The Birch River Elementary Run Club, powered by Active SWV, completed its first season in Spring of 2017. The club was lead by head coach Leigh Ashby and eleven other wonderful volunteer coaches.
Charlie Rose, left, is both a teacher at Birch River Elementary and an avid runner himself. The participants that sought a more serious training program got to train under the wing of Rose, which turned out to be an incredibly positive experience for both the participants and Rose.
“I’ve been mainly working with the kids on pacing and doing interval workouts. I have been teaching them that a good way to tell if you’re at a comfortable pace is if you can continuously have a conversation without being too out of breath. During runs at practices, we had so much time to talk. In addition to the natural stress relief gained from exercise, it’s been really therapeutic for these kids to get an extra chance to just talk and share about their day.”- Rose
Reflecting on the experience after the end of Run Club, Rose said, “Thank you for bringing this program to our school community. It has been a profound life changing experience for me.”
The Birch River Elementary Run Club was made possible with support from the Nicholas County Community Foundation’s Seelinger Family Fund.
