Running with other people

[mother_of_3_boys]

Hi, how do you choose who to run with? Since we all have a preferred pace, how do you find someone who is the same speed as you?

I've never run with anyone else, but I am thinking about running a 5k road race with a colleague. I am worried that he will be so much faster than me and it will just demotivate me trying to keep up. Any thoughts/etiquette, gratefully received.

[rayagirl]

Hi there mother of three boys. I also am a mother of three boys I do not run with my friends because most of my friends are pretty athletic and are much faster than me.

I think you should sign up for the 5k race with your colleague. Who cares if he is faster than you, you should not worry about keeping up with him but focus on doing the run for yourself.

Just be honest and tell your colleague that he should go at his own pace and you will se him at the end of the race(then he will not be compelled to wait for you).

Good luck

[AliB1 Graduate]

You can arrive together and meet up at the end but do your own race. That way there is no pressure. I find that works for me and its great to have people cheering you over the line. Sign up & enjoy

[LillyBeth]

I found my running partner through runengland.info/ where you can search for groups by location and type.

My advice would be don't try and keep up with someone who is faster than you as it can be miserable after a while, plus it's no fun running slower than you want either. When I ran in a group years ago we had a great way of keeping everyone included...the faster ones were only allowed to get so far ahead then would turn around and rejoin the group at the back (well, quite a way behind the last person so they'd have to catch up) . Once they'd caught up they'd stay at the back for a while then could continue in their own pace, repeating as necessary. It meant the slower members were never trying to catch up and were not always the last. It worked well for everyone.

In a race, start with your friend(s) then agree to run your own pace, even if that means separating, and meet up at the end.

[Saruma Graduate]

I'm running a race for life 10k in June with 4 other ladies. Our ages and pace differ enormously (I'm the oldest and the slowest). We will all run at our own pace and meet up at the end.

I sometimes run with my hubby when out training, who is continually checking his garmin and updates my regularly as to how much slower he is running with me than when out on his own which does grate a bit at times to be honest!

[outofbreathatlot]

I did the couch to 5k through a 10 week beginners course at the local running club where we were automatically entered into a 5k charity race at the end...I find It really motivates me to run with others and have found there is always someone to run with...did the charity race last week and officially joined the club this week and although I was nervous we did a 5k run and although I was at the back the whole time it didn't bother me!