The Yorkton Pacers Running Club will be holding learn-to-run clinics for Yorkton and area residents all summer long leading up to the Health Foundation’s annual Charity Road Race which will take place on Sunday, August 16.
The clinics - which take place on Thursday afternoons at 5:30pm starting at the YRHS loading dock –will assist runners in learning how to run five kilometres, ten kilometres or half marathons (21 kilometres) safely and will teach proper breathing techniques and running strategies.
It is also for those who are either new or experienced to the sport of running. “It really is for anybody that wants to improve their endurance, their ability,” said Bernie Wlock, co-founder of the Yorkton Pacers Running Club and committee member for the Health Foundation Charity Road Race. “A lot of people join because they want to lose weight and some people start with me, run all summer and then join in with the 10-kilometre clinic.
“I’ve had couples that are getting in shape for their wedding but it’s mostly the beginners who are ones that want to lose weight or get into better shape.”
Wlock, who coaches the beginner’s group, also mentioned that people interested in joining the clinics do not have to worry about running the entire time.
Instead, Wlock says people can take the clinics and run as much – or as little – as they would like. “You don’t have to be a marathon runner to join up. You could walk, speed walk, jog or walk-run, which is when you run for five minutes and then take a short walking break and then run again.”
The cost of the now nine-week clinic is 42 dollars with all money going to the Health Foundation. “We ask everybody that joins the clinics to fill out an entry form which is 42 dollars and they’re automatically registered and entered into the race on August 16 and if they don’t make it or something comes up then that money still goes to the Heart Foundation,” offered Wlock. “They could also get pledges to cover their costs and go above it and turn that in to the Health Foundation, so it could end up costing nothing at all.”
