Run-Down Forums

[Guest]

I was wondering if a running partner was necessary to be your best? Do they top elite runners always have partners or they mostly run on their own?
thanks alot

[Anonymously Posted by: 'cory891']

[Dan]

Both. Depends a lot on the person, but it's pretty rare to find people who train better on their own. I've heard of a lot of elites that train more or less alone, but that's a different situation. They generally have dedicated one on one coaching, are not in a school environment where there is a group to run with at a scheduled time, are often too good for anyone to really be able to push them, and sometimes are too competitive to run with people wisely in practice. The Brazilian coach (drawing a blank on his name right now) who coached Cruz and Barbosa often had his elites do their intervals separately for two reasons -- to keep them from cmompeting in practice and to teach them the mental aspect of running alone in front of the pack. Still, unless you're #1 in the world, it makes sense to run with someone faster and be forced to improve in order to keep up.

Dan

[mjsbossman]

Well, I run Cross Country in High school, and because I want to be good this season, I am motivated enough to run on my own and work hard on those runs. If you have enough motivation, you might not need a training partner. But, having a parter run with you sometimes can be fun, especially if you run with a group of friends, and it allows you to see how you compare to other runners.

[Dan]

If you've got the motivation, you're probably ok. Still, I maintain that most people would be better off with a good training partner, even if they think they are working hard on their own. The body can always be pushed slightly harder than you think possible. If nothing else, the challenge of running with and against others can distract you from the pain you are in.

Dan