Stuck in a rut? Lacking in motivation? Or just feeling a bit bored and/or lonely on your runs? 

If any of your answers are in the affirmative then it’s probably time to think about joining a running club. 

It took me a long time to take the plunge and nearly two years on from joining Wymondham AC, I only regret that I didn’t do it sooner. 

If you’re still on the fence a little, then here are five reasons it’s worth considering joining a running club near you. 

 

Meeting new people... 

Let’s face it... runners aren’t for everyone. When we’re not running, we do love to talk about it, and it also takes a special breed of person to run for miles for no particular reason. 

But at a running club you’re surrounded by like-minded people; many of them will know that feeling of quiet accomplishment you get after every run... and it isn’t always to do with the ‘refreshments’ (coffee, cake, beer – not necessarily in that order) after. They also won’t won’t tell you that running is ‘bad for your knees’. 

You’ll also never be stuck for someone to run with. A podcast or some banging tunes can only get you so far – they don’t beat a run-chat with a mate. 

If you can stand being in several WhatsApp groups then you’ll never want for someone to run with. Most clubs have several ‘unofficial’ runs outside of club nights that you can dip in and out of. 

 

You’ll make great strides... 

You’ll be able to unlock levels of fitness you didn’t know you were capable of due to structured sessions and proper coaching. 

Joining the right running club will provide the chance to receive proper coaching. Clubs have people with LIRF (Leadership in Running Fitness) and CIRF (Coach in Running Fitness) qualifications meaning they are capable of setting sessions each week based on the abilities of a group. 

You will likely be running with people of similar ability and in my case at least it has given me the chance to run with others who are a lot faster than me. 

This has brought me on a lot over the past 18 months. At Wymondham on Monday, we finished a session which involved 8x3 minutes at 10K pace* and a few of us admitted that we would never have done that on our own. 

Since my calf injury I’ve held on to thinking that if I can string a few Monday night sessions together, and stay injury-free, then I’ll be able to make up a lot of the fitness lost during that period. 

*Everyone always runs faster than the pace set (at least in the first few reps...) 

 

No judgement... 

Ever had someone look at you like you’ve got two heads when you told them how much you paid for those new race day trainers? 

That is extremely unlikely to happen at a running club. These people understand running isn’t the cheap sport many claim it to be. 

I love the fact that I can talk about trainers for hours or how light a material is in a race vest without any judgement.  

If you don’t think twice about dropping the best part of £200 on a new pair of shoes, but baulk at paying more than £50 for everyday work shoes then you’re my sort of person. 

 

Blue-sky thinking... 

If you’re not careful then you can fall into a trap of entering the same races every year, doing the same things. 

Of course, there are events that are absolute staples in the Norfolk running calendar. But I’ve been inspired by so many runners at Wymondham AC who go all over the world running awesome races. 

It puts new experiences on your radar. Only over the last week, a chap called Craig Skipper took part in the Tromso Midnight Sun Marathon, which finishes at 1am in the morning... in daylight. It’s already on my list as one to do in the future. 

A couple of other members, including my wife, Alison, took part in the Snowdon SkyRace – around 11,000 feet of elevation within just under the marathon distance. It’s not for me... but it will be for others. 

 

It’s cheap... 

The average cost to be a member of a gym is just over £47 per month in the UK; that’s more than most running clubs charge for a whole year. 

So you get access to coaching, community and camaraderie at a fraction of the cost. 

It also means you can spend whatever you save on new running kit. 

 

You can find a list of Norfolk running clubs near you here.