There are few activities as universal and clearly divided as running. You either love it or you hate it...there's really no in between. Except, well, you can hate it before you love it—as was the case for the celebrities here.
We're not saying get out there and force yourself to run if you truly despise it (life's too short for that!). But even these ladies know that the tiniest shift in technique or perspective can change your relationship with running forever.
Think of running as something you haven't mastered yet.
"To be completely honest, I used to hate running. Before I started training for the Paris Half Marathon [March 8, 2015], I had never run more than four miles at one time. But I've always been a super active person and trained from a very young age as a ballerina. In my dance training and now in my workouts, it's always been so important to challenge myself. Running is a fear I've always wanted to overcome and push myself to try."—Karlie Kloss, Runner's World
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Find a supportive coach who will challenge you in new ways.
"Basically my whole life I have hated running and run like a wounded baby pterodactyl. It was embarrassing and honestly I did not trust myself to escape a burning building or even move briskly towards a buffet. [Jenni Konner] is directing the season finale of Girls and decided that as Hannah evolved so would her run, so she got me a training session with Matt Wilpers from Mile High Run Club. Within an hour I had a different relationship to this formerly torturous activity. I felt strong, swift and proud. I'm not about to embrace that triathlon life but it's a true joy to continue getting more connected to my body and its powers." —Lena Dunham, Instagram
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Refine your form until you feel comfortable and confident.
"I had always found running intimidating until I learned how to run the proper way and make it fun. Call me a health freak, but now I get a little thrill out of lacing up my sneakers and stepping outside for a long beach run." —Lauren Conrad, LaurenConrad.com (Torch fat, get fit, and look and feel great with Women's Health's All in 18 DVD!)
Learn how to step up the intensity of your next cardio workout with a pair of 5-pound dumbbells:
Experiment with different styles of running.
"At first I did [interval training] because of my husband. I only did it for about a couple of weeks and I got bored with it. I was doing two-minute intervals of sprinting and then running, because he said if you do 30 minutes of sprinting and running it's like an hour on the treadmill. Now I run for 40 to 50 minutes. I sweat." —Viola Davis, New York Magazine
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Try interval training.
“I hate running, but my fitness trainer showed me a different way to do it. You run for a minute on and off and before you know it you've done half an hour on the treadmill without even realizing." —Kelly Osbourne, PopSugar
