Trying to get back in shape?? Looking for a running buddy or a fun way to stay fit?? Come to run club!!!
When/ Where do they meet? Run Club meets Mondays and Thursdays @ 7 AM and Tuesdays @ 5:30 PM at Fleet Feet Athens on Lumpkin ! They normally run 3-4 miles, but there are many options to turn around before or to go further!
How can I join? Follow the insta @healthycelebrations and in their bio there is a groupme link to join that will keep you in the loop and connect you with the whole run club community!
How did it start? Rachael Whittenburg, the creator of Healthy Celebrations, wanted to get more into running her sophomore year of college and train for a half marathon. She found that her runs were way more fun and productive when she had a friend by her side. So, every time she was going to run, she would text 3 different people so she never had to run alone. Her mom told her to join a running group, however, she could not think of one to join so she decided why not start one myself? She used her already active fitness account @healthycelebrations and slowly turned it into the running platform it is today. She first posted a graphic of a time and place to meet and texted a bunch of her friends to come and run. She then chose 3 times a week to run and stayed consistent with those dates, never missing or cancelling, and from there, it only grew. Rachael said that after a full semester of getting her friends to come, it was so exciting to see random people begin to show up that had heard about it through the Instagram or word of mouth.
One of Healthy Celebrations' most successful growth features has been their Instagram. They consistently post cute & fun pics, encapsulating the joy that comes from doing things with a community. Their pictures on social media make it hard not to want to come and see what the hype is all about.
My favorite part about this club is that everyone is celebrated. They do not post anything on running paces, food, weight loss, etc., as the main focus is to just move your body! Some people there have never considered themselves runners and are just there for a good time and to stay active and others run every day. Healthy Celebrations has a pace and a place for everyone.
Since it is so great, why not expand? After HC did a giveaway with HOKA last year, girls from other schools began reaching out to Rachael about starting run club in their own college towns. Healthy Celebrations first stretched to Kentucky and quickly spread, as it is now at 48 different colleges!!! Rachael has never even had to ask someone to start it at a school, they have always come to her. So inspiring to think of what success has come from what at first was just a desire to run with friends.
Rachael's favorite part of this journey has been the community it has created. So many friends have been made now all over the country, and I can't imagine how many miles have been run! Her sister also now leads a run club in Tennessee so she gets to do this with her too!
I hope you are now inspired to check out your local run club, and if Healthy Celebrations is not in your area, expand it to your city! Also, stay tuned for an upcoming SWAKE sponsored run!
At SWAKE, we value staying active with an uplifting community and Healthy Celebrations does just that!
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