Every Saturday the Cruisers meet for our weekly group run on the W&OD Trail, a very popular trail in our area. It is a narrow 45-mile-long multi-use park that consists of an asphalt trail and a parallel gravel path. It was built on the old railroad bed where trains ran from 1859 to 1968. We are very blessed to live near such a fabulous park.
Note the gravel path to the left of the asphalt trail
We routinely see the same trail users week after week, and exchange friendly hellos, even though we don’t really know each other. Another running group associated with our local running store also meets at the same time as our group and we usually see them at some point along our run.
Two bikers just passed two runners
About two years ago, I started seeing a familiar face on the trail, and I couldn’t have been happier to see this person. One Saturday just after we had finished our run and were cooling down with a short walk, we meet this person walking her dog, Fluffy. I introduced my former client to my husband and friends, and she pointed at me and said, “This lady saved my life.” She went on to tell everyone how I had helped her lose 95 pounds about four years earlier. She said she still reminds herself over and over how I told her it was all about taking “baby steps” and not to get overwhelmed with the big picture. At 4’11” tall, her starting BMI and body fat percentage put her at a very dangerous place. Once she reached her target weight goal, not only did her BMI and body fat percentage drop, but her cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar level also dropped. She has maintained her new healthy lifestyle and looks fabulous.
While I trained her, one of my co-workers, trained her husband. He also lost an impressive amount of weight and the two of them started a friendly competition. I taught her how to change her menu planning and cooking style, and as a result their children also lost weight. Her entire family has maintained this weight loss and are so much healthier for it. They walk together, play together, and can now enjoy an active lifestyle that eluded them before. This is yet another reason that I love my clients and I love my job!
Bikers, roller-bladers, walkers, runners, and horses share the trail
- Questions:
- Where do you usually run?
- Have you had a significant weight loss or life-style change recently?
- What fun things are you doing today?
That’s fantastic!! It’s not why we do what we do, but it’s still nice every now and then to hear about what a different you are making!
Sometimes I run on W&OD, but usually I run on Four Mile Run Trail (the part that parallels W&OD for a while) or I hit dirt trails further outside the city.
That must have felt so great to get to hear first hand how much you’ve impacted her life and her whole family! Especially to see they are still maintaining an active lifestyle!
I’ve run on the W&OD before, and I really liked that trail. It gets so busy on the weekends, though. I usually run on the roads around our house during the week and on the trail in town on the weekends. It’s 2.5 miles long and connects to the state park trail, which is 47 miles long and is crushed gravel.
Today I am visiting with my in-laws. We took them up to Radford (the closest “big” town) and had lunch and then some fro-yo! I also ran 8 miles with my running buddy this morning.
This summer we plan to run the length of the W&OD Trail again (over the course of a few Saturdays). I want to take pictures along the way and blog about the different areas. It’s kind of cool!
Even though you can get stuck at a lot of road crossings, I like the stretch through Vienna. I’ve been down to the start of the trail at mile 0 and I think as far out as mile marker 20 or so, but my Dad has biked the entire trail.
What an amazing feeling it is to change people’s lives. It’s even better when they tell you about it ~ you don’t always get that feedback and it’s so good when you do. 🙂
I like to run on the trails in Flagstaff… miles and miles of them just waiting to be run on!
This is the year I lost almost 50 pounds…
Today was the kind of day where I wanted to start wallowing in self-pity (spring break is winding down) but I went for my long run instead and I’ve been happy ever since!
Congrats, Stephanie!
Wow, that is fantastic! Not surprised though because you’re awesome 😀
I recently moved from New York to NoVa and have been running on the W&OD Trail.
What segments do you run on? It’s a great trail isn’t it?