Solo running beats social running, as I argued here.

But…

Social running beats solo running, as I argued here.

Read both articles.

Then, please cast your vote in my simple poll to tell me…

Which beats which in your experience?

And, if you want to tell me more about your vote, then please leave a comment below.

Thanks!

Social running beats solo running.

“Social running” happens when family members, friends, business associates, or even all of the above get together to run.

You might want to include races in those get-togethers, but let me focus on training runs for the purpose of this article. After all, even solo runners participate in races!

I WOULD include get-togethers organized by group training programs, such as the fictional program described by Alan Anderson in his engaging book My Running Club: A Novel of Love, Life and Marathons.

Running with others beats running alone.

Let me try to prove it to you.

Inspiration

If you run with others, and if you truly listen to their stories about how they have overcome adversity in their training and racing, you cannot help but be inspired — knowing that you are not the only runner facing setbacks, trials, and tribulations.

Camaraderie

If you run with others, you get to enjoy camaraderie. One definition of camaraderie is the spirit of familiar trust among friends. On the road or trail, this usually means that you can use your runs to work out problems — or at least to get fresh perspectives — with non-running issues, knowing that others can keep your confidence.

Advice

If you run with others, you eventually will get their advice on SOME aspect of your running. Their advice could be about your foot-fall. It could be about your breathing. It could even be about your stride up a hill, holding your chin up as you run, or some mental trick to try in your next race. You may not always immediately appreciate the advice, but you typically will recognize in the long run how much your fellow runners want YOU to succeed, too.

Recommendations

If you run with others, you very likely will get their recommendations — on everything from upcoming races (my favorite) to what they prefer in their energy gels, their socks, and their hydration devices. Of course, each individual runner’s recommendations will come from his or her own very personal experience, but compiling recommendations from several fellow runners can give you composite recommendations that will help you to avoid training and racing mistakes and setbacks.

Examples

If you run with others, you can get great examples — of how to be kind to oneself, of how to be kind to others, of how to sacrifice for another, and of how to be grateful for truly any aspect of a run.

Bottom Line

Did you notice something about these five benefits?

The acronym “I CARE” comes from their first letters.

This “I CARE” concept — knowing that other runners care about you and that you get to care about them — may be the key to the happiness that you can enjoy as a social runner (or walker).

Solo running beats social running.

A lot of people swear by solo running.

For example, Dean Karnazes, author of 50/50: Secrets I Learned Running 50 Marathons in 50 Days — and How You Too Can Achieve Super Endurance!, tells stories about how he loves to run by himself for miles on end in the middle of the night.

However, social running has become increasingly popular.

Want proof? Just look at the many group training programs available to runners today.

But, in many different ways, running by yourself can beat running with others.

Let me try to prove it to you.

Convenience

If you run by yourself, you get the convenience of relying on nobody’s schedule but your own. If you have ever had a long wait for others before starting a run that you were ready to start several minutes earlier, then you know what I mean by convenience.

Motivation

If you run by yourself, you must rely on your own motivation to get you out of bed for an early-morning run, to get you to pack running apparel and then get away from the office for a mid-day run, or to get you away from home for a run before or after dinner.

Pace

If you run by yourself, you must rely on your own cues, not on other people, to maintain your pace. You have to check your watch or GPS wrist unit. You may use a step beeper to help you to keep a cadence that supports your desired pace. You may use an interval timer to tell you when to switch between running and walking, if you use the run:walk method. And, you probably will pay close attention to your own breathing and how it is affecting your pace.

Persistence

If you run by yourself, you must rely on your self-talk to coach you through the setbacks along the route — the hill that you were not expecting, the rain that caught you along the way, the wind that was NOT giving you a “wind-assisted” run, or the loose dog that decided that your calves looked delicious.

Preparation

If you run by yourself, you must rely on your own preparation. Nobody is there to bale you out when you forget a water bottle, don’t have enough water bottles, forget to pack or apply sunscreen, or fail to plan for rain, wind, or a drastic change in temperature.

Bottom Line

Did you notice something in all of the above?

Self-reliance is the common theme.

When you develop self-reliance, you put yourself in the middle of control of your destiny. This does not mean that things always work out as planned … or as desired. But, this sense of control has a powerful influence on your happiness as a runner (or walker), which is my agenda for you.