Ask AI Tom

Running

Running is the base discipline under everything else on this site — marathons, HYROX, the run leg of a triathlon. This hub keeps it practical: where to run, who to run with, and how to pace it. Start with a run club in your city for the weekly habit, then layer on structure when you’re chasing a race.

Updated: 2026-06-13 · By Thomas Prommer — marathoner, HYROX and triathlon age-grouper.

Run clubs by city →

Find a crew where you live or train. 14 cities so far — meeting points, paces, schedules.

Marathon →

Race reports and the road to 42.2km from a runner who’s done the work.

HYROX →

Where running meets the sled, the wall balls, and the 8×1km grind.

Calculators →

Pace, training zones, and race-time predictions — turn effort into numbers.

Run with a club first

The best first move for a new runner is to join a club. It turns running from a willpower problem into a standing appointment: you show up because people expect you. Most clubs run several pace groups, plenty are beginner-friendly, and the social ones finish at a café or a brewery rather than a finish line.

I’ve run with clubs in most of the cities I’ve lived and trained in, which is where this directory started. Pick your city:

→ Full run-club directory

Then put structure around it

Once the habit holds, three things separate runners who improve from runners who plateau: easy days kept genuinely easy, one quality session a week, and long runs that build gradually. None of that requires a coach to start — it requires knowing your paces. The training calculators turn a recent race or time trial into the zones to run in.

Frequently asked questions

Is it better to run with a club or on your own?

Both, for different jobs. A club gives you a fixed weekly slot, easy pace company, and accountability — which is why most consistent runners belong to one. Solo runs are where you do your structured work: intervals to a target, long runs at a controlled effort, recovery days kept genuinely easy. Use the club to show up; use solo runs to train.

How many days a week should I run?

Three runs a week sustains fitness and suits most people starting out: one easy, one with some speed, one longer. Four to five days is where marathon and HYROX runners live. The jump that causes injuries isn’t the number of days — it’s adding distance too quickly, so raise weekly volume by roughly 10% at a time.

How does running fit into HYROX or triathlon training?

Running is the largest single time component of both. In HYROX you run eight 1km legs between stations on already-fatigued legs, so the skill is holding pace under load. In triathlon the run comes last, off the bike. In both cases easy aerobic running builds the engine and a weekly faster session sharpens it — the same base a run club helps you keep.

What pace should my easy runs be?

Easy means conversational — you can speak in full sentences. For most runners that’s roughly 60–90 seconds per kilometre slower than 5km race pace. If you only have one pace and it’s “moderately hard”, that’s the most common thing holding amateur runners back. The training-zones calculator turns this into real numbers for you.