Getting in the Groove

We're only a month into 2015, and many of our spring training programs are already kicking it into high gear. As we brave the winter weather and push toward our goals—mileage, speed, weight loss—it's exciting to look back at how far we've already come, and imagine how far we can go!

IN THE BEGINNING
No Boundaries, our beginner 5K program, kicked off on a blustery 20 degree morning. The adverse conditions allowed us to see early on how dedicated this group is! For many of our runners, each week brings new personal records for distance. We conquered "Mt. Leonard" on our second week. This group is intense and fabulous. Always smiling, always cheering, always inspiring! 

THE LONG RUN
Nationwide statistics show that the the number of runners training for, and running, half marathons, is growing by leaps and bounds. And we're excited to see that trend playing out right here in Raleigh. Our spring Run Happy Marathon & 1/2 Marathon program is our largest to date. We got off to a good start on a perfect night in early January. (What a contrast to last year's streak of chilly, rainy Tuesday night runs!) This is such a fun and dedicated group of runners! As we train for Rock 'n' Roll Raleigh, I've been so impressed to see everyone's progress in just 4 short weeks. The group has covered the longest distances many have ever run before. This Saturday, our half marathoners will be taking on 7 miles; our marathoners will be running 12. The energy at our workouts is contagious, and our amazing coaches and mentors continue to shake things up to keep our workouts interesting and educational.

REVVING UP
This is our second season of our Speed Series, and this time we've made the program 12 weeks instead of 4. We start and end our program with a one mile time trial to measure progress, and last season we saw anywhere from a 20 second to TWO MINUTE improvement on runners' mile times! Many went on to set PRs in their fall 5Ks, half marathons, and marathons. One of our runners even qualified for Boston! Our first workout was dark, freezing, and rainy...and EVERYONE showed up. I cannot wait to see how everyone does after 12 weeks of fun!

TON OF FUN
We celebrated the kickoff of our first ever Ton of Fun program on January 3rd with a successful open house that included a high-energy group workout with Empower Personalized Fitness, as well as motivation from The Meatballs, and healthy snacks from Roots Hummus. I had the honor of meeting most of our participants that day, and thanks to them (and especially The Meatballs Sara & Jenny), we had a blast! Many of our TOF people are also participating in our other programs, so we have the pleasure of seeing their progress throughout the week! After three weeks, our group has lost a total of 173lbs!

In just 4 weeks since our programs started, I can tell 2015 holds a lot of wonderful and exciting things for our runners. We are so excited to be a part of their journey!

Our next program kickoff will be Make it a Mile, on February 23rd.
For more information about other upcoming programs, click here.