u/StringClassic6913 — reddlx

Running/social skills prerequisite for casual SF run clubs?

I have been trying to run/jog for the past couple of months and think that I could benefit from regularly scheduled club runs. However, I’m afraid that I will either be too slow to keep up at all, or will be unable to converse with people if that’s an expectation during the run.
So, my main questions are whether the advertised pace range for most clubs are accurate and well-represented during most runs, and whether talking is expected throughout the run. I am terrible at conversations even when I’m not running, so I can’t imagine trying to make small talk while trying to run fast enough to not get left behind.

If anyone has recommendations for run clubs that don’t require a high level of running or social skills, please let me know!

reddit.com

u/StringClassic6913 — 3 months ago

▲ 40 r/beginnerrunning

First 10K!!!

Guys, I don’t have any friends and my family doesn’t run, so I need to share my excited-ness here lol!! I started running almost 2 months ago, and my goal distance from the beginning was to run 10K, and I ACTUALLY DID IT TODAY OMG!!!

I had a lot of anxiety before starting this run, because I genuinely believed that I wouldn’t be able to make it. I have never knowingly propelled myself this distance via foot before, and I was so scared of disappointing myself with failure. But once I hit the second half of the run, I almost started crying, because at this point I knew that I was going to be able to finish. This wasn’t even an “easy” conversational pace for me, but I was able to keep my breathing controlled and finished the run strong. I feel so proud and empowered right now. I don’t think I’ll ever sign up for races or run longer distances than this, and I don’t even have specific pace goals, but I think I’m finally at the point where I can confidently say that I want running to be part of my life in a really long-term way <3

u/StringClassic6913 — 3 months ago

▲ 11 r/beginnerrunning

I started to run around a month ago for the first time in my life, and it has been extremely empowering. For context, I have admired runners for years, but had been afraid to start because I’m emetophobic (fear vomiting) and was scared that my lack of fitness would cause me to immediately yack in the bushes if I even attempted to run lol.

Well, finding this sub literally changed my life, because I learned that starting to run does not have to be painful, and that most runs could be super easy!

I am definitely not learning to run in a very structured way, because I never followed a program such as C25K, never tracked my heart rate, and don’t even precisely log my runs or track my pace most of the time for my easy runs, but I think that this relaxed attitude towards running has allowed it to become a sustainable and fun activity to me, rather than something that I need to be perfect at. But even though I don’t precisely track most of the time or have specific goals, I can tell that I am improving!! I can run 5K more efficiently now without feeling like I’m gonna die, whereas I could barely run a mile without my lungs being on fire a few weeks ago!!! So many other aspects of my life are definitely not moving in a positive direction (for reasons that are not in my control), so it feels so empowering to put effort into something that is pretty much guaranteed to improve over time with consistency. I don’t know if I’ll ever do a race or run “long” distances (10K+), but I’m so happy with starting to invest in my own fitness by running, and am so thankful for the helpful advice that I’ve seen on this sub 🫶

u/StringClassic6913 — 4 months ago