**ANTI-HUNGER COALITION TIMMINS MEDIA RELEASE**

The weather may be getting colder but the Timmins Running Club (TRC) continues to inspire community members to be active and run outside. The TRC is a group of avid runners whose mission is to give the runners of Timmins a supportive community by providing opportunities to meet one another and collaborate, all while helping the running community grow.

In order to achieve this mission, volunteers from the running club launched a Learn to Run program during the summer. The proceeds from this program were donated to Anti-Hunger Coalition Timmins (ACT). Program organizers felt ACT was a good fit with the TRC as access to affordable healthy food goes hand in hand with physical activity for a healthy lifestyle. The TRC was proud to present a cheque in the amount of $245 to ACT.

The Learn to Run program is TRC’s way of sharing their love for running with people who would like to start running or are returning from injuries. There are two scheduled runs per week, and one “homework” run to be completed by the participant on their own. In the first week of the program, beginners run for one minute and rest (walk) for one minute, for a total of 20 minutes. Of course, there is always a five minute warm up period and time for dynamic stretching.

The second week progresses to two minutes of running, and by week 10, a total of 20 minutes running is achieved. The program is completely flexible and inclusive — anyone who wants to try running is encouraged to join!

The volunteer coaches for this year were Marc Rodrigue and Jeremie Lamothe — two avid runners. “We were very happy with our beginner runners this season and are incredibly excited we were able to facilitate this donation to ACT. There is a strong connection between healthy eating and running, so what better organization to support this session!”, said Marc.

Jeremie is a recent graduate of the Human Kinetics program at Ottawa University. He stated, “It was important for us to run a beginners’ program properly. We knew that we would have to focus on proper breathing techniques. We are hoping to expand this program and offer it more frequently, as long as there is an interest!”.

The Executive Director of ACT, Jennifer Vachon, who was also a participant in the program, stated “Our mandate is to make healthy affordable food more accessible for everyone, and this money will go directly to support our programming. We can not thank the TRC enough for making this connection between food access and exercise and for choosing ACT as the recipient of the Learn to Run program funds!”

The TRC is dedicated to making Timmins a healthy and active community, and has a mandate of inclusiveness. If you would like to join their weekly runs or be a part of a future Learn to Run group, please visit their website (timminsrunningclub.com) or their Facebook page (Facebook.com/TimminsRunningClub) for more information.

Filed under: Local News