Fast runners belong here too

We talk a lot about walking at Runners Gateway. About slower starts, returning after time away, and feeling welcome when you’re unsure whether you fit.

I believe in all of that. I also want to be clear that you’re welcome here if you love running fast.

You can enjoy a race. You can care about a personal best, take satisfaction in your training, and be pleased when the work comes together. You don’t need to apologise for an ambitious goal or make it sound smaller so that somebody else feels comfortable.

There’s room for that enthusiasm here.

We can avoid building another ladder

When someone has been made to feel lesser for being slow, it’s understandable that they want to push back. But I’m wary of the point where encouragement starts to suggest that slower runners are somehow better people.

We haven’t made running more welcoming if we’ve simply changed who gets the superior position.

Pace tells us something about a performance. It tells us very little about whether a person is kind, generous, interesting, or good company over coffee. Those things need their own evidence.

A runner can be delighted with a fast time and interested in how somebody else’s morning went. A walker can be pleased for a friend who raced well while having no desire to race themselves. Nobody needs to pretend that they wanted the same day.

Enjoy the goal you actually have

Competition can be part of the pleasure. So can learning a skill, following a demanding plan, or finding out what you can do over a familiar distance.

There’s a difference between enjoying those things and expecting everyone around you to value them in the same way. A friend who wants a sociable walk hasn’t misunderstood the purpose of training. They’ve chosen something else.

That works both ways. Telling an enthusiastic runner that times don’t matter can dismiss something they care about. A better conversation starts with finding out what the result meant to them.

If you’ve got a particular distance in mind, the Training library has plans with different starting requirements and commitments. Read those details and choose from the running you can do now. An ambitious finish still needs a suitable beginning.

Leave room for different kinds of satisfaction

I’d like Runners Gateway to be a place where someone can talk about a hard-earned personal best alongside someone pleased to have walked regularly again. Both should be able to tell their story without either one being used to diminish the other.

You’re allowed to be excited about your running. Share that excitement with some interest in the person beside you, and we’ve got the beginnings of a good conversation.