Why Running Blogs are Every Runner’s Best Friend

I’m so excited to share a guest post from my running blogger friend Ellen today. I love reading her blog, Tale of Two Runs, because when reading her posts, you can honestly feel her love of running and enthusiasm for the sport and the running community. Right now Ellen is training for her first full marathon and it’s so fun to catch up on her weekly training and listen to her keep it real when nothing is going right in a training run.

I asked Ellen to share with us why running blogs are such a source of inspiration and motivation for runners – I thought she’d have an interesting perspective, given she started her own after being inspired reading running blogs for years while out training.

Hello Fine Fit Day readers!

My name is Ellen and I blog over at Tale of Two Runs. Currently I live in London, UK but I have lived in many other countries before that, including Scotland, the States, France, Germany and Greece. 

Today’s post is about the benefits we runners can get from reading running blogs (other than ours of course…hahaha)! 

As I mentioned before I have lived in many different countries over the past 10 years and even though I have loved every single second of it, transitioning hasn’t always been easy. The first thing that suffers from an international move like this is my running (along with my sanity…) for the first couple of weeks. There are so many questions in my head. Where do I run? Any running groups around? How do I find a new running buddy? 

 

Well, the way to get answers to those questions most of the times is by reading running blogs from local people! 

 

A little back story to that, when I first moved to New York from Glasgow, Scotland, apart from one huge cultural shock I also had to deal with an awful fitness runt. And it was Carly’s blog (and more specifically this post here) who helped me out of it! You can read all about how I met Carly and how she met me here. Carly was the very first person I emailed after I decided to act on a little dream of mine called “Tale Of Two Runs” to ask for advice since I was a new kid on the blogosphere block.

So to my opinion these are 3 of the most important benefits that a runner can get from reading running blogs and articles.

 

GET FIT

 

A little bit of good competition never hurt anybody… Also, I believe that there is a ton of information you can find – right from the source! – in other people’s blogs. New strength and cross training workout ideas for runners or a new training plan for a marathon or a half marathon that someone has tried already and you had never heard of. For me blogs are gold – you get an abundance of information from people that they are just like you, not some faceless marketing company just selling a product/workout they have probably never tried themselves.

 

GET INSPIRED

 

You know those days when you just don’t feel like it? Yup, we all have those! Well, that’s the time to visit your favourite running blogs. See what your fellow runners are up to and get inspired! A few weeks ago, it was pouring rain here ( it being in London and all…) and I seriously wasn’t feeling like going out for my 8 miles, but I knew if I didn’t get it done then I would not have the time to get it done at all! After browsing a little bit, I read a post from a good blogger friend of mine who she also lives in London and she had just gotten back from her run. That picture of hers soaking wet and smiling had me lacing up and out the door in 30 seconds flat!

 

GET CONNECTED

 

The more crowded the city the easiest it is to make friends … SAID NO ONE EVER! I ‘ve lived in London for about a year now. It has been so hard to find friends in this busy city you wouldn’t even believe it! But after I discovered a few (really great) local running blogs and started reading and commenting on them, I got connected with the bloggers and got to meet a few of them. Before I knew it I was getting invited to awesome events and runs with amazing people! I have already 2 incredible running buddies who I met this way and I couldn’t be happier! 

 

So trust me when I tell you, reading other running blogs can really make a difference! The running community all around the world is a great place! Get to know your local community and I promise you you will not be disappointed. 

 

I would love to hear from all of you again soon! So … let’s link up and get to know each other! You can find my blog here , as well as my Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.