In an interview, Eliud Kipchoge, marathon great, suggested everyone run in a training group. The trouble with most runners, he said, was that we "think too much." Running in a training group calms excess thought. Instead of "overthinking," you drop into the rhythm of other runners. You get lost in conversation. Before you know it, you finish the workout, all without those seemingly important thoughts ever swirling in your head.

Kipchoge has long said running was a team sport. He famously trains in Kenya with a group of elite runners - any of which could win a marathon major. They live and run together. Everyone cooks and cleans, no matter how many marathon wins you have.

I have never been a long-time member of a running or training group. I have done the occasional weekday runs at my local running store. I sometimes meet up with friends with long runs. In broad strokes, though, I have always run solo.

My mission is to run for life and, through Peregrune, to empower others to do the same. A dance through my running eras would see focus on speed, mileage, and nutrition. Now, I'm looking for that next unlock. Strength is on my scene. So is running form (more to come on that soon!). Perhaps, groups run should be as well. What I mean is not the occasional meetup, but do I actively join a training group with a goal race. This is similar to when I attended martial arts classes where the "team" trained collectively twice weekly with four target meets each year. My running coach has long suggested I might find a group of people to run with helpful and that we can adjust our workouts to fit in that environment.

What do you think? Have you had positive experiences running in a training group?