FAYETTEVILLE — The 2010 Atlanta Thanksgiving Day Half Marathon and 5K marked Teresa French’s first foray into competitive running. But it made a lasting impression.
She described the scene with thousands of runners preparing to start. She recalled the silence that fell over the audience when the national anthem played, and the adrenaline rush that came with running.
She had been uncertain about how well she would do, but was pleased to finish the race, and not be the last finisher.
From that start, French was hooked.
“Other than the birth of my children, it was the most exciting thing I’ve ever been involved in,” French said.
Now, she and Suzanne Krumpelman are organizing a Women Can Run clinic in Fayetteville that kicks off next week. The clinic is aimed at preparing women to walk or runwith a primary focus on empowering women. “It’s going to be all about encouragement,” she said.
Individuals do not have to be experienced runners or walkers to join, she noted, and the clinic will provide the opportunity to train with others. “We will all learn together,” she said.
The clinics are planned twice a week - at 5:30 p.m.
Monday and Thursday - for 10 weeks. The group will meet at Vandergriff Elementary School’s Bob Kraynick Track. Sessions will continue through the week of May 7.
A clinic also is planned in Bentonville. The Bentonville Women Can Run Clinic will meet at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesdaysin a 5K, which is 3.1 miles.
Krumpelman was interested in joining a running group for women, and when she contacted representatives from Women Run Arkansas, she was asked to lead a group. French is the codirector.
Krumpelman said the free clinic is for all ages and abilitiesand Thursdays beginning Tuesday. The training will be at the former Tiger Stadium site (at Tiger Boulevard and Bella Vista Road). Online registration can be done at womenrunarkansas.net. A kickoff party is planned from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Arvest Conference Center on the Bentonville square. The party will off er the opportunity to register if one hasn’t done so online and to meet other participants.
The activities are part of the Women Run Arkansas walking and running clinics held for free across the state.
The clinics are free, but individuals will be encouraged to set a goal of running in the May 7 5K race in Conway as a kind of “graduation” from the program. There is a $20 registration fee for that event.
The Women Can Run/Walk Clinics started 14 years agowhen Cheryl Potter established a group in Conway with 75 women. A written history states that Potter “felt a real desire to help women to lead a healthier lifestyle and to gain confi dence and improve their self-esteem.”
Avon was an initial sponsor.
By 2000, there were clinics in Conway, Greenbrier, Russellville and North Little Rock. Potter wanted to form a running club specifically for women and established the Women Run Arkansas Run/Walk Club in the latter part of 2000. (Potter is now deceased.) The program has grown each year with 35 clinics serving 4,000 women in 2010. Forty clinics are scheduled this year.
A pasta party is held on the eve of the May 7 race. Lorraine Moller, Olympic marathon medalist and New Zealand native, will serve as guest speaker for this year’s event. Reservations are $20.
The $20 registration fee charged for the race includes a T-shirt and other goodies and helps cover the expense of Women Can Run/Walk clinics and the 5K.
The Women Run Arkansas Running/Walking Clubis a Road Runners Club of America organization and is dedicated to promoting healthy living among women through running and walking activities. Additional information is available at womenrun arkansas.net.
Life, Pages 6 on 02/23/2011