5 Ways to Maintain Your Long-Distance Fit Friendships

A few months ago, I moved to Salt Lake City. Though I was glad to get out of the Phoenix heat, I wasn’t so okay with leaving behind my circle of friends. In Arizona, I was only one text message away from a workout buddy; here in Utah, my contacts list is empty. I’ve tried — and, if I must be honest, struggled — to make friends in my new neighborhood. Though I haven’t quite found my scene yet, I know it will happen eventually.

In the meantime, I’ve really been missing the social aspect of working out with my BFFs — after all, nothing makes a long run go by faster than good conversation. It’s also clear my motivation has taken a dive. After years of chasing my best friend up a mountain on a bike or racing my swim buddies in the pool, training alone has become a lackluster event.

A few (hundred) miles doesn’t have to mean the end of my fit friendships! To maintain contact with the people I love back in Phoenix (and to combat feelings of loneliness in my new city), I’ve found ways to adjust our dynamic to fit our new long-distance relationships.

1. “Share” a meal. Shortly after I moved, my friend Heidi and I did a month-long smoothie and salad challenge to get each other back on track with healthy eating habits after a long (and gluttonous!) off-season. To keep each other accountable, we would snap a photo of that day’s eats and text it to the other person. We couldn’t cook healthy meals together, but we certainly shared a lot of good eats over those 30 days. 

2. Run 100 miles together (while apart). A little friendly competition can go a long way! Set a monthly challenge — to swim a total of 20,000 meters in a week or to accumulate the most elevation gain in a month of running — and use Strava to upload and share your data from your fitness tracker. This way, all your fit friends can participate in a challenge, no matter where they live.

3. Find an app for that. Many new apps have been developed recently to bring a social element to training. My favorite, FunFit, tracks steps, distance, calories burned and time spent in active efforts. Unlike other apps, however, FunFit can directly link to your friends with the app and keep track of their progress using leaderboards. It’s not as intense as other fitness apps — the focus is on simply being active, not being the fastest or climbing the biggest mountains — so it’s a perfect way to support friends and family new to fitness (even from 2,000 miles away).

4. Plan a racecation. Identify the midpoint between you and your BFF and look for races coming up in that area — or better yet, plan a shared vacation at a cool destination race! In addition to giving you a time and place for a fun reunion, it sparks the motivation to check off all the boxes on your marathon-training plan.

5. Skype a sweat sesh. It’s never been easier to video chat, thanks to FaceTime and Skype. If you’re both cyclists or triathletes, motivate each other while you’re both on the trainer (obviously not while you’re riding on the road). If you and your BFF are yogis, use your webcam to provide feedback on each others’ form. CrossFitters? Set a timer and do an AMRAP challenge before gabbing away.

What’s your favorite way to keep a long-distance relationship going with your best fit friend? —Susan