[bikegirl72]

I'm a part of the PTA and I would love to get some of the other girls out there moving! I'm by no means an expert at running but I thought maybe I could offer to train with them for a 5k or something. I thought this would be a great way to help them shape up and to begin showing their children how great exercise can be for them and their children. We are an early childhood PTA so we all have children under the age of 5.<br><br>
How should I go about doing this?<br><br>
It's cold right now in Ohio but we have a local recreation center with TMs and an indoor track.

 

[altoids]

Just some thoughts..<br><br>
Is there a local 5K for a good cause you could pick as a goal, and try to get them excited about participating in?<br><br>
Then they would have a lot more motivation to get training.

 

[bikegirl72]

Our local 5k isn't until July. I'll be 8 months pregnant then and IDK if i want to run in the heat!<br><br>
However we do have a Mother's Day run in the neighboring city that would be perfect. I think that would give them all enough time to get comfortable with the idea of 3 miles, right?

 

[Root Finder]

Does the school hold a race of any kind?.. i got my two older daughters to run it with me ..and believe me that Was an accomplishment.. one did it the next year too <img alt="smile.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/smile.gif"> Good cause .. goes straight to the schools track team... lots of walking for most people but it got them out there <img alt="smile.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/smile.gif">

 

[ForceD]

<span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">I’ve been running for 32 years. What I’ll tell you is that 1) It’s really hard to convince people to take up running just for the sake of it, or even for their health. They have to want to do it themselves. Over the years I’ve made numerous attempts to get people interested in it. I’ve been successful 0.5 times. I say 0.5 because last year I inadvertently got my 12 year old daughter to start running. She does it but she doesn’t like it. But, your group approach might work better. <b>2) Making it competitive for beginners is usually a BIG turn off.</b> I wouldn’t mention the 5k…or any race/competition…until you have a dedicated group. Meet at the local h.s. track for some lite jogging sessions. Invite people to bring their kids. It’s easy to keep an eye on them at the track and they can run around and get exercise too. After a few meetings mention the 5k as a possibility and see what the reaction is. Good luck!</span></span><br><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">Dan</span></span><br><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">(Note: High schools are starting their spring track practices (after school). Meets will soon follow. Keep that in mind when you set a time to meet at the track.)</span></span>

 

[Gingerbread]

How about <a href="http://www.girlsontherun.org/" target="_blank">http://www.girlsontherun.org/</a> ? I don't know if they're active in your specific area, but it is worth checking out. I see they're in Ohio, I suspect they're active in the Cleveland area.

 

[Billy]

I think you have to let people seek you out. I like to talk about running but I have to remember that not everyone will share my enthusiasm. You can gently let it be known that you run. I like the angle of having races that coincide with my vacations. It's also good if they have a marquee race (maybe Flying Pig?) nearby that you can train for. People may then be interested (in running and/or in doing cool races) and talk to you about it. Then they may want to run with you. I've gotten a couple running buddies this way. It's a gradual process. People are funny about it.

 

[Gingerbread]

Ah, and the reason I suggested Girls on the Run is because even if your PTA friends don't necessarily care about running themselves, they might be interested if it can help their children. The GOTR folks might have ideas about how this can be presented...

 

[bikegirl72]

Well I posted on our PTA forum about getting together once a week to chit chat/walk/run/wog. So far some people are interested. We are an Early Childhood PTA with only about 30 members.<br><br>
I thought the Mother's Day run would be a great way to celebrate our Mom-ness. Some have already opted to walk the 1 mile or the 5k which is GREAT! Having the goal of a race for me makes it easier to get my ass out the door to train.<br><br>
For most of us in the PTA we forget to take time for ourselves and I know how much my running means to me. Luckily our track is at the local rec center which is open to everyone at all times. Once it's warm out it will be nice to go to the local parkway to move.<br><br>
thank you all for your help!

 

[Buxtehude]

Good job, bikegirl72!<br><br>
I'm getting together a group in our church next weekend for a fun run. I just started talking about it and found out that quite a few folks are into running. I guess this makes sense since Boulder is a big running and fitness town.<br><br>
All abilities are welcome and in the email I sent out, I announced it'd be between 3 and 6 miles depending on their ability.<br><br>
We'll see how it goes.

 

[bikegirl72]

How did it go Bux?<br><br>
Today was our first Fit Momma walk/run group. One woman showed up. But we talked (my husband and kids were with me) and walked 1.5 miles. We were happy because it was COLD out!<br>
I can't wait until next week. She told me she bought a treadmill and quit smoking. She really wants to do a 5k!<br><br><img alt="biggrin.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/biggrin.gif">

 

[Buxtehude]

That's awesome! I didn't realize how fun it would be to help motivate others.<br><br>
I've had mixed success with my group. Most folks who seemed enthusiastic haven't shown up. But one fella in his fifties shows up each Saturday, and in my last mass invitation email he replied back "this time I want to run that extra loop around the lake!"<br>
He's excited!<br><br>
Plus he has a slightly faster pace than I'm used to, so that challenges me nicely. He's a big ol' theologian brainiac, so we've had some interesting talks during our runs!

 

[augie09]

simple. give the girls some wine. then while everyone is talking, put on a reality show, like biggest looser or survivor in the background, then after a bit steer conversation towards "you know these people are doing a great job loosing weight, or interesting way to get in shape by starving and exercising on an island", then in a bit more, after more wine, suggest "hey, we should set a goal for ourselves, like a group 5K run, just a girl thing, I think it could be fun..."

 

[Alex]

Oh so taking advantage of drunk women is a good thing to do these days? As long as it is for exercise? <img alt="wink.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/wink.gif"> Hahaha sorry, I couldn't resist that one.<br><br><a href="http://www.kickrunners.com/forum/showthread.php?p=756974#post756974" target="_blank">http://www.kickrunners.com/forum/sho...974#post756974</a><br><br>
I'm looking at something similar but want to target the kids instead of the parents.

 

[bikegirl72]

I always take my kiddos with me. It's supposed to be an adult outing but my kids want to walk/run with me. <img alt="biggrin.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/biggrin.gif"> I love it.<br><br>
It was the 2nd week and the same girl came with me. I wogged a little with my daughter but my skirt kept falling down. My belly is offically too big for a skirt. ugh<br><br>
We walked by the park and saw a few other PTA women with their kids eating pizza. LMAO We kept on walking and were wondering why they weren't walking with us. ugh.<br><br>
I can't wait for next week.