sports

Running Into the Spring Season

With the weather warming up, one of the best ways to get out and enjoy the sun is going for a run.

To go along with the rising temperatures, the North Dakota State running club is coming out of hibernation. While the club has been present in prior years, it declined a bit in recent semesters. Last fall, junior Stafford Thompson was made president of the club and is trying to get the club up and going again.

“The club has been here for a while,” Thompson said. “We are currently just reforming it.”

The restructuring has been moving slowly during the winter, but it is set to pick up as spring arrives.

“We started November 1 last fall, and that was too late to really attract people,” he added.

The club has spent the winter mainly running inside at the Wellness Center. The core group contains about 12 runners, Thompson said.

The club meets usually three days a week, Wednesdays at either 6:30 a.m. or p.m., as well as Saturdays at 10 a.m. and Sundays at 4 p.m. The group usually meets at the Wellness Center or the Memorial Union, which they hope to do more often as the weather improves.

Freshmen Collin Young and Mitch Cramer said that they are enjoying the club. Young said the club usually will break up into smaller groups in accordance with the pace that the runner wants to go.

“There usually is the slow people who want to run together, the moderate people want to run together, and the fast people who want to run together,” Cramer said the club usually runs around campus.

“We do usually try to stay away from the northeast,” as the sewage plant is not pleasant. The two also said that on a regular day, runners will go between two and six miles, depending on their pace.

As the club grows, Thompson wants to do some non-running events.

“I would want to do some more fun events as well, such as playing ultimate Frisbee for a night,” Thompson said.

To gain members in the club, Thompson has some ideas.

He said with a chuckle, “Hopefully next year we can find some gullible freshmen to join us.”

He said that the main reason people should join is to get to work out with a group of people. This was the reason why Thompson started in the club, “I really like running with a group of people.”

For students interested in joining the club, check out the club’s Facebook page, NDSU Running Club or look up the club on Blackboard.

Young said it is voluntary to come.

“If you can’t make it one day, so what,” he said.

The group is always looking for new members.

“If you like to run, please come,” Cramer said.

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