Finding Mr Right

We are now two women in our team. We’re new to this and we’re not fast really but we do enjoy racing. We’d like to find a guy to join our team but how do we find a man, or two, who is not so competitive that we frustrate him, or that he’ll try to be the alpha dog and will frustrate us by trying to push us harder and faster. It seems nearly impossible; so how do we go about finding Mr Right?

[Lisa] There are super guys out there who won’t act like alpha dogs, provided you’ve all got the same race goals and intentions. It’s  the same with any teammate really – it takes a while to find the right combination (years sometimes!) and also this changes as your fitness improves and your motivations and goals change from what they are now. Mr Right may be a Mr Right Now.

I can suggest that you meet and mingle through the sprint races and also at AR Club evenings (open to everyone,www.arclub.wordpress.com). And then just take a chance for a longer race on a dude who seems to match what you’re looking for. Over time you’ll find one (or two) that works for you. I also find that during races you get to meet people while out there on the course who are a similar pace to you; it’s a great way to see who is out there for you to recruit to your team.

The guys that race with you should be stronger and faster – it’s genetics. Any girls stronger and faster than their guys need to upgrade. What you’re looking for at the moment are guys who are happy to race non-competitively. They’ll certainly lend a helping hand here and there, but without being pushy.  Discuss your race objectives before the race to make sure you’re all on the same page and then just give them a try.