CityView Magazine

Happy Feet I sports Running for the fun of it By Kelly Twedell f you���ve seen a large group of runners on and my body, and little accomplishments,��� Liston said. the dirt trails around Smith Lake; pounding through the covered bridge of the Cape Fear River Trail; or jogging down the sidewalks as traffic whizzes by on Fayetteville���s busy Morganton Road, then you���ve probably seen the Fayetteville Running Club. The members are all ages, even babies in jogging strollers, but they all sport their colorful running t-shirts ��� sometimes under rain jackets �����and they all come cheerful and ready to run. The Fayetteville Running Club was established in 2008 and the non-profit group certainly meets their mission of making ���Fayetteville Healthier through Running.��� Thomas Dosier, the club���s secretary, said that attendance and participation are always the highest right after the new year, and again during the early days of spring and fall. ���This time of year only the most dedicated runners are part of the group,��� he said on a cold, rainy day in February. Running with the group since January, April Wagner said she likes the safety that the group offers as it allows her to run in places where she wouldn���t likely run alone. The running group is flexible and has adapted to different ability groups as far as time and distance are concerned. Their ���Welcome Team��� helps new runners find a pace and distance comfortable for them. Dosier said the group���s ���meet-ups��� are often modified to accommodate the people in attendance, typically followed by some socializing, but the routes or workouts are posted on their site. Military spouse Rosie Liston is new to the group, though she���s not new to running �����or to most any form of exercise. ���I do everything ��� Zumba, Spin, but with running it���s just me ���I personally rate Fayetteville as an awesome place to run, but it may not be so much if you are doing it on your own,��� said Dosier. ���We have routes and meet-ups from Hoke County to Harnett County and are always looking to add routes and meet-ups.��� As an avid runner who pushes himself to the limits, he cares about the interests of others too. Dosier���s goal this year is to share the gift of running with as many people as he can and considers it a year of service, to give back, by providing support to other runners, which includes encouragement at water stations during local races. ���My secondary goal for the year is breaking 20 minutes on the 5K and leading a small team of newerto-fitness folks to complete a Spartan Obstacle Race this year. We are the FayetteNam Bombers!��� Dosier said. The club also offers family memberships for members of the same household. ���Parents sharing the gift of running with their children can certainly lead to a lifelong healthier lifestyle and we encourage and support that,��� Dosier said. ���Recently one of our younger members told me before a race she was there to get a medal, and she won her age division; the glow on her face as she returned from the podium was worth more than a thousand XBoxes.��� The running club conducts a monthly meeting with guest speakers or seminars related to running topics, followed by a social event. Membership is open to all, but members under the age of 18 need a parent���s permission in order to participate. Find the Fayetteville Running Club on Facebook, they���d love to have you as a guest on their next meet-up or monthly meeting. CV CityViewNC.com | 41

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