During the past few months I’ve missed running with fun, inspiring females. I spent much of July through October running with Emily on an almost daily basis. Our runs would include long conversations about Geneva, acclimating to life in Europe, the men in our lives, and more. Then as the London weekends began I was able to enjoy weekend runs with Charlie, my new friend who showed me the ins and outs of running and training in London.
Due to the rain and cold mornings in Geneva many of my runs have been on the treadmill and the few times I’ve been able to get outside it’s been with either Bo or Renaud. Don’t get me wrong, they are both wonderful but there is something about sharing some time on the road with fellow female runners.
Therefore, this weekend when Leah and the Team Naturally Run ladies said they were going to run 10 miles on Saturday, I jumped at the opportunity to run with lots of ladies. Emily and Bo chose to join in the early morning fun as the route was an epic site seeing tour through London including the Victoria Embankment, London Bridge, Buckingham Palace, Green Park, Big Ben, gorgeous views along the Thames River, Hyde Park, Marble Arch and Regent’s Park.
Spending time talking with each of these women on Saturday reminded me why I love the running community. Most of them are training for the Paris Marathon and while I’m not joining in the fun on April 6th, it was fun to answer questions and provide insight for the first timers. London even cooperated and gave us clear blue skies as you can see in the picture below. The 8 miles that we ran with them flew by and before we knew it we were bidding adieu to everyone in Regent’s Park. Whether they know it or not, these 8 ladies gave me the motivation I needed to get even more excited about my upcoming half marathons!
What do you run for? Bagels? Coffee? Brunch? Bacon? Long conversations? Sanity?
when i ran, i ran for sanity, my health, and the competition aspect of it (just against myself!) i always love the social aspect of group/partner runs and races though!
The competition against self is a great one which I too enjoy sometimes!
Sanity! I want to join my local run group, but they start a little too early for me. They have kids so they need to be done early, I’m a single 20 something, so I like to sleep in a bit!
Katie I bet if you give it a try it will be worth the early wake up time!
Definitely run for sanity! I do not do well without my daily dose of running… 🙂
Haha sanity seems to be a common theme
I just started meeting up with a run group! I need to get better about running without music, as I feel rude with one headphone in. We’re adding a post-run brunch this week, which I’m pretty excited about!
Yes definitely try taking off the music next time! Even if you can’t talk and run yet try listening to their conversation
I run for my sanity, good conversation with friends when I get a chance, a beer afterwards, and preparation for the zombie apocalypse.
I love a good beer after a race or long run!
I run to keep me sane and happy with my body, to keep me challenging myself and always striving for more.
It seems like a lot of us run for sanity 🙂
I run for all of the above!!! mmmm bacon! and long conversations with friends too. #runningismytherapy