Other than the running club, I largely used to run alone. This was probably a lack of confidence in asking someone to run with me. I am not a fast runner and many of my friends are so there is an element of worrying about slowing others down. One of the most important rules of being a run leader is to run at the pace of the slowest runner. I don’t think I am the only one who really doesn’t mind slowing down for someone else but doesn’t like the thought of slowing someone else down. Humans (or maybe just myself) are weird!
This is also an element of imposter syndrome I think, this is when you believe your abilities are not as competent as other people perceive them to be. A kind of feeling of inadequacy or that you only succeeded due to luck.
Anyway, I digress. Since the beginning of this year I have been joined by my good friend and, more recently, another friend for a Sunday morning trail run. This was originally started as training for the trail marathon I had entered but we continued anyway even after I had deferred until next year. I have found I am enjoying this so much more than running on my own.
There are a few reasons why this is the case, running with someone else of a similar fitness level means that you encourage each other and will probably work a little harder too. You will also find yourself a lot less likely to bail out, you wont want to let someone down who is counting on you to turn up. Guilt is a surprisingly good motivator…
I have found we have been more adventurous, we have found public footpaths and trails I would have never gone to alone and found some really beautiful places I never knew existed. This is important for safety too as we regularly use lanes and quiet roads, usually quite early or late. I would rather not be alone in the event of an injury or alike.
I like to chat (far too much as my children like to tell everyone!) and interaction with other adults is great for general and social well-being. We chat whilst running, especially on trails where you can’t usually go as fast as you can on the roads.
Multiple studies have found that people are more likely to stay committed and enthusiastic about exercise when doing it with a friend than when doing it alone. You can spur each other on, my running friend is competitive – she has admitted this on a few occasions – and I definitely push myself a little harder when we run together. Also, you are more likely to achieve a goal when exercising with a friend and you can share different ideas with regards to exercises or even routes.
There is also a potential bonus of saving money – sharing the cost of buying equipment or car journeys for example. A further potential bonus is safety, if you do have an accident then help is at hand if something does go wrong.
Find that friend, it will be well worth it!
