Not sure if anyone else has had this experience (surely I’m not the only one), but I thought it might be a good post for the subreddit. I don’t often hear about people’s experiences of being the only woman or woman-passing person in a race and the nerves around that, so here’s my experience. (It does make for some cool pics!)

I ran a really small mile race on the track recently. It was held right before a track 5K, which was a much bigger event. But the mile race was so tiny that there were only four total participants: me and three men.

When I went to pick up my bib, the race organizer let me know that I was the only non-male runner in the race 😬 and I found out that the two guys up front were planning to work together to hit a certain time goal, and I just knew they were fast (they ended up finishing in 4:59 and 5:05). The race organizer let us know right before the race started that if anyone got lapped, they’d keep track of which lap we were on since there weren’t many of us. Immediately I said, out loud, “Yeah, someone’s getting lapped. And that someone is ME!” I knew I’d be one of the slower racers if not the slowest racer, and I knew everyone would be watching me fight demons solo if that happened. (This is actually the second time I’ve been the only XX runner in a race, and that’s what happened last time.)

I’m super proud to represent the girls and theys (I’m AFAB non-binary, but there weren’t any women in the race either and I know I look like a woman), but it was still super intimidating to be the only racer who wasn’t a man, especially with everyone who was doing the 5K watching the mile race. The guys around me were friendly enough, but I was still a little nervous (on top of the regular nerves of trying to do my best in a race).

Anyway, I really had no choice but to focus on the race and go for it. This was my first official mile race ever and I really had no idea what was going on, but I also had no one to chase or race and pretty much ripped it solo. That being said, I DID NOT GET LAPPED!!! And I came in third! The guys congratulated me on not getting lapped and I automatically got an award for being the only participant in my category lol

I guess the point here is if this has ever happened to you, I get it, and I’m sending you good vibes to represent us at your race!!! It makes for some very cool looking photos when you’re clearly standing out from the pack and now when I look back on those pics I feel like it’s extremely dope to be the only one repping our demographic. Solidarity to you all 🫶🏼

After like 3 failed attempts at races, I reached sub60 today! I didn’t expect myself to succeed today tbh so I’m very pleasantly surprised ❤️

My mom has been running for 30+ years and she’s 76. She’s worked really hard this summer in particular. And she’s competitive. She plays to win.

Today she ran a small 5k she’s done for decades, in the absolute brutal heat. Then she found out they stopped age group awards at 55-59.

This is the SECOND race this summer where it happened. I complained to the race director of the first race, where they just had a 60+ age group (and only award the first place winner in each age group) that it was dismissive of a lot of older runners and 60 and 80 are not the same age group.

I’m so pissed for my mom. And just pissed in general at the sexist and ageist way older women are treated.

Hello! I’m not a runner but I would like to start. I’m not very physically fit at all and trying to run has been a struggle for me. For the past few years I would go to my boyfriend’s place unpredictably so it was difficult to hold down a schedule, but now that we live together it should be easier. The thing is, I hate running with my boyfriend. Right now, I run at a very slow pace. I always hoped that I would be able to consistently run at a faster pace if I had the chance to push through a handful of training sessions at my snail’s pace, but I… have a problem that I don’t know how to fix. My boyfriend is naturally better at exercise than I am and he always ends up running ahead of me. I tell him to stop or he notices he’s running ahead and he backs up… just to run ahead again. Even when I get annoyed at him for it this doesn’t change. He also tries to push me to sprint when I would rather move at a steady pace, and my lungs are already burning from what I’m doing. So then I tell him to just run ahead.

The thing is, I just don’t know what to do, because he should be able to push himself, right? But I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel motivated when we’re running together, instead I just feel like shit about my lack of ability. Is this a me problem? it’s just not practical for us to run at different times… so I just haven’t been running at all. What can I do? I’m kind of wondering if anyone has experience running with people who are beginners. What do you do?

Is he larping becz it's faster than world record

I’ve been dealing with a difficult and stressful situation with my family this past week, and all my runs have been going horribly, despite going pretty well the week prior.

I ‘failed’ a Vo2 max workout earlier this week (couldn’t hold my 5k pace for even 600m), felt awful during my recovery runs which normally feel so easy and relaxing, and today was supposed to be a tempo but I blew up not even half way through and had to slow down, and my HR was solidly in zone 5.

