How do you make a new runner?
Plus: my pre- and post-run fueling strategy, and my wildly inconsistent year of running to date
How to make new runners is something I think about deeply often as the lead coach for my Tuesday morning run crew.
My focus has always been on helping beginner runners and non-runners become lifelong runners, but the tentative enquiries I receive online always fixate on being too slow for the group. There’s a sense of inevitable failure, and the fear of that failure being public is very tangible.
It’s something that came up in conversation with Sidney Baptista when I interviewed him about Pioneers Run Crew last week.
“When we first started it was people from the neighborhood finding running and I was the only ‘real’ runner. I was doing everything from photos to emails to running. We’re a well-oiled machine now, and it intimidates people. Now we’re attracting people who are runners already and not necessarily creating new runners.”
“If I want to keep impacting my community, I can’t just focus on runners. I’ve got to create new runners. That’s the challenge that’s going on in Pioneers Run Crew at the moment.”
How is he solving that?
Collaborating with a gym for a HIIT session plus a one-mile run to gently introduce running to people who more traditionally hit the gym only.
Using more widely accessible language by calling the marathon cheer zone a block party: “They’re coming to party with Pioneers,” and non-runners might not understand exactly what a cheer zone entails, but might appreciate the vibes from afar.
“The mission for me is to bring more people of color into running.”
“How do we get people there? What’s the messaging? What’s the theater? What’s the entry point? When you become a well-oiled machine, you’re not always remembering what it feels like to be a first-timer.”
Let us know what convinced you, or if you have any more ingenious ideas to bring more first-time runners to a group run.
Read the full feature with Sidney Baptista of Pioneers Run Crew
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Previously on Running Sucks
A year ago I spoke to Brooks Bash, who ran 100 marathons in a row and then ran the whole of The Speed Project solo. Why? Find out.
Slightly more fun than that is Lenny Maughan’s story. He makes wonderful Strava art in San Francisco. No, you can’t convince me that running 100 marathons in a row is fun.
What’s your pre-race meal?
This week my pre- and post- run fueling strategy has been featured by
in her latest dissection of what we eat and why, along with of . What do you eat before and after a long run?
Running Sucks Haiku of the Week
Ran a half with Phil
July was his first 10k
Consistency works
I’ve been working with Phil for just over a year. He got in touch wanting to be able to comfortably run a 4th of July 10k with his family. He did it. Next up, he wanted to run a half-marathon. We did that together last October, and we hit his target time of 2:22, but it was a struggle.
On Saturday, we ran 13.4 miles from Silver Lake up to the L.A. Zoo and back again, and we were chatting the whole time. That’s the kind of progress that I absolutely love to see.
As a coach, my whole philosophy is lifting beginner runners up and trying to turn running into a healthy practice. That’s the meaning behind Running Sucks.
Obviously, I do not think that running sucks. Spending my entire life thinking deeply and writing extensively about the topic, I didn’t think I’d need to spell that out, but I’ve had too many real-life interactions where people say, “But running doesn’t suck!” As if it they’d found a real gotcha moment.
The idea is that Running Sucks… is the beginning of the sentence. Once you identify the part of running that you find the most difficult (the bit that sucks) we can remove that obstacle, so you’re one step closer to loving running as much as I do.
Running Sucks when I have to find my clothes in the dark. Get your running kit ready before bed.
Running Sucks because I get out of breath. Try slowing down a little.
Running Sucks because it’s so boring running on my own. Find your local run club.
It’s like poverty alleviation for your running practice. Yeah! Imagine a world with lower crime, higher education, and less food insecurity. You’d enjoy life much more wouldn’t you!? I simply transpose that philosophy onto running.
As Sid says above, it’s easy to forget what it was like when you started out, but like him, I’m keen to never let that happen.
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Thanks for reading
Raz x
Our weekly sunday 5k run is a super inclusive pace (~10 min mile) and also stops midway through to take a break and chit chat for 10ish mins. Allows people to get to know each other while also catching their breath.
My run club does a weekly 5k run/walk (4min run, 2 minute walk). We’ve also done a 0-5k program for new runners.
Both have been great for newer runners and those returning from injury, etc.