An all girls club? I’ve been running with a fabulous group of ladies for about a decade now. We meet at dark o’thirty two to three times each week for our runs, travel together to races, and socialize outside of running when time permits.
Over the years we’ve been there for each other, celebrating births, consoling over deaths and divorces, and marking the passing of time as our kids grow and mature. Like most groups of gal pals, our conversations run the gamut, from parenting to current events to fashion and even peri-menopause. Not that any of us are showing any, ahem, hormonal testiness, mind you!
Over all these years we’ve remained pretty much an all-girls show. But some of us have significant others or even just male friends who also run, and sometimes they want to join us. We wrestled over this issue at first—do we let the boys in? How will it change the dynamic?
We’ve always prided ourselves on being an open, welcoming group, so we decided to keep that policy even when it comes to men joining our ranks. Happily, this has been a good decision.
Yes, having men in the ranks does change the dynamic of the run sometimes. But on the whole, I think we stay pretty true to our normal run nature regardless of the gender that is along for the ride. Truth be told, it’s nice to have the positive male vibe along sometimes. The upsides to letting the guys crash the party:
• They can offer up the male perspective on all sorts of issues and provide a great sounding board.
• What to Know About Perimenopause Symptoms.
• On speedwork days, they can give you a good target to shoot for—and let’s admit it: our egos don’t mind it if we finish ahead of them, either.
• It’s nice to have male friends who appreciate women sans make up, with caps on their heads, and sweat on their faces.
Are there any downsides to male running partners? A few come to mind:
• Sometimes they’d rather push the pace than take it easy, even if it’s an easy day
• Could Women Be Hardwired for Endurance Events.
• For the self-conscious in the group, sometimes you don’t want a guy running behind you when you’re wearing tights or short running shorts, ya’ know?
On the whole, however, I’d say it works out for everyone involved, and the majority of our runs are still an all-girls affair. When we are occasionally joined by the opposite sex, things do change a bit. But we’re runners—we’re a pretty accommodating bunch. And at the end of the day, our mutual love of the sport outweighs our differences.
