Donna Riguidel conquered winter with a computer. When the full-time reservist with the Canadian Forces took up running about six years ago, nothing made her want to crawl back into bed like staring out at the dark, freezing cold Winnipeg morning. Then she discovered a popular online forum for runners.
“It can be really hard to get yourself up and get yourself going. When you are in a group of people, whether they be living and breathing in front of you or virtual, and they’re encouraging you to get out there and do it and you’re reading about them getting out of bed this morning to go running, that is contagious,” Ms. Riguidel says.
Whether it’s Running Mania, the site preferred by Ms. Riguidel, or a host of others, online forums are often a one-stop shop that can provide everything a runner needs. Training, nutrition and gear are popular topics, but discussions can include anything from what particular races are like to run (the Belfast Marathon has a traffic-control problem, apparently) to the chatty gossip you might expect from any group of friends. Whatever your interest, there’s a forum for you.
Running Mania, for instance, serves a broad audience, from walkers to top finishers, while TnFnorth.ca draws mostly elite athletes. There are also forums for those who do triathlons and for those who prefer trails.
Adam Stacey, who lives in Moncton, co-founded Trackie.ca as a home for people interested in track and field. While some casual runners go to the site, “For the most part, it’s the hard-core runners and track and field athletes” on the forum, he says. The site gets half a million page views per month, and its forum averages 26 posts a day from loyal followers, usually reporting race results or seeking advice on training or injuries.
“If you’re in the middle of the Yukon, you might not have that many people in your town who have that information,” Mr. Stacey says.
Harry Jacobs, who lives in Yellowknife, NWT, where he works in information technology, frequently visits the Running Room’s forum and occasionally dips into Running Mania. Lately, the 54-year-old has been using the sites to find encouragement from other runners as he recovers from a torn Achilles tendon.
“It’s the sense of community,” he says of the forum’s appeal. What would his running life be like without it? “It would be quieter.”
Ron Irwin, 50, used the Running Mania forum to plan his strategy at this year’s Boston Marathon and even turned to fellow posters to help solve a registration problem he encountered in the lead up to the race.
“It has been an invaluable tool,” he says. “If it hadn’t been for Running Mania I would not have done Boston this year.”
Fellow runners on forums can also provide invaluable advice on gear, says Scott McKay, 58, who lives in Toronto.
“You take anybody’s opinion with a certain grain of salt, but I respect those opinions a lot more than I might have from a manufacturer or a retailer’s forum,” he says.
Anne McCutcheon, a 33-year-old trail runner who lives in Hanover, Ont., will sometimes visit the Runner’s World trail running forum as well as Slowtwich.com to check up on the world of triathlons, but she mostly visits Running Mania, going to the forum three or four times a day.
“I like to see who’s doing a particular race, what the gossip about the race is,” she says. There are also other perks to visiting a forum, ones that some people might not expect.
A few weeks ago, for instance, Ms. McCutcheon was preparing to run the Creemore Vertical Challenge when the race director posted on the forum that he had picked up a few kegs of beer for after the race.
“I said, ‘Oh, actually, I don’t like beer. I want wine.’ And so there was wine at the finish line because I asked for it,” Ms. McCutcheon says with a laugh.
She was also able to meet another trail runner through the forum who lives nearby.
“Now we go to races all the time,” Ms. McCutcheon says.
Indeed, many forums will organize local meet-ups so that runners who only know each other through the Web can bond over a pint at a pub or a run in a park.
Every meet-up in person or problem solved online helps keep a runner going, Ms. Riguidel says.
“The more connections you have, the more the habit becomes regular.”
How to get connected
Looking for advice? Tips? Encouragement? There’s a forum out there for every type of runner. Here are a few of the best.
Running Mania
A fantastic general interest forum that is equally accessible to walkers as it is to those out to medal.
Canadian Running
The magazine’s online forum attracts many beginners and covers all the basics, as does the Running Room forum.
Frequented by diehards, this forum attracts many elite runners and coaches.
Its forum caters to hard-core track and field fans.
Runner’s World
The magazine’s website has multiple forums dedicated to everything from barefoot running to rants and raves.
Boasts a thorough triathlon forum with more than 2.5 million posts. For a smaller, Canadian version, check out TriRudy.com.
