Don’t Be A Dick.

Showing up can be hard.

You worked all day. The kids were wild. Traffic sucked. You barely slept. Your brain is fried. Whatever it is, there are probably a dozen reasons why staying home sounds better than putting on your shoes and going for a run.

But you came anyway and that alone counts for something.

If it took that much for you to get out the door, chances are it took something for the person standing next to you too.

So don’t make their day harder.

Your energy isn't just yours

We all bring shit with us. Maybe you had a great day or maybe you had a terrible one. Maybe running is the only thing keeping you sane that week.

That's life. Nobody expects you to show up smiling ear to ear every single time… but there's a difference between having a bad day and making it everyone else's bad day.

When you're running with a group, your energy carries.

A little negative comment can carry weight. An eye roll during stretches or when someone needs to stop. Getting annoyed because the group isn't moving fast enough or the route isn’t what you expected. Unsolicited advice nobody asked for. Even if you're joking, you don't always know how it's going to land.

Especially with someone who had to talk themselves into coming in the first place.

The opposite is true too.

Say what's up to the new person standing by themselves. Wait at the turnaround. Check on the person falling behind. Hype somebody up when they're clearly fighting for their life on a hill.

That shit carries too and that's the stuff people remember. Your run doesn’t always have to be about chasing a PR. 

You don't know what it took for someone to get here

This is a big one.

You have no idea what the person next to you is dealing with.

Maybe this is their first run in years. Maybe they're coming back from an injury. Maybe they've wanted to try a run club for six months but were worried they'd be too slow. Maybe life just fucking sucks right now and this is the one hour they get to themselves.

You don't know.

What you do know is that they showed up.

That's enough.

They don't need to hit a certain pace. They don't need the right shoes. They don't need to look like a "runner." They don't need to prove that they belong here.

They came to run.

Same as you.

Don't be a dick

That's really it.

Be the reason somebody leaves saying, "I'm coming back next week."

Not the reason they never come back.

Someone running slower than you doesn't affect your run. Someone taking a walk break doesn't make them less of a runner. Someone being brand new doesn't mean they need your coaching.

Nobody owes anybody a performance out here.

Show up. Run your miles. Be cool to people.

Pretty simple.

Check your ego at the door

Run clubs can get weird when everything becomes a competition.

Who ran the fastest. Who ran the farthest. Who has the newest shoes. Who's training for what. Who PR'd. Who didn't.

There's nothing wrong with wanting to get faster or taking your training seriously. We love that shit too.

But there's a time and place for it.

A community run isn't your personal proving ground.

The person who's been running for ten years and the person who bought their first pair of running shoes yesterday should both be able to show up and feel like they're part of the same thing.

If you've been doing this for a while, help make that possible.

You were new once too.

What we're actually trying to build

Nobody Cares Run Club was never supposed to be about being the fastest person in the parking lot.

We're here to get people moving.

That's it.

Some people are training for ultras. Some are trying to break a PR. Some are running their first 5K. Some are just trying to make it back to the parking lot without dying.

All of those people belong here…. the miles are only part of it.

The other part is having somewhere to show up. Seeing familiar faces. Meeting people you probably would've never met otherwise. Getting outside. Having a shitty day and somehow feeling a little better afterward.

That's the community part. And it only works when we all take some responsibility for the kind of community we're creating.

So show up. Run hard. Run slow. Walk when you need to. Talk shit with your friends. Meet somebody new.

Just don't be an asshole. If that’s too much to ask… then maybe a run club isn’t for you.

Come Run With Us

Nobody Cares Run Club hosts free community runs throughout Escondido and North County San Diego.

No membership. No pace requirements. No bullshit.

Just show up.

Check our Events page or joint our Strava for upcoming runs and follow @nobodycaresrunclub on Instagram for updates.

Nobody Cares Run Club. Free community runs across Escondido and North County San Diego. All paces welcome.