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Being a nerd got me back out there

A few years ago I was a runner. I have three half-marathon medals and a scrapbook full of bibs to prove it. I did at leas one 5K a month and some longer distances sprinkled in before a half-marathon. I was never fit because I used running as an excuse to eat. After a series of small injuries that I didn't treat right I had a hard time getting back into running. My wanting to get back out there never waned, but there was a mental block that prevented me from really getting anywhere near back where I was distance wise. Because I knew what I was capable of I would get really frustrated at my slow progress and inevitably stop. About a month ago one of my old running friends posted something about the Hogwarts Running Club on Facebook. Curious, and still convinced I could be a runner if I just started running, I clicked. What I found is one of the coolest groups of people I have ever run across. The HRC (http://hogwartsrunningclub.org) is a virtual running club that accepts walkers, joggers, runners, bikers, and whatnot of all levels into their ranks with the goal of raising money for charity. They have six virtual races a year of various lengths all with a Harry Potter theme. You can run/walk/crawl the distance all at once or break it up however you need to. Each race has a medal you get for registering and completing the race at your pace. No one judges how fast or slow you are, how far you can go at a time... we're all just in it to make friends, stay active, and raise money for charity. Each race has its own charity that the funds are donated to. And we are all on the same team in this great app, Charity Miles (that's a whole post unto itself) so we can track our group's miles. Being a Harry Potter themed group we are naturally (self) sorted into the different houses and the four houses compete with each other to see who can raise the most money for charity through the app and the races. Being part of such a supportive group and having a reason to get out walking other than 'gee I really should' has gotten me to log 17.88 miles in less than three weeks. That's 17.88 miles more than I walked all year. It's no where near the 30+ miles a week I used to log. But it's a start. And I have a group of nerds out there that are routing for me. I encourage all y'all to join up. Just search Hogwarts Running Club on Facebook, join the main club, join your house and bask in the nerd glow. P.S. There is also a Whovian Running Club that just started. Join us there, too!

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