Runners get ready for a group run on Oct. 6 outside Athens Running Company (ARC) on South Milledge Ave. ARC hosts weekly group runs in the afternoon on Thursdays. “They are here when it’s snowing out, when it’s cold, when it’s getting darker early and you don’t want to go for a run on your own, and it definitely keeps your fitness level up,” ARC regular costumer Nina Santes said. Photo by Lorena Limongi.
By LORENA LIMONGI – Staff Writer
Staff writer Lorena Limongi reflects on her experience engaging in a week of activities hosted by Athens Running Company that were low to no cost in an attempt to learn more about living a healthy lifestyle.
I pass in front of Athens Running Company on South Milledge Ave. at least twice a day, and it is very common for me to see runners every morning as I’m walking to school. I’ve always admired people who are able to prioritize their overall health and fitness, and are disciplined enough to exercise on a regular basis. As much as I tried before, however, I was never able to see myself as that kind of person.
Athens Running Company opened its Five Points establishment in August 2013, and was was initially located in the Bottleworks complex near downtown. ARC is locally owned and operated by entrepreneur Mark Schroeder, who first opened it in 2010 with his friend and business partner David Laggis.
“Starting Athens Running Company was something I had been thinking about for a long time,” Schroeder said. “I actually used to manage the Hub Bikes. And from talking to the customers of the bike shop, and just from my own personal experiences, I knew a running store could do well in this town, and I knew there was a niche that wasn’t been filled… When David came back to Athens, we were having the same ideas, I pitched it and we went for it.”
My mission for the week was to spend a week participating in all the free services they provide: donation-based yoga classes on Sundays at 5:30 p.m., group runs on Thursdays at 6:30 p.m., and their “fit process”, which is how they fit running shoes.
“If you just pick a random shoe off the wall you may have a five percent chance of getting the right fit. And it’s complicated, consumer information is not really out there, and it’s going to be impossible for you, by yourself, to pick the right shoe. So we’re helping people narrow down what we know it’s good for them using, you know, good proven science to try to get to where we think the best choice is. At the end of the day you gotta pick what you think is comfortable. I can narrow down a wall of 100 shoes to what I think are the three best options for you,” Schroeder said.
Above is the treadmill that staff members record the costumer running on above for 60 seconds during the fit process. After, they analyze each frame of the footage to select the best fitting pair of shoes. “We want to educate you on this stuff so you can understand why you need something different than somebody else does. It is more for your education than anything,” ARC owner Mark Schroeder said. Photo by Lorena Limongi
During the fit process, ARC films the customer running on a treadmill for about one minute, and then they break down the footage frame by frame. With that data, they analyze the client’s needs as a runner, and in a couple of minutes bring a limited number of shoe options for the customer to choose from.
“The other part of it is we know the stuff, and we want to educate you on (it) so you can understand why you need something different than somebody else does. It is more for your education than anything,” Schroeder said.
The first activity I participated was a donation-based yoga class for runners. When I got there, manager Brad Frink told me they would be having a different yoga session with guest yin-yoga instructor Jason Wurnig.
“Yin-yoga is trying to get into the fascicle and connective tissues, whereas yang-yoga is getting into the yang system which are considered muscle fiber and circulatory systems,” Wurnig said. “In yang-yoga there is a lot more motion and a lot more muscle engagement because you are trying to strengthen it and tone it. Yin takes long held traction, so that is why in yin-yoga we are holding these postures for so long. We’re using time to get into those deep tissues.”
Participating in that first yoga class was a very interesting experience. There wasn’t a lot of muscle engagement, but we had to hold uncomfortable postures for as long as three minutes, while engaging our breath. At one point, I realized I was about to burst into tears right in the middle of class, so I wasn’t surprised when later Wurnig shared with me the emotional nature of practice.
“If you are in a particular posture, and your mind just starts racing, that’s maybe telling you something. We can actually lock memory into some kind of muscle engagement, or some kind of tightness. So when you release that through some kind of yoga stretch, sometimes it can get your mind very active, because it brings a lot of memory.” Wurnig said. “That’s part of the mind body connection. People can get pretty emotional in these postures, every once in awhile someone will actually break down in tears.”
Every Thursday ARC hosts group runs open to the community. According to their website, all paces, ages, and walks of life are welcome. They print a three-mile and a five-mile route as options for runners.
The day I went to Athens Running Company to go on a group company followed a very emotionally draining week. Runs usually begin at 6:30 p.m. An hour before, I was sitting at a coffeeshop nearby, observing ARC’s establishment from a window, contemplating the idea of going back home. But sense of responsibility told me to finish the task I had started. I walked back home, changed to my sports gear, and came back just in time for the run to start and I couldn’t be any more glad that I did.
“The nice thing about these group runs is that they are here when it’s snowing out, when it’s cold, when it’s getting darker early and you don’t want to go for a run on your own. They are here so you can run with them,” ARC regular customer Nina Santes said.
Santes moved to Athens in 2012 to start school at UGA and get a doctorate in speech therapy, and soon after became a regular at ARC. According to Santes, fitness is a priority in her life, and her schedule surrounds her fitness routine.
“I make sure that during the day I know what chunk of time I have to go for a run. And sometimes it’s rough, sometimes it’s really late at night, when I’d rather just go home, have dinner and go to bed, but I always make time for it,” Santes said.
By the end of the run, I felt accomplished. I had barely done anything sports related for months, so I thought there was no way I would be able to keep up with the group, but ARC’s website was right: there were runners of all paces and ages. It didn’t take me long to find someone that I could keep up with for most of the run. No one there was strict, or desperate to lose or maintain their weights. No one there was trying to be better than anyone. I never felt so welcome in a fitness environment before.
My takeaway after a week of being emerged on a more fit lifestyle was illuminating. At the start of this experience I was convinced there was no way I could maintain a fitness routine with my busy senior schedule. But as the week progressed it became evident that personal fitness is all about determination and finding the time.
