E x W: A Virtual Running Community

Have you ever moved to a new place or visited a city and asked yourself, where should I run? Or, how do I meet new people? Have you ever felt overwhelmed by a big race and thought, what do I need to know? Who do you turn to when you have a general running question? Who can you count on to meet up at crazy hours of the morning to squeeze in a run before work? Who do you share your highs and lows of running with?

With running, nothing is one-size-fits-all. There are tons of different answers to the many questions you might have. Coaches can provide a lot of information, however, it’s sometimes helpful to hear advice from other runners. So the solution to all of the questions above is simple – a solid running community.

By definition, a community is a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common. In our community, the common characteristic is that running is our “thing”. So what exactly is a running community? A running community is made up of many things. It’s the people your run with, the people you workout with, your teammates, your local running shop, your physical therapist, your local race directors, and even your coaches. The list goes on and on.

Although there is no perfect substitute for a strong physical running community, at ExW our mission is to provide a community feel to the virtual world. By combining the benefits of a strong running community with the flexibility of online coaching, we aim to integrate with multiple communities in geographically distributed locations to stay connected and provide the best resources for our athletes.

We’ve just begun this new endeavor and we believe we can create a community feel through regular athlete showcasing, online service providers, and virtual interactions. We are excited to build this community with you and continue to grow through new ideas and athlete input.