In Jamaica, the place of my
birth, upbringing and where I live, running is who we are, it’s part of our
culture. Most kids start running from as early as when they start learning
their ABC’s and 123’s and every kid aspires to one day participate for their
High School at the prestigious Boys’ and Girls’ Championships at the National
Stadium. Here, there is no bigger stage to perform on, even representing
Jamaica pales in comparison to what it means to represent your school and run
at these Championships.
What is ironic though, there
is a small percentage of the thousands of athletes who compete at Champs (as
it’s affectionately referred to), who go on to do the sport professionally and
represent Jamaica. So I asked the question, what has happened to all this
budding talent over the years? Most of us go on to lead very successful and
productive lives in our chosen professions, but in so many cases (like my own),
we get so badly out of shape through weight gain. It is frightening how many
friends I come across daily that we use to run together and they no longer even
own a pair of sneakers anymore.
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| Alfred 'Franno' Francis |
A few years back, a few good
men I like to call them started running again, this time road running, men
like; John Lieba – Attorney At Law, Alfred Francis – Businessman, Allan
Beckford – Business Executive, Maurice Wesney – Educator and of course, the
Jamdammers Running Club. It would also be remise of me not to give mention and
credit to Running Events Limited, who are the chief organizers and race
facilitators in Jamaica, they currently have a calendar of (21) races through
the year that they manage and execute, that is almost one race every other week
of the year.
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| Patrice - President |
Through the work of these
people, today running and cross-fit training is the fastest growing adult
lifestyle activity in Jamaica and people like myself and so many others, have
rekindled our passion for running in pursuit of a healthier more full-filling
way to relax and exercise.
So when Patrice
Wilson-McHugh said that she wanted to start her own running club, I immediately
knew I wanted to be part of the experience she was about to create with this
her newest venture. Patrice is an Entrepreneur that has built her business (Bars-To-Go Group of Companies) from
the ground up by being relentless, fearless and creative. No one who knows her is
surprised that she has absolutely done the same with Sonic Steppers Running
Club. I grabbed her for a quick sit down to talk about Sonic Steppers.
Below are excerpts of that
chitchat:
DW: Why did you form Sonic Steppers Running Club?
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| Steppers - Tuff Warrior |
PWM: I saw
the need for a Club that caters to the running needs of all runners that wanted
to participate in the local racing calendar, it didn’t matter if these were
5k’s or marathons as long as the Club could provide a support systems for these
runners to have regular activity to properly prepare to compete.
DW: There
are many running clubs in Jamaica, how have you been able to position Sonic
Steppers to differentiate what you do from other clubs?
PWM: Sonic Steppers
Running Club is the newest of many recreational running clubs in Jamaica.
Unlike most however, our mission is to provide runners with varying levels of
fitness (beginners to advanced pros), as long as like us; they are committed to achieving a healthy lifestyle while having fun through
friendly competition.
DW: What
is your vision for Sonic Steppers Running Club?
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| Sonic Steppers |
PWM: With recreational running and cross-fit training
being the fastest growing adult activity in Jamaica, we are excited about the
prospect of being Jamaica’s premier running club through the continued
promotion of a healthier Jamaica across all the socio-demographic groups.
DW: How
does one become a member of the Club and what is the price of membership?
PWM: If you are reading this and always wanted to be a part of
a movement that is built on friendship, fun, laughter and a commitment to
achieving excellence through fitness, let us hear from you: sonic.steppers@gmail.com
it is that easy to become a member. Membership fees are $2,000.00 per year.
DW: $2000.00 for the year seems very low considering there
are so many activities and races on the official racing calendar, how are you
able to sustain this?
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| Andi - Stepper of the month - Aug |
PWM: Firstly, this was never designed or intended to be a
money making venture, I just wanted an outlet to give support to the running
community and particular for those persons who felt left out or left behind
because they didn’t feel they could do it. Secondly, the fees are a minimal
contribution to the club administratively to manage the weekly activity
schedule and general communication on a daily basis.
In addition to the fees however, runners cover their own race registration
costs.
DW: Surely, membership has its benefits. What would some of
those be?
PWM: Of course, membership has it's benefits, we have many
corporate entities that have come on board already to support what we do, these
include; Jamaica Yellow Pages, Designs by Marc, Opa, JMAX Hair & Nail Club,
Digicel, Spartan Health Club, Body by Trainer Tony Powell and Toss & Roll
Salad Bar. With these partners, our members compete every month for special
awards. These include: Most Consistent Stepper, Most Improved Stepper and Most
Inspirational Stepper.
DW: The
Club is very popular and does seem to be gaining traction everyday, how big is
the membership and how do you plan to expand, if at all?
PWM: The phenomenal thing about the rapid growth of our
running club has been that we embrace and treat each other like a family
in every sense of the word. Today our paid up membership is in excess of 150
persons and growing. In the coming months we will look at expanding more
aggressively into cross-fit training for our members and extend the club remotely
into other parishes of Jamaica.
DW: Finally, is there anything new with Sonic Steppers you
want to tell me about?
PWM: There are a number of opportunities for us in the
planning stages that will enhance the overall experience of our members and their
membership to the club. Also we are ready to release our monthly newsletter
titled Sonic Steppes HQ. It’s and exciting publication that will be distributed
electronically and will keep readers informed of our activities monthly,
milestones for our members, tips for runners, Tips for healthy eating, local
race calendar activities plus a whole lot more.
Anyway gang, check out issue number one of the Sonic Steppers newsletter Sonic Steppers HQ - Vol #1. You can also check out their Facebook page Sonic Steppers Running Club
I have to go running now so we catch up again soon.
I have to go running now so we catch up again soon.
One Love as always.
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