My running club experience

So I did run on Tuesday night even though it was crazy humid. I was a hot mess by the end of the run, let me tell you. I had plans to meet up with my cousin afterwards and didn't even bother to put on make-up because my face was still bright red, and no amount of Bare Minerals foundation would have cured that... It rained today so hopefully the dew point has dropped!!

Anywho, so back when I started to get back into running, I thought it might be a good idea to join a local running club. Because I can be kind of on the cheap side (except when it comes to gadgets/technology...), I decided to join one that is free. I signed up for my first run, which was on a Saturday morning. There was an option to RSVP to brunch and I thought - 'what the heck, maybe there will be a dashing young fellow that I'll want to get to know a little better over eggs.' And when I say dashing, I mean handsome, not fast. Because I am not fast. I like to say I was built for distance, not speed. Side note: I did once briefly date a really fast runner - he said maybe we could run together and he would just run backwards so we'd be at the same pace. Ha. I wanted to laugh, but I wasn't sure if he was serious. He probably was.

So I was basically committed to this 4 mile run & a brunch afterwards. I was really excited about the prospect of meeting some new runners. As I pulled up to the meeting location, I searched for a parking spot and saw a group of people out of the corner of my eye. It appeared that one of them was wearing a kilt. But I thought - no, that's not possible. My eyes are playing tricks on me - he must be wearing really baggy khaki shorts or something.

Wrongo batman. The guy was literally wearing a khaki kilt. And he was in the running club. He was a nice guy, but very, very odd. I mean, seriously - I totally respect the Scottish culture, especially since I have Scottish roots (my mom's maiden name is McDougall - doesn't get much more Scottish than that!). But do you really need to wear a kilt when out for your morning jog? And it didn't even seem authentic. It looks like something you would buy at American Eagle. If they sell kilts. I assume they don't.

Of course only4 people stayed for brunch and one of those 4 people was the kilt-wearing wonder. He was one of those extremely intelligent people - he casually disclosed that he was a member of the mensa club. But as is sometimes the case with extremely intelligent people, his social skills left a bit to be desired.

I survived the brunch though, but haven't mustered up the courage to do another run. There is another group of runners w/in this club that also did a run that same morning, but they run around a 7-8 minute mile, and I just don't run that fast. See above comment about being built for distance.

And so my quest for a normal, fun running club continues... I probably need to accept the fact that I might need to pay for a running club. But I already know I have to avoid another popular running club in the Twin Cities because the bad tipper told me he is a member when we went out on our first date. And there is no way I want to see him on a weekly basis. I also avoid a certain Whole Foods store because I ran into him there about 2 weeks after our last date and pretty much ran out of the store to avoid any sort of awkward run-in. I don't deal well with awkward situations.

But I am getting off topic here. I could go on and on about awkward situations/run ins as I have had a few lately. Oh the stories I could tell. But I'll stop here... So if anyone that reads this resides in Minneapolis and has a suggestion for a running club, fire away. My only caveat is that the runners wear normal clothing - i.e. no kilts, please.