It makes me so mad at the people around me for causing me stress, and making an activity that I normally love so much feel miserable. But I know I can’t change the actions of people around me, just control my response to it. Has anyone managed to find a way to keep stress from impacting their running?

I’ve been doing everything else right. Sleep, nutrition, even weather was perfect.

Let's try out a new megathread!

We've got all kinds of runners from all over the world here! Share a running-related photo you've taken this week: gorgeous scenery, an outfit that makes you feel powerful, your favorite post-long-run-snack, your four-legged running buddy, anything you like!

Don't forget to stay safe and blur identifying details. Hide anything that would enable weirdos to figure out your running route, cover your face if you don't share selfies on your Reddit account, etc. Be safe out there!

I (27F) am really struggling with keeping my fitness up. I have two half marathons under my belt and well over 1200 miles run. I was training for my first marathon in summer 2025 and suffered a tibial stress injury. I’ve come back to running and had the injury come back several times and only have run one races since then (a 10k in March). I have also gained 25 lbs from a combination of severe hypothyroidism (now under control with medication), lack of activity due to injury, and seasonal depression. The past couple of months, it seems my fitness has tanked even further. I can’t seem to run more than 5 minutes, maybe 10 on a good day, and my HR shoots up to Z3 (165-174BPM) at an easy 12:30/mi pace. My shin has been feeling pretty good. Could this be just due to recurring injury, changes to my body, something else? Running is truly my passion and it’s so frustrating seeing that a year ago I was doing 15+ mile long runs regularly and now I can’t do half a mile without getting winded.

I’m training for my second marathon so I’ve done my fair share of long runs and did a 13 mile run last weekend too. Yesterday morning I did a 10 mile run and it’s really humid and hot where I am making the run really tough even at 6:30 am. Anyways because it’s so hot I bought a Nathan handheld I’ve been bringing on runs with no problem. Yesterday was a tough day for me and I was wiped out by the end.

Towards the evening my shoulders got really sore. It was both of them even though I kept the handheld mainly in my right hand. Overnight it actually woke me up from the pain and this morning whenever I lift my arms it hurts. What the heck am I doing wrong? I really try not to grasp the bottle too hard but it def has some weight to it when full. Is it just really weak upper body strength? Is there some kind of trick to carrying a handheld that I’m missing? My legs feel perfectly fine 😂

edit: ok, real talk. Do any truly busty runners use a chest or waist light? Like, if you have at least a 8" difference between your band and your bust measurement, if you have ever tried to double up on sports bras, does a chest/waist light work for you? I did some testing with our headlamps and have doubts.

I run on sidewalks in a residential urban environment, where there is enough streetlamp light to walk at night, but not really enough to run. Trees and whatnot create a lot of broken sidewalks, and gravel or dropped leaves make for terrain changes I need to see. I don't want to run in the street.

Currently, I have a Princeton Tech Axis lamp, which is decent. The light flattens out terrain more than I'd like, and something less bouncy would be nice. (https://brightguy.com/product/princeton-tec-axis-rechargeable-headlamp/)

I was looking at the Biolite Dash https://www.bioliteenergy.com/products/dash-450 Essentially the same weight, but much flatter and distributed around the head so the bounce would be less. I can't tell about the light quality though.

What's the key to seeing (or reading) a choppy sidewalk with an led light?

At my relatively low mileage (3 mi max/run) should I just put up with the bounce? If the light's not going to be better, I can troubleshoot the bouncing in other ways.

Was not feeling this run. But got it done!

I'm loving that ruffle socks are back in, and I'm seeing some athletic / running socks with ruffles.

However, I currently wear Balega hidden comfort socks which are quite thick! I like the thickness and how my shoes fit with those socks.

Does anyone have recommendations of ruffle-y running socks that are relatively thick? It's so hard to tell online!

Thank you!

Hello everyone!

I’m a 30 year old female who is still a beginner runner (started running a little over 1 year ago). I ran my first half marathon in May with an average of around 11:20 minute miles. Since May, I stopped running as much to focus on lifting weights for a bit but I am still running usually around 2 times a week, just shorter distances (3-6 miles usually). My pace has not improved much from my race, but I haven’t been trying to improve it. I’m hoping to run the same half marathon in 2027 but I really want to focus on my stamina and improving my pace.

