How I swapped the loneliness of the cross-country runner for the cosiness of the club

A move to Hay-on-Wye transformed me from a lone urban to a solitary rural runner. But getting over scepticism to join the local club has been a revelation

“New shoes, eh?” the man said to me in a knowing tone. “So, what’s the tread? Let’s have a look.” I’d just joined the local running club. “Tread?” I thought. “What’s ‘tread’?” Back then, my shoe knowledge was farcical. The week before, I had gone online, found a random website selling running gear, clicked on the “sale” tab, picked a pair my size and pressed “buy”. “Tread?” All I knew was that, even at 30% off, they were still the most expensive pair of trainers I’d ever bought.

I have run casually all my adult life. A few laps of the park in the evening. Maybe a longer run on a weekend. Nothing serious. Certainly not serious enough to invest in any proper kit. Then I moved to a village just outside the Welsh border town of Hay-on-Wye and everything changed. Nestled in the lee of the Black Mountains, the Radnorshire hills at my back, the River Wye at my feet, the landscape seemed to scream “Run!” I heeded its call.

Related: All the gear…: ‘How obsession with kit eclipsed my love of running’

None of them, to my great relief, were super fast. Just ordinary folk, out doing what we all enjoy

Continue reading...

from Fitness | The Guardian http://ift.tt/1WS51dr
via FITNESS