Hello, everyone! I (F) am running a 5k next week, and have been training for a sub-20 finish. 5 days out, the organizer announced that because the number of runners exceeds their initial limit, there will be two starting waves: one exclusively for men running sub-25, and one for the rest.

Now, I feel a bit disheartened about this, mostly because it’s more of a local run, so I don’t expect more than 5-10 women to be running sub-20, with a few of those going around the 18-minute mark, so it’s probably going to be a bit of a lonely run for me. I reached out to the organizers to ask if it was possible to put all sub-25 runners in the same wave (which I think would be fair), and got the following response (not word by word):

“It’s only going to be fair if the women compete in a single race under the same conditions, without the help of men. Then, the women will decide amongst themselves who comes out victorious. All of the female runners we have asked were thrilled to have their unique occasion to cross the finish line first, without fading into a crowd of men.”

which is a unique take I haven’t considered. The thing is that for me, this is just a bit of a let-down, because first, I won’t be competing for a place on the podium, but rather for the time. Second, I always found running in groups more enjoyable, because it creates the atmosphere of good-spirited competition for me.

What do you guys think about this? Have you encountered such situations in your local runs? I’d just like to hear some input on this situation from other runners. I’ve been running in smaller and bigger races for almost 8 years now, and this is the first time I’ve seen something like this, hence the curiosity.

Happy Friday to those who celebrate ✨

What’s on for the weekend? Who is running, racing, tapering, hiking, skiing, snowshoeing, camping, kayaking, reading, baking, knitting, testing out all their new run gear, … ? Tell us all about it!

Good morning, Runnit! Another weekend of races is approaching, so let's take a minute to see if any other Runnitors will be laying down those miles with us!

If you're racing this weekend, put a top-level comment below with the race details to help find other members of the community. See a race mentioned that looks interesting? Ask questions! Running your favorite race of the year? Tell us what makes it so awesome!

This thread is just an easy way to help Runnitors find each other in some sort of organized manner and help cheer each other on!

Happy holidays, friends. How’s your week of running going? Got any Complaints? Anything to add as a Confession? How about any Uncomplaints?

Hey runners, it's another day and it is time to post your accomplishments you'd like to share - big or small.

Note: No need to preface YOUR accomplishments with something like, "this may not be an accomplishment to most of you...". Be proud of your achievement.

I can't run with a Santa hat because my head gets too sweaty, but I love seeing them on others on the trail.

My favorite part about running on Christmas morning is the handwaves and greetings -- from the regulars and strangers alike. What's yours?

Hey runners, it's another day and it is time to post your accomplishments you'd like to share - big or small.

Note: No need to preface YOUR accomplishments with something like, "this may not be an accomplishment to most of you...". Be proud of your achievement.

With over 3,775,000 subscribers, there are a lot of posts that come in everyday that are often repeats of questions previously asked or covered in the FAQ.

With that in mind, this post can be a place for any questions (especially those that may not deserve their own thread). Hopefully this is successful and helps to lower clutter and repeating posts here.

If you are new to the sub or to running, this Intro post is a good resource.

As always don't forget to check the FAQ.

And please take advantage of the search bar or Google's subreddit limited search.

Hi guys.

Putting my racing calendar together and wonder whether to include any exceptional/weird/untypical running events.

Last year I did some trail ultra runs including one in Dolomites, night half marathon, local run in Slovakian Tatras and retro Eroica bike race in Italy.

Do you have any races that you will always remember?

Hey runners, it's another day and it is time to post your accomplishments you'd like to share - big or small.

Note: No need to preface YOUR accomplishments with something like, "this may not be an accomplishment to most of you...". Be proud of your achievement.

Would you rather not be a lurker?

Then what are you waiting for? Tell us all about yourself!

The LW thread is an invitation to get more involved with the /r/running community.

New to the sub in general? Welcome! Let us know more about yourself!

It's that time of week already...the gear thread! What have you picked up lately? What's working for you now that it's whatever season you believe it to be in your particular location? What have you put through rigorous testing that's proved worthy of use? We want to know!

To clear up some confusion: We’re not actually asking what you’re wearing today. It’s just a catchy name for the thread. This is the weekly gear discussion thread, so discuss gear!

NOTE: For you Runnitors looking to sell/trade any running gear (as well as bib transfers), head over to /r/therunningrack.

I recently made a YouTube video about this subject (I won’t link it here because I don’t want this to be some type of self-promotion as I’m genuinely interested in your responses).

But what do you all think are the best national parks for runners?

Based off the ones I’ve visited, I ranked them: 7. Grand Teton 6. Acadia 5. Zion 4. Grand Canyon 3. Rocky Mountain 2. Olympic 1. Glacier

Thoughts/additions/subtractions? Again, this is just based off the around 25ish I’ve visited. Still a lot to go.

Curious to hear from you all though!

Edit: Feel free to comment any — I’d love to hear any across the world.

With over 3,775,000 subscribers, there are a lot of posts that come in everyday that are often repeats of questions previously asked or covered in the FAQ.

With that in mind, this post can be a place for any questions (especially those that may not deserve their own thread). Hopefully this is successful and helps to lower clutter and repeating posts here.

