Social services: online support forums help runners get off the starting blocks

Getting fit and staying in shape can take some motivation and while for some this might be in the form of an exercise partner, an increasing number of people are cheering fellow athletes on through the medium of social media.

When James McGarry from Navan reached 17st in 2012, he knew he had to make some radical changes to his life. So late one evening when no one was around, he decided to go for the first run of his life.

Out of shape and out of breath, he began taking short nightly runs before realising he needed help as he couldn’t run for more than a few minutes at a time. Too embarrassed to join an actual running group, he set up a virtual one where he could chat to strangers online and hopefully gain the motivation he needed to stay on the straight and narrow.

"After the first few weeks of running on my own I knew I needed help but was too out of my depth to join a running club so I went onto Facebook and searched for running support but nothing came up," says the father of three. "So I set up a group called The Runners Support Page with the idea that I could get 30-40 people on the page with running knowledge that I could learn tips from.

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“Thankfully, before long people started joining and I noticed that 75 per cent of those that were joining the page were the same as me – inexperienced runners looking for help.”

But there were also some experienced runners in the mix and before long, people from all over the country were joining forces offering and receiving advice and encouraging complete strangers to continue with their quest to get fit.

“Very quickly the page evolved and now we are a group which supports other runners in every way,” says the healthcare worker, who has lost 6st since he started running. “We offer advice on running gear, routes, races, injury advice from physios and sports injury therapists. We give hints, tips and advice on all things we have all picked up over the years and are now Ireland’s largest online running group with 9,000 members.

"There are now so many of us that I was asked to design a top so people could identify other members at races, so I did and within a few weeks strangers wearing RSP tops were meeting up at runs and becoming friends – we are identifiable by our tops and know that we are almost guaranteed to bump into other page members at almost any race in Ireland. "

Long-term smoker

Fintan Dawson is a member of RSP and like McGarry took up running in order to improve his lifestyle. As a long-term smoker, the father-of-five knew he needed to improve his health so started running in 2013 and joined the group two years later.

“My wife, who also took up running at the same time, joined RSP and encouraged me to do the same, but I just laughed it off as some online nonsense,” says the Dublin man. “But she persisted so I joined up and although I didn’t expect to gain anything from the group, as soon as I started interacting, the amount of runners commenting on my posts, giving me advice and encouragement made me feel like a better runner and that gave me the extra motivation to carry on.

“It became evident after a while that many of us were running solo in the same area so four of us suggested that we meet up to run and the D15 crew started off with regular weekly meet-ups. We now train together several times a week and have become great friends – socialising not just as a running group but also with our partners, most of whom also are within the running community now and have also formed their own friendships.”

Now an ardent runner, Dawson would encourage everyone, no matter what their fitness level, to seek support through a similar medium.

“James McGarry has brought together thousands of strangers through the love of running and the list of friendships continues to grow,” he says. “I would definitely encourage people to interact online with the running community, who will pass on advice and offer help and support through our mutual love of running.”

Across the country in Clare, Stephan Teeling Lynch (35) also runs a Facebook support group called Go Tri Training Forum – not only for runners but for swimmers and cyclists as well. He agrees with Dawson and says many of the online group have evolved from virtual buddies to real-life friends and even partners.

“I am not fully sure how to describe the group without being totally honest and saying the GoTri training forum or as it was previously called “The Monday Murder Group” is a mix of endurance junkies and those who struggle to get off the couch,” says the father-of-two.

‘Kick in the ass’

“Our Facebook forum is a place where people post plans to meet up for a session; a place where people of all shapes, sizes and dreams go to be inspired or help those who maybe struggling for that proverbial kick in the ass. We have launched many community fundraisers, helped charities all over Ireland and supported training mates through sickness, family deaths and personal accidents. And there is an almost army-like feeling of when one us hurts, we all hurt – the support networks are truly amazing.”

Members of the GoTri group have climbed Mount Everest, rowed across the Atlantic and swum the Channel – while others are in the early stages of their fitness journey and receive inspiration for simply putting one foot in front of the other.

“The group has also helped to inspire Irish champions and even encouraged an older lady to become Munster breaststroke age-group champion – but I’m not brave enough to say in what age category,” Teeling Lynch jokes. “We also have another member who won an all-Ireland [swimming] competition despite only learning to swim two years previously.

“Imagine a community where the very best within the sport, laugh, encourage and rub shoulders with first-timers and those new to chasing their dreams – that’s what this group is like. I set it up a few years ago and it’s gone through many changes – but it has survived and now I feel blessed to say we have 281 members who support each other in every way.”