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Get Fit, Social With Run/Walk Club

Sign up now for the fall season, which runs Aug. 20-Nov. 7

Duke faculty and staff can now sign up for the fall session of the Run/Walk Club, which uses social interaction and exercise to help employees reach wellness goals. Photo by Duke Photography.
Duke faculty and staff can now sign up for the fall session of the Run/Walk Club, which uses social interaction and exercise to help employees reach wellness goals. Photo by Duke Photography.

With cholesterol just a tick too high and only so much internal motivation, Judy Oehler needed a way to step up her exercise. On doctor's orders, she walked aboutfour days a week but wanted to do more.

So instead of going it alone, she got social at the Duke Run/Walk Club.

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"Exercise is not something I've ever looked forward to, but having a group of people waiting for me was the motivation I needed many times when I could've easily said, `I just won't do it today,' "said Oehler, a clinical nurse in the Department of Pediatrics. "Strengthin numbers keeps you going."

That moral support will bring Oehler back for her third session with the Run/Walk Club when the program starts Aug. 20. Registration is now underway for the free, 12-week fall session that runs until Nov. 7.

All Duke employees and their dependents can join the club, which is sponsored by LIVE FOR LIFE, Duke's employee wellness program. Sign-up is available at the Run/Walk Club website.

The club meets from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. each Monday and Wednesday. Walkers and beginning runners meet at the East Campus wall, across from Whole Foods on Broad Street; more advanced runners meet in front of Wallace Wade Stadium. At each location, participants form groups according to fitness level and follow clearly laid out plans to help participants improve fitness and lower stress.

In 2011, 712 people participated in the spring and fall sessions.

"Members of our Run/Walk community have succeeded because we put a strong emphasis on social support and group dynamics," said Liz Grabosky, fitness program manager for LIVE FOR LIFE. "Working out together helps you stay on track and makes accountability fun because you know you've got a big group of friends waiting for you each week."

The Run/Walk Club will offer special workshops at the beginning and end of the fall session to help participants gauge progress. LIVE FOR LIFE's "Fitness Fundamentals" program will run at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 15 at the Duke Health and Fitness Center track in Durham. Each participant will receive a free measure of aerobic endurance, a personal running/walking evaluation and body balance training tips.

Along with dozens of other Duke faculty and staff, Margaret Donnelly will be hitting the trail at Duke's East Campus in August. It'll be her third session with the Run/Walk Club, which she joined in 2010 to help her feel more physically fit and confident.

"I'm really not an athlete at heart, so I needed something to keep me going," said Donnelly, a physician assistant in the Department of Pediatrics. "It was nice having the camaraderie of the group because I'm a social creature, and it's nice to know people are looking forward to you showing up."