Why do we find events irresistible, despite the price?

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I don’t hear my running friends complaining about the cost of entry fees, but we have all had this thought as we click ‘Pay now’: I could run this (or a very similar) course for free! I read an article written in 2011 that asked ‘Will we get to the point where people pay $50 to run 5km?’ Well, in 2019 we are there – some events are charging around $50 whether you choose the 5 or 10km run. So, if we keep paying the money we must be seeing value. There are clearly some tangible elements that add value […]

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Do something different to get past a plateau

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Runners are known for being goal-setters. I started running 4 years ago with the goals of fitness and weight maintenance. I was soon hooked, and I wanted to run further and faster, and to enter events – I didn’t want to miss out on the fun that my fellow Gunnies were having! However, my 5km time had plateaued. Pushing myself had sometimes tipped me into the injury zone, so that tactic was not working for me. Mixing with a community of goal-setting, go-getting runners, this frustrated me. I was still getting a lot of pleasure from running and from the […]

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The more things change, the more they stay the same

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You might have seen the historic video clip from around 2004 posted in our facebook group by Alan Fitzgerald, the founder of Gunn Runners. It’s definitely worth another look!

In this segment from the TV show Getaway, hosted by Dermott Brereton, the Gunnies were featured as an Albert Park institution, along with the Jolly Roger Sailing club. The video surely is a club treasure that has surfaced!

The clip shows the same Gunnies spirit that lives on in 2019 – a bunch of happy people intent on having fun and keeping fit. For some there is friendly rivalry, while others just want to complete the course in a respectable time and get back to the pub for a beer.

Gunn Runners has been going since 2003, when the club was started by a few friends, so the video is probably a year or so after the beginning. Nowadays we welcome a real mix of regulars and newbies, with people discovering us more readily through Meetup, facebook and our website. Some have even sought us out before they’ve have landed in Australia … straight off the plane to the Limerick Arms, so to speak! Over the 16 years, running clubs have blossomed in Melbourne, and we still have something unique to offer amongst them.

We are proud to call ourselves ‘Melbourne’s most social running group’ – the byeline might be new, but the video is evidence that this has always been the case.
Carolyn
Next month: Do something different to get past a plateau

Happy 15th Anniversary!

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Late January 2018 marks 15 years since Gunn Runners began. Some things haven’t changed – the regular Tuesday run has always been one lap of Albert Park – and the spirit of the club has always been one of friendliness, inclusiveness and encouragement of all running abilities. We’ve always met at a pub before the run and then encouraged people to stay for a drink and a meal afterwards. Over that time over 500 people have run with us and a few of the originals are still hanging around! We now meet at the Limerick Arms but this hasn’t always […]

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