6 Reasons You Should Join A Running Club This Winter
Oh, no.
. The GoPro, the GoPro, the GoPro. Oh, hang on, let me...
I want to.
Winter is on its way here in the UK, and that means the days are getting darker and shorter.
Have you found yourself looking outside the window thinking, "when am I going to run?"
Or do the darker days
mean your motivation is at an all time low.
Well, that is where running clubs come in.
Lots of people join running clubs in the winter in order to run in a safer environment with other people.
But that is not the only benefit of joining a running club.
I've been invited along by Wiggle today and have been set the challenge to find six reasons
why you should join a running club, before arriving at their Adventure Cafe.
So stay tuned for some running club insider knowledge.
And if you haven't already, pleased do hit subscribe, and let's get running.
Welcome to the home of Wiggle's
Adventure Cafe, where runners, cyclists and walkers can come and swap their mileage
for tea and cake. Sign says this way.
Let's go see if I can find it. Along the way, though, I'm gonna be catching up with some runners from local running clubs who
have come along to get to the Adventure Cafe.
Oh, and I see some up ahead.
Let's go catch up with them.
So the first great thing about running clubs is there are so many opportunities to come and do
fun events like this one.
I'm not sure free tea, coffee and cake is on the cards every time,
but I've just been talking to Katie from Maidstone Harriers, who had awesome
fun in lockdown with lots of virtual activities.
What is your favourite virtual activity cases?
It's gotta have been the treasure hunt.
So there were multiple clues hidden around Maidstone for people to go separately to go and find
and, uh, some people ended up doing sort of 26, 28 miles on the day, which was fantastic.
Just a casual ultramarathon there.
Just a casual one, yep.
When it comes to community, obviously the best community is The Running Channel community.
But we can't meet up every day and run together.
So that is where running clubs come in.
And that's what you love about running clubs,
isn't it, Running Channel producer Evie?
The best thing about running clubs is you can find someone to run with any time, whether it's at lunchtime,
evening or weekend, and they're all in your local area as well.
So it's like you've got your running friends in real life alongside you.
Be honest.
How long does it take you to get out the door?
Sometimes I know I have spent many a Sunday morning going, I'll leave at 10.
No, I leave at half 10.
I'll leave 11.
But this is where running clubs can come in.
As Mary found out.
Isn't that right?
Yeah, absolutely.
I meet with a couple of ladies from my running club on a Friday morning for hill reps.
And it just means that... gets me out the door.
They're relying on me.
I'm relying on them.
And do you know what?
It's a lot of fun.
You heard it here first.
If you do hill reps at the running club,
it's fun, and you've not only got a run done there, you've got a run done which I'm sure a lot
of people ignore most weeks.
Yeah, absolutely.
And accountability wise, it's not just getting yourself out the door and timings, but
also getting out the door when it's cold, dark, wet and muddy.
Isn't that right, Mary?
Yeah, absolutely.
And this is where cross country running really comes into its own, which is something
a lot of clubs do over the winter.
Yeah, I'm not sure I want to get covered in mud by myself, but if I'm around other
people, that sounds pretty fun.
It is.
It's hilarious.
And some- Oh, I've seen guys sometimes just covered head to toe like
they rolled in the puddle.
Just a nice swim in some mud.
What a great day out.
And it is.
It's so much fun.
And you're part of a team as well, Which is really good.
So we are out running together as a group.
Does it feel good to be out guys?
Yeah. The sun's shining, it's glorious.
It is so lovely to be out running all together.
We've got a great sense of community.
And that is what you love about running clubs, isn't it, Katie?
Yeah. There's always somebody that's up for a run.
It might be a different person
every time, but it's a good way to meet people and pass the time, you don't even know that you've done 10 miles.
Amazing.
We haven't done 10 miles yet, but let's get going.
Are you in a running rut or in need of a
goal?
Well, this is where running clubs can come in as well.
So when I joined my first running club in 2019 it's because I'd been running for a little while.
And then I wanted to sign up to my 1st 10K, and I could go along to weekly sessions.
They told me what to eat, how to train, made me make much less
mistakes than I would have made otherwise.
And I reached my goal of running the Birmingham 10K.
