Join a running community – you won’t regret it | Letters

<p>Readers respond to an article in which Ioan Marc Jones describes overcoming his hatred of running</p><p>I loved Ioan Marc Jones’s article because it’s an honest reflection of the struggle of getting into running when you need exercise but don’t necessarily want it (<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/aug/12/nipple-tape-pickle-juice-dinosaurs-learned-to-love-running-unorthodox-way">Nipple tape, pickle juice and dinosaurs: how I learned to love running, the unorthodox way, 12 August</a>). For me, the gamechanger was joining a running club. I’m not a naturally social person and I felt so nervous on my first session, but it’s such a warm, nonjudgmental community. I run with people of all ages and it’s really improved my pace and enjoyment of running.</p><p>I think that’s true of a lot of the running community. I do parkrun here in Yorkshire, but recently ran it in Aviemore and Thurso in Scotland and received such a warm&nbsp;welcome. I always thought that running was about being elite&nbsp;and competitive, but this showed me another way.<br><strong>Sarah Tolson</strong><br><em>Baildon, West Yorkshire</em></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/aug/17/join-a-running-community-you-wont-regret-it">Continue reading...</a>