Find a Running Club! Learn to Run!

aldousmom

I've seen a lot of people (esp those who are overweight) struggling alone learning to run w/ c25k. It IS a great program but not all people are motivated to do it on their own. Plus, running is a bit boring.

I did c25k for 5 weeks before my first 5k, overweight ,mind you! and it helped me get started. But, as it got tougher and tougher on the long runs, I didn't have encouragement I needed to do as well as I could have. I didn't know this, of course. Also, I had trouble with all the beginner's maladies...shin splints, plantar fascitis and a host of other transient aches and pains that most beginners have. Also, didn't know this, either. haha!

I took a running class hosted by my local running store for about 6 weeks, and it was $100. pretty expensive to me! But, I found out how well I could do in a class, with other beginners (some of whom were also overweight) and with a pace leader (coach).
So then I was hooked. But, the price! ACK!! Plus, then, if you wanted to race you have to pay for the race, too.

THEN I found out that our town has a running club. It costs $25 per year to join and includes the price of 8 races, plus discounts on others, and a social run one night per week. EVEN better, the club has training groups in the spring and fall. They have beginner (up to 5k), Intermediate (up to 10k) and half and full marathon training. The classes are only $25 for the WHOLE season. that's almost 4 months!! MUCH cheaper than 6 weeks for $100. oh, we get discounts for a bunch of running stores, too.

What this is about is that if you want to get started running, you don't know how to do a lot of stuff, you'd like some friends in the same boat, you'd like a coach, you have a race in mind you would like to run, JOIN YOUR LOCAL RUNNING CLUB!!!

Check here to see if there is one near you! I cannot say enough about how much difference this made in my running progress. I started running less than 2 yrs ago and about 30lbs heavier, and I'll be running my 4th half marathon (this year, and ever) in 2 wks. FOURTH!!! I've run plenty of other races, too! and I've met some really fantastic people and new friends.


http://www.rrca.org/find-a-running-club/

jaimemariel

I just started C25K last week and so far I am having a blast! You are right though, its hard to keep the motivation when you are doing it alone. Only, I'm a little shy and antisocial so I'm not so sure about a running club either. Its very intimidating going into a running store when you are out of shape and new to running.

aldousmom

I understand the intimidation completely! I was overweight and out of shape when I began 2 yrs ago (so it's still pretty fresh on my mind), plus I'm a total introvert. It turns out, though, that many of the runners I've met are also introverts (which means they won't overstep boundaries) and their introvertedness (spell check says that's not a word. oops) may be why they chose running over some team sport!

but, you don't have to go to a running store (in our local stores, even the staff comes in all sizes, just like the runners!) ...you can also look up local running clubs (not in stores, totally separate) . and, again, runners come in all shapes and sizes. I was amazed at all the diff kinds of folks who run when I went to my first race!! old, young, physical challenges, short, tall, heavy, thin, and everything in between!

good luck w/ you training program! I finished my 4th half marathon more than a week ago, and beat my time by 7 minutes. I have a 15k race this weekend, and one more 10mile race before the "spring" season is over for me. My goal this summer is to increase my 5k speed. It's actually gotten slower because of my distance training, but since summer means shorter running distances due to the Texas heat, it's a good time to work on speeding back up!