Tags
club, development, psychology., Redway Runners, running, training
It occurs to me that runners all come from very different standpoints and have their own individual motivations and aspirations. That’s in line with life generally where everybody is different and that’s what stops it from being boring.
The core of that idea is, in my opinion at least, why being a member of a running club is one of the best aspects of being a runner and hitting the roads so often.
Regular readers of this blog probably already know that I’m a member of Milton Keynes’ largest running club, Redway Runners. Thinking about it, if there are any regular readers of this blog, they’re probably members of Redway Runners themselves anyway, but that’s not the point.
I joined the club at the tail end of 2012 after my ultimate escape from obesity and eventual acceptance that endurance sports were of far more interest in my advancing years than the team sports of my youth.
Since then I’ve run marathons, half marathons, 10ks and 5ks in big cities, tiny villages and across all manner of terrains. I’ve met people I never would and made friends with all sorts of folk despite my social ineptitude and volunteered at numerous parkruns.
One of the greatest aspects of our particular club is the regularity and consistency it gives all members: organised, structured running to underpin individual training plans and personal goals plus the opportunity to socialise and enjoy the great outdoors with an ever-increasing group of like-minded people.
Or, if that’s not your thing, something to belong to while you grind away at your own plans and goals in isolation, safe in the knowledge that a stack of people will cheer your name when you pin on your bib or give you kudos when you post it on Strava.
However, in my opinion, the three key benefits I’ve enjoyed from being a member are thus: personality, value and development.
I genuinely feel like I’ve found myself and my place in the world since becoming a runner and central to that is what I deem to be my ‘role’ within the club – while I don’t take part in every event or give as much time volunteering as I’d like, people always ask Sarah where I am if I don’t make a Sunday run and they always seem pleased to see me when I do.
That, in turn, gives me a massive sense of value – I’m a sensitive and emotional kind of guy who regularly questions what he brings to the party of life, so owning a vest with my name on it and seeing my name on a results sheet now and then certainly helps in my quest for worth. I’m not sure what else I would do if I didn’t run, bike and swim.
The consequence of that value is that it gives me reason to keep going in search of improvement and further glory – by this I mean constant enjoyment and happiness, rather than a never-ending succession of medals, PBs and trophies.
In the last few weeks when I’ve been unable to run it’s really helped to focus the mind on what’s important about my running and why I do it – because it helps me to be who I am and, more importantly, someone I’m proud of.
I don’t think there are many other pastimes or hobbies that can be so fundamental to a person’s sense of character or their overall wellbeing.
And I think that’s pretty awesome.
@AndyGardner