I’ve always been against the idea of joining a run club. I started running consistently because I couldn’t find a tennis partner, and I didn’t want another sport that relied on someone else. I liked that it was just me and the road. For the past year, I’ve run solo. I’ve always been the motivation I needed. On days I didn’t run, it was because I didn’t feel like it, or I was just being lazy. And that was fine.
But I was in Abuja last weekend. Hilly terrain, unfamiliar routes. I didn’t want to skip yet another weekend run, so I found a run club on Instagram and asked to join them.
I was genuinely excited. Slept early, woke up at 5 a.m. to make the 6 a.m. start. Of course, in true Nigerian fashion, they didn’t start at 6. I got there first and thought they had already taken off. That’s how empty the place was. Slowly, people began to trickle in. Then I spotted two familiar faces. The club founder was an old uni friend, and another runner was someone I knew professionally. That got me hyped.
We set off and I was buzzing, but the hills? The hills did my knees a madness. I was tired, dehydrated, and dragging. Then I found someone running at my pace. We stuck together. He pushed me, and I made it halfway. On the return leg, I had adjusted to the hills and got a second wind. This time, I pushed him. Waited when he slowed down, and he picked up the pace each time. We ended at 14k, back at the starting point.
There was a small track nearby, and I figured I’d do a bit more. I had originally wanted to hit 21k. I started running solo again, and at some point crossed paths with another runner. We ran separately but near each other. Then he asked how long I was going for. He said he had 500m to go. I was ready to stop, but I pushed through with him.
That energy. The camaraderie. I loved it.
I can only imagine how much better a runner I’d be with a club. The last time someone paced me, I ran a 58-minute 10k. My fastest ever. There’s something about having someone else push you. But I’m still not ready to commit to a run club just yet. If I find one nearby or someone I naturally click with, I’ll probably lean into it.
So yeah, this is me saying I’m finally open to a run club. And last weekend? It was a movieee.
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