Competitor - June 2017

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The BenefiTs

Have some fun

As the cliché goes, being a long-distance run-

ner can get lonely at times. A group makes it

more fun, especially if you’re a busy runner.

“You don’t have time for work, exercise and a

social life,” says kevin Jermyn, executive direc-

tor of the chicago Area Runners Association

(cARA). Group runs allow your exercise time

to double as your social time—as long as you

make friends with the people involved! “We’ve

had a ridiculous number of people who have

gotten engaged or married [after meeting in

the running group.]”

Be accountable

meeting a group (or even just another person)

also makes you accountable to actually getting

the workout done. For most of us, that forces

us to stick to our training plan.

“if someone’s waiting for me, i’m not going to

quit,” tuhabonye says. that’s particularly true

for early morning workouts and hard runs.

Push yourself

most runners, said Jermyn, have no problem

with their regular easy runs, but to go long or

to go fast, “they have to have other people for

that,” he says.

We might not even know what we’re capable

of until we push ourselves in a faster pace

group or try to keep up with our fast friends.

Get guidance and advice:

those friends can also be a good source of

advice. more than half the people who join

cARA’s marathon training program are first-tim-

ers. For someone running their first marathon,

there can be a lot of information for them to

absorb. the way the groups are structured

means they don’t have to learn it all at once.

instead, Jermyn says, they can pick up tips

and advice from the experienced runners and

coaches along the way.

this is especially true for coached groups fol-

lowing a consistent training plan.

how and

why To

Run wiTh a

GRoup

By Kelly O’Mara

Fifteen years ago, Gilbert

Tuhabonye started a running

group in Austin, Texas, “to cre-

ate a community,” he says.

Today, the Burundi

genocide survivor’s group,

Gilbert’s Gazelles, is one of

the biggest and most popular

in the area. And his runners,

he says, inspire him as much

as he inspires them. The weekly

workouts give them all a chance

to add some “joy” to their train-

ing—a Tuhabonye principle.

But group workouts can

come in all shapes and sizes—

from elite performance squads

to casual get-togethers. If

you’re ready to start running

with a group, there are some

pros and cons, and things to

know before you go.

44 Training

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