Tonight M- and I went on a four mile run with the Montgomery County Road Runners Club. We got a family membership last week for $42.50. That gets us discounts at a variety of businesses, sports shops and health services providers, and allows us to participate in weekly runs, training programs, and races.
I can't say much about MCRRC based on the one run, but they did seem like a nice group of people, and running with a group definitely feels less punishing than pushing oneself half a mile further or a half pace faster all by oneself. My normal two mile run generally leaves me feeling self-righteous and exhausted, while this was more humbling and invigorating.
The Tuesday/Thursday runs during the summer are at lake Needwood. In September the route moves to Rockville, where it's "better lit." I can't say that it was a well lit route, but it had benign hills and well trafficked streets and, best of all, a view of the sky that kept us inspired. The pack thins into disparate groups quickly, so it wasn't the social outlet we expected, but I was just as relieved as disappointed.
We claimed to run a 10 minute mile, which we don't, and we got paced with Sonny. Before she ditched us, we learned that she's been a member of MCRRC since 1989 and she's training for her 5th marathon. She came over to talk to us some more at the end of the run, and I guess any testimonial here comes from her. She knew most of the runs by heart, as well as the race and holiday schedule. She said that you do meet a lot of people at the weekly runs (they hold them 6 days a week, not including the 'informal runs'), and she said more than once how effective the winter speed clinic is.
Evidently you can go to dinner after the runs, on Tuesdays and Thursdays at least, but we opted out. So did Sonny, since they were going to Fudruckers and she's a vegetarian.
Anyway, it seems like something worth pursuing, despite my already aching joints. We'll see.
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