How Pro Running Groups Are Practicing Social Distancing During the Coronavirus Outbreak – runnersworld.com

With the swift onset of the coronavirus outbreak in America, the running community has seen rapid changes: a large number of road and track races have been canceled; group runs have been discouraged; and gyms, fitness studios, and other gathering spaces have closed their doors.

In an effort to limit our exposure to others—and thus slow the spread of the virus—the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that we all practice “social distancing,” meaning staying at home as much as possible, avoiding large groups, and remaining at least six feet apart from the people we encounter.

While every runner is likely suffering from the effects of social distancing—group runs, after all, are wonderful ways to socialize and push each other in workouts—pro runners in particular face a tough challenge, as many rely on training together to achieve their goals.

Earlier this week, 2016 Olympic steeplechase bronze medalist Emma Coburn—who trains with a group of women including Cory McGee, Aisha Praught-Leer, and Dominique Scott Efurd in Boulder, Colorado—announced on Instagram that she and her husband Joe Bosshard, who coaches the team, were pausing all team practices at this time.

“We are all training still, but we will do workouts solo or maybe with one teammate,” Coburn wrote on Instagram. “We are adapting. We are respecting this new reality and hope everyone else is respecting it too! Stay healthy.”

Scott Efurd, who competed for South Africa in the 2019 world championship 5,000 meters, shared an optimistic perspective on the dramatic change in circumstances.

“Choosing to view this craziness as an opportunity and focus on [what is] controllable—to get faster and stronger, spend more time in the word, and try out some new recipes,” she wrote on Instagram.

Praught-Leer added on Instagram, “Wash your hands. Be a good community member. Check in on your people. Take a deep breath. Everything is going to be okay.”

In Phoenix, Arizona, Emily Sisson, who is planning to run the 10,000 meters at the 2020 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials this summer, is practicing social distancing by doing solo workouts, she shared on social media.

“Practicing social distancing this week by working out solo, reading lots, cooking much more, and playing with my doggies,” Sisson wrote on Instagram. “Knowing it’s not really about me right now but more about us.”

The Portland, Oregon-based Bowerman Track Club (BTC) has halted its typical strength training workouts, since the Nike facilities that they typically use have closed. Normally, the team—which includes pros like Shelby Houlihan, Colleen Quigley, Marielle Hall, Courtney Frerichs, Emily Infeld, Gwen Jorgensen, Karissa Schweizer, and Vanessa Fraser—meets three times a week to do core work and weights, Fraser told Runner’s World.

Without gym access, the runners have been getting creative with strength workouts at home. Quigley even recorded her own 15-minute glute workout. “I know a lot of people are stuck at home right now trying to avoid making contact with the coronavirus, so yesterday I recorded the leg set I did in the garage gym using no weights,” she said on Instagram. “Moving your body is known to have anti-stress effects, so stay active!

Additionally, BTC is not formally meeting for base runs anymore, but rather going in small groups or running solo. Fraser said that the group is still meeting for track workouts, but they’re careful to stay a safe distance apart.

“We’re taking extreme precautions to remain far apart, with no high fives, and staying a safe distance [apart] in a line during the workout,” Fraser said. “Overall as a group, [coach] Jerry [Schumacher] has advised us all to abide by social distancing and stay at our houses except for trips to grocery stores. We are limiting our social interactions to just among each other to hopefully keep our group contained and keep each other safe. But we will make modifications to track workouts if we need to.”

Other pro groups, such as the Boulder-based Tinman Elite, have also begun to modify their workouts to limit the interaction between members.

“Starting to break up our workout groups to train more responsibly during these hard times,” the group posted on Instagram. “Great tempo run for the men this morning. Hope everyone is staying safe and looking out for each other.”

We’re keeping an eye on how other training groups are handling COVID-19 and update when possible. Also, please let us know in the comments if your group is doing anything unique.

Digital Editor Hailey first got hooked on running news as an intern with Running Times, and now she reports on elite runners and cyclists, feel-good stories, and training pieces for Runner’s World and Bicycling magazines.