Helping a friend...

[jazz15c]

Tonight I'm going for a run with a friend (all other runs have been on my own).

She openly admits that her fitness levels are not good. She's going through an absolutely awful time in her personal life, and wanna do anything I can to help her feel better about herself.

I've told her the route (ish) and that we're gonna run/walk/exercise for about 30 minutes. I've also said that if we need to stop then we will stop. The last thing I wanna do is destroy the poor girl and make it so she'll never wanna run again.

At the end of the run, I hope she will feel like she's achieved something, and is happy with her efforts, even if she only runs for 5 or 10 minutes out of the 30...a walk is better than nothing at all.

Does anyone have any tips for running with friends who are slower than them, and how best to encourage and help them through the nasty early runs? (if the run goes well, I'll definitely direct her towards the podcast though, as I have a feeling it might a great aid for her)

Thanks all :o)

[cejk Graduate]

I don't think you can plan exactly what you'll do - you'll have to see how she gets on and adjust accordingly. You might say you'll go out for half an hour, and begin with five mins walking - and then based on how she does (how fast, how puffed) in that first five minutes take it from there. You might end up alternating walking slowly and walking faster, you might try 30 secs slow running then a minute walk, then if that goes okay a bit more running, or a whole lot more running if she turns out to be fitter after all. Anything as long as it's more than she usually does and can achieve it. If it turns out really easy for you, you can do your own run later...

[jazz15c Graduate in reply to cejk]

Sound advice chief, just see how it goes like you said. Thanks. :o)

[swanscot Graduate]

Keep her talking. More accurately, you keep talking (and you'll be able to do this if you're going slower than your usual speed) and don't expect more than a few grunts in reply if she is running at what is her limit. Depending on your route you could point out things of interest around you and/or explain the geography of the area.

[jazz15c Graduate in reply to swanscot]

Yes, great shout...distraction!

It might be that after a couple runs she'll want to go it alone and have some music in her ears (my personal preference).

Really looking forward to it now, be good to help out a mate who's always been there for me. :o)

[chusan51 Graduate]

A friend and I have different energy levels and abilities on different days so we alternate who goes in front in the running parts and then in the walking we go side by side. Works for us but in the beginning I found it distracting if my friend went too far ahead and it was made even worse when they kept looking back to see where I was. Eventually we settled into knowing how close we were to each other without having to look back and we also made sure that the leader never went too far ahead. You'll find a method that works for you. Good luck and well done on offering practical support for a friend.