Group Dynamic Running with others is good for your speed
A friend in need can be a friend in speed
HERE’S AN EASY WAY to run faster: recruit a buddy – or a whole bunch of them. According to the theory of social facilitation, performing a familiar task alongside others can help you raise your game. It’s called the ‘co-action effect’. One study, from the University of Essex, found that the presence of a competitor drove athletes to a faster time trial finish. Other recent research, from the University of Pennsylvania, US, suggests competition motivates people to stick to exercise. In the study, exercisers who were told their session attendance was being recorded did almost twice as many sessions over 11 weeks as those left to their own devices. Time to attack that Strava segment...