• Not mine •
[2 MIN READ]
The Growlers Group Run “belongs” to Jenkintown Running Company. The store opened in 1981 and hung out a shingle inviting runners to use it as a starting place for weekly workouts. I didn’t start running with the group until the year I started running, period, in 2011.
Groups change and GGR is no exception. A.A.Ron commented recently about how much it’s changed just since he started running with the club. That was 3 years ago. As I look at the folks who were attending then, I see no one who regularly attends now except Adelaide, Train Dave, and me. That means I’m the only constant going back to 2011. Everything else is prehistory, as far as I’m concerned.
I don’t consider myself to be the captain of the club. I don’t consider myself to be the coach. I’m not one of the store’s paid staff. Personally, I’ve settled on the title “Anchor.” I’m the entity that’s kind of stayed around like a large stabilizing object stuck in the mud. I don’t recruit, I just show up every Wednesday at the running store. Recruitment comes through the store staff who tell all the customers about the Wednesday night group and the store website that also points to it.
Although, I have no formal control over who comes and goes, I do recognize that the way I come across helps to shape its feel. In that regard, I turn on an inviting and accepting personality every week for those who come. I learn the names of runners as quickly as I can and make the effort to get to know each runner as individually as possible. The weekly run message, of which this little thought piece is one feature, is a reflection of that effort, as well.
Who, little ol’ me? Oh, I’m nobody. I’ll just plant myself. Here.
The point is that GGR is only mine to the degree that I contribute to its personality. To that end, I strive to be the epitome of welcome and warmth for runners that are looking for a local group to keep themselves motivated. My compensation is that the group keeps me motivated in return.
-CtCloser (Calvinthe), “Negative split or positive splat” #dothedue
FINE PRINT ¶Text and photos (unless otherwise stated): Calvin Wang (Wäng), CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. ¶Cross-posted: (1) Facebook JRC Growlers Group Run (2024’09’25’W Run Message), (2) GGR email list, (3) Cerebruns by CtCloser. ¶This website posting: Cerebrun with added caption and picture.
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