There was one year not too long ago where I banked over 1500 miles which included running races all across the UK and further afield. If I found myself in Oslo working on a new project in the middle of winter, I found time to run. If I was in Orlando for a conference, despite the heat, I would round up some colleagues on a lunch break and go for a run. My team got involved as well and we completed several races for well known causes – one time raising almost £1k for the Multiple Sclerosis Society. Running is infectious. It is arguably the highest impact form of exercise you can do. And, it doesn’t require copious amounts of lycra. With just a little effort you can be on your way.

I stopped running 2 years and 5 months ago. I know this because my daughter is exactly 2 years and 5 months old. It’s not her fault of course (nothing is). Priorities change and any personal time nowadays is generally used for doing the washing up or other maintenance. Forget about crisis, or risk management or even the critical thinking skills that came in so handy during the pregnancy months...this is the time when you find out that, whatever your level of professional skills, they are essentially meaningless when it comes to managing, negotiating with, and influencing a toddler. You have to steer through very choppy waters, live day to day, and exercise creativity and adaptability and that’s just to achieve her sitting down and having her breakfast. And after that, you are already tired. How do you keep up? Running had to be the answer. It got me through tough times in the past and surely it was the panacea I needed.  

With that in mind, in November I took a break from digesting the latest essential nugget from Mumsnet and searched out local running groups. I knew that the only way I was going to find the motivation to hit the pavement again was with group support. I found Run Redbourn! and connected to their private page on Facebook. There, 400 meters from my front door, was a community of likeminded individuals who got together two or three times a week for organised runs. Some even involved stopping in at the pub afterwards. So, did I get out there? Uh, no. But boy did I enjoy reading the posts and seeing the rainy and frigid thumbs up pics during my daily dose of Sofia the First and The Lion Guard.

It slowly wore me down and there I was, rocking up on a cold December Sunday evening complete with head torch and reflective gear. I had dusted off my Garmin Forerunner 405, i.e. my GPS running watch, and my old running gear and certainly looked the part. After introductions and a warm-up we set off in a pack. It was a 5km run that took in a 1km hill. Needless to say, I was ready to drop long before the run ended. But I got through it and when I got home, waiting for me was a group thumbs up pic on the page and one of those thumbs was mine! I then transferred my running data and analysed my run. If you are unfamiliar with wearable tech, and it has been around for a while, GPS running watches collect data during the run: pace, distance, calories burned, heart rate, outside temperature and elevation. If you are someone who gets a kick out of data mining or just likes there to be evidence of the time you got your finger out, a running watch can be a great motivator.    

I kept getting out there and it was great. I was meeting people in the village, I was meeting my neighbours, and I was getting faster. The community element was doing its trick and the positivity from the group and its culture inspired effort. But I couldn’t help but notice how much technology had moved on in such a short time. It not only had moved on but like the rest of us it had tapped into social networks in a big way. Dave for example - it turns out he lives four doors down from me – he can create an event on Facebook and all his followers can keep track of his run live! Right there from the comfort of their sofa they can see all of Dave’s stats as he’s going along. Very cool, right? But there is more and...it is a game changer.

Strava. What is Strava you say? In short, it is a social network app for runners, cyclists and swimmers. Strava will make you extremely self conscious. It will open you up to a new world you never knew existed. But most importantly, it will make you run and it will make you run faster. Anyone that uses Strava for a week will become a brand ambassador. It is just a fact. I had never heard of it - for me it was outside the realm of nappies, teething medicine and milk...do we have enough milk? But the name kept coming up. When I, panting for breath, would bring the topic up with my new running colleagues the replies would be something like...‘Strava changed my life’...or, ‘Strava is awesomeness’...or, ‘seriously, you are not on Strava?’

So let me tell you about Strava and why I now pay the cost of a pint and a half per month to be a premium member. Firstly, it is awesomeness. You need to understand that from the off. Strava takes the data from the running watch and places it on a personalised page on the app. Many runners within Run Redbourn! now follow me on Strava and they can see the full stats from each of my runs. They can drill in and see when I am being lazy and when I am actually giving it some. It also tracks segments – these are well trodden routes with leader boards for any runner on Strava. So, for example, you could be running on your own on a well known segment but secretly trying to knock off a guy you don’t know from the top 10 spot. Brilliant. 

My point in publishing this post is not to promote the idea that one must have all sorts of gadgets and affiliated technology to enjoy the simple act of running. Running on its own is hugely rewarding. Running for 30 minutes improves your mood, burns around 350 calories, and can relieve huge amounts of stress. It’s a no brainer. Running is good. Let’s face it though, we are all very busy, probably working too hard, probably tired, and it is easy to opt for quicker ways to de-stress when we can e.g. binging on Netflix, drinking, Facebooking – or doing all three simultaneously – Woohooh!

Technology also helps with self motivation. A great philosopher once posed the question long ago, '...if a run happened and it was not recorded on your watch, did it really happen?' That is deep. But gone are the days where you have to inundate all on your social network with the likes of, ‘...hey, I just ran 5km. isn’t that great?’ That is just plain annoying. Especially to any friends that are currently on Netflix, drinking and skimming through posts. Strava is different and it facilitates the community spirit. When my head is trying to convince my body during a solo run that I should stop earlier than planned or have a recovery lap I then immediately think about what my followers on Strava will think when they see the data. Will they be going against their morals and principles in giving me 'kudos' for the run (that’s another word for thumbs up in our language) knowing that I didn’t give it my all on that final lap? No way will I stop or give it less effort than I can muster. I have a team behind me now cheering me on and I need to keep running! 

So here's to Run Redbourn! and the many groups of its kind in villages, towns and cities across the country. They are out there on social media, usually run by volunteers, and no doubt there is one near you - just google 'run together'. And here's also to many more social network platforms to come that actually get us out there, get us active, get us challenging ourselves and spurring on others, and get us to socialise in person once again.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-social-media-certain-network-makes-me-want-run-now-vaughan?trk=prof-post