails, for slower runs in beautiful places, for movement that feels like a privilege rather than a chore.
Hydrate properly. This is the one that most people get wrong in summer and it’s the one that makes everything else harder. Even mild dehydration affects your energy, your mood, your concentration and your recovery. Before you blame your legs, check your hydration intake. More on this below.
Lower the bar to get started. Twenty minutes counts. A walk-run counts. Turning up in your kit and doing half of what you planned counts. Imperfect movement is infinitely better than perfect inaction.
Find your people. Everything is easier when someone else is expecting you. A running partner, a community, a coach -accountability is not a weakness, it’s a strategy.
A note on summer hydration and fuelling
Heat changes everything for active people. Your sweat rate increases, your electrolyte losses go up and your body is working harder to regulate its temperature even on an easy run. This is why so many people feel flat, heavy and unmotivated in summer, they’re under-fuelled and under-hydrated before they’ve even started.
Water alone isn’t always enough. Your cells need electrolytes, sodium, potassium and magnesium, to actually absorb and use the water you’re drinking. Without them, you can drink plenty and still feel dehydrated at a cellular level.
This is something we’ve been thinking about a lot at LRC and it’s part of the reason we’ve started developing our own hydration blend, not for race day only, but for every day. If you would like to be a part of our hydration trial please get in touch.
This is your summer
If you’ve been waiting for a sign, this is it.
LRC Strong Runner Programme – 6 weeks, £59, running, strength, mobility and nutrition designed around your life. Learn more and register here.
Summer is not the time to wait. Summer is the time to begin.