I started running over 10 years ago when my dad introduced me to running. We’d often go running together and that was my little running community. Me and dad. He was much more experienced, having done multiple marathons and crazy races like Race The Train. Fast forward to now, in 2025, and my running community has changed a little!
My Dad and I
Don’t get me wrong, running will now and always be our thing to talk about. When mom’s out the room (she doesn’t enjoy running the same way we do) or when we both have days off. It’s relatable common ground and we can share our running thoughts and experiences. Whether I’m training for something, or he’s been out for a gentle jog (he’s nearly 60!) and doesn’t want to over-do it, we’ll still touch base and check in together.
‘Run-stagram’
I’ve been posting screenshots of my runs since I started running. It was a hobby and I just wanted to share with the world outside of dad! I’d recently started a blog about running (This one!), called Life of a Miss Fit, and so I just took a picture with Runkeeper (an app that tracks my runs), wrote a caption about how I felt it had gone, and posted. That’s all it was.
I wasn’t trying to gain followers or over think about the hashtags! I was just sharing my little running thing on my corner of the internet; and then occasionally I’d write a blog about it on here too.
Now in March 2025, I have a little following of over 300 people on my running Instagram… That doesn’t sound like much in a world of influencers. But imagine if you stood in a room and 300 people walked in and said they wanted to hear what you had to say..
Now that’s something huh?
Then I found Parkrun
I started doing Parkruns in 2024; it’s a community-led 5K run every Saturday. You can walk, run, spectate or volunteer and all ages and abilities are welcomed!
It’s not about the ‘race’, although you do get a time at the end and it’s all recorded (which is great for those more ambitious, competitive runners training for something!). It’s just about waking up on a Saturday morning, showing up in a field or park with over 100 (ish) other strangers all about to run 5K together..
You listen to the safety talk by the volunteer officials, and then at the sound of the klaxon, go!
It’s quite something.. You’re suddenly running or jogging, as long as you’re moving.. with all these strangers. And then within half hour, I was done! I ran passed the big archway and I’d done it!
You never felt too slow because it’s a community event, and a great way to start running and feel the true enjoyment of it. The best part? Parkrun is completely free!
The running community helps me endlessly
The community is a huge part of why I love running… Life is busy, and there’s an awful lot going on in the world, from COVID to the war in the Ukraine. You just have to open social media, or put on your radio or the news for one minute and you can hear it… All of it.
That’s why I love having my online running community. So that when I need some positivity and encouragement outside of all that, when all that is very much happening, I have it at my fingertips.
I can log in to my Life of a Miss Fit – on TikTok, mostly Instagram though, and my feed is full of like-minded people running, and enjoying it. And encouraging each other. No-one’s comparing or judging. Everyone is doing their best to get out for a run, feel good, feel happy, feel together. That’s why running is all about..
So my tips to you are here… Share online – you’re not alone! – and run with friends or family.. Just start posting and sharing and you’ll soon have a little bank of running diaries…
Written by Katie McDonald, 31st March 2025.
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