The Heart of Conversation

Most people I know who do not like running always say, "running is no fun." I generally disagree with that sentiment. I think some might change their minds if they ran with a group. One of the great advantages to running with a group is the conversation that takes place - it generally makes the run go by much faster (and on cold days like today, that sure helps.)

On Saturday, I ran with my friend Kim Cleary. During our hour long run, we talked about everything from politics (she runs on the left, I veer more towards the right!) to cajun cooking (Kim and her family are heading to Mardi Gras next week.) This morning, I ran with my friends Manfred and Fred. We covered everything from their upcoming marathons (Fred is running a marathon in Athens, Ohio and Manfred is once again running the prestigious Boston Marathon) to Fred's love of fried oysters and onion rings (runners love talking about their food cravings during a run, gives us something to look forward to!) I've been fortunate to run with a large group of people and over the course of many Saturday morning runs, have heard great stories (some over and over again, thanks Terry!) and have gotten many different perspectives on the issues that most affect our world.

Of course, in order to have good conversation - you have to develop the aerobic capacity to talk while you run. This was really difficult for me when I first started running. My fellow runners thought I was the "strong, silent" type, truth is I couldn't get any words out!

In Louisville, there are many groups to run with including the Fleet Feet gang, Iroquois Hill runners, and a variety of other groups that run from Seneca and Cherokee Parks. If you're tired of running by yourself, a group run is a great remedy - you will learn a lot along the way as well.