Grand Strand Running Club

Grand Strand Running Club is ready to lend a hand in your half marathon training

Have you been thinking about running a half marathon but not sure how to train? Is running a half marathon on your bucket list? Do you enjoy training with a group? Do you want to improve your half marathon race time from last year?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, the Grand Strand Running Club has an answer for you! Join us for our half marathon training program beginning August 1. This class is designed to help you through the longer mileage training days and to help you properly prepare for race day.

Each participant receives a tech shirt along with a detailed weekly training program. The group meets each Saturday at 7 am and will be accompanied by coaches and club members. The target race is the Myrtle Beach Mini Marathon on October 18.

Not only do you have access to certified coaches each week, you also receive training in proper warm-up and cool down stretching, race nutrition, hydration, proper shoes and apparel, and surviving the mental aspect of running. Our coaches and club mentors are enthusiastic, encouraging, and friendly! If you would like more information or to register, please visit www.grandstrandrunner.com. Participants should be able to run/walk 3-5 miles by August 1.

The half marathon training program is taught by Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) certified running coaches and assisted by GSRC club members. RRCA coaches are also trained in CPR and First Aid.

Want to read more? Check out the latest on the Myrtle Beach for Families blog.

Ready for your first (or just a faster) 5K? There’s a class for that!

By Melissa Byers Leave a Comment

GSRC I’ve had the best experiences doing the Grand Strand Running Club’s 5K training classes! Whether you’re an experience runner trying to run the race just a bit faster or a walker who hasn’t run a step since the high school physical fitness test, this class is for you. It’s main focus is increasing fitness and going faster than when you started.

The next class starts on Sunday, September 21, 2014 at 3 p.m. behind the Claire Chapin Epps YMCA. It runs for 12 weeks and the class runs the Rivertowne Reindeer Race 5K in Conway. The cost is $45 for non-Grand Strand Running Club members (it includes a 1-year membership) and $25 for members.

You can read more about my experiences here, but let give me you just a few reasons why you should register online. Now.

You’ll make new friends.

You’ll be among fellow classmates of every shape, size, age, and ability.

You’ll learn a ton!

You’ll have the support, encouragement, and training you need to get you were you want to go.

You’ll accomplish more than you could have imagined.

You’ll be celebrated.

You’ll feel great!

If you’ve got questions about my experiences, please ask in the comments!

Want to read more? Check out the latest on the Myrtle Beach for Families blog.

The Grand Strand Running Club’s fabulous 5K training program is back in January

By Melissa Byers Leave a Comment

Come on. Everyone’s doing it! Seriously, doesn’t it seem like almost every person you ever met and keep up with on Facebook is posting about their upcoming 5K, weekly updates on their training runs, and then those great pre/post-race pictures complete with fun new t-shirts and sometimes a medal? Running a 5K is that new party topic you can’t get away from. I’m not kidding. Go to any holiday soiree this season and just utter the words “5K” and watch people flock. They’re either going to talk to you about splits, shoes, and sweat or how you’re incredible for undertaking such a feat. (Get it? Feat? Feet? I crack myself up.)

So here’s the deal. The Grand Strand Running Club has opened registration for their upcoming 5K training program. It’s 10 weeks of high-quality training for all ages and abilities. In each of the previous sessions there were three groups, based on ability. One started primarily walking, the second was walking and running with an emphasis on running, and the last was a run group. There will be participants of every age, size, and fitness level.

The class starts on Sunday, January 5th at 3 p.m behind the Claire Chapin Epps YMCA in Myrtle Beach. Each week there is a short lecture on a variety of topics from proper shoes to nutrition followed by a workout. During the workouts, certified coaches will be there to both educate and support you. Before I got in on these training classes, I had to trust the person telling me this was a judgment-free situation, but she was right. The focus is on completing a 5K, or improving your time. That’s it. It’s not about running one in 25 minutes, unless that’s your goal, of course. Then they’ll help you do that.

