My local running club is everything that is wrong with local running culture

NYC is also pretty good and not like the OP describes

Look at your local race results. Some races will have a space for team affiliation. That will give you a pretty good idea of the faster clubs.

Depending on the location/size of the city, you may be able to find a group that runs your pace. I have run with groups where I was the fastest runner and would run by myself, but also know of groups that consist of people who run much faster than I do.

The best group I was a part of included about 10 people who all ran between 16:00 and 18:30 in the Colorado Springs area. We weren't super fast, but we were all fairly fit, and the pace was always honest.

I wonder if people who play pickup basketball most days get annoyed that no one wants to talk about the NBA.

There are a lot of local competitive NYRR affiliates clubs that compete for club points in the NYRR races. One of these clubs got me a local competitive start at the NYC Marathon. I ended up being the fastest runner representing that club and helped out their team ranking a little. I wish we had something like what the NYRR has in Southern California.

"running" clubs are more comically inept at their topic sport than any other kind.

The tennis equivalent would be players who didn't bother hitting the ball over the net, or even learning how.

Our local running group is all about adult beverages post run. The average weight for women is 200+ and average pace for men is 10 minute+. All they discuss is color runs, charity runs and the swag.

Lots of good responses here, but this post hits the nail on the head for me. I have realized over the past year that I am in the weird in-between group that is too fast for the non-competitive runners but not fast enough to catch the eye of the local sub elites. I got down to 16:30 earlier in the year before I got injured and would get a solid top 5 or top 10 at the most competitive, prize money races (except for the big races with 10,000+ runners). But the best runners were not exactly turning around at the finish asking me to join them or interested much in conversation.

I do mainly use the club runs as easy runs and also as a social activity. I understand that running is social for most people, but figured the biggest local run club would have at least a few people looking to push themselves to faster times. But they are quite rare.

I have scoured the local race results and pay attention to the people in front of me, so I know who the local fast guys are. But I have trouble getting beyond small talk with these guys and they all seem a little clubby, like I'm some upstart crashing their party. No invites to run together have been extended.

There are no other significant clubs that I'm aware of, despite the metro area having at least a couple million people. The running stores are highly interrwined with the local run club. Some of the local post-collegiates seem to run with the college teams as volunteer assistants and there seems to be some faster guys in the suburbs that know each other and chat at races. There also are a couple prominent private coaches in the area that coach some faster runners, but not willing to go that route yet. Overall, it's quite scattered and not centralized.

Anyways, based on the responses here, it seems like this is the state of the market for running clubs in most cities. The best route might be for me to start a little Facebook group that is focused on runners interested in being competitive in some category (overall, age group, gender, etc.). I have met a couple people that also have trouble finding other competitive runners. There could be a need here that needs satisfied.

On a final note, at least the local club is a good way to meet some fit young ladies.

Normies gonna be normies

Bryn Mawr Running Club offers both a normal running group and an elite running group. So if your a more competitive runner, it's a great club. (If you live near Bryn Mawr). On of their top runners is Charlie Marquardt who broke 4 in the mile. Another club is the Philadelphia Track Club, which a post collegiate track club, which is more on the pro side..

I’m with you. I’ve been a member of several running clubs where every member was trying to get faster regardless of their age or innate ability.

Then I moved to a new city and ended up joining a club that is much like the group you describe. No one knows about the pro scene and no one is interested in competing. I’ve never seen anything like it. I bailed on that scene and am looking for a new group.

Hear ya. A local running club told me I was too slow to join them. They were polite about it. 35 minute 10k.

I run in a local park. The local club/group meets up there in the evenings to run. Although they look good, wear split shorts, and act fast, they run too slowly, so I run past them occasionally, but don't interact with them. I feel better about myself this way.

I'm in a large midwestern city and had a similar experience right out of college. I eventually got hurt for unrelated reasons and switched to road cycling and cyclocross.

If you're looking for a hobby where most of the participants care about performance and train seriously and meet up to race in groups, you'll feel right at home in road cycling.

Of course, the never ending materialism of the sport can be a little bit grating, but you can scratch the competitive itch with an 800 dollar bike. It has been fun to work my way up from getting dropped to being pack fodder to maybe having a shot at getting on the podium of some of the lower category races.

It's "wrong" that people are white? WTF?

It's "wrong" that people are successful? WTF?

Switched to Cycling wrote:

I'm in a large midwestern city and had a similar experience right out of college. I eventually got hurt for unrelated reasons and switched to road cycling and cyclocross.

If you're looking for a hobby where most of the participants care about performance and train seriously and meet up to race in groups, you'll feel right at home in road cycling.

Of course, the never ending materialism of the sport can be a little bit grating, but you can scratch the competitive itch with an 800 dollar bike. It has been fun to work my way up from getting dropped to being pack fodder to maybe having a shot at getting on the podium of some of the lower category races.

As a masters runner married to a masters cyclist, I can attest to cycling groups being generally much more "serious" and more competitive than running groups. Cycling groups also tend to be filled with quite a few a**holes. I like the runners better, by and large.

20 years ago I moved from a metro area of nearly 1 million to a small city. In the more populous area I ran with a group that included runners of all abilities, but most were at least somewhat serious about trying to get better. At that time I was a "very good" recreational runner for a woman, but there were always a few men in the group who were considerably faster. I got better largely by chasing faster guys through 15-20 miles of rolling hills several times each month. But the faster men had a hard time finding people to run with, even in a fairly populous area.

Your local sub-sub-elite hobby jogger wrote:

I know who the local fast guys are. But I have trouble getting beyond small talk with these guys and they all seem a little clubby, like I'm some upstart crashing their party. No invites to run together have been extended.

Deer Socially Awkward Letsrun Poster #8,493,627,

If you want something enough, you have to believe in yourself and advocate for yourself. You need to invite yourself and tell them, "I'd like to tag along with some better runners to see if I can improve, I won't be in anyone's way just let me know when and where I could meet you for workouts and long runs, here's my (phone #/email address). I'm simply looking for some different stimulus, I'd really appreciate a little boost in the form of opportunity to learn from better runners." And risk being told "NO." Standing around with a coquettish look on your face while wringing your hands hasn't got you the results you want, has it? Get out of your comfort zone, be a little bold for once. Maybe you'll finally ask out one of the girls you ogle silently at club runs, too.

Lol, I know serious runners often are socially awkward and a little closed off,

including myself. It seems to come with the activity.

I had no idea we were in the same running club.....