Moms RUN This Town

On a cold January morning in 2014 while out on a Saturday morning group run with the Cruisers, we saw our fellow Cruiser friend Amanda running with a group of ladies we didn’t know.  We stopped to say hi, and I teased her about two-timing the Cruisers.  Later that day, she asked me if I wanted to be added to her new group – Moms RUN This Town (MRTT).

Following my rule that one can never have too many running friends, I said, “Sure!”  A week later I joined our local MRTT chapter for my first official run with them.  I scheduled the timing of our Cruisers’ run so I could run for an hour with the MRTT ladies, and then swing back by the parking lot to meet the Cruisers.  Yes, I was already juggling running friends!

 

Before I go any farther talking about my newest group of running friends, I should mention that Moms RUN This Town is a national organization that was started by Pam Burrus back in December 2010 with the thought, “Hey, we should start a running club for moms….”

MRTT now has chapters all across the United States for all levels of runners and walkers. There’s absolutely no cost, and you don’t even have to be a mom to join.  Our local chapter just accepted our 500th member last week, and considering that we have 14 other chapters within 25 miles, multiplied by all of the chapters across the US….. and you’ve got tens of thousands of running moms supporting each other!

 

 

When I accepted Amanda’s invitation to join our local MRTT chapter, I had no idea what this group would mean to me.  I expected to meet some new running friends, and that would be that.  I had absolutely no idea that I would soon meet ladies who would make such a difference in my running, my training, and my racing.

Little did I know that these ladies would become sisters to me – friends that understand me in a way that many of my other friends don’t.  I soon learned that these ladies would push me to be my best.  That they would rejoice with me in my wins, and be there to comfort me when I things didn’t go as planned.

Our chapter works so well because we have many volunteers working behind the scenes making things happen.  Our amazing co-leaders are Amanda and Erin, and without them, our chapter would not be the vibrant chapter that it is. Other volunteer positions include:  welcome run coordinator, couch to 5K coordinator, pub run coordinator, coffee run coordinator, social media maven, engagement coordinator, motivation maven, and historian.

Like other chapters, we keep our members organized in a private Facebook group. Weekly group runs, upcoming races, and events are posted there.  More importantly though, members post training questions, express injury frustrations, or ask where they should look to find the best deal on a treadmill or running stroller.  It’s an amazing resource for everyone in our chapter.

With runners of all levels and abilities, everyone can be a resource for someone else.  A new runner might not be able to give training tips, but might suggest a great yoga studio for someone looking to cross train.  Another runner might know from experience which sports doctors understand runners best.  And yet another chapter member might post a picture of her shopping cart to encourage other members to include more fresh fruits and veggies in their diets.  We’re a team, and we’re always looking out for each other!

Whether we’re meeting for a training run or a race, someone always seems to have a camera to capture our happy time together, and here are just a few of our pictures…..

 

If I’ve left you wanting to be a part of such a fun running group, finding an MRTT chapter is easy.  Simply click here, and enter your zip code. If you can’t find a chapter near you, click here for information about starting your own chapter.  You’ll be glad you did!