Running Clubs

derekjnichols

Hi everyone- I'm looking to start a running club in my city and I am wondering about some of the logistics on how they function. Can anyone shed some insight on how often meetings are and how routes are planned?

Thanks!

lisapr123

I'm in a cycling club, but I'm sure it can be done in a similar way. Somebody started a meetup.com group. Anyone can join, anyone can "host" a ride or event (there are bike maintenence clinics or bbq's, for example). Our club has about 5 rides per week, though most people only do a couple or even one. They vary in speed, distance, etc... They are all no-drop rides.

One of my good friends is in a running group and they treat it much the same. Except the Sunday morning run. That is always at the same trail--a 2.5 mile loop--that they do anywhere from 2 to 10 laps on, depending on the individuals training schedule for the week. They also do half marathons or 10-milers together from time to time.

My only suggestion (based on the number of failed clubs/groups I've seen) is to keep the geographical range pretty tight. Not sure where you live but I'm just outside of Chicago so there are often people that live an hour away that "join" but will never realistically show up.

mmk137

How awesome, yay for you for wanting to do this.

I live in the country so I might not be much of a help, but I can give you some tips from what I have experienced from my running club.

Are you going to have handicaps?
For example, the slower runners go 1st, and then the faster runners have handicaps (time). That way everyone finishes at the same time. It also helps the slower runners to improve their time.

Map out your routes. Make sure they are clearly marked! Being in a country running club we run on a lot of trails, and you'd be surprised at the amount of people that have gotten lost.

This is my running club http://www.saac.com.au/ you are more than welcome to look at the website to see how it's run.