Joining a running club can be a daunting prospect for a beginner or even an experienced runner. The notion that running clubs are only for serious fast athletes is a myth. Most clubs have a wide range of ages and abilities.

There are so many benefits to joining a running club. The opportunity to make new friends is right at the top of that list. Most clubs are extremely welcoming to new members and will make sure you are well looked after and put in the right groups.

Most clubs will have coaches or run leaders that can help with advice and guidance on technique or any running related query.

Running clubs are not for everyone and you can even join online communities such as "Lonely Goat" or the "No Club Running Club" (I've not made that up, that really does exist). Even these clubs allow you to feel part of a community.

Hands up if you always warm up before running? What about a race? It's amazing when you attend a race and see so many runners standing around talking and not preparing themselves for the stress they are going to put on their body.

Warming up is crucial. Don't do static stretches. Make sure the movements are dynamic. This will help you increase the range of movement in your joints and activate your muscles.

Incorporate some running drills as they will help improve your technique in the long run. A good warm up will reduce the risk of injury and raise your heart rate ready for your run or race. Don't be lazy! WARM UP!!!

The notion that "running is hard" is nonsense. I'm sorry but it is. If you follow the advice on pb runner you will learn to discover that running can be easy and enjoyable.

Make sure you run at a pace that is easy for you. It doesn't matter how slow that is. Some of us might be self conscious of being too slow or not a real runner. Trust me that is the last thing on runners minds when we see someone out running at slower pace than us. It's all relative as well.

Pick your routes carefully. Running on the trails and in the countryside can be an amazing experience. You can run with music or podcasts.  Running with friends is an opportunity to chat and catch up on what's going on.

Find a distance you enjoy and discover which training sessions you look forward to. If you don't like speed work, focus on longer slower runs and vice versa.

Below are all the tips left my our runners about the importance of Enjoying your Running. If you still really find it hard and don't like it, do something else.

Arguably the single most important factor in improving your running is setting yourself a goal! It’s been an absolute game changer for me. I was ready to give up running in the Autumn of 2018. But I didn’t. Instead I committed to running a sub 2 hour half marathon in 6 months time.

What a decision that was. At the time of writing this post, I’ve completed 8 Training Plans and each one has been a success. My current half marathon PB stands at 1:34:59. If you’d told me that in 2018 I would have said you were insane.