Source
r/AdvancedRunning•
BeguilingOrbit

Indoor Group Runs During Thunderstorms?

General Discussion

This question goes out to running group/club leaders: what are your ideas for conducting indoor group runs during thunderstorms when there’s the very real risk of lightning strikes and/or flash floods and it’s too dangerous to run outdoors? I’m not trying to force these indoors runs on the group. Cancelling is always an option. I’m just looking for help to come up with creative solutions for those who would rather keep running than cancel a scheduled group run.

This is what I've come up with:

  • Buying day passes and taking over the treadmills in a community recreation center or fitness center for an hour or two is a safe but boring (and most likely overcrowded) solution.

  • I've run solo in parking garages during storms but I don't think I would want to deal with that kind of potential liability for an organized group run.

  • What about finding a large office building or university campus building and running the hallways or stairs? Seems a bit blah and parking could be pricey, too.

None of these solutions seems ideal, but I don't know that there is one. And I'm not talking about running in the rain, which is fine and is often fun. I'm talking about heading indoors to not put members of the group in danger.

What are your thoughts?

Posted Oct 3, 2019, 8:40 PM UTC

713
balzor•

Are there no indoor tracks in your area? That’d be the best move.

7
BeguilingOrbitOP•

There's only one that I know of, but it's for an upscale fitness center that requires a membership fee of more than $100/month.

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computerkid•

I don't have many good ideas beyond what was on the RRCA Facebook post. A run club near me does parking garage hill repeats when it's storming out. Stair repeats inside also works. If you have access to a gym, you could try making a game out of it, sorta like a throwback to childhood P.E. where participants still get some aerobic activity.

What are the goals of the runners in your training group? Is everyone training for a specific race? That would influence what the best alternative option is.

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BeguilingOrbitOP•

Your comment about the childhood P.E. throwback reminds me of the crab-walk soccer games we used to play. Painful, but what a great core exercise!

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computerkid•

If the goal is to encourage discipline and accountability, then an hour of so of aerobic exercise and core/conditioning would be a good way to accomplish that. The book 'Training Games: Coaching Runners Creatively' might be a good place to start.

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BeguilingOrbitOP•

Awesome! I did not know about that book. It sounds like a great resource. Thanks.

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BeguilingOrbitOP•

It's a beginners group and most don't yet have the discipline to run on their own.

1
Scvrunfan•

How about some sort of circuit? Station 1 jumping jacks, station 2 push ups, station 3 running in place, station 4 burpees...... set each station for 30 seconds or something.

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BeguilingOrbitOP•

Good idea!

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dampew•

I've done all those things before. I've gotten kicked out of buildings that I didn't belong in. The options available to you really depend on where you live.

Then of course there's Zatopek... https://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=2270149

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BeguilingOrbitOP•

Ah, yes, Zatopek. Where theres a will, there's a way.

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Dillingo•

You could all use zwift and then all use whatever treadmill you have access to with your phone in front of you

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BeguilingOrbitOP•

Thanks! That could be fun...

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