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WKAR Sports content is reported by Sports Journalism students in the Michigan State School of Journalism.

Michigan State student run club becomes a social haven for all abilities

Arianna Stallworth

Some of the students are serious runners, while others are just looking for a way to socialize and stay in shape.

Third-year Michigan State student Gavin Ray logs 70 miles weekly as a part of his training with the MSU Run Club. He loves running, and the social studies education major is one of the more competitive runners in the club, which consists almost entirely of former high school cross-country and track runners.

MSU Run Club meets on the steps of IM West, Monday through Friday at 5 p.m., to train in various distance runs and workouts. They are a 50-member co-ed club that competes in men’s and women’s races through the National Intercollegiate Running Club Association (NIRCA). The $50 annual dues cover the travel expenses when the club goes to compete in meets and everyone gets an MSU Run Club shirt.

“It's nice because anybody who's coming into the club, myself included, you'll find your people,” said Ray. “Whether it's like, eh, we'd rather run two miles and then talk about the NBA after, or we're gonna run 12 and do strides after. We're insane like that.

Arianna Stallworth

“I still love running, I still love training and I wanted to see if I could find a group of people who are all training for something so I don't have to go at it alone.”

Ray previously attended Madonna University in Livonia, Michigan for one year, where he was on a partial scholarship for both cross-country and track. Now in his third year as a part of the MSU Run Club, Ray has found a space to continue running while making new friends.

Freshman Marc Woods has just arrived on campus and already found a home with the club. He sees the group as somewhere he can continue training with a large group of friends.

“I decided it'd be a good way to keep in shape and enjoy my love of running with other people on campus,” said Woods. “It's been great so far, just the thrill of running with a huge pack of guys. It keeps me running for miles, because running by yourself gets boring. But when you have guys to talk to and people to go with it's pretty fun.”

Arianna Stallworth

Multiple members of the club share a disdain for running alone. Matt Singer, a senior environmental engineering major, is the track and field coordinator of the club. He appreciates the club’s community, something that runners can lose after high school cross country ends.

“You run with the same people every day for four years and you get really used to that kind of support group and once you get to college that kind of goes away,” said Singer. “The Run Club was really nice just to find another community of people you could talk to even outside of practice. It kind of made college a little bit easier.”

Brennan Spillane, a junior human biology major, isn’t as competitive about running as other members, but is in his third year with the club.

Arianna Stallworth

“For me, it's more about the social aspect. It's nice to stay fit and get a run in. I hate running by myself, but I love running with the run club,” said Spillane, the club’s travel coordinator. “I'm just staying fit and having fun.”

In addition to the weekday practices, the club members meet for non-running events. They hold team bonding events throughout the week and have a team dinner every Thursday night. Typically, team dinner is at the Brody dining hall, but occasionally a member will host a dinner like a pasta party or a cookout.

Arianna Stallworth

“[Team dinner] is like, one of my favorite things,” Spillane said. “I get to go and sit with everyone in the club and talk and eat and we'll sit there for hours and just chat,” He added. “We have a lot of different activities we go to. We went go-karting last year, we'll go to haunted houses, hayrides, mazes. Whatever you can think of, we’ll do it.”

The cross-country portion of the season began on Sept. 13 at MSU’s Forