Packing My Running Shoes

A Bay Area native, after thirty something years, I am moving away from the place that I know and love. Thankfully, it is not too far away so that I will be back to visit often, but still far enough that I won’t be able to call up my running buddies for an impromptu afternoon run on the trails.

Moving is both exciting and scary. As a creature of change, I welcome the new adventures that await me. As a social runner, I fear that I will spend my days running alone. This of course is a silly notion for runners are everywhere! I just need to have some courage and do a little research.

Thanks to social media outlets and apps like Twitter, dailymile, and Banjo, I have already connected with a few local runners who would be happy to show me around their neck of the woods on a run tour. What a great way to explore the area!

While there are no running stores in the town that I am moving to (gasp), I have been successful in locating ones nearby that have run groups during the weekdays. Sure, I have to drive a bit, but totally worth it for me to connect and meet other runners.

There is a ton of run groups located in the surrounding area. While most require a membership fee, the opportunity to run and connect with like minded individuals is priceless. I have also searched on Meetup.com to happily discover that there are active running meet up groups that meet on weekends for a bit of trail running. I am currently training for my first 50k race and am absolutely excited to participate in some of these meetup groups to explore some new trails!

Staying motivated is certainly important to me. To train effectively, I am so happy that Run365 has partnered with Sacfit to offer a 22 week training program for the San Francisco Marathon! I look forward to training with fellow ambassadors Christopher and Laura who live out in the surrounding area, as well as hopefully meeting some new friends.

Of course, participating in races by not only running them, but also volunteering at them ,will be a great way to connect to the local running community. And I plan to do both.

With all these options available, I am confident that I will be meeting new running buddies in no time. Change can certainly be scary, but I am very excited to discover and explore this new running world that awaits me! Wish me luck!