This quote is taken from a recent interview with Chris Heuisler on the Run to the Top Podcast. I was listening to Heuisler’s interview on my (run) commute home last night when I realised how perfectly these sentiments chimed in with the blog post I’d been writing about a recent surge in running community love, experienced following a race last week.

Last Sunday I ran the Derby 10 with my lovely pals Katie and Ant. Having never run a 10 mile race before I didn’t have a target time in mind, and although I had a vague idea of what sort of splits I’d ideally like to do, knowing that I’ve not really been training properly post-holiday, the pressure to do a PB was totally off. While in the end it wasn’t the fastest 10 miles I’ve ever run, it wasn’t the slowest either, and it was certainly one of the most enjoyable.

It was a freezing but bright morning and despite multiple layers of jumpers before the race, by mile four I’d stripped down to my vest (albeit with my headband and gloves still firmly in place). I had initially been nervous about motivating myself as this was my first official no-headphones race, but I have to admit that I rather enjoyed running music- and podcast-free. Rather than switching my music on and my brain off (which I’m often guilty of doing) I used the time to really think about my posture and running technique, focusing on not dropping into my hips and on breathing down into my belly.

I also really enjoyed spending some of the time chatting with the other runners around me.

One of my absolute favourite things about races is being surrounded by so many like-minded people. I love hearing about the running achievements and goals of others, helping and being helped by strangers to pull through the tough miles together, or flying side-by-side through the easier stretches. Running with someone else is such a fantastic shared experience; even running with a stranger you find that you form a sort of bond as you enjoy those endorphin highs together. As Runner’s World writer Tish Hamilton observed, when you share a run with someone you are more likely to open up to them as you’re not looking them in the eye and you’re throwing it out into the wind; it is almost like entering a sacred space where you suddenly find yourself over-sharing with a total stranger!

Derby also reminded me that running in an event doesn’t have to have the sole purpose of aiming for a PB. As Heuisler noted, we train for weeks and weeks on end for an event, but what is amazing is when you reach the start line and you are surrounded by hundreds, or even thousands of fellow runners, you suddenly realise how many people have all been through the same things that you have. When you are out running on your own it’s easy to think that you’re the only person training, but on race day you look beside you and realise there is a unique comradeship that makes the training worth while and which makes running so special.

Moreover, surrounding yourself with fellow exercisers certainly makes taking regular exercise easier. Listening to other people talk about their training regimes, or seeing them participate in various activities, normalises the act of exercising, making it easier to follow similar practises yourself.

I often find that the more time I spend with my running pals, the more I want to run; when I hear that one of them is entering a race or heading out for a long training run I am motivated to lace up and get out myself. I am one of the worst people for struggling with FOMO, but when it comes to exercise I find I can use this to my advantage; if one of my pals is training for a race you can bet your bottom dollar I am too!

I think it is no coincidence that my mum was a runner and it’s no accident that my nephew has started to run junior park runs. It’s unsurprising that my husband has as many trainers and as much running kit as me, or that weekends with some of my best friends often involve walking, yoga, swimming, or running a ten mile race on a freezing November Sunday morning.

So whether you’ve got an event coming up, or you are just trying to get yourself out of the door on a chilly November evening, remember that you are part of a bigger whole and that while running is ostensibly a solo act, you are part of a larger community and someone else is forcing themselves to lace-up and get out too!

Happy running.