Training Groups aren’t some new revelation in the world of running but over the last few years they have certainly grown in visibility and impact within the sport. It’s conventional wisdom that training with others, especially those that raise the level, intensity, or difficultly improves performance. You know, the whole ‘iron sharpens iron’ thing. That’s far from breaking news but it does seem like the group/team atmosphere and mentality are being embraced by more and more people.
I’ve been fortunate to have stumbled into a group of like-minded runners that are certainly an example of that. Our moniker, “Ultra Bros” is admittedly a bit silly but it speaks to this idea. The six of us, myself, Matt F., Matt J., Adam, Jonathan, and Sean were all just runners living in the same general area. We knew each other in one way or another, Matt and Adam ran together in college, I raced against Matt a couple times and met Adam through Strava, Jonathan’s fiancé teaches at the same school as Adam. Typical friend group stuff.
Out of those individual connections came a group chat. ‘Ultra Bros’. It was the “Anyone running later today” or “Y’all want to meet this weekend” group chat to set up runs together. Because everyone knows that running with someone is far superior to running solo. That group chat eventually evolved into our training group, East Coast Ultra Bros.
It’s crass to say that something was a benefit or even a silver lining of the pandemic, so we won’t go that far but one of the results of the pandemic for us was the evolution from a few guys that ran together occasionally into an actual training group. We all lost races and turned our focus to training. We became a ‘pod’ or ‘cohort’ or whatever term you want to use for group of people that stuck together during the pandemic. And we came out of that time as stronger runners.
Personally, the accountability and consistency that came from running in a group has me running the best that I have in several years. Adam, Matt, and Jonathan all finished GDR after doing much of the build up and course recon together. I’m sure they all would have finished, but I think each of them would admit it would have been different without the group dynamic.
We’re small time in the grand scheme. We all love running. We like running together and we like the fact that we have a group to push each other as we chase our goals. That’s really all you need to form a training group. And really that’s the power of the training group. Whether it’s a group like NAZ Elite that’s trying to make Olympic teams or the Coconino Cowboys focused on getting Golden Tickets to Western States, or a couple of guys in suburban Atlanta that want to push each other and do cool, fun things runners are finding strength in numbers.
That strength is shown in the training of course, but it’s also proving to be one of the best ways to grow the sport. Groups like NAZ Elite, the Coconino Cowboys, On Athletic Club, Bowerman TC, and Tinman Elite are training groups but there also marketers for the sport of running. This cross-section of performance and influence is one that is particularly powerful in niche sports like running.
If you’re an NFL or NBA fan there are a million places to get your fix. Running is a way different. They exist on the periphery of most people’s awareness. The general public will pay attention for a month during an Olympic year but outside of that, it’s not something that’s drawing a lot of eyeballs. Since that’s the case it’s important to capture the willing audience of other runners. That’s something that this sport has struggled with for a long time.
Traditionally, visibility has come through results. These groups allow for you to follow them more closely than just on race day. Whether it’s through social media or documentary style video production, these groups offer a glimpse into the training and the life of some of their athletes. Whether we aspire to reach that level or are inspired by those doing it, that’s an unquestionable positive for the sport.
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