Weight loss, boredom, an upcoming race, a bucket list goal or purely for fun – everyone has a different reason for running. Sometimes after gasping through the third mile, chugging a water bottle after a long run or begrudgingly waking up in the wee hours for training, one might think, “What’s the point?” The truth is, there’s no one good reason to run – and the Dublin Let Me Run team understands that.
Dublin resident Claire Houpt was at a parent-teacher conference meeting several years ago when she heard about the running organization Girls on the Run and wondered if there was a similar program for boys. She did some digging online and found Let Me Run, an organization based out of Charlotte, North Carolina. The organization trains coaches for youth boys’ running teams and helps teach confidence, good morals and expressing emotion.
Houpt contacted Let Me Run and it trained her into a well-versed coach so she could start her own team in Dublin.
“A couple of friends and I created a team and we had our first season,” she says. “Then it caught on thanks to Dublin parents and the network here. It spread to other regions in Columbus, with people getting trained to be coaches and starting their own Let Me Run teams.”
In 2016, Houpt officially became the regional director of Let Me Run. The program in Columbus has trained 1,138 boys and many volunteers, with around 14 runners on each team. Houpt says running teaches young boys to set goals and make social connections with each other, especially in such a supportive, motivating environment like an athletic team. After each run, coaches sit the boys down to go over one lesson, ranging from topics such as how to make a good apology to how to express anger in a healthy way.
Another Dublin resident, Holly Tocknell, and Gretchen Ardizzone, will be representing Let Me Run in the New York City Marathon on Nov. 3. While Tocknell says she’s not a born runner, she’ll do anything for the boys in Let Me Run because of how much they have inspired her. Her son, Luke, started on Dublin’s Let Me Run team in fourth grade, the next season she started coaching.
“I’m running for the boys – they are such a huge motivation to me,” Tocknell says. “I want to spread the message that everyone can run.”
Ardizzone is an experienced runner, having already completed five marathons. But she says this one is special because of who she is running for.
“I want to show the boys perseverance,” she says. “Running a marathon isn’t easy, and sometimes it goes through your head that you want to quit. I want to teach them to keep going.”
If you’ve ever run long distances, you know that it can be a great way to channel your emotions into exercise – I mean, if you’ve never shed a tear after a hard workout, you’re lying. Houpt points out that boys don’t always have that opportunity. The language society uses creates a stigma that boys need to act a certain way in order to fit in. Phrases like “Brush it off” or “Be a man” can heavily impact the way boys express emotions – or don’t.
“I want to teach boys how to handle emotions and how to create meaningful connections and relationships with their peers,” Houpt says. “We really need that now more than ever.”
Operations coordinator Amber Gibbs works in tandem with Houpt and says her favorite part of Let Me Run are the lessons they get to teach the boys.
“It’s not only about the physical goals,” Gibbs says. “We talk about school and personal goals. They write those down and put them in envelopes at the beginning of the season and get to open them at the end.”
Tocknell’s favorite part of being a coach and seeing the boys that start running with little confidence eventually cross the finish line with huge, proud smiles.
“That’s what keeps me coming back year after year,” she says. “Some kids come in with such doubt and to see them blossom really puts everything in perspective.”
Holly Tocknell
What’s your training schedule look like?
“I’m definitely a group fitness type of girl. I joined Marathoners in Training with Fleet Feet and now I run with them at least twice a week. I run about five days a week with a long run on Saturday. It’s really motivating having a group to push you and motivate you.”
Podcasts? Music? Silence?
“I always have my music on, but when I’m in a group I turn it down low so we can chat. When I get really tired and start doubt myself, I crank something up that gets me moving.”
Favorite Dublin spot to run?
“We live by a lot of bike paths, so I typically hop on one near Coffman High School or do hills at Cardinal Hill. When it’s hot I tend to run at night and stick to Dublin’s main roads.”
Advice for someone trying to run a 5k, half marathon or full marathon?
“Find a group – when you find your people, it makes a huge difference. And on those rough days, don’t give up on yourself. Just try again the next day. It doesn’t have to be a fast race – you can make your goal just finishing.”
Gretchen Ardizzone
What’s your training schedule look like?
“It’s intense. You definitely have to be committed. It takes a lot of mental and physical strength. Every week you have to commit to get your runs in, but I think it’s even more motivating this training season so know I’m doing this for someone else.”
Podcasts? Music? Silence?
“I run with MIT [as well as Holly] Being a part of that group was amazing. It gives you that support and I like to talk and listen to people while running – it helps the time go by when you’re out there running for four hours. During race day, I don’t know if I will listen to music, because honestly the race support while you’re running is enough.”
Advice to first-time racers?
“Anyone can do it. Oftentimes when I say I’ve run marathons, people respond with ‘Oh I could never do that’ and anyone can, it just requires training. You just have to put in the work to train. I encourage anyone to join a running group. It’s really great to have the support and know others that are trying to reach the same goal.”
Main motivation for running the NYC Marathon?
“I can tell you the day I cross the start line, I’ll have those boys in my head to motivate me.”
Mallory Arnold is an editor. Feedback welcome at marnold@cityscenemediagroup.com.
