Do you belong to a running club?

[jobell]

I posted about this yesterday, but the stupid new nest ate my post.

DH belongs to a running club that he runs with once a week. Sometimes I would run with a group from a running store near my office, but the timing was never perfect and my office moved downtown 25 blocks, so I can't run with them anymore.

There are 2 running clubs in my town and they had booths at a town fair the other day, so I chatted with both. One is co-ed and for some reason the guy at the booth rubbed me the wrong way. The other is women's only. The ladies seemed very friendly. I ran with a small group of them on Tuesday night and they really helped me push myself. I didn't feel like I was going too fast, but I ended up running about 5 sec slower than my usual race pace. I think running with a group will also help me with accountability - if I know they're meeting up to run, then I'll get off my butt and go instead of talking myself out of a solo run.

Do any of you run with running clubs? Do you like it?

[casarosada]

I don't but when I go back home (I'm currently abroad) I want to look into joining one. I think it would definitely help me push myself and stick with running.

[Brit]

I'm bad at following through with it because of the time that my local group meets, but in theory I like to run with them.

[katandkevin]

There are a group of us in our neighborhood that all run at 4:45am. It is mostly women, but we do have some men that join us. It helps a ton with keeping me accountable. I know other people will be waiting for me and it makes me get out of bed.

[osulori]

I do...it's a huge group (like multiple hundreds of people) split up by long run pace, plus there are weekday runs and other stuff going on. I love it!

[stingsharkruns]

I do, and they are the most supportive group of people I've ever met in my life. (Pinkwillow can attest to this if she transitions over here).

They run Tues/Thurs/Sat/sometimes Sundays. I can't to the Tues/Thurs runs, they are about 45 minutes away from me so I only do the long runs on Saturdays.. Even though I only run once a week I feel just as much a part of the group as the people that run 3x/week.

I believe 100% that running w/ the group has helped me to increase my speed significantly over the last year.

I'd recommend running with a group to anyone.

[DefenseAgainstTheDarkArts22]

I was going to look into a local running group but am secretly scared that I really suck and they won't like me because I'm slow. Apparently I'm still a little insecure.

[katinthehat]

I did a sort of couch to 5K kind of program with a group once and hated it. I got put into a faster pace group and just felt like I held them back the entire time. The coaches just kind of ignored me.

But I think my experience was the exception and maybe I should try a different group

[stingsharkruns]

May 10, 2012 16:51:46 GMT -5 DefenseAgainstTheDarkArts22 said:

I was going to look into a local running group but am secretly scared that I really suck and they won't like me because I'm slow. Apparently I'm still a little insecure.

The group I run w/ has 100+ people at every level. We have people who are training for their first 5ks, we have people who've run 30+ marathons, people who run are super duper fast, and everywhere in between.

Just go. It's doubtful that you'll regret it. I'm also super shy IRL - It took me almost a year to really warm up to the group and put myself out there.. yah, that's so lame, but i'm painfully shy around big groups of people that I don't know.

[moreace01]

I joined a training program at fleet feet that meets twice a week and it's really great. Like...really great. I was worried everyone would be really fast (I'm very slow) and I wouldn't be able to keep up. But we are divided up pretty well by pace - you find people who run at the same pace as you. Plus you have someone to run with and the time goes really fast.

After the training program is over, I'm going to keep going with the fleet feet chick's night runs. They meet at the same time as my training program and it seems like a really great group of women. A couple of the women from the training group said they would do the same thing. Anyway - it's a great way to meet people. And yes - it keeps you accountable when it's early saturday morning and raining and you don't want to get out of bed.

[jobell]

May 10, 2012 16:51:46 GMT -5 DefenseAgainstTheDarkArts22 said:

I was going to look into a local running group but am secretly scared that I really suck and they won't like me because I'm slow. Apparently I'm still a little insecure.

Haha. This is one reason I joined the all-female one, whose motto is "No Runner Left Behind"!

[DefenseAgainstTheDarkArts22]

May 10, 2012 17:14:16 GMT -5 jobell said:

May 10, 2012 16:51:46 GMT -5 DefenseAgainstTheDarkArts22 said:

I was going to look into a local running group but am secretly scared that I really suck and they won't like me because I'm slow. Apparently I'm still a little insecure.

