Join the Club

Getting Back on Track

I've been addicted to running since the 800-yard dash of the Presidential Fitness Test in seventh grade. But not long ago I began to suffer the symptoms of distance runner burnout: dragging myself through slower and slower runs, counting the distance left in the route instead of enjoying the miles I'd covered, and often sacrificing a morning run for a little more sleep. What I needed was a little camaraderie, someone to be expecting me every Tuesday night, someone to try to keep up with, and someone to offer congratulations for making it up that last big hill. Well, I'm happy to say I found that someone�actually those somebodies�at the L Street Running Club in South Boston, Massachusetts.

Since I've been running with the club on Tuesday and Thursday nights (about three months now), I've met some great people who share my love for exercise and my appreciation for a good, long hill. I've also taken about two minutes off my 10K time and run a half-marathon.

"It's positive peer pressure," explains John McDermott, better known as Mac, president of the L Street Running Club. "With the company and the encouragement of the other runners, you find that you're able to do more than you might have done on your own."

Take, for example, training for a marathon. To get in shape for those 26.2 miles, you need to build up your endurance over a few months and many, many long runs. Let's face it, no matter how much you love to run, an 18-mile solo run can get pretty lonely. But join a running club and you can step into a planned training program, complete with measured routes, strategically placed water stops, and a few buddies to run with. All you have to do is show up.

"About 85% of the people who join L Street do so to train for [the] Boston [Marathon] and about 100% of them complete the marathon," reports Mac.

Not Just for Marathoners

Running clubs are about so much more than marathons. Weeknight runs at L Street range from 5-10 miles and allow for a variety of paces. Many clubs have coaches who offer weekly track workouts to increase your speed and teach you how to pace yourself. The Greater Derry Track Club in Derry, New Hampshire encourages the whole family to get involved in running.

"For eight weeks during the summer we sponsor fun runs for kids at the local track," explains Peter Darasz, a longtime member of the Derry club. "The two and three year olds run 50 yards and the distances increase with age up to a mile for teenagers and adults."

In addition to group runs, most clubs have regular meetings, newsletters, and social events. At the L Street meetings, Mac often arranges for speakers. We've learned from a podiatrist about foot injuries that are common to runners, how to avoid them, detect them early, and when to see a doctor for treatment. In the future, we'll hear from a chiropractor, a dietitian, seasoned marathoners, and other experts who can help us to perform well and avoid injury. We also learn a lot from each other by sharing experiences while we run.

Staying Motivated

Regardless of your distance of choice, we can all use a little motivation to keep us honest over the winter months. Just knowing that the whole group will be there on Thursday night waiting for you makes it a little harder to skip a run. Besides, it's fun to run with a group. You have people to talk to, which makes the miles go by faster, and someone to challenge you to keep up with their pace.

Much More Than Running

Darasz and his wife joined the Greater Derry Track Club to meet people when they first moved to Derry 13 years ago. What has kept them involved for all these years is that satisfying sense of being part of something.

"The runners in our club are just good people," says Darasz, "we have a lot of fun."

And they do a lot of good for the community. The entry fee for the summer kids' fun runs is a canned good; in past years they have collected and donated about 1,000 pounds of food per summer. Another race they sponsor raises money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

We L-Streeters are active in the community as well. We sponsor one big road race each year and volunteer at several others in the area. All the money raised is donated to local charities. In December we make and deliver holiday meal baskets to 50 needy families in town.

Finding the Right Club

Have I convinced you to run out and join a club? If not, please go back and reread the part about meeting a great bunch of people, improving my times and endurance, and having people to run with, go to races with, and to share my love of running. Once you're convinced, read on.

Start at coolrunning.com where the "running club finder" provides links to web sites for clubs all over the country. Then check out the web sites carefully to find one that matches your personal goals and reasons for joining a club. For example, you may want a club that offers expert coaching, weekly speed workouts, and a competitive spirit. These are generally on the expensive end�up to $100 per year. Or you may want a more laid back club, such as the L Street Club, which costs $35 per year, and is decidedly non-competitive.

"Our training runs do have friendly competition and that helps make us better runners, but the first ones done are always there to congratulate the runners behind them," explains Mac, "our motto is 'no pace too slow, no distance too short.'"

Whatever is on your "to-do list" for this season, chances are you'll benefit from the camaraderie, motivation, and collective expertise of a running club. Still not sure about it? Most clubs welcome anyone to run with them without actually joining. And once you've joined, it's totally up to you how much you would like to participate. So try it out, you've got nothing to lose but time off your 10K.