Solo Running Beats Social Running

Solo running beats social running.

A lot of people swear by solo running.

For example, Dean Karnazes, author of 50/50: Secrets I Learned Running 50 Marathons in 50 Days — and How You Too Can Achieve Super Endurance!, tells stories about how he loves to run by himself for miles on end in the middle of the night.

However, social running has become increasingly popular.

Want proof? Just look at the many group training programs available to runners today.

But, in many different ways, running by yourself can beat running with others.

Let me try to prove it to you.

Convenience

If you run by yourself, you get the convenience of relying on nobody’s schedule but your own. If you have ever had a long wait for others before starting a run that you were ready to start several minutes earlier, then you know what I mean by convenience.

Motivation

If you run by yourself, you must rely on your own motivation to get you out of bed for an early-morning run, to get you to pack running apparel and then get away from the office for a mid-day run, or to get you away from home for a run before or after dinner.

Pace

If you run by yourself, you must rely on your own cues, not on other people, to maintain your pace. You have to check your watch or GPS wrist unit. You may use a step beeper to help you to keep a cadence that supports your desired pace. You may use an interval timer to tell you when to switch between running and walking, if you use the run:walk method. And, you probably will pay close attention to your own breathing and how it is affecting your pace.

Persistence

If you run by yourself, you must rely on your self-talk to coach you through the setbacks along the route — the hill that you were not expecting, the rain that caught you along the way, the wind that was NOT giving you a “wind-assisted” run, or the loose dog that decided that your calves looked delicious.

Preparation

If you run by yourself, you must rely on your own preparation. Nobody is there to bale you out when you forget a water bottle, don’t have enough water bottles, forget to pack or apply sunscreen, or fail to plan for rain, wind, or a drastic change in temperature.

Bottom Line

Did you notice something in all of the above?

Self-reliance is the common theme.

When you develop self-reliance, you put yourself in the middle of control of your destiny. This does not mean that things always work out as planned … or as desired. But, this sense of control has a powerful influence on your happiness as a runner (or walker), which is my agenda for you.