The Ashtabula Distance Runners Board is pleased to announce the start of the third year of an ADR-sponsored community running program named “Run for Your Life” to use running to help men and women in recovery from chemical dependence.
The fall season of the 2021 Run for Your Life program begins Tuesday, September 7 at 6:30 pm.
Run for Your Life is a Couch to 5K program involving participants assisted through the Lake Area Recovery Center (LARC) and staying at Turning Point and New Beginnings. The program consists of men and women group runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6:30 pm and Sundays at 6 pm at the Donohue Center complex.
Each workout lasts for roughly 30 minutes, using a C25K app on mobile devices for guidance, with mostly walking in the beginning of the program and gradually replacing walking with some running during each workout until participants can run for about 30 minutes.
The goal for this session of the Run for Your Life program is for participants to complete the Bridge 2 Bridge 5K on Saturday Oct. 23 at no charge to the participants.
If that goal is met, the participants also will receive complimentary ADR memberships for the remainder of 2021 and for all of 2022 as a way to provide even more incentive to become part of a great and supportive group of people and to continue with an active and healthy lifestyle.
ADR is looking for volunteers to help lead the group runs. Can you help? During each session, the group runs are split into two groups during which time men run with at least two men volunteer leaders and women run with at least two women volunteer leaders. We complete laps that are almost a half mile each around the Donohue Center complex.
If you’ve been looking for a way for running to help you give back to others and make a difference, this is your opportunity. If you are interested, and we hope you are, please contact John Hutchison so we can get you on the schedule. We could use your help to continue to build this program!
The first two years of the Run for Your Life program have been a tremendous success with five different sessions completed and 45 participants finishing the program.
Run for Your Life alumni have been giving back to the program and help volunteer with the program.
Run for Your Life has also sparked an interest from others, not necessarily who were past program participants, but who are in recovery and have joined ADR as club members and have become a part of the running community and competing in races. It has been an amazing ADR program and we look forward to continued success.