If you are new to the sub or to running, this Intro post is a good resource.

As always don't forget to check the FAQ.

And please take advantage of the search bar or Google's subreddit limited search.

Back once again for everything you wanted to know about running but were afraid to ask.

Rules of the Road:

This is inspired by eric_twinge's fine work in r/fitness.

Upvote either good or stupid questions. Sort questions by new so that they get some love.

To the more experienced runnitors, if something is a good question or answer, add it to the FAQ.

Post your question -- stupid or otherwise -- here to get an answer -- stupid or otherwise. Anyone can post a question and the community as a whole is invited and encouraged to provide an answer. Many questions get submitted late each week that don't get a lot of action, so if your question didn't get answered, feel free to post it again.

As always, be sure to read the FAQ first. Also, there's a handy-dandy search bar to your right, and if you didn't know, you can also use Google to search runnit by using the limiter "site:reddit.com r/running".

Be sure to check back often as questions get posted throughout the day. Sort comments by "new" to be sure the newer questions get some love as well.

[Posting on behalf of u/Percinho who got a head start on the eggnog . ]

Hey runners, it's another day and it is time to post your accomplishments you'd like to share - big or small.

Note: No need to preface YOUR accomplishments with something like, "this may not be an accomplishment to most of you...". Be proud of your achievement.

Shoes are a big topic in this sub, so in an effort to condense and collect some of these posts, we're introducing Shoesday Tuesday! Similar to Wednesday's gear thread, but focusing on shoes.

What’ve you been wearing on your feet? Anything fun added to the rotation? Got a review of a new release? Questions about a pair that’s caught your eye? Here's the place to discuss.

NOTE: For you Runnitors looking to sell/trade any running gear (as well as bib transfers), head over to /r/therunningrack.

I run a running club in Maine, and for the past few years, I do an "Advent-ure Challenge" for each day of December leading up the Christmas. I post clues, or riddles/limericks, and it's up to members to solve the riddle and post photo evidence that must be gathered during a run.

Examples:

• Create a holiday themed GPS drawing
• On the path where snowflakes flitter, An errant throw away makes it bitter. I present a challenge for all to embrace, To heed the call and leave no trace Leave your path pristine, and pick up ____________
• Find three of Santa's reindeer. The twist? The photos/videos must not be of reindeers.

I encourage members to think outside of the box and be creative with coming up with solutions to the clues.

I'm happy to share all of my clues/riddles/limericks for anyone that wants to try this with their club. My club is almost 300 strong (but only get 15 people a run and that drops during winter), but I only get a few people that participate for the full thing. Most do a few clues here and there, so I may switch it up next year to a bingo based version.

For those of you that run running clubs, or participate in similar activities, what have y'all done with success?

Rules of the Road

1) Anyone is welcome to participate and share your ideas, plans, diet, and nutrition plans.

2) Promote good discussion. Simply downvoting because you disagree with someone's ideas is BAD. Instead, let them know why you disagree with them.

3) Provide sources if possible. However, anecdotes and "broscience" can lead to good discussion, and are welcome here as long as they are labeled as such.

4) Feel free to talk about anything diet or nutrition related.

5) Any suggestions/topic ideas?

With over 3,775,000 subscribers, there are a lot of posts that come in everyday that are often repeats of questions previously asked or covered in the FAQ.

With that in mind, this post can be a place for any questions (especially those that may not deserve their own thread). Hopefully this is successful and helps to lower clutter and repeating posts here.

If you are new to the sub or to running, this Intro post is a good resource.

As always don't forget to check the FAQ.

And please take advantage of the search bar or Google's subreddit limited search.

Happy Monday runners!!

How was the weekend? What’s on for the week? Tell us all about it!

Hey runners, it's another day and it is time to post your accomplishments you'd like to share - big or small.

Note: No need to preface YOUR accomplishments with something like, "this may not be an accomplishment to most of you...". Be proud of your achievement.

The Li’l Race Report Thread is for writing a short report on a recent race or a run in a new place. If your race doesn’t really need its own thread but you still want to talk about it, then post it here! Both your good and bad races are welcome.

Didn't run a race, but had an interesting run to talk about. Post it here as well!

So get to it, Runnit! In a paragraph or two, where’d you run and how’d it go?

With over 3,775,000 subscribers, there are a lot of posts that come in everyday that are often repeats of questions previously asked or covered in the FAQ.

With that in mind, this post can be a place for any questions (especially those that may not deserve their own thread). Hopefully this is successful and helps to lower clutter and repeating posts here.

If you are new to the sub or to running, this Intro post is a good resource.

As always don't forget to check the FAQ.

And please take advantage of the search bar or Google's subreddit limited search.

Any literature references to share regarding time between training impulse and adaption for different training impulses (speed, LT, long runs)? I would like to understand more about this. I am hoping for a few good recent ones discussing the current understanding and follow their references to get a better background on the topic.

I noticed that some masters training programs play with the idea of non weekly cycles (eg 10 day). Understanding the motivation there is not exactly the same, it is close enough that it has me musing about what my training would look like if I based it purely on when my body can/should do these runs without fixing to our typical 7 day week.

Thanks!