For years I’ve been going to the Running Room on Wednesday evenings. Initially it was a great place. I always had a group to go with and, because I could schedule it, I would go regularly. There were groups that would go at specified speeds for a decent run.
But for the past few years, it has gone downhill, and not in the fast running way.
Nowadays, it is catering only to the running clinics. Now don’t get me wrong, the running clinics are great for learning how to run or to improve your distance. But once you have “graduated,” the Running Room doesn’t seem to want you around anymore.
I showed up today, and could not find any group to run with. It was only clinic runs that were going 5km or under, or doing hill training. I just wanted to go out for a decent run with friendly people. This is a constant problem, where I don’t know if going to the Running Room will give me people to run with. When I expressed my concern to the staff, they didn’t see it as a problem. They almost seemed to think it was great that you could show up and not have an idea as to what you will be doing.
But if every group is going too short, too slow, or too hilly, I’m going to have to run alone. Why do I even go to the Running Room then?
When I took off on my own, as luck would have it, I came across Beto and his group. Beto is one of the best runners in Edmonton and he now works at United Cycle where they have their own running groups. Their groups are organized by speed, not clinic. I immediately turned around and ran with them. It was great!
I’m going to start going there on Wednesday evenings.