Local walking club comes in from the cold

By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on January 7, 2022.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com

Frigid outdoor temperatures are no barrier to getting winter exercise for members of the Runner’s Soul Walking Club.
While the outside temperature hovered at -20C Thursday morning, club members walked in a comfortable environment indoors at the Servus Sports Centre on the soccer pitch turf, not worrying about numbing cold or icy sidewalks.
With restricted attendance numbers because of COVID-19, the club has capped the number of participants who meet Tuesdays and Thursday mornings from 10:30 until 11:30 a.m. at the indoor soccer facility, adjacent to the Enmax Centre.
To hit the turf, walkers need to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccinations or a negative rapid test taken within 72 hours.
The club runs until April 14 but it will be on hiatus for two weeks from March 1-15 due to the Tim Hortons Brier.
The club has started up again after being on hiatus earlier during the pandemic. Between 40 to a maximum of 65 walkers, mostly seniors, walk around the soccer pitch out of the elements.
The club is one of several clubs and clinics offered by Runner’s Soul which sponsors the popular Moonlight Run.
Shawn Pinder, co-owner of Runner’s Soul, said Thursday he’s hoping the Moonlight Run will return to an in-person event this year after being staged virtually the last two years. The run is scheduled for March 19 but organizers are still in the planning stages. With the uncertainty of COVID restrictions, an official status of the event isn’t yet being announced.
Last year’s virtual run attracted 750 participants who ran their own routes which was “a lot better than I anticipated,” said Pinder before he joined others walking Thursday.
Last year, Runner’s Soul also hosted a virtual “To the Moon and Back” run of a distance of 0.1 per cent of the earth’s distance to the moon.
“A lot of people signed up for that” and a similar event is being planned this year, he said.

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