Running - what's the point?

Firstly, unless you've serious medical conditions, anyone can run but there in lays a problem - not everyone runs properly!

It's the most natural thing in the world running - we are able to run simply because we need to run away from things with sharp teeth wanting to eat us. We are, or were a predated species and not as high on the food chain as we are now. Running dear readers - is survival!

Benefits of running include:

Fitness - it will make you fitter
Weight loss - as long as you eat to run not run to eat it will help immensely
Wellbeing - the effects on your mental health are staggering
Immune system - with fitness comes a healthy immune system
Friends - joining a running club creates lasting friendships

With all those points in mind what stops people running?

Firstly - it's really far too hard right? Well, no, actually if you are medically able you can start any time in life young or old and of course as with all exercise - we urge everyone to seek their doctors opinion before taking up any new sport.

Those first few metres of a run can feel like very hard work - ask any new runner and they will tell you that but they're also likely to continue with the virtues of carrying on as they had until that hard work becomes something very enjoyable indeed. Running is always hard work but the pay off is more than worth the effort - ask any runner!

Over time your efforts increase your fitness, decrease your weight (if that's why you started) and improve your mental state of mind and your social circle.

The runner trap

Once you start increasing distance it's tempting to just keep trying to push that distance but beware! Your body is BRILLIANT at adapting to change. It's how we become fitter, healthier and so on but this also has a problem - it will adapt to distance too. Your body is designed to keep you alive so it will adapt to its surroundings and that includes running.

5K becomes 10K, 10K becomes 20K and so on but it might not mean you're improving because your body will adapt to the runs at the expense of stamina - put simply your body doesn't want to expend valuable energy doing something it does all the time - the running trap!

So what does Exmouth running club do differently?

Our FREE CLUB RUNS are designed not as simply runs but as running exercises that say to the body "hey, you need to improve because this is out of the ordinary...". Each club run is more a running exercise made fun through carefully planned challenges aimed at improving your general stamina. Because of that it suits everyone as they are designed in such a way as to not leave anyone behind - the more able runners will simply do more of it but we all leave together and roughly arrive back together.

Our club runs are designed to pull us all together as one running family to undertake a training run so we all return back to our various lives a little better and enjoy our runs with friends or other clubs - an improvement hub if you will.

A typical running week for us is something like this:

Monday - long, slow run day
Tuesday - short, fast sprints day
Wednesday - REST UP!
Thursday - Exmouth Running Club challenges
Friday - REST UP!
Saturday - Exmouth Park Run
Sunday - REST UP!

You make your own schedule but remember that REST is just as important as the running as it enables us to generate muscle fibres, repair damage and general rest ourselves!

Benefits to Exmouth Running Club

Did we say it was FREE? Yes our club runs are and always will be FREE to attend - we want our community to come together to become a fitter, happier and healthier place.

Our Run Leaders hold qualifications gained through England Athletics (LiRF) which includes a certificate in Safeguarding.

All our runs are designed to suit all abilities so no one feels left out or left behind - we aren't just covering distance so they are suitable for all abilities.