I think this comes down to how different people are motivated. Others in the thread have said 'a race is a goal' so it motivates them. But, you also see lots of

I think this comes down to how different people are motivated. Others in the thread have said 'a race is a goal' so it motivates them. But, you also see lots of runners with other motivations. For example, I see a lot of people on bulletin boards talk about the social aspects: for them joining running clubs, or organising a running partner is very motivational. Maybe that would work for you.