Get Fit at the New UCSF Run Center
By Aaron Chung
Contributing Writer
Each Wednesday evening for the past month and a half, a dedicated group of UCSF students, staff and employees have gathered in front of the Bakar Fitness Center at Mission Bay to participate in weekly training runs as part of the newly formed Run Center at UCSF . During each training session, participants are led through a group stretching and core strengthening routine, given a short talk on a running-related topic, and taken on training runs that are individualized to meet the varied goals of the runners. As part of UCSF’s new Wellness Initiative, The Run Center is a collaborative effort between the UCSF Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science, the UCSF Department of Orthopaedics and UCSF Campus Life Services- Fitness and Recreation. Though still a relatively new program, it has been well received by members of the UCSF community and continues to welcome new runners each week.
The training runs are led by a team of physical therapists from the UCSF Faculty Practice and students from the UCSF/SFSU Graduate Program in Physical Therapy. Christopher Holland, Director of Rehab Services at UCSF, helped initiate The Run Center, “It has been great to be able to build a program that gives back to UCSF staff, employees, and students.” The Run Center was launched at the UCSF Wellness Fair on January 27th, and the UCSF Wellness Initiative, has “provided some financial support to reduce the costs for UCSF members.” Holland believes that The Run Center “is a great opportunity for members of the UCSF community to become more fit and active in a structured environment that provides participants with the latest evidence in running and associated topics.”
Those topics change from week to week, and are often chosen and presented by a group of second-year physical therapy students working with the Run Center as part of an independent study opportunity. Topics have included, core strengthening, dynamic stretching, pacing techniques, and running form. One of the physical therapy students, Andrea Szabo, has taken full advantage of her affiliation with The Run Center, explaining, “It has been fun getting to meet new people, and to run with a group with such diverse running backgrounds.” Of all the resources provided to the runners, she believes that having one-on-one time with them really allows for a unique experience. “It’s beneficial to the participants because they get individual attention from Physical Therapists and physical therapy students, and I think that we are all having fun just getting to know each other and to see familiar and new faces each week.”
Kristine Amii, another second year physical therapy student, saw a practical application to joining The Run Center and its usefulness to her future career. “I chose to take part in The Run Center because I like the idea of a comprehensive running program that emphasizes education and provides resources to help runners improve their performance. As a physical therapy student, I also wanted to learn a little about what goes into developing a wellness program.” Along those lines, Holland certainly agrees with the necessity to promote wellness at UCSF. He notes how “The Run Center perfectly dovetails with the Chancellor’s vision of promoting health, wellness and fitness.”
The Run Center is keenly aware of the fact that every runner is different, and has personal goals that they are working towards. The staff takes every opportunity it can to elicit feedback from the runners, tailoring subsequent training sessions to meet the needs and curiosity of everybody that participates. Runners of all levels have shown up to the sessions, from tri-athletes to recreational runners, marathoners to weekend warriors. Janine Wong, a dietetic intern at UCSF, last ran competitively in high school, but continues to run races for fun and was a member of her college recreational running club. She appreciates the variability of the workouts and the camaraderie of running with others, stating, “I would never force myself to do intervals, focus on core, or speed workouts.” Even with her extensive running background, she is continually reminded every time she goes to The Run Center of how much she still wants to learn about running. “What makes The Run Center stand out from other running clubs is all of the information and expertise they provide.” It is with this idea in mind that the staff of The Run Center hopes to attract new members to the joys of running.
For more information on The Run Center, please visit theruncenter.ucsf.edu.
Mention this article for a free training run session on April 6th at 6 p.m.
This article appeared in the March 31, 2011 issue of Synapse.
