Should I join a running club?
Running is mostly a solo sport unless you’re lucky enough to have a friend who enjoys it too, who can meet at the same times and has similar fitness or goals. Joining a running club is then a very appealing prospect for many reasons. But should you join one? How do you know which club to join?
The benefits of being a member of a running club
If you’re someone who likes to race, being a member of a club means you get discounted entry on the majority of races these days. It might only save you £2-£4 per entry, but if you’re often racing, the typical £35/year registration fee soon gets covered.
Structure to your training from club organised runs and intra-club competitions boost both your motivation and fitness. No matter how hard you can push yourself on your own, you’ll nearly always be able to find that bit extra when you’re running with a friend in a group.
Advice from the coaches or the head coach of the club can be really helpful too, especially for people newer to the sport. If you’re training for your first marathon for example, there will be an enormous amount of collective knowledge within the club. Not all of it will be scientifically correct perhaps, but it will at least give you an idea of what to consider. There are usually training groups in the build up to spring marathons in particular, making it that bit easier to get out on those early winter mornings.
Which club to join
What you’re looking for from being a club member will determine which club you should join. Ask any friends who run which club they go to or would recommend for your goals. Let them know what you want to get out of it, rather than letting them assume you just want to be a club member wherever.
Will being in a group be about socialising? Having support for long runs? Wanting to run faster or race more? Some clubs are very fun-loving and social. Other clubs may have a heavier emphasis on performance. Within most clubs there are different groups based on speed so the emphasis may be different within the mini groups compared to the club as a whole.
Don’t necessarily go for the club that’s closest to you or the one that meets on the most convenient evening. Joining a club that has a very different atmosphere to what you want, can really put you off running. I joined a club when I was 14 and it was absolutely the wrong choice. The same night, half a mile down the road, a far more suitable club met. I just didn’t know it. Within 6 months of joining and being ignored because they didn’t know what to do with me or try to, I quit running because I didn’t see a way forward (and being a teenager, I didn’t think to make my own path).
If you can’t make a specific night due to work or childcare, there are even online running clubs such as the Lonely Goats. Every race I go to, I see lots of people in their Goat vests having a chat and laughing so keep your options open to less conventional clubs.
I’m a big advocate of joining a running club. There’s so much to gain if you find the right people and have a clear idea of what you’re looking for. My advice is to spend time searching and try running once with a few different clubs to find the right fit, then get yourself signed up. You won’t regret it.
Written by Kyle Brooks, Running Coach based in Norwich, Norfolk
