The Running Club at St. Joe’s is making a comeback after a multiple year hiatus.
Club President Lauren Bernic ’23 wants to revive the Running Club to offer students a chance to participate within a community of people who share an interest in running, regardless of their prior experience. According to Bernic, the short-term goal is to get people to come to the first meeting and show them how engaging a running community can be.
“The idea is to get a group of people to run together,” Bernic said. “A lot of people enjoy running with others.”
Maura Farrell ’23 said she knows of a lot of other students who are looking for a group to run with.
“It is something that would really attract a lot of people,” Farrell said. “There just is not something like that on campus at the moment.”
According to Angie Nagle, assistant athletics director for Campus Recreation, the club can provide a path back into running for those who ran in high school, or an introduction to running for those who have never run competitively before.
“It can be a more recreational club where students are just running because they like it, or you can have the people that want to enter races and compete at a higher level,” Nagle said. “You can have multiple levels within the club.”
The club will also work to create a community where runners of all skill levels feel comfortable and can achieve their ultimate goal of becoming better runners with the help of others, according to Farrell.
“How many people are looking for something where they can train for an event or want to get into running, or improve their running, or are looking to get back into running?” Farrell said. “Having a community of people who are trying to achieve the same goal makes it so much easier.”
Farrell added that in spite of the restrictions the club may face due to the coronavirus pandemic, she remains confident in students’ interest for a community of runners.
“This semester is going to be pretty weird obviously, having to be socially distanced with the coronavirus,” Farrell said. “But if we can get momentum with a group of people who are interested, that would be a really great thing.”
Bernic said the Running Club can take many different directions, depending on the interest of its members.
“I would love to do some 5K runs as a group or go to a club running meet sometime in the next two years,” Bernic said. “Even if it ends up as more of a recreational thing, that is okay as well.”
Farrell said the club is looking to build momentum this spring with a group who is interested and can carry the club into the fall.
“In the fall we can make it more serious and more of an actual team,” Farrell said. “We could sign up for big events together whether it is 5K runs, or even half marathons.”
The club’s first informational meeting will be held via Zoom on Wednesday, Feb. 24 at 8 p.m. and is open to any student who may be interested in getting involved.
