by Kate Seegraves
It started with “two fat guys running.”
That’s what Dublin resident Nanda Nair and Westerville resident Dan Gorner called themselves when they decided to try a new exercise regimen.
During the winter of 2007, Nair and Gorner began running together in the morning, starting at the Dublin Community Recreation Center and going a few miles at a time. The original goal, they say, was to lose a little extra weight. But it soon became much more than that.
In the past two years, “2FGR” (which stands for “2 Fat Guys Running”) has grown into a bona fide club. About 20 men and women of all ages from around Central Ohio have joined Nair and Gorner in their quest for fitness. Leaving the center five days a week at 5:30 a.m. (their slogan is “5:29.59” to reflect their punctuality), the members run varying distances at fast or slow paces. They also run one day on weekends at 7 a.m.
Nair and Gorner have transformed themselves from running tenderfoots into marathon competitors, as have many of their fellow runners.
“I wouldn’t run a step without the group,” says Mark Bachman, a 2FGR member and former group president. “I never ran at all until I was invited to start running with them. Since then I’ve run five days a week for a year and a half.”
2FGR and groups like it provide a unique experience for community members: exercise wrapped into a social activity. The camaraderie and accountability found in such settings, members say, make their participation worthwhile.
2FGR prides itself on being inclusive. There are no membership costs, and new runners are recruited through word of mouth. Members encourage friends, family and acquaintances to join the group for a morning run, and newcomers need not worry about being left behind.
“We’re an open group,” Bachman says. “We’ve had people show up at 5:30 in the morning who aren’t regulars, and there’s always someone for them to run with. Our message is that we welcome anyone to come out.”
Another running club in Dublin also grew from similarly humble beginnings. The Speedy Sneakers Club, a run/walk organization for women only, started with eight members in March 2008. The club was formed by Dublin resident Peter Engelbrecht as a way to help his wife Misty become physically active.
“I’m for sure not one of these exercise people. I’m more into reading and music. But Peter was always interested in running and exercise,” says Misty of her husband, a lifelong runner who competed in college track. “We always looked and tried to find ways to merge his interests with my own.”
Peter says Misty’s interest spurred him into creating the group, of which he is the primary organizer but not a member.
“I wanted my wife to have a place to work out with people who had similar abilities and were at a similar fitness level,” he says. “She didn’t like going to running events, where there were a lot of very good runners and walkers. She wanted a place where there were people similar to her.”
Since the club began, Engelbrecht has dedicated many hours to growing the club, attending running events and passing out flyers and getting the word out to fitness professionals in the Central Ohio area. He says the group is intended for women like Misty who are in search of a path back to fitness.
“It’s not marketed to elite women runners,” he says. “These women have been out of running for a while, or maybe they’ve never run or walked before. Many haven’t run for 10 years or so, or they’ve been out since they had kids. They’re all pretty much close in fitness level to each other, and it’s made them feel comfortable.”
In its two years of existence, Speedy Sneakers membership has grown to more than 30 members, Engelbrecht says, with most members coming from the Dublin community. For the $55 annual fee, members get a running shirt and participate in weekly runs (the club runs on Tuesday and Saturday mornings in the summer, and on Saturday mornings only in the winter).
Engelbrecht also makes a point of bringing speakers to address the group about other aspects of fitness. For example, the group has heard from physical therapists about stretching and healthy eating from nutritionists. In keeping with the group’s demographics, most speakers are professional women.
“Hearing these things from a professional helps them a lot,” he says. “We want to give them the educational pieces to help them understand why they should be doing things and try to make them well rounded.”
Both Speedy Sneakers and 2FGR maintain active Web sites where members can stay connected to their group and to each other. These sites include schedules and other information, from links to area fitness stores to message boards to event and birthday calendars.
According to organizers, members also connect socially outside of runs or meetings. 2FGR members routinely gather for happy hours or to celebrate a fellow member’s birthday, and many participate in Central Ohio running events. The group is also organizing its first 5K run sometime in May, which will begin and end at the DCRC and raise money for the National or Central Ohio Down Syndrome Societies.
The support and fellowship of other group members has made a huge difference in Misty Engelbrecht’s life. After taking time off from Speedy Sneakers to have a baby, Engelbrecht is once again lacing up and ready to go.
“It has helped get me into a pattern of behavior,” she says. “I’m not very disciplined on my own, but knowing the other ladies are there waiting on me is extra motivation to get out.”
Interested in joining these or other fitness groups in and around the Dublin community? Here are some links to check out:
2FGR: www.familylobby.com/2fgr/default.asp
Speedy Sneakers: www.dublin.speedysneakers.com
GO Kickball: www.gokickball.com
Speedy Sneakers (for women): www.speedysneakers.com
Central Ohio Hiking Club: www.ymcacolumbus.org/hike
Moms in Motion fitness groups: www.momsinmotion.com
Columbus Outdoor Pursuits: www.outdoor-pursuits.org
Columbus Running Club: www.columbusrunningclub.com
Central Ohio Runners: www.centralohiorunners.org
Columbus Roadrunners Club: www.columbusroadrunners.org
Kate Seegraves is editor of Dublin Life.