By: Savana Morie
A new club at Pensacola State’s South Santa Rosa Center has just hit the ground running, inspiring students to lace up their shoes and get active on campus.
The Running Club, established this semester by Dr. Mitzie Sowell with the help of some of her students, began after a discussion in one of Sowell’s classes on diet-related diseases. Poor diet and inactivity are leading factors in many of today’s greatest health problems. Moved to try to make a difference, students brainstormed ways of getting students to be more active.
“The students came up with a few ways that we could promote exercise and improve health on our campus,” Sowell explained, “They decided an easy and inexpensive way would be a fitness club and we decided on running.”
The Running Club is designed for everyone in mind. Individuals of any fitness level are welcome and runs are designed for each member’s physical capability.
“Most of the members are not avid runners,” club President Lola Brown commented.
Through intervals of running and walking, runners can slowly build up their stamina while switching up their workout to gain better results.
In addition to running together on campus there are plans to participate in local organized runs, too. According to Brown and Sowell, members have even found ways of bringing community service opportunities into play.
“We will perform community service by participating in events like Relay for Life and volunteering for local runs to help with water stations, packet pick up, etc.” Sowell explained.
Every second Monday of the month, meetings are held at 11:45 p.m. in room 5184 at the SSRC. These meetings are for organization and planning purposes.
For more information on when the club will be running together next, individuals are encouraged to check out its Facebook page.