The people around you may not ‘get’ the whole running thing. Yeah, you go running, you exercise and are trying to get fitter or thinner – that they understand. But they may not ‘get’ what running is becoming for you – because there’s people who run and then there’s runners. The difference isn’t anything to do with how far or how fast you run but about your attitude to it.


If running has gone from being something you do to something you’re about, and you don’t know anyone you can talk splits, hydration and chaffing with, fear not – there’s a place you can go and it’s called the internet. Delve deeper than the pictures of kittens and you’ll find loads of runners that want to know the same things you do.


Twitter
For connecting with other runners, hearing from your favourite athletes (such as @paulajradcliffe ) or following your favourite brands and races to get the occasional freebie, twitter is where it’s at. It’s easy to find other runners who are doing the same races as you, get recommendations for kit or races to try and support when training doesn’t quite go the way you planned.

If you follow me on twitter, you’ll know that I can be as inspiring over 140 characters as I am when given thousands. Why just two days ago I tweeted this gem: “I’m drunk but wearing running kit. I don’t know if that makes it better or worse. That is just the facts of today.” Sometimes I also tweet while sober.

Facebook
Yeah, you might be on Facebook, but are you making it work for your running ambitions? If your Facebook feed is full of pictures of your friends babies (dislike) and people you once went to school with but never speak to bragging about their new car/house/boyfriend – you need to mix things up a bit.

Start ‘liking’ things you actually like. Things that will put some motivation in your stream – brands like Nike Running UK or Marathon Talk are a good place to start. You’ll get motivation and the chance of getting involved in a debate. And now you can even follow me on Facebook where I can promise you lots of sweaty pictures of me racing.

Pinterest
The fairly new kid on the social media block, Pinterest is an online pin-board. You look at other people’s pin-boards and ‘re-pin’ pictures you like. There you’ll find a lot of visual motivation for runners, pictures of kit to drool over, healthy recipes and some nicely designed running mantras. 

The downside to perusing the ‘health and fitness’ area of Pinterest is the unhealthy images that have been pinned as inspiration by people aspiring to the body beautiful. Avoid those and it’s quite good. I can guarantee no ‘How to get rock-hard abs in 10 minutes’ or pictures of any skinny minnies pins on my board. So check it out here.


Is there any other social media you use to aid your running or connect you to other runners? Let me know in the comments. And if I’m not following you already, leave me your twitter name.