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Anselm Murphy · Water Boy Joined: 24 May 2001 Posts: 69

I want to get better at middle distance running, and to do so I suppose I should join a running club, because right now I don't have access to a proper track.

At athletics clubs, do you just go there any time you want and run, or do they have coaches who tell you whats the best way to train, etc. Also, do they have different ability levels, because I want to be in races, but I think I am not too good for my age (1 Cool

, and would lose all the time to sub 4:10 1500m super - men. Do they have different ability categories for people to run in?

Also will training on a track reqularly improve my times much? Right now I normally do a 2.8k run every day, fairly fast. What kind of 1500 time could I get in around 2-3 months if i trained every day on the track?

Dan · Posted: Fri Jul 12, 2002 3:14 pm Post subject:

I think you would have to inquire with individual clubs in your area to see what their setup is. I imagine there aren't too many locally to choose from?

There should be a range of ability levels at any club.

Having a good training environment and good track surface should help your running, but there are of course no guarantees.

Dan

Micah Ward · Posted: Sat Jul 13, 2002 10:10 am Post subject:

Anselm, I don't know where you live, but if you check the links on this sight to running clubs you may be able to find one that will help you. Having a coach and running partners can certainly help you and getting on the track tends to put you in a "speed" frame of mind. But if you are running fast you can get fast wether you are on a track or on the road.
Good luck and let us know how you do.
Micah

Paul · Posted: Mon Jul 15, 2002 3:28 pm Post subject:

I have run almost entirely alone the last ten years. I have also never entered a race, just my own personal time trials. I consider myself very naive concerning the club scene in my town. My opinion at one time was that runners who formed clubs were all highly motivated, sub 18 min 5K finishers and people who put in 65-80+ miles a week. Well, maybe in Eugene some clubs are like that, but in Portland, I see now that there are a number of clubs where the participants cover the entire spectrum of abilities. Club scenes, in general, are much more relaxed. The coaches are usually volunteers, the workouts structured but not rigid. You can pick and choose to attend the workouts that suit you. Many hold one track workout a week at a local high school all year around. With a large range of speed being represented, you can run with a faster group one week and a slower group the next, if you're not feeling up to the pace. There is still the positive feeling being connected with the particular group, even if you are one of the fastest out there and appear to be running alone. Clubs do a lot of the admin work for their members when it comes to races. And, of course, clubs provide a social aspect revolving around our fondness of running.
Personally, I think I have missed out by not pursuing a club much earlier. And if you want to race, the benefits are very great.

Paul

Anselm Murphy · Water Boy Joined: 24 May 2001 Posts: 69

I live in England, so the links on this site won't help me there Sad

. It seems like in America you all take athletics seriously at high school. At my school they didn't even have a track - all we had was sports day once a year on a hired one. Even then, for each event only 6 people could run in it. Since the 5th form and upper 6th do their GCSEs and A-levels (english exams), the whole of the 5th form, lower 6th and upper 6th forms would have one person in each event from each of the 6 houses ( what the school is divided up into) so bascially, there are about 90 people, from which only one can do any particular event! If there happen to be 2 people out of these 90 who are keen on athletics, then...tough!
I think I'll start looking for a club soon when it gets cooler ... too hot to run much right now, so I'm doing most of it at night when its cooler.
I agree with what you said about the "speed" atmosphere of a track. The few times I've been at a track in a race, I find I'm able to push myself a lot harder because I feel under much more pressure, and people are watching etc. If you are just running by yourself on a road, its hard to really push yourself.

Dan · Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2002 7:21 am Post subject:

Anselm Murphy · Water Boy Joined: 24 May 2001 Posts: 69

Alright then, you were right there, but.........

suppose I want to know details of running clubs based in ....... oh, I don't know, lets say...........

outer Mongolia

Lets see how good your site is now tough guy! Smile

Dan · Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2002 1:49 pm Post subject:

Sigh...

http://run-down.com/Clubs/International/Asia/

No known clubs in Mongolia as of this time, just the Sunrise to Sunset Mongolia Marathon/Ultramarathon. Sad

Dan

Anselm Murphy · Water Boy Joined: 24 May 2001 Posts: 69

Thats the best you can do? Thats worse than pathetic! Smile

Dan · Posted: Wed Jul 17, 2002 6:49 am Post subject:

Ok wise guy, confirm Mongolia actually has a running club and then you can talk smack for me not having a link to it!

Dan

Anselm Murphy · Water Boy Joined: 24 May 2001 Posts: 69

Of course it does; you're just not looking hard enough Wink

Dan · Posted: Wed Jul 17, 2002 7:27 am Post subject:

Problem there is, I've spent thousands of hours (no exaggeration) searching for and compiling running links, and I've yet to run across a Mongolian running club. Thus, the burden is on you to proove one actually exists before you can make any claims reflecting on how thoroughly I've searched.

Dan

Anselm Murphy · Water Boy Joined: 24 May 2001 Posts: 69

You see, the thing there is that I don't really want to know about Mongolian running clubs, just trying to test you out, so while I'd love to spend hours looking for something that doesn't exist, I won't Very Happy

Dan · Posted: Fri Jul 19, 2002 8:16 am Post subject:

Ah, you're smarter than you look! Smile

Dan

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