Why running with other people keeps you running

Starting running is easy. Keeping going is hard. The weather turns, work gets busy, and one missed week becomes a missed month. The runners who keep going for years almost always have one thing in common: other people.

Turning up is easier when someone expects you

A run on your own is a promise to yourself, and those are easy to break. A run with a group is a promise to other people. Knowing that someone will be waiting at the corner at 7am is often the only thing that gets you out of bed.

parkrun: the easiest place to start

parkrun is a free, timed 5 km event held every Saturday morning in parks and on seafronts across the UK and around the world. You register once, print your barcode and turn up. There is no pressure to be fast. Plenty of people walk it, and volunteers cheer everyone in.

Many people find their running friends at parkrun first, then join a club later. There is also junior parkrun, a 2 km event on Sunday mornings for children aged 4 to 14.

Running clubs are for everyone

Many people assume a club is only for fast runners. Most clubs welcome beginners, with groups for every pace and a coach or run leader who keeps everyone together. England Athletics lists affiliated clubs and beginner groups on its website, and many clubs run "couch to 5k" courses each year.

• Look for a beginners' group. Most clubs say so clearly on their website.
• Try a social run. Many running shops and cafés host a free weekly group run.
• Run a route, not just a distance. Groups that explore new paths keep things fresh.

Make the run itself interesting

Even with a club, most of your runs will be on your own. The cure for a boring solo run is somewhere new to go and something to listen to. A route through an old town or along a coast you don't know turns a training run into a small adventure.

The best motivation is curiosity: what is round the next corner?

Route Stories routes tell you the stories of the places you pass as you reach them, so an easy run along Whitstable's seafront or Folkestone's clifftop becomes a run you look forward to. Share a route with your running group and you all hear the same stories on your own runs.