Running groups: learn to be a good runner in the best clubs

Wherever you go, there is a runner “flying”; On any street, park or track there is always one with their headphones moving along the path. And sometimes we meet groups. I recognize that my independent personality would make me choose my own route, the one that is most comfortable for me, with no other company than my music, but when I see a group of girls – it is generally women that I see forming pineapple– running at the same time, even having conversations, I’m curious to try it. I, who am not able to articulate an entire sentence without choking or getting flatus, find it wonderful that people are able to talk for hours and have fun running.

Whether you want to fall in love with this sport on your own or in a group, it doesn’t hurt to join one of the clubs that have already been created and have really good ratings. In addition to learning to run in the best way – avoiding injuries and improving your personal best – you will meet people who can become friends.

These are some of the running clubs What helps and likes the most:

1. The Ginger Club

Led by runner Candela Pérez, The Ginger Club helps you achieve your goal with varied training and teaches you how to avoid injuries. «We are a community of runners who promote spirit, health and determination. All this while we seek to improve ourselves and get to know ourselves better with each stride,” they say, and they are already present in five cities: Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Valencia, Bilbao, and Málaga.

You can sign up on The Ginger Club website and the girls go out once a week in each city (Madrid and Valencia on Mondays at 7:30 p.m., Bilbao on Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m. and in Barcelona and Malaga on Thursdays at 7:30 p.m.). In addition, one Saturday a month there is a special event with a different brand or outing.

«Monday workouts are usually series/pace changes/progressive… to adapt to the greatest number of people. Depending on the number of participants in the club, there are one or two coaches to divide the group into levels. To sign up, girls just have to register on the website, where there is a section on ‘running’ clubs,” they say from The Ginger.

Belonging to this club is belonging to a community of women who seek health and well-being as well as improving and knowing themselves and people who have the same mentality as you in every step. It is a group of friends with the same hobbies, it is a feeling of belonging, of family.

The Ginger also does running retreats to meet part of the community and run in different places.

2. Oysho Running Club

With the coach Andrea de Ayala Leading the Madrid group, this running club is available in nine cities in Spain. It leaves from the Oysho store on Hermosilla Street every Monday at 7:30 and the training lasts one hour.

«You can come if you have just started running and do cacos – which is what we call running and walking -, but you can also come if you are preparing for a marathon or run very fast. We have a capacity of 120 people and I divide them into subgroups by training time,” says the coach.

From this running club They tell us that there are weeks where they do filming, other series, there are weeks where there are hills, intervals… Wow, the variety is infinite. “In addition, those who live in Madrid one day a week can come to train with me,” says Andrea de Ayala.

The coach also tells us that starting in January they will do training for specific races, such as Formentera, where Oysho is a sponsor. As a latest development, it is expected that this club will have a special monthly event to continue enjoying this sport.

3. Lululemon Running Club

Lululemon, the Canadian sports fashion brand, has a running club with its store on Serrano Street in Madrid and with Sofía Fierros as ambassador. As expert Sofifi, as she is known, says, “it is very aligned with the brand’s values ​​of promoting a healthy life through sport.” It is completely free to sign up for the outings, which occur on Thursdays at 8 in the morning in the store, where you can change and leave your things.

The runner explains that they almost always do “a gentle ride of between 5 and 7.5 km. We do the scheduled training of 7.5 km, but if someone wants to do less, we give the option to shorten it and do only 5″, and when they arrive at Retiro from the Lululemon store they are divided into two groups, differentiated by the pace of the race and Sofía goes out with each group.

You can sign up on Sofía Fierros’ Instagram clicking here.

In addition, they have events that you have to sign up for through Eventbrite, even if it’s free, and they are starting to introduce strength training for runners.

4. Madrunners Club

Sofía Fierros is also behind this club that she founded herself. MadRunners He founded it in January 2023 looking for a group of younger runners who wanted to run and improve. The expert comments that this group works under subscription: «You can choose to come for 25 euros per month, which is five training sessions, or the pro subscription for 35, which are unlimited training sessions. With MadRunners we also train at the Retiro, we meet at the door of Queen Mercedes and we train on Tuesdays and Thursdays at seven thirty, with Tuesdays being series and soft runs on Thursdays. Furthermore, two Saturday mornings a month at the Casa de Campo between 9 and 10, we do a long shoot for all of us who are preparing for half marathons or marathons,” he says.

5. David Lloyd Running Club

The club of running by David Lloyd Gavà Mar emerged as a one-off activity many years ago and today, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7:30 p.m., there are outings around the club. In addition, they work on technique and physical fitness and also prepare for races they go to in groups. As they say, the group has a calendar with the races that will be covered from David Lloyd Gavà Mar and members are free to sign up. To sign up you simply have to reserve a place through the app. Currently, as reported, it is made up of members over 30 years old.

6. Running Club

Founded in 2011, Running Club It is a place open to both amateurs and professionals. They seek through sport, without neglecting the social and friendly component, to help every day to improve the lives of their members (currently, more than 1,000). They schedule training sessions (in different groups by level) directed and planned by a team of coaches with extensive experience in athletics. They have different locations in Madrid for weekly in-person training, activities for their members and they schedule trips to emblematic races, with organized assistance to participate in the competitions. They also offer personalized training depending on the athlete’s objectives. They also have a trail club called ‘The Blue Goats’ that organizes training and mountain outings by level, as well as hiking. You can find out at clubcorredores.com.

How to dress when running

What is needed, in general terms, to enter a group with these characteristics? In any of them you only need the desire to learn and improve yourself, and you must wear appropriate clothing and accessories to carry out this activity. As Andrea de Ayala, trainer and expert in runningyou have to pay attention to the type of footprint you have (pronator, neutral pronator and supinator). Furthermore, you should never get carried away by the recommendations of others since there is a shoe for every runner.

«Never buy shoes that you have not tried before or that have not been recommended to you. You have to know what your foot is like and also choose based on what your stride is like. But the first thing is not to follow anyone’s advice,” he recommends.