The New Year often comes with noticeable pressure for some people, as it usually includes a list of ways individuals plan to better themselves. Most commonly, near the top of that list is getting a little more exercise and activity into the schedule.  

The Estevan Road Runner Club, which originally started with eight to nine members in 2008, has adapted themselves to be ready for those just starting out, as the group itself is an accumulation of locals who just enjoy being active and taking advantage of the weather to walk and run with others.  

One of the founders of the club, Michella Prokop, explains how the members go about transitioning new comers into the club, and some of the coaching techniques and tips that they have found most successful in the past.  

“I think it is definitely something that people have to either have a hand in or encouragement from somebody. Or it's also really important to kind of read up and find out what you're doing,” she said. “You don't have to be an expert when you start. I certainly wasn't an expert when I started running, but I did find right away that I had to do some reading and find out what I was doing right and what I was doing wrong because I definitely had some challenges along the way.” 

Although 2021 has only been around for a few days so far, the club has already been seeing more people participating, whether it be members of their social media accounts posting more frequently, or those requesting that they receive some guidance from more seasoned members.  

"We often take turns running with new runners or walking with them so that they are included and to help them learn what to do. Any level, any age, any gender is welcome to come. It does help if they give us a little bit of notice that they’re brand new, so that we can sort of make plans to have somebody stick with them so that they're not left on their own, but certainly we've had those very, very beginner runners join us in the past and we're always happy to have new people.” 

She adds: “In the past we have had those brand-new runners that have come out and what we usually do with them is suggest that the run a couple of minutes and then walk a few minutes at their comfort level. They can put a time on it, or they can just decide what their comfort level is. As far as how many times they want to run, we just try to have a member to that. Either to run forward and come back to meet up with them or run and walk with them. It is always easier with other participants and to have that encouragement. And I do think we are fairly encouraging group.” 

“We are really conscious of that pandemic. We did actually stop gathering at the beginning of the pandemic and just sort of, you know, like everybody in the world waited to see what was happening. Made sure everything was saved. We didn't start gathering again till you know we were given the go ahead by the government.” 

Unwilling to let the pandemic ruin the fun, the club has turned to what they call “virtual runs.” 

“Because all races were cancelled this year, what we did is we planned our own races. Most races will still take your money and send you what they call their ‘swag bag’ and your medal and all of that. We still registered online for the runs that we usually participate in locally in the province.” 

“Then what we did is just had virtual races here where we gathered like 567 of us whatever. And we would actually still do the 5K. The 10K run and then that way we felt like we still earned our medals in our swag.” 

There is no requirement for anyone to join the club or media platforms, nor any previous experience needed.