Run Norman

Norman is a town with 102,000 fulltime residents and close to (or over) 20,000 college students that is situated in a state that has single-handedly produced more world-class distance runners than Kenya (pending "factual" verification), but it doesn't have an active running group:

Running in solitude is cool in itself--don't get me wrong. But too much alone time is a bad thing. Strictly running alone can be detrimental...you go bat crap crazy after awhile (good thing? bad thing?) and, more importantly, lose interest. I think more can be achieved with some sort of group dynamic...a network of sorts, if nothing else. It's so much nicer (more entertaining, less monotonous, etc.) to have someone or a group to run with from time to time. And people run in Norman; I see them all the time. So, why not band together and log some miles? Why not train for some 5ks? 10ks? Half-marathons? Marathons? Beyond?!

And why stop there? There are always people who are looking to get in shape. So, why not give them a group that would offer support and an opportunity to do so through running in the company of others like themselves?

I'm really open to any suggestions as to how often we would meet (weekend warrior runs, mid-week excursions, both?...) and how far we would run (ideally it would be nice to have enough people so that all skill, distance, and pace levels would be covered. But those who wanted to go farther could always add on. And we could even set up some speed sessions or quicker runs during the week and some longer stuff on the weekends...who knows?!). I know some pretty cool loops around town (some that would even get us off the pavement), and I'm sure you do too. We can share!

So, invite your:
Friends
Siblings
Neighbors
Moms
Professors
Dads
Grandmas (it's never too late...that's all I'm saying)
Dogs?
etc., etc.

And come run!

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Following are some common excuses for not joining this group and reasons why they are wildly invalid:

1. "I haven't run in years..." or "I have never run and wouldn't be able to keep up."
*Not an excuse becuz: That's exactly what this group is all about! If you have any interest at all, come and run with me (or, hopefully, us). I'd like to start slow with some shorter runs(with add-ons if people so desire) and then build up to some longer stuff; I'm not looking to get anyone hurt right off the bat.

2. "I'm too fast for group running."
*Not an excuse becuz: Then just come get some longer miles in with us. Or come for faster runs during the week and prove it.

3. "I'm not a world-class athlete, and I'd slow people down."
*Not an excuse becuz: Except for that aforementioned lengthy string of Oklahoma elites (what?!), who is a world-class athlete? I don't want the prime focus to be on speed. That's not to say that we can't move at times. But I don't want every run to turn into a race. I want to generate enough interest to ensure that everyone of every skill and fitness level has someone to run with.

4. "I drink excessive amounts of alcohol on the weekends and am vomiting and/or recovering when you all would be running."
*Not an excuse becuz: That's cool, man. Keep living the dream! We could run during the week or we could run later in the day on the weekends...like I said: I'm open to suggestions. Or you could be BA and run hungover anyway!

5. If you are involved with your church on the weekends, see excuse #4 and replace "drink excessive amounts of alcohol" with "pray a lot" and replace "am vomiting and/or recovering" with "am at church."
Not an excuse becuz: Once again, our running schedule could be as versatile as necessary.

6. "I like eating doughnuts and drinking juice in my freetime."
*Not an excuse becuz: I think we'd have you covered. I'd like to set the group up so that doughnuts and juice could be served after the runs? I don't know...still tossing ideas around.