Part of marathon training - a BIG part - is mental training. What do you do in your head for 6 hours? In group training, that is one of the things we figure out along the way.
Galloway pace groups are composed of mostly women. The "Fasties" have more men, but we are at least 10 groups back from them and only see their blurs as they pass us. Twice. In our typical weekly run 8-12 runners, one or two men show up. And they are the nicest men! Charles is my brother-in-law, whom I love. He also has the BEST tenor voice and spontaneously bursts out in song every so often. It's great.
So to keep our minds off of the aches and pains and negative thoughts, we chat among ourselves. In the 0430 darkness we tend to pair off, but the pairings change over the course of the run. I've never done much with groups of women, since I worked in the marina construction industry,composed mostly of men. What a perfect group to get to know. Strong women in ages ranging fro 20's to 60's.
If someone is having a physical problem, there is always a member willing to see them to the end.
