Nontraditional Runners Are Finding Their Stride Online

When Nicki Conroy started running in 2007, she tried out the local groups around Binghamton, N.Y., but they weren’t geared toward runners at her pace or with her challenges as a single mother of six. So she ran alone. But as she trained for her first marathon in 2010, she started looking for resources and found the Another Mother Runner online community.

“It was nice to have something to fall back on where there was somebody who didn’t think I had to be running that nine-minute mile,” Conroy said.

Conroy knew local runners who were mothers, but they were all married and their spouses could get the children up in the morning while the women squeezed in early runs. Conroy had to make sure her children got up and out herself. Another Mother Runner gave her a community in which she found runners she could relate to.

“I think we all look for support in different ways, but the local group that may be out there, they may not be the people for you,” Conroy said.

Lara Wines lives in Watertown, N.Y., but she follows the Black Girls Run chapter in Albany, about 170 miles away, because her daughter lives in the area. If Wines is visiting or if the Albany chapter plans a virtual run, she can join in.

“When you’re not a traditional athlete, it feels intimidating, so when you find these people online, that lets you know you’re perfectly fine wherever you are,” Wines said. “That lets you know you can do it.”

Wines participates in several running groups, dipping in and out depending on what she needs. Most recently, as she returns from an injury, she has been active in a group that focuses on run-walk intervals.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/04/sports/running-clubs-online.html