Run Clubs Can Construct Your Relationship With Running

Sometimes you may’t wait for a date, and other times all of it looks like numerous effort. There’s the potential for a huge release of feel-good chemicals. But sometimes, the payoff never comes.

We’re not talking about dating one other person. We’re talking about making a date to go on a run. Running is definitely all about relationships: The connection you might have with yourself, together with your runs, and the community (virtual or IRL) that supports your striding toward the finish line. And similar to all relationships, how you are feeling about running can change over time.

“Entering into running for me to start with was, How can I stay in shape and keep my body healthy?” says Social Hour Run Club captain Megan Ono. “That relationship has modified over the course of the past five years.” Namely, running has develop into about helping her work through difficult life moments, have a good time wins, get to know her community—the place where she runs—by foot, and form connections with people in her run club.

Ono, together with Nike Run Club coach Bec Wilcock, Blacklist LA runner Alejandra Castillo, and Students Run LA director of operations Carla Anguiano, recently sat down for a roundtable discussion with Well+Good Podcast host Taylor Camille, sponsored by Nike on the House of Good in Venice, California. Their discussion on the support systems and motivations that keep runners moving forward are the guts of the newest episode of the Well+Good Podcast.

The advantages that community can have in your running

Community support makes running—and the rest—more easy

The reality is, running is tough. But having other people be an element of your running relationship—whether or not they’re running alongside you, or are cheering you on during a race or after the very fact—may also help lighten the load. Ever gone on an extended run with a bunch and felt the miles tick by a lot faster than while you’re alone? That support can bleed over from running into the remainder of your life.

“[When] it’s getting difficult, it’s getting hard, we have to remind ourselves that we’re not alone,” says Castillo. “There’s people literally on the sidelines, whether it’s at a race or simply in our personal endeavors.”

Community keeps you motivated

Ono points out that being a part of a run club can create accountability in addition to a welcoming, secure space to run. Data backs up the concept a running community keeps you lively and positively involved in the game. A 2022 study found that having running partners made people more consistent runners who achieved their goals.

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Sometimes all it takes is one other person. When Anguiano began running, that was the “sweeper” in the back of her club’s runs who stuck together with her through every mile to be certain that she didn’t get left behind. “It was great because I got one-on-one time, but it surely also motivated me to be consistent with my running,” she says.

For Castillo, she was first inspired to begin running by her dad, a marathoner. Once she began pounding the pavement, she ended up running into people she knew within the neighborhood, who’d invite her out to run clubs. “Just, I desired to run with the group sooner or later, and now they’re helping me train for the following marathon,” she says.

Community reminds you to enjoy running

That external validation may also help keep the connection with running, and with yourself, strong. Reminding yourself that running is something you do for you—and having gratitude for every mile you trod—can keep you striding forward in a way that adds to your life. That’s why Wilcock has a “smile every mile” policy, of literally taking a moment to smile no less than once during each mile.

“It’s just short and punchy, but I find that it helps while you’re returning to running, especially when you’ve taken an extended break, and the connection shouldn’t be that good, it’s essential enjoy it,” Wilcock says. “So smile.”

Hearken to the newest episode of The Well+Good Podcast for more suggestions that can help keep your relationship with running as strong as your strides.