Now, Katie, your club has loads of opportunities for beginners as well.
Isn't that right?
Yeah. So we run a free Couch to 5K, four times a year.
Lots of people actually do it multiple times and then end up becoming members, which is great.
And it gives you that accountability, and you can see that other people are doing the exact same
thing as you. Yeah, because sometimes when you start out, you think you think you're the only person that's trying to get really tough and actually seeing other
people overcome those barriers as well, it's really great.
Now, for those of you who've watched The Running Channel recently, you will have seen that I've trained for and run my first
ever marathon.
One of the things that I found hard, though, is that it can sometimes be quite lonely.
But, Mary, when you signed up for your first marathon, you then joined a running club.
I did, yeah.
Um, it was great to train with some people who had marathon
knowledge and experience and to make some new running friends, too. Yeah, and
with that really long mileage, there is nothing better than having your fears and worries
answered by other people, right?
Absolutely, yeah.
It was really good.
Another great thing about running clubs is it gives you other people around you, and you love running with other
people, don't you Charlie? Absolutely love it.
It's probably better for me than running solo.
Although that has a great place.
But running with other people means that you have somebody to bounce off.
Yeah.
Some welcome distraction, especially if you're doing a hard run. Oh, on those long runs.
You just need someone to talk at you.
Absolutely.
Have a laugh.
Yeah.
What does your usual running route look like? For me personally, they're always the same.
If I head out for a 5K or a 10K, I usually ending up running the same route every time.
And I don't have time to plan anything different.
But, you guessed it.
This is where running clubs can come to the rescue.
So, Katie, isn't that right for you?
Yeah, so every Wednesday
we have a different route, which is published in advance.
Um, and then if you fancy doing something at another time as well, there's always loads of people that'll volunteer to
come out with you.
And you never get the same route twice.
Like sometimes it's hills.
Sometimes it's rivers.
Sometimes it's mud, it's good fun.
It's always different.
Amazing. And then you've got so many other routes in your back pocket and other people to run with as well.
Yeah, absolutely.
And new friends as well.
Perfect.
Another benefit of running clubs is it gives you an opportunity to do sessions that otherwise you
might not be that motivated to do.
Isn't that right,
why you joined one Charlie?
Yeah. I wanted someone else to do speed sessions with.
So I joined their local weekly track sessions to help motivate me to run a bit faster around the track.
And there is nothing better than chasing someone around the track. Or being chased.
Oh, I'm not sure I want that one.
It's been so lovely learning more about running clubs and look, as if by magic.
We have arrived here at the Wiggle Adventure Cafe.
Let's come through and see whether we can get some coffee and cake.
Hopefully.
Oh, hang on a second.
It seems like there is an obstacle before we can get some coffee and cake.
You guys ready for a challenge?
So it turns out there are three options to get to the Wiggle Adventure Cafe: kayak,
paddleboard and boat.
I wanted to go for kayak, but the team are making me jump on a paddleboard, which I've never done before.
So let's see how this goes.
Right. I'm on the paddleboard.
I want this to be documented.
I'm gonna try and stand up.
Oh, my gosh.
Nowhere else would you get this moment on camera.
There we go. Wahey.
Now, I'm not saying every run should end with a paddleboard, but I
think this should be the new triathlon: run, paddleboard...
coffee and cake.
That's, that's the golden three.
Oh no.
. The GoPro, the GoPro, the GoPro. Oh, hang on, let me...
We're good.
So, Katie, you got your cake.
How is it?
It's lovely cake. If only every running event
could be like this.
But this is a pretty good highlight, isn't it?
Yeah.
So usually, like, running club events end at the bar. Cake's good as well.
Well, there you go.
You got best of both worlds.
So this is what being part of a running club is all about.
And, no, I don't just mean the coffee and cake, although that was pretty great, right?
It's pretty awesome.
So everyone who is at the Wiggle Adventure Cafe today has achieved something.
They've run here, walked here, cycled here, and they are all celebrating that achievement.
And hopefully we've given you some great reasons why you should consider joining a running club.
But did we miss any out or have we convinced you to sign up to a running club?
Let us know in the comments down below,
and we will see you next time on The Running Channel.
