A recent article in the New York Times, says running may even be socially contagious! The article is about recently published research by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan School of Management on how runners are affected by other runners on running data collection sites. The article didn't disclose which data collection site was used, but I'm assuming it was one like Strava, Nike, or MapMyRun. Over a 5 year period, researches gathered data from about 1.1 million runners from all over the world. Collectively runners in that time period had run about 225 million miles.
The research showed that similar runners tended to cluster
as friends on the data collection site. Also, if one friend ran more than the
others, then a spike in the others' running was observed.
Basically, members in these unofficial circles would work to keep up with each
other. Weather conditions didn't seem to matter either. If a runner ran more in
one part of the country, a runner in another part of the country would run more
(not necessarily more than the other runner, but more than he/she had previously
run) even if there were adverse weather conditions.
Men seemed to be affected by this more than women. Males were definitely
influenced by what their male counterparts were doing. Males were also
influenced by their female counterparts but not to the same extent. Females,
however, didn't seem to be influenced by their male counterparts, but they were
influenced by their female counterparts.
Personally, I use Strava to upload and keep track of my running data. It's been
fun making friends around the country on Strava, keeping track of what others
are doing. Strava (and I'm sure the other sites do it too) also provides
challenges for runners to strive for such as running a certain race distance,
running a certain number of miles in a month, etc. It's all healthy competition
whether it's with yourself or with others. But, nothing, in my opinion, beats
the camaraderie of a real "in-person" running group. While the
online sites provide some incentive to run harder to keep up with your buddies,
a real-life running group provides life-long friendships, support, motivation,
and inspiration that cannot be matched in any other forum. Running is so much
more than Running.
Due to school and family commitments, I haven't been able to run as much of late. Just check out my dailymile.com log and you'll see. I have started back this week and hope to get back in the groove with my school winding up next week. (The past 6 months I've been involved in an full-time intense diploma program to become a personal trainer and nutrition consultant along with getting my RRCA running coach certification. Weekend after next, I'll be away yet again getting my USA-TF Level 1 coaching certification.) Of course then real life kicks in, so that will throw a curve ball into my running I'm sure. But since my new business will be running and fitness training, at least I'll be running and working out with awesome new clients!
This brings me to the importance of having a running buddy. The past 2 months I've strayed from my network of running buddies, due to the life obstacles I mentioned earlier. And dang-it, I miss 'em! Not only do I miss their stories, bragging, moaning, and laughter along the run, I also miss the accountability they bestow on me. I don't know how "lone runners" do it. Don't get me wrong, I love a solo run to focus on my training or to just clear my head, but there's something about that weekly group run or run with a running buddy that really does a body and mind good. I think knowing that someone is counting on you to be there and you not wanting to let them down does a lot to motivate both individuals. It's especially good on those really long training runs. My short-term interruptions will soon end and I'll eventually be back with the gang. I'm looking forward to it!
So, if you're not a part of a running group or don't have a running buddy, find one! You won't be sorry. See if there's a running club in your community. Or check with your local independent running store. They often host weekly group runs.
This clip from Friends really says it all about the importance of a running buddy. Enjoy!
I'd like to give a shoutout to Chad (a fellow blogger) who inspired me to write this post. Be sure to check out his blog, Running Man.
In several past posts, I've written about the importance of a running group. The support and friendships a group provides is awesome. Even as a group's dynamics change over time, the sense of accountability and support that a group provides is wonderful and something I miss when I'm not able to make it to my weekly runs.
Life has been so hectic of late (we're just putting up our Christmas tree today), I have to admit that the past couple of months I've only made it to a handful of these weekly runs. All legit reasons (helping with a local 5K, visiting family, studying for big tests), but still I've missed those long runs, both for the physical endurance aspects as well as socializing with my running buddies. Hopefully after I finish my personal trainer schooling in January, I'll be more of a regular back at "The BlueLine" (where we start our weekly long runs and our group's namesake).
Last night we received about 4" of snow and today we're supposed to get 3-5 more inches. Now for you guys up north, that ain't a heck of a lot of snow, but down South, that puts life at a stand-still. But yet today is still a Saturday and it's still the day of my running group's long run.
Well, this morning, I had all good intentions of making it to the BlueLine even with the snow, because I knew I'd get a lot of flack (all good natured) from my running buddies for not making it. But, when I woke up at 5:30AM, my 9-year-old's big brown eyes were staring at me, soon followed by, "Daddy, I don't feel well." Well, how can you go for a run when that's at your bedside. So, up I got, hot chocolate I made, and comforting I did. Of course, she's all better now, even been out in the snow and now on her second cup of hot cocoa. Guess she just needed some daddy-time.
Some of the very dedicated running buddies did make it out to the BlueLine and the made sure to rub it in. LOL!
