One thing that I’ve found extremely helpful with run commuting is pre-staging. By pre-staging, I really mean 2 things, but they both have to do with preparing for your run commute well ahead of time.
First, is pre-staging my gear at home the night before, so that I’m ready to get up and go in the morning. I start work at 6:00am, so on the days that I run commute, that means my alarm goes off at 4:40, and I’m out the door by 5:00. There’s no way I’d be able to get up and out the door so quickly if I didn’t pre-stage my gear the night before. I have my bag packed with work clothes and my lunch, and get my running clothes all laid out for the morning. Having everything ready to go the night before also gives me one less excuse to wimp out in the morning.
Second, is pre-staging gear at work. Assuming you aren’t run commuting every day, you can pre-stage some of your gear at work on the days that you don’t run. Carrying a backpack full of stuff isn’t exactly my favorite way to run, so leaving extra work and/or running clothes, lunches, etc. at work is a huge help. I’ve even had days where I don’t have to wear a backpack at all on my run commute.
Pre-staging your gear definitely takes some planning and preparation, and requires more work up front, but it pays off by making your run commute much more enjoyable and worry-free.