This morning it was meant to be an easy 10k as the last run pre-6 inch ultra marathon on Sunday. As Thursday is normally a progressive run day and we normally run 14k, starting at 5:30am outside Yelo thus finishing at 6:30am when Yelo opens,  it was decided to start 10 minutes later and slow the pace and shorten the distance. If all went to plan we would run for 50 minutes at 5min/k pace and be back ay Yelo for the 6:30am opening, as per usual.

Off we went,  myself and ‘Marky’ Mark Lommers meeting with with Mike Kowal after the first kilometre before being joined by Mark Lee who had been running a Fartlek but decided to slow down the pace for company. The four of us headed south for the planned 5k before turning to complete the morning 10k. As always with our group the banter was fast, relentless and amusing. That’s the good thing about company the time just disappears and before we knew it we were 6k into our run, unfortunately with all the banter I had lost track of distance and 6k into the run would have been fine if we had turned a kilometre ago, we hadn’t.

Thus my 50 minute, 10k run was now going to be at least a 12k run and nowhere near the 50 minute time allowed to get back to Yelo for opening. I blame Mark Lee myself but I’m sure he’d say the same thing about me. That is the point, the four of us were having such a laugh we forgot all about distance and time, just ran with good friends having a great time, well I was anyway. This is the point of the post, friends really do make running seem easier and actually a more enjoyable experience all round. It gets even better as you get to sit down with them afterwards , over a muffin/pancakes and good coffee and ‘chew the fat’ for an hour. How good is that ? I can never understand how people say running is ‘boring’, they obviously haven’t spent anytime with my group of runners, we are many things but boring ain’t one of them.

It gets even better on the Sunday long runs as we have 2 hours to kill and the banter is again normally continuous, like a tsunami of useless facts (and fiction) or putting the world to right. The topics can be humorous or thought provoking but never dull. Lately the state of American politics has been a constant source of amusement and on a couple of occasions the run itself has vanished in a blink of an eye as we discuss the merits of a Donald Trump led superpower (How did that ever happen, it’s a joke right ?)  Admittedly towards the end of the run, when you have the normal last 5k pace pick up as you smell the coffee (literally),   conversation can temporarily stop as all energy is reserved for keeping up with your fellow runners and not coming in last for fear of verbal retribution over the obligatory pancakes, or maybe banished to the table of shame.

Friends will also keep you honest. Apparently some people find it hard to get out of bed in the morning and go for a run. (go figure?)  Meeting a friend will give the extra impudence to make an effort and actually get out of bed and go meet them. (There is the Mark Lee card of course, though give Mark his due there’s always a valid excuse for not turning up, normally involving alien abduction, Lord Lucan, bears or the like…) Also if you are going to run fast go alone but if you want distance I highly recommend friends. I love my running (you may have gathered that already.) but a long run alone can test even me. As I mentioned earlier in the post a good conversation can last for miles.

Working towards a common goal is another benefit of finding like minded people. Every year my group and I train for the same marathons and ultra’s. The ADU in January ( http://australiadayultra.com) Bunbury in April (for Jon, http://bunburyrunnersclub.org/3-waters-marathon/), Perth in June ( https://www.wamc.org.au/major-events/perth-marathon-relay/)  , City to Surf in August,( http://perthcitytosurf.com ), Rottnest in October  ( https://www.wamc.org.au/major-events/rottnest-marathon-fun-run/ ) and finally the 6 inch ultra in December. ( http://www.6inchtrailmarathon.com ) Add in a smattering of half marathons and shorter distance and you’ve always got a lift to the race and a partner to warm up with and then normally discuss the race with afterwards. Joined together by a common goal and bond. Wow, this post is getting deep.

Finally if you are really keen you can all get together and form your own club and then buy tops so you all look the same. Now that is living….