It is now too dark in the mornings and evenings for me to run on my own so I have gone along to our local jogging club. They are a very friendly and enthusiastic group of runners who meet up twice a week and occasionally get together for a long run at weekends. The club is small but thriving and they enter teams in races of varying distances and, at the moment, are organising an outing to compete in the Budapest Half Marathon next year. There seems to be an active social side to the club as well!

We met on Tuesday and we sorted ourselves into pacing groups. I slotted somewhere in the middle. At first, it felt a bit strange running with a group of people but we soon settled down into a rhythm. The pace was probably slightly faster than I would have set off at but I stuck with it and soon began to feel comfortable. As is generally the case, after about 10-15 minutes I felt I could go up a gear and began to push it ever so slightly. Two other guys stuck with me and then a younger girl joined us and we were then a little group on our own.

We were intending to run 6+ miles and for 5 ½ miles I felt good but the last half mile or so was a bit more difficult – we had a couple of (short but steep) bridges to cross and a couple of underpasses to go through – which made me lose my rhythm and I lost a bit of pace. One of the guys, George, had pulled away from me and I was determined to get back up there with him! I tried hard but just couldn’t catch him.

It was a good run and I definitely worked a lot harder than if I had been on my own. It felt good to be part of a community, a like-minded group of people and such a friendly and encouraging club. I’m really looking forward to the next session.

Distance: 6+
Time: 1:03:30