Run commuting

[LightTripper]

So I walk to work, but hadn't come across the idea of run-commuting before.

The article gets far less mustachian later on, when it explains all the lovely kit and services you can buy to make your run-commute more cushty, but the idea itself is good and there are some good (free!) practical tips too.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/the-running-blog/2013/apr/26/how-start-run-commuting

[tuyop]

So I walk to work, but hadn't come across the idea of run-commuting before.

The article gets far less mustachian later on, when it explains all the lovely kit and services you can buy to make your run-commute more cushty, but the idea itself is good and there are some good (free!) practical tips too.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/the-running-blog/2013/apr/26/how-start-run-commuting

In university I would run commute (I didn't even know this was a term!), I'd just bring my books, casual clothes and food in a small hiking pack (~40lbs) and run the 2.5km each way. It KILLED my 5k time, after a good year and a bit of this I had gone from a 21 minute 5k to an 18:30. Not that that was the only running I did, but yeah.

[happy]

Yeah, 20 years ago way back in my 30s, on the way home I used to put my work clothes in a backpack and :
a)run to the ferry wharf 5km, b) catch a ferry across Sydney Harbour, c) run to home 1km.
In the morning I wore my work gear and makeup, walked to the ferry wharf and caught a bus at the other end: no showers at work.
I'm reminiscing now, catching a ferry across Sydney Harbour was such a beautiful way to commute to work.

[Russ]

This is such a fun thing. My way of run commuting, since I've never lived quite close enough to go both ways, was to bicycle one way, run home, run back the next day, and ride home. I got a few funny looks but it was a blast and my times improved greatly.

It's especially nice because most running people do for training is just a loop. You never really go anywhere, you always end up in the same place you started. With running home after work I felt like there was an additional sense of purpose to what I was doing.

[Bank]

I run commute regularly as I only live about 3.5 miles away from work and I don't particularly like biking in Boston.  I found this website had some decent recommendations, tips and pointers.  It underwent a redesign recently and now seems to be more about selling gear than telling you how to clean up before a meeting, but I'm sure the practical stuff is still in there somewhere. 

http://theruncommuter.com

[Jamesqf]

Where do you find backpacks you can actually run in, though?  I try to jog/run a little when I'm out hiking, but even a modest day pack (sweater, windbreaker, water for me & the dogs - maybe 10 lbs total) bounces around quite uncomfortably.

[tuyop]

Where do you find backpacks you can actually run in, though?  I try to jog/run a little when I'm out hiking, but even a modest day pack (sweater, windbreaker, water for me & the dogs - maybe 10 lbs total) bounces around quite uncomfortably.

I usually wear an Osprey Aether 22 on my trail runs and when I ran to school, which seems to have been replaced by the Manta 28.

This is also, in my opinion, the only pack you need. I've spent months living out of this pack on the Appalachian Trail. Experience will tell you how to pack it and what to bring so that it doesn't move around.

[Bank]

I just wear an old North Face backpack.  It has a chest strap and bungees to constrict the size of the pack.  The most important thing for me, apart from the chest strap, is that the pack be full (or those bungees be cinched up as tight as possible) to minimize the movement of gear inside.  As I'm typically carrying a full change of clothes, shoes, and lunch containers, that's not difficult for me.  Also, I try to run upright with minimal upper body movement.

I hear great things about the Osprey packs, but haven't gotten around to getting one yet.

[tuyop]

I just wear an old North Face backpack.  It has a chest strap and bungees to constrict the size of the pack.  The most important thing for me, apart from the chest strap, is that the pack be full (or those bungees be cinched up as tight as possible) to minimize the movement of gear inside.  As I'm typically carrying a full change of clothes, shoes, and lunch containers, that's not difficult for me.  Also, I try to run upright with minimal upper body movement.

I hear great things about the Osprey packs, but haven't gotten around to getting one yet.

I actually started run commuting (if you want to call it that) using this little beastie.



It bounced a bit, but I was only carrying about 25lbs of stuff that year so it really wasn't that bad for the less than 30 minutes that I was running with it.

[MikeStache]

This is such a fun thing. My way of run commuting, since I've never lived quite close enough to go both ways, was to bicycle one way, run home, run back the next day, and ride home. I got a few funny looks but it was a blast and my times improved greatly.

It's especially nice because most running people do for training is just a loop. You never really go anywhere, you always end up in the same place you started. With running home after work I felt like there was an additional sense of purpose to what I was doing.

Point-to-point runs with a purpose are the best. I love literally running errands too.

I run to work about once per week other than in the winter. It's 21km so I get a lift the other direction with my wife (not very mustatchian, I know, but we try to plan it for when she's in the area on errands).

I bring my clothes and extra lunch the day before so that I only have to carry a small backpack with my wallet, keys, water, and an extra layer if I need one. 

[sheepstache]

I just started this a couple weeks ago.  My trip's only a mile.  I noticed when I used to have a 4-mile commute that I biked that even though it didn't feel like much it added tremendously to my stamina and strength on the bike.  Well, I noticed it once I stopped because I'd moved two blocks away from work and then totally tanked when I tried to do a 50/mile/day touring trip of the sort that I'd been able to handle in the past.  So I figured getting these little runs in should help increase my base and prevent injury by forcing me to increase distance slowly since I just started running shoeless and want to build up the different muscles used.

My preference is a string bag like you can get free a lot.  E.g.,

Simply because it's so light.  Of course, I run in my work clothes :)  I only run on the way home and that's usually late at night when it's cooler.  I did get an odd look from a cop once.  Even if you can't wear your work clothes, try wearing regular shorts so you can keep all your stuff in your pockets.  I find the weight doesn't me bother there while it feels like a lot if it's in the bag.  If it's full, like, I have a jacket in there, I wear it like a backpack but if it's not very full, I go across the chest with the strings to make an X and that tightens it up a lot.  But the best thing is to think seriously about what you really "need" to bring to work and home.

[Moomoo]

When I was in grad school, I ran 9 miles each way.  These days I'm trying to bike 25 each way.  The running was way easier.  And safer.  Or, at least it felt safer.  I miss those days.