Focusing on a healthy and active lifestyle
By Adelle Ellis, Times Reporter
Adelle Ellis Photo
The two programs, which haven’t been offered by the Strathmore Run Club since 2017, will offer ample opportunities for interested participants to have fun and get active.
Back by popular demand is the Off the Rails 5.2 kilometre (km) walk and run on June 15 at the Strathmore agricultural grounds. The free race is open for anyone to join and registration for the event opens April 15.
In the weeks leading up to Off the Rails, the Strathmore Run Club will also be offering a free 10-week Learn to Run program for those interested in learning to run for the first time or those interested in getting back into the sport
“The Learn to Run program is specifically for people who are just starting to run or are returning,” said Diana Baird, club president. “The idea is we start off very, very slow and we use the walk-run method. Week one we run for one minute and we walk for two minutes, and then we repeat that each week and the repetitions decrease but the amount of time running increases.”
Baird said the program is designed for participants to learn to run in a safe environment and that it starts off slow so that every participant is at the same level and they don’t exhaust themselves right away.
Several run club members will join the learning runners, donning bunny ears for encouragement, to answer questions and to promote the number one rule of not passing the head “bunny” – a rule to ensure runners don’t go too fast and lose stamina.
Each week, every participant is encouraged to complete two weekly runs on top of the weekend group run, to be sure they are capable to move on to the next level. By week nine of the program, runners will run for 10 minutes followed by a one-minute walk.
The tenth week of the program will be a five km race, which intentionally coincides with the Off the Rails race, giving Learn to Run participants a local race to test out their newly created running skills.
The Learn to Run program has been offered three times in the past, and Baird hopes to see at least 20 new runners join in the program. There is no cost and the time commitment is short.
“We definitely want to promote general health and wellness. We think it’s awesome that we have the space here and we can go run and be physically active; it’s good physically and mentally, it gives a place where you’re not intimidated,” she said.
Baird said she runs for health reasons to keep herself and her bones strong, and every runner has their own reason for running. Some benefits of running include losing weight, as an aid in depression recovery, companionship and meeting new friends, learning how to compete in marathons and finding a running buddy.
Baird, who is the oldest runner in the group, claims a person is never too old to start and that as long as they are able to walk for 30 consecutive minutes and have no extreme health problems or concerns, they would be able to join in the Learn to Run program.
“It mainly comes down to your willingness to learn something and you need to stick with it. Running doesn’t happen in one week, you need to build slowly and this is something we really emphasize to the new runners,” said Baird, who added that running is a great sport to take up as the only equipment needed is a good pair of running shoes, and it is a sport that can be done all year long – whether outside or at the new Sobeys Indoor Walking Track.
An information and registration night for the Learn to Run program will take place on April 2 at 7 p.m. at Legends Restaurant. Interested participants can get all the information they need and can also sign a waiver form to join the group.
The Learn to Run program will start on April 14 at 8:15 a.m. at Starbucks, prior to the Strathmore Run Club starting their runs at 9 a.m.
For more information about the program, join the Strathmore Run Club on Facebook or send an email to
runstrathmore@outlook.com.