I believe most recreational and amateur runners MUST have an accountability partner (AP); even more than a running coach! An AP is someone just like you (or slightly better), someone with whom you plan your races and training, perform most of the workouts, and most importantly someone with whom you love running!
An accountability partner (AP) is a fellow runner, who checks most of these boxes:
- With whom you enjoy running and vice versa
- Whose goals are similar to yours or slightly higher
- Whose running fitness is similar to or slightly better than yours (pace, endurance, etc.)
- Who can speak candidly to you and you wouldn’t feel bad & vice versa
If you do not have an AP yet, please find one as soon as possible. And trust me, you will become a better runner and your running journey will become much more fulfilling.
In most cases, if a fellow runner is your AP, there is a high chance that you are his/her AP too so it works both ways! Also, AP may not be just one runner, it can be a small group too – not more than 3-4 members, though!
Here is how having an AP or APs helps you become a better runner:
1) AP = Your goal-setting and planning partner
With your AP/APs, you sort of become a mini group on a mission. This group sets the objectives together and then plans the training program and races together. This is your running think-tank!
This group will push each other to, a) aim higher by setting challenging goals, and b) train better by putting together a robust training plan.
You need someone to push you to make breakout transitions and help you grow as a runner. Recollect your own running journey thus far and think about every instance you’ve pushed boundaries, say graduated to a full marathon after several years of 10Ks and half marathons or broken an elusive 50 mins barrier in 10K after several years. You will realize that there were always a few folks who helped/inspired you to break those barriers!
AP is your friend who will help you set a high bar and then also help make a great plan to work on.
2) AP = Your running buddy
A good plan is not worth anything if you do not execute it with discipline. This is where your AP/APs add maximum value to your running pursuits.
A good AP will be doing most of the workouts with you and making sure you execute them as per the plan. With AP(s) around, you will NOT want to miss a single workout. Not just that, you would want to give your best every single time. There is a positive competition going on between each other and no one wants to be the one dragging the gang!
Further, with your AP around, you would be regularly tracking your progress, and make all the necessary adjustments and tweaks in the plan.
It’s a virtuous cycle where you folks push each other and learn from each other – every single day! And, that is how you will become a better runner than yesterday.
3) AP = Your discipline driver
No matter what the workout is, how easy or hard it is, AP will keep you honest.
On several days you will not feel like running – that dreaded 400m X 16 intervals or that fast goal pace run, may feel like a huge burden. But you will NOT quit because you feel a moral obligation to your AP.
The lurking presence of your AP in the background will ensure that any negative thoughts you harbor about quitting the day’s workout are evaporated in a flash. Your AP will keep you honest during the hardest of the workouts.
Your AP will also keep you grounded during the highs – when you have aced your workouts, or performed better than your PB, so that you do not get complacent and stay focused on the goal.
4) AP = Your loudest cheerleader
Your AP is fully invested in your success.
When you are down and out after that long run in the sun, you will want someone to pat your back and say, “Well, done buddy!” Your AP will do that every single time.
Also, when you’ve had a terrible workout with just 4 weeks to the race, making you feel like shit, your AP will comfort you with, “That’s fine buddy, you’ve got this!”
Your AP is your strongest supporter during your running journey, and he/she is with you in the journey literally matching your steps.
5) AP = Your celebration buddy
Running is a tough journey and every once in a while, you need a bit of a vent out. Your AP is the one with whom you will celebrate the moments of success – small or big!
You have toiled together for several months, sacrificed a lot, and finally achieved what you thought was impossible not too long ago. Eg – the joy of acing the first marathon cannot be expressed in words. Your AP knows it as it is probably his/her milestone too. There is no one else better than your AP to celebrate your running success with.
The system of AP is a lot of things rolled up together:
- planning board,
- feedback panel
- workout buddy(ies)
- cheerleader(s)
- shoulder(s) to cry on
- friend(s)
- guide(s), and
- party buddy(ies).
If you already have an AP, please consider yourself lucky and keep soaring new heights together. And, if you do not have an AP yet, please find one right away!
PS: I have never had a formal running coach thus far, but I consider myself lucky to have seen myself grow as a runner over the past several years with the help of fellow runners. In the early days, just having a few fellow runners to run with and push me was a blessing. Unbeknownst to me, I have benefitted from the AP system tremendously back then. Now, I have a few awesome fellow runners who are part of my AP system, and that has led to tremendous improvement in my running pursuits.
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