• A little on SRC’s trail and online presence •
[2 MIN READ]
It seems to me that Shawmont Running Club is in an interesting space, what with people coming and going; many with very brief tenures (ShawmontRunningClub.com). (Or maybe that’s just me and the club’s always been that way. Anyhoo.) I’ve been a part of the club since 2012, which might seem like a long time, more than a decade, but other active members have been been faithful for several decades, BB Betsy, Dr. Ned, Kenny Baby, Quietman Tom, and Teddio.
Other members might be less-active to inactive but they still like to stay connected, such as by spectating via the SRC Facebook group (Facebook). You can gauge their presence there because they’re popping out of the woodwork to engage. Over the last 6 months, that’s been folks like Java Mon, Pam, and Weezinator, among others. So, they contribute to the feeling of community online.
As a contributor and runner who’s long been interested in community building (I call it “Communitizing” [iCandybyWangC.com and elsewhere unless otherwise stated].), it’s interesting to watch the ebbs and flows of SRC relative to communities that I’ve been a part of, including Jenkintown Running Club’s Growlers Group Run (RunORC.com; iCandybyWangC.com). That group took a significant dip in the late 20-teens and started a rebound that the pandemic couldn’t thwart. The feeling of community seems to have contributed to its healthy attendance now: 10±5. GGR has its own version of SRC’s Newsletter, but it’s a pared down form; the weekly run message. Still, the pictures and Cerebruns (a Ruminations fraternal twin [ShwmontRunningClub.com]) contribute positively to that sense of community. And while people aren’t actually interacting online like SRC’s community, Facebook and the GGR’s webpages are still a factor as people visit and read.
SRC’s Facebook Group started in 2011. As for the website, it took its current form in 2023. That form allows visitors to get a feel for the community now by looking at the ZY Newsletter since then (ShawmontRunningClub.com). An analysis of the usage stats show that people continue to engage with the website through Facebook. Some even happen upon SRC’s website directly just by searching, although I’ve never heard of anyone running with the group because they found it that way. Still, the number of people hitting the website continues to grow so eventually someone will join us with the testimony of having done an online search to find it.
At whatever numbers the club hovers and however Facebook and the website contribute, may the feeling of community in whatever space the club happens to be sitting continue to be a vital part of it.
–CtCloser (Calvinthe) “Negative Split or Positive Splat #dothedue (iCandybyWangC.com)
FINE PRINT ¶Text by Calvin Wang (Wäng), CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (CreativeCommons.org). ¶Cross-published: Facebook Shawmont Running Club (ZY Weekly Newsletter 2/28/26 [Facebook]), Shawmont Running Club website (ShawmontRunningClub.com), Ruminations by CtCloser. ¶This website posting: Rumination with added caption.
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