Where Can I Find People to Run With?

Belatedly, noticed this e-mail from earlier this week from a runner:

"I'm fairly new to the Slope area, and I wanted to find a partner/team to train for the upcoming NJ marathon in May. I would be interested most in finding a long-run partner for Saturdays, but open to working out together during the week too. Any ideas besides Craigslist to find people?"

Ahh, one of the many dilemmas of running in the city, especially when you're new. I do three separate ways: On my own, through my club, or simply just e-mailing the other runners I know and trying to set something up (I'm not sure agreeing to meet someone Friday morning at 6:30 in Prospect Park in 17-degree temperatures was the brightest of ideas, but we did see a beautiful sunrise).

Thankfully, there are a number of resources, some listed here:

-- Prospect Park Track Club and Slope Sports have a weekly run on Saturday that meets at Grand Army Plaza at 8 a.m. on Saturdays - a number of folk there are training for a spring marathon, and the runs there will be getting longer. No need to sign up or contact anyone - just show up. The group usually congregates at sidewalk in front of the entrance to the park. Some runners just do a loop in the park - others do a longer run.

-- Other clubs also organize runs. For example, Brooklyn Road Runners also has weekly runs on Saturday and Sunday at 9 a.m., meeting at 15th St. and Prospect Park West. They also do evening workouts on Tuesday and Thursday.

-- JackRabbit Sports has group training programs, a link is here. A lot of people do them (it's pretty awe inspiring to see 40 or more people come toward you in the park - the catch here is that there's a fee.

-- New York Road Runners has an option for runners seeking partners. I can't attest to whether this works or not, but it's definitely an option out there.