Haha. This is one reason I joined the all-female one, whose motto is "No Runner Left Behind"!

I'm sure I would be fine but I don't really like meeting new people because I SUCK at small talk.

[doughseedough]

I do and I like it for the most part. I didn't really have a bad experience until last week... the ladies I usually run with weren't there and everyone else was SUPER fast (like 1 min+ faster than me). Good news was I ran super fast, too. Bad news was I quit 5 miles into my 8 mile run because I couldn't keep up.

[princesspeach05]

I really want to join a group-how do I find one? I average about 9:45/10:00 miles. Is that too slow to be considering a group? I know others have mentioned "slow" but I think that it's relative, so I'm throwing my number out there....

[doughseedough]

May 10, 2012 20:48:03 GMT -5 princesspeach05 said:

I really want to join a group-how do I find one? I average about 9:45/10:00 miles. Is that too slow to be considering a group? I know others have mentioned "slow" but I think that it's relative, so I'm throwing my number out there....

That's about where I run, too. There have always been people in that range when I've gone with the exception of last week. I found a group by just googling running club + my city. A lot of local running stores will host runs on a regular basis, too. We have two in the area that have at least 1 run/week.

[joenali]

I belong to a tri team. It is so much fun! We have one scheduled track workout a week, one mid-week 2 hour bike ride, one open water swim (when it gets warmer) a week, one long bike ride on the weekends. It's fabulous! I've met so many great people!

[JdbYogi]

Yep, and I love it. I joined in December, right before my 2nd half. I feel stronger and enjoy my long runs more. There are 100-200 people there every Saturday morning in every age, shape, size, speed, distance, etc. They also meet for various training runs throughout the week, as well as providing amazing support for local races. My favorite part might be going to breakfast afterwards

I found them online. There are other running groups through our local running stores.

[hazelandblue]

I just joined one this week but haven't been to a run yet. I am hoping to go in the next week or two. They mostly do 3 milers. i am hoping a subset does a longer run on the weekends because that is what I really want. I am considering a marathon at the end of the year and I need the motivation/support.

[hazelandblue]

May 10, 2012 20:48:03 GMT -5 princesspeach05 said:

I really want to join a group-how do I find one? I average about 9:45/10:00 miles. Is that too slow to be considering a group? I know others have mentioned "slow" but I think that it's relative, so I'm throwing my number out there....

I found several through meetup.com.

[Susie]

Not a running club, but I swim with a masters group and am also a member of a tri club. I really like it and find it beneficial. It keeps it interesting and keeps me motivated. I like being around other people with similar goals & lifestyles.

[marie427]

I do. It's been a little rough trying to fit in because everyone else has known each other for years and other newbies joined because they knew someone in the club already; I didn't. I think I will adjust and fit in once I start running with them soon (I've only been attending monthly meetings so far).

[shorty20]

I don't currently, but am thinking about joining one. I think the accountablility would help with my laziness some days

[clseale]

I'm kind of obsessed with my running group. They're just really awesome people and a lot of them have become really good friends. It's amazing how much we've all improved since running together. In Feb 8-10 of us are flying out to Huntington Beach, CA to run Surf City. I love that I have a core group of people to do this stuff with!

[SuziSaysDa]

I have done several over the years and think I have finally found my place.

Initially I joined the Dallas Running Club, it was huge and had a great training program for a fall half marathon. I never really found the right group and easily fell through he cracks.

After going at it on my own I came upon a free training group for a local race sponsored by Runner World and Foot Locker. This group introduced me to several coaches who have groups. After the race was over I stayed with the group that fit me best and have really begun to develop as a runner - we do weekly social runs, track work, and long runs - it is great to have a group to meet up with at big races and my running has really improved.

[jobell]

May 11, 2012 9:39:58 GMT -5 marie427 said:

I do. It's been a little rough trying to fit in because everyone else has known each other for years and other newbies joined because they knew someone in the club already; I didn't. I think I will adjust and fit in once I start running with them soon (I've only been attending monthly meetings so far).

I see you're in NYC. What group do you belong to?