Running is a constantly moving process in more than just the physical way. Like any sport, it needs to experience change to stay relevant. At Extra Mile Fitness in Valparaiso, new and great ideas are always abundant whether it’s in the form of a fun run, a new line of running shoes, or a running related event.
On Wednesday, a special event was held that brought in Mike Morgan and Melissa Johnson-White, both members of the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project. The twain came to talk about the Hansons Half Marathon Method and Hansons Marathon Method, training programs that help runners get ready to run their first full or half marathon or improve their performance from the last time they ran one.
Heather Henderlong of Extra Mile Fitness was being trained by Morgan and she thought it would be a good idea to bring his knowledge to the store to be shared with everyone.
“One of the reasons that we opened our store was to open up avenues to educate and make running more fun,” Heather said. “Valpo has such a large running community; a lot of developed runners, a lot of new runners coming into it, and a lot of runners that do it to blow off steam. We try to do something different and out of the ordinary and try to think of new ways to help the runners who want to take a step up so whenever I find something that helps me I like to share it."
The night began with a book signing at Extra Mile Fitness. People brought copies of Hansons Half Marathon Method and Hansons Marathon Method and Morgan and Johnson-White graciously signed them, gave out running advice, and just had a good time hanging out.
"I've been working with Heather for almost a year and the coaching has been working well for her," Morgan said. "And so we were brought in here to teach what we coach and go over some tips for upcoming spring half and full marathons. I coach people who want to run 10ks all the way to marathons."
The presentation itself had such a large number of people in attendance that it was moved the Valparaiso University to accommodate the crowd.
"We want to promote the sport of running," Todd Henderlong of Extra Mile Fitness said. "I think it's the purest form of sport. It's great exercise, great for overall fitness, and great for mental health. It's just a wonderful sport. Anything we can do to promote that, we will do. And bringing in speakers like this helps the athletes who want to get better or train for a specific goal to have a great tool for running."
For more information on upcoming events at Extra Mile Fitness, click here!
