Are you ready to run?
If that question makes you hum and haw and dip deeper into your bag of potato chips, you just may be the perfect candidate for the spring Run to Footstock Clinic 2019 beginning next week through local running club, Red Rock Runners Cochrane.
Local club staple Pete McBreen will lead the program – bringing the fun into run and building strength and fitness levels on an individual basis for those attempting the five-kilometre or 10-km runs that take place on June 2 this year.
"The club runs all year-round, but every spring we run a clinic that leads up to Footstock," explained McBreen, whose been lacing up since 1976 and running the clinic for the club for the last six years.
Footstock is a signature Cochrane running event for kids and adults, including the five-kilometre and 10-km for adults, and a kids triathlon events. Last year approximately 500 adults and kids took part in the scenic run along with Bow River.
Membership has doubled in the last couple of years, with some 50 participants dusting off their running shoes from the drudges of winter, with a handful of new runners keeping on with the club past Footstock each year.
One size fits every-body is definitely not the club's mantra.
"Much of what I do is get people to build very, very slowly – a lot of drills, play on hills ..." explained McBreen. "The idea is to build strength in the legs and then you can start to run longer ... when you first start out, your bones, your joints – they're not ready."
McBreen said that injury too often results from excitement and putting fitness level ahead of body readiness. He explained that it takes eight to nine weeks for the tendons to build strength properly, often taking longer than the muscles – particularly in those who are fit in other sports.
"It's such a great club and such a fantastic opportunity for those who are afraid to try running," said three-year running club member Brenda Samborski – who is readying for her first full marathon this year.
"The clinic helps people gain the confidence needed to become a runner."
The 11-week clinic comes with a $65 price tag and includes 2019 running club membership, as well as a club T-shirt. Note that the clinic does not use the "run-walk" training method.
The first meeting takes flight on Wednesday, March 20 at 6:30 p.m. from Cochrane Community Yoga.
The clinic includes Monday and Wednesday evening training session at 6:30 p.m. and Saturday morning long runs at 8:30 a.m. Participants are encouraged to take part in as many of the weekly sessions as they can and to run three days each week, either with the clinic or making it up on their own.
Print off, scan and email forms online and bring your cheque made payable to Red Rock Runners on March 20.
Visit redrockrunners.ca to learn more.
