Ryan Ploeckelman co-hosts Ryan and Gretchen in the Morning on Q108
I know a lot of people enjoy the solitude that running provides. It’s nice to lace up your shoes, head out the door and just have some miles to yourself. The stress of work and life can disappear as you just focus on the sound of your feet gently hitting the pavement or trail. Life is hectic and I know for myself the time alone while running keeps me relatively sane.
There are many benefits though to running with friends. Having a good training partner or partners can be a good way to get faster and stronger. There are many times when by ourselves we might want to cut a hard workout short because we are just not into it that particular day. A good training partner will help and encourage you to do those 8th, 9th and 10th hill repeats.
The more training partners the better. Having someone you can carry a conversation with for hours on end will make those long runs go by so much faster when training for a half, full or ultramarathon. Having all that time to talk about life can build some very fast and strong friendships. Some of the best friends I have I have made through running.
It is also a good idea to have some training partners that are more experienced and stronger runners than you. Doing speed workouts with a person who is faster than you will push you and make you a stronger runner. You can also benefit from their experiences. They have been there and done that, and a lot of times they can save you a lot of pain and trouble.
If you don’t have any friends in your circle who are runners, try going to some group runs. The Runners Hub host a group run in downtown Clarksville that meets at the Gilroy every Thursday night at 5:30. It’s free and open to all pace groups with 2, 3, and 5 miles routes. The Clarksville Running Club has group runs every Saturday morning. There is even a group called the Middle Tennessee Trail Runners that have group runs Tuesday nights at Rotary Park in town.
One thing that I have learned about runners is that they are some of the most friendly and supportive people you will find. Most of us love meeting new people we can share our passion with. The more runners you know, the more runners you will meet. Runners have a habit of introducing you to everyone they know, so your circle of training partners could become rather large.
Enjoy your alone time, but get out there and find some people to share some miles with.
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