Benefits of running alone

I almost always run alone.  It’s not that I don’t like running with other people (I do), it’s just that organizing a run with someone else complicates things.  You have to arrange a meeting place and time.  You have set up plans.  You just can’t go running on a whim which is what I generally do.  Here are what I see as the primary benefits of running alone.

1.  Run when you want.  One of the primary reasons I have been able to keep my joggling streak alive is because I can run whenever I want.  If the morning strikes my fancy or 10 pm, I just go when I want.  If you run with someone else, you can’t.

2.  Run where you want.  Often when I run, I have no idea where or even how far I want to go.  If I was running with someone else, I’d have to be a little more specific about my plans.

3.  Stop when you want.  Now when I get tired, I can always stop.  If I was running with someone else, that might annoy them or they might want to stop at a time that I don’t want to.

4.  Go as fast or slow as you want.  When running with someone else, you have to run with them which means at their speed. If you are significantly faster or slower than them, this can get annoying if you let it.

5.  Listen to whatever you want.  If I’m running with someone, I generally don’t like to listen to anything.  My ears remain bud-free so if the person wants to talk to me they can.  I expect the same from others when I’m running with them.  Listening to headphones while running with someone else just seems rude.

6.  Wear whatever you want.  I’ll admit it, sometimes I take used running clothes out of the laundry and suit up for a run.  They don’t smell the greatest but I see no problem with making behavior adjustments to reduce the amount of laundry I have to do.  (I do a lot of running clothes washing!)  If I was running with someone else, I would be more self-conscious of how I smell and would have to ensure that I always had clean running clothes.

7.  Behave however you want.  Sometimes I unconsciously spit or fart while I’m running.  It’s no problem when I’m alone.  But when you run with someone else, you just can’t be as crude.

Of course, running with other people has it’s benefits too but I’ll save that for another blog post.