Cowlitz Valley Runners | A Southwest Washington Running Organization

Join Us in Making Our Walking/Running Club Thrive:

Sat, 11 Jan 2025 17:24:02 -0800

Are you passionate about fitness, community, and making a difference? Our Walking/Running Club is more than just a group of people moving together—it's a vibrant community that promotes health, connection, and personal growth. To keep this momentum going and ensure every member enjoys a supportive and engaging experience, we need dedicated volunteers like you!

Why Volunteers Are Essential

Running a successful walking/running club requires more than lacing up sneakers and hitting the trail. From organizing weekly meet-ups to planning events and ensuring member safety, there are countless tasks that need enthusiastic hands and caring hearts. Volunteers are the backbone of our club, and their support allows us to:

Coordinate Events: Help organize fun runs, themed walks, and seasonal challenges that keep members motivated.
Ensure Safety: Serve as route marshals, first aid assistants, or pace leaders to create a safe environment for all participants.
Promote the Club: Assist with social media, community outreach, and marketing to attract new members and keep current ones engaged.
Foster Community: Organize social gatherings, support new members, and create an inclusive atmosphere where everyone feels welcome.

The Rewards of Volunteering

Volunteering isn't just about giving—it's about growing and gaining. When you step up to help our club, you also gain valuable personal and professional benefits:

Build Lasting Friendships: Connect with like-minded individuals who share your passion for health and community.
Develop New Skills: Gain experience in event planning, leadership, marketing,...Read More

The Mental Health Benefits of Running

Tue, 19 Mar 2024 15:38:17 -0700

Written by Don Jenkins

It stands to reason that doing things we like makes us happy. So if you like running, it’s reasonable to think it will put you in a good mood. A paper published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health in 2020 went deeper into this assumption.

Mental Health researchers summarized 116 studies that tested how running affects mental health. The findings suggested a little running goes a long way.

In 23 studies, participants engaged in a “single bout” of running. In 22, participants reported mental benefits. For example, 18 women ran 12.5 miles and afterward showed “significant improvement in measures of pleasantness.”

In another study, subjects who ran on treadmills for 10 minutes showed “significant mood enhancement” compared to subjects who spent 10 minutes “on a cognitive task.”

Our favorite study: 165 members of a running club did a 3-mile “fun run.” The results? An increase in positive mood and a decrease in negative mood.

The only study that didn’t show running improved mental health involved children 11 to 14 years old sprinting in a gym for 20 minutes at an “increasing pace.” Draw your conclusion about what that study proved.

The Cowlitz Valley Runners Club meets every Saturday morning outside a coffee shop for a run. After the run, some, in a pleasant mood, stay for coffee.

Follow our Facebook Page or join our Facebook Group.

When a 5K is not ‘only’ a 5K

Tue, 19 Mar 2024 15:30:23 -0700

By Don Jenkins

Running events frequently offer various distances. A marathon may have a half-marathon option, on something shorter. This may lead to someone telling friends and family, “I’m only doing the 5K.”

Putting “only” into the sentence makes sense if talking to a non-runner who’s heard something about you signing up for a marathon. If talking to a runner, the “only” can be omitted.

Written by Don Jenkins

A man who ran too many marathons to count had an attentive listener when he began to say, “The thing about the marathon …”

Ah, yes, the marathon. Runners have been trying to solve the marathon for a long time. The first marathoner, Greek distance messenger Pheidippides finished, had time to cry, “We have won,” before collapsing and dying. In Robert Browning’s poem on the subject, Pheidippides’ heart burst with joy at the Greeks defeating the Persians. “The bliss!” On the other hand, maybe Pheidippides would have lived if the road from Marathon to Athens had better course support.

In any event, Pheidippides went down in history as a hero. His example lives on. Every marathon is a chance for things to go wrong and a shot at bliss. Maybe, most marathons are a combination of the blissful and the baleful. The man who ran too many marathons to count offered this insight: “The thing about the marathon,” he said, “is that it’s a long ways.”

The Cowlitz Valley Runners club meets every Saturday morning year-round for runs shorter than a marathon. Follow our Facebook Page or join our Facebook Group.