The Pensacola Double Bridge Run: More than your Goal, make it your System
By Brooke E. Forester, PhD | January 12, 2025
What if someone told you it may be in your best interest to not set goals, but instead to focus on systems which could make any goal a reality? This is precisely what best selling author James Clear suggests in his book Atomic Habits and is where the Pensacola Double Bridge 15k run can be easily incorporated into a healthy lifestyle.
Every January, millions set New Year’s resolutions or goals, many that center on physical fitness, a worthy goal, and one which many of us would like to attain throughout life.
Goal setting is important and lets you set a direction and to identify a desired outcome. A system is more like a daily roadmap that can lead to those desired goals if followed with consistency. How can the Pensacola Double Bridge run be integrated into a sustainable running system? Just view the annual 15K as a jumpstart to changing your mindset from “I want to run,” to “I am a runner.”
James Clear’s framework, The Four Laws of Behavior Change, includes the following:
Law 1 - Make it Obvious: Register for the Double Bridge Run. Put it on your calendar. Create an intentional act of commitment. Your aim is visible and training runs become a necessity.
Law 2 - Make it Attractive: Pensacola has you covered. Mild January temperatures and options to run along the world’s whitest beaches welcome you each day. Want to include a bit of hill training to prep for the double bridges? Try running on the newly rebuilt General Chappie James Memorial Bridge which offers a 10-foot-wide multi-use pathway and provides you with a preview of the first bridge you will encounter on race day.
Law 3 - Make it Easy: Of course, running a 15K isn’t easy. As the saying goes, if was easy, everyone would do it. But making the system easier is 100 percent in your control. Create your ritual. For example, write your training intention: next week I will run each weekday at 6:30 a.m. at Bayview Park. Make the start easier by laying out your running shoes and water bottle each evening. You can join free training groups at Fleet Feet or Running Wild — sometimes running with others makes all the difference.
Law 4 - Make it Satisfying: After your early morning run or after a tough hill workout, give yourself a reward. Perhaps a nice coffee from a local coffee shop or a smoothie is all you need. Positive affirmations are great too. “I destroyed that hill!” Shout it! Log your run on your favorite training app and log another workout in your calendar.
On race day, runners will complete the second and final bridge of the run and cross the finish line earning an awesome finishers’ medal, uniquely crafted for this year’s race. In the weeks leading up to race day however, the formation of healthy habits is what will stick long after the race is over. Following James Clear’s Laws of Behavior Change, you can turn your race registration into a new lifestyle.
Brooke E. Forester, PhD
University of South Alabama
Associate Professor
Department of Health, Kinesiology, & Sport
Pensacola Sports Board of Director