SomethingToDo2

I ran 10km in a fun run on the weekend.

Yes, I simply wrote that line to brag. There’s a glorious feeling of superiority that fun runs bring and it’s one of the reasons I enjoy doing them.

The name fun run is, of course, a complete misnomer. Running isn’t fun. It’s a bit boring and quite painful and can make your knees hurt.

But running is free (if you already own the shoes) and makes you sufficiently sore and sweaty for that post-workout feeling. You’re also able to go as fast or as slow as you’d like because no one is watching you closely.

Fun runs take that to a whole new level. It forces you to participate, but gives you the freedom to just do it occasionally with thousands of people

First, enrol in one several weeks or months in advance, meaning that you have to train and prepare for it because you’ve already paid up and received your number in the post and you’d be too ashamed to back out.

Then, start your training. May I suggest you rope a friend or two into doing a fun run with you and then train with them. Pick someone who is slightly fitter than you because they will make you run faster and longer even when you’d like to go home and snuggle under the doona.

Ask a medical or training expert exactly how far you should push it based on your own fitness level, because I’m not claiming any type of special knowledge. I started running about 3km at the beginning, moving up to around 5km for a normal run within a few weeks and 8km when I wanted to push myself. I’d never attempted the full 10km until Sunday. (Not entirely true, I did run the 10km Melbourne Marathon race last year, but they measured it wrong).

Fun run stands for fundraiser run for a reason. On the weekend I ran in Run Melbourne, a run organised by The Age. When registering you could pick from a huge list of hundreds of charities —  I chose Melbourne City Mission — and then encourage friends and family to sponsor you. Big tick to the feel-good factor. Lots of other fun runs focus on one specific charity.

Finally, the big day comes around. Runners this stereotype may apply to all athletes, but I don’t usually associate with athletes are bubbly, friendly types. On the day of the fun run you have to get up early and it’s probably a bit cold and dark. But runners are always high-fiving and saying things like “let’s smash that hill!” and their energy is contagious, even if you’re enjoying the enthusiasm with a dash of cynicism.

Plus, fun runs — well, the two I’ve been in — are really well organised events. There are planned training programs, a special numbering system to keep all your belongings safe and a warm-up session on the big day. Volunteers were set out among the course every few kilometres shouting out words of encouragement. Bands and DJs played to help keep my little legs moving. Lots of free water, energy drink and whoever else sponsored giveaways were at the end.

For me, the running bit isn’t such a thrill. But the huge natural highs from endorphins afterwards — not to mention the bragging rights — are definitely fun. As a bonus, running won’t hurt your chances of becoming callipygous.

The details: There’s plenty of fun runs around the place, such as Sydney’s Bay Run on August 1, the famed City to Surf on August 8, the Bridge to Brisbane on August 29, Adelaide’s City-Bay run and Canberra’s Family Fun Run in September, and an all-female Fun Run Pink in Sydney (August 15) and Melbourne (August 22). So get training!