Sneakers were laced up to hit the pavement as Stony Brook employees gathered on September 17 for the first session of Healthier U’s Couch to 5K program, a six-week training series designed to prepare faculty and staff for the Wolfie Dash 5K on October 26.
The initiative, now in its third year, blends weekly Zoom check-ins, going over running tactics and meeting new people, with in-person runs. Its goal: to make a 5K accessible to anyone, even those who have never considered themselves runners.
“It’s not about speed,” said Catherine Duffy, director of Healthier U and the individual who brought Couch to 5K to Stony Brook University. “We usually run at conversation pace,” Duffy said. The idea is to show people they can do this, step by step.
Every Wednesday, the meetings begin over Zoom at 4 pm. At 5 pm, participants meet on campus for a group run or walk. The program starts with intervals, one minute of running followed by a minute of rest, repeated ten times, to ease everyone into the routine.
For new runners, their interest is not rooted in exercise, but a sense of community.
“I needed to find people, I needed to find a community,” said Evaney Griffith, a financial aid assistant joining the program for the first time. Griffith has never before ran a 5K, but said that the promise of a group setting makes it feel manageable.
For Duffy, that is exactly the point. She was inspired to introduce the program by her own neighborhood running group, where the encouragement of “accountability partners” helped her to train, even pushing her to sign up for a half marathon next month. “They inspire me,” she said.
For Thomas Sager, the Wolfie Dash isn’t new. He ran last year, but this year he wanted to do more than just show up at the starting line.
“I wish I had joined the year prior,” Sager said. Already an experienced runner, even a part of a run club in Port Jefferson, he said this year he’ll be bringing his family along to run the Wolfie Dash.
A mix of seasoned runners and first-timers is what makes Couch to 5K different from other run clubs. By enlisting an interval workout format and the support of a large group, the program creates space for everyone to grow together.
The Wolfie Dash is a free 5K walk/run held during Homecoming Weekend. This year it will be celebrating its third annual event, but the finish line is not the only goal.
Duffy sees the six-week program as a chance to foster health and community across unique sects of campus. “I want people to meet each other,” she said.
As runners gathered together, slowly trickling in from opposite ends of campus, the pavement still wet from the rain, that goal was already within arms reach. Some were chatting nervously, others were already making connections, but they all came with the intention to exercise, together.
— Lily Miller
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