My own running journey has been a work-in-progress, but one thing I’ve learned is to run your own race. I’m working to get better at it and a year ago (A YEAR, people! I have stuck with this for a YEAR!!!!) I couldn’t run comfortably for a minute. It’s sad, but true. Now I’m running two miles without stopping.

If you’re thinking about making an effort to work on your health in the new year, this is the perfect first, supported, step. I can’t recommend this class more. And it’s especially fun when you get a few friends involved.

If you register before December 31st, the fee is $35, which includes a one-year membership to the Grand Strand Running Club (a $20 value) and a t-shirt. If you’re already a member of the club, the fee is $15. The target race is the BFF Pink Ribbon Run on March 8, 2014.

I’ll be there. I’m hoping some friends will join me!

If you have questions, you’re welcome to leave them in the comments and I’m happy to answer them based on my experience. If you’d prefer to email me, I can be reached at myrtlebeachforfamilies@gmail.com. Just for fun, here is a link to a post I wrote earlier in the year. I feel like this class was the best thing I did for myself in 2013!

Want to read more? Check out the latest on the Myrtle Beach for Families blog.

Day 8: A success

By Melissa Byers

diva Truth be told, I’m thankful for every success, because so many of them depended on the support of others. A recent example is running.

Last January I started a 5K training class. I’m sure why, because I haven’t run since senior year in high school when they made me do the mile. I hate running. Don’t tell anyone, but I kind of still do.

I’m in session three of the class and sometimes before that Sunday afternoon run I’m walking around, grumping about being tired. Still, that class has seen me through three 5Ks and countless miles in training.

For the first time in my adult life, I’ve had a consistent exercise program that I’m dedicated too. I’m working on a 10K in March. Without the information and coaching I’ve received and commitment to keep going, that wouldn’t be possible.

I know I’m healthier. I’m thankful my habit has been a good influence for my family. I’m thankful my husband is now running and my children are, in general, have a more positive attitude about physical activity. I’m hoping to feel success every time I do a mile faster than the one before and every additional half mile.

#28daysofthanks

Want to read more? Check out the latest on the Myrtle Beach for Families blog.

Doesn’t it seem like everyone is running 5Ks? They are and now you can too!

By Melissa Byers

bff Every year my kids go back to school and I make a deal with myself to get in better shape, whether that means losing weight or exercising more. This year is no different except I haven’t really started yet. I’ve written quite a bit about my journey to becoming a runner and what I realized is that while I ran all summer, I wasn’t really training. I wasn’t working on building endurance or speed. I was just kind of doing the same thing over and over again. As my next 5K grows near I had this moment of “what the heck am I doing?” What’s the point of doing it if I’m not really working on getting better.

This couldn’t come at a better time. The Grand Strand Running Club is hosting another 5K training class and I’m in!

It doesn’t matter if you’ve never run a step in your life or you’re an accomplished runner trying to improve your time. This class is for every ability, walkers and runners alike. The goal is only to do better than when you started.

The class begins on Sunday, September 15, 2013 at 3 p.m. at the Claire Chapin Epps YMCA in Myrtle Beach. Tip – the group will be outdoors, around back. It runs for 12 weeks and the target race upon its completion is the Reindeer Run on Saturday, December 7, 2013. Each class lasts approximately 90 minutes and includes an educational component where the coaches will talk about proper nutrition, race strategy, sports psychology, and other topics.

This is a judgment-free, supportive, encouraging, and FUN experience! I promise that there will be people of every size, shape, age, and ability there. And seriously, even if your worst fear is realized and you are the slowest, look at the bright side. You’ll have more 1:1 time with the fantastic coaches who will do nothing but tell you how proud they are of your progress. You can do this. So let’s do it together. I’ll be there.

Oh and the picture at the top? It’s the training class from last January. We warmed up together, wore matching shirts, supported each other, ran with coaches who cycled through the field to check on us, and cheered each other on as we crossed the finish line. We all ran our own race at our own pace, but were still there for each other. I love these people!

To learn more and register, click here.

Want to read more? Check out the latest on the Myrtle Beach for Families blog.

Grand Strand Running Club

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