This Saturday: Tacoma Runners to Launch 5k Run Series in 2013

The Volcano reminded us – this kicks off this Saturday. It’s time to lace up those running shoes and get started on that New Year’s resolution.

At 6:30 every Thursday night since January 2010 a growing group of Tacomans has been gathering to go for a run, and then to socialize after. They meet at a different restaurant or bar, run three miles, and return to the start for a beer, a bite to eat, and a little conversation. They’re a social running group called Tacoma Runners and they have something new in the works for 2013.

Tacoma Runners, which started with seven people meeting for the first time at the Parkway Tavern, has grown in less than three years to nearly 2,000 members on Facebook and hundreds more on the email list. These days a typical weekly run includes 75 to 100 runners, with some runs exceeding 150 participants. They’ve only missed one Thursday in the last three years (during snowpocalypse 2012) – that’s 148 runs, and counting. With numbers like that, it’s likely that they’ve run through a neighborhood near you.

Tacoma’s running scene has changed a lot since the beginning of the Tacoma Runners. Running groups aroung town have sprung up, offering group runs nearly every day of the week, ranging from Fleet Feet’s Tuesday night runs to the Sunday trail runs led by Guerilla Running at Point Defiance.

And now, after nearly three years, Tacoma Runners is announcing a free weekly timed 5k to be held every Saturday morning at 8 a.m. Our friends at Metro Parks have approved permits for every week in 2013. The primary 5k route runs through Point Defiance Park most weeks of the year with a backup route for the handful of weekends with conflicting events.

The goal of the new series is to further increase community access to running events and healthy lifestyle influences. As with the Thursday events, runners of every speed and experience level are invited and expected at each weekly Saturday 5K run. Tacoma Runners has always welcomed a diverse range of runners. The group is proud of its marathon winners and ultra marathon runners. But Tacoma Runners is equally proud of its beginning runners, many of whom have never called themselves “runners” before. Regardless of speed, after completing a run with the group, the reward is twofold: a great workout, and an open and supportive group. This openness and social cohesion based on participation will continue with the Saturday run.

With the help of event sponsors like Rainier Connect, The Hume Group, and Seasonal View, Tacoma Runners is creating incentives that reward participation in the Saturday run series. The TacomaRunners.com website tracks results for individuals, groups and teams. Runners and volunteers receive “credit” each time they come out. A free shirt will be awarded to participants with 10 runs under their belt, with additional rewards earned after 25 and 50 runs. Beginning in two years, 100 run rewards will recognize truly dedicated runners and volunteers.

The Saturday 5k is on track to be a great success for Tacoma. There’s still time to be a sponsor for the Tacoma Runners Saturday 5k Run Series, and to sign up to run and volunteer. Maybe this is just the way to kickstart your New Year’s resolution – and maybe the weekly tracked runs will help you stick with it too.

Interested? More information is available online at www.tacomarunners.com.

Full Disclosure: Derek Young is one of the original Tacoma Runners and a partner in the organization.