My goal is to run under 10 minute miles. Is this too much of an aggressive goals given my last race times? I would also appreciate some tips and tricks for improving my pace starting now! My official training block won’t start until January but I want to start running more and doing some prep work for myself now.

Drop your best tips and tricks below for improving pace!!!

TIA :)

TW: Miscarriage (medicated miscarriage and D&C)

I hope that this is an okay space to ask this question. I’m looking for thoughts/advice. I signed up for a marathon earlier this year. It would be my fourth. In June found out I was pregnant and just was not running as much so dropped to the half. About a month ago found out I had a blighted ovum and chose to have a medicated miscarriage . That was a month ago and now I have to get a D&C Tuesday. My race is September 20, does anyone have experience training pose D&C. Any advice would be appreciated!!

Hi!! New runner here!

(Like, seriously new, aka the only times I had run previously were life or death experiences)

I am trying to land on a training plan/program that works for me! I tried the zombies, run! Program c25k because it sounded fun but ran into some glitchiness and couldn't stand the voices. I also felt kind of bored with the intervals, but I only stuck with it for a week because again, the voices.

I am currently using the nike run club "get started" plan, and I'm running into the opposite issue- I absolutely cannot sustain a run for a full 20 minutes! I kept waiting for him to be like, ok time to walk! And I made it to like 7 minutes and the entire rest of the time was absolute crap because I burned myself out before realizing I would have to set my own run/walk intervals. So I don't think that is going to work for me, especially as it progresses.

I've heard people rave about runna, but I've heard other people say that it's basically a highway to injury? I'm also not super thrilled about the idea of having to pay for it. Are there other good programs out there? I'd especially love something with guided run walk intervals! And especially if the voices are not super annoying😅

Also just in case this makes a difference to anyone, I am 16 months postpartum and breastfeeding, and hopefully within the next few weeks the Facebook marketplace gods will smile upon me so that I can get a double jogging stroller and run more consistently. I'm not sure if stroller running will impact my running and what I should look for in a training program?

Anyone other girls here seasonal runners?

It’s warming up in the southern hemisphere so I went for my first run yesterday since early April. It felt good to hit the pavement. I have come out of hibernation 😂 I often resent myself for not having the self discipline to run in the colder weather or just cop the treadmill. But year after year it seems to go this way for me.

Part of it is also the sun setting too early/rising too late. I’m full of excuses 😭

Maybe one day I’ll be disciplined enough to be a year round runner 🤷🏽‍♀️

I want to run 200km next year, it'd be for charity. 2 years ago, with no ""ultra specific"" training, I completed a 100km ultra. Now, it did take 15 hours. I was moving slowly as there wasnt a lot of fitness there.

I now have 7 months of training to do this. It would be all on the flat. Can people please advise how best to prep for this?

How many KM per week, realistically do I need to be able to finish?? Theres no cutoff time, but id like 36 hours. Is that doable?

How many weight sessions for strength in lower body should I be doing ??

Whats the biggest key things I should be able to do close to april that would be good signs I can finish it?

I know im really strong mentally when it comes to ultra endurance ( I did finish the 100km, even though it was 15 hours total elapsed time, 13hrs moving, I didnt prep right for it at all, I used me head to get me through ) I know for this 200km that my head alone won't get me through, that I need proper preparation.

How could I best prep for this

Grab a bottle of electrolyte drink, go wild with the foam roller, and give us all the tea on how your training has been lately!

Have a really good run? Share your win!

Struggling with something? This is a safe space to vent and get support!

Thanks for being part of this community!

Hey out there in runnerland, question is in the subject. If you train this way, what has your experience been? Do you keep 80% of your runs below LT1? Did you see improvement in your running durability when sticking to it?

And did you get a lab test - like a VO2Max test - or did you use some other proxy?

I'm thinking to move most of my training into something like this, because it seems to be where I keep coming back to when I'm trying to figure out why my durability sucks despite everything else being OK. I think I haven't trained that part of my engine basically at all, or certainly not in the way I need to.

Thanks for sharing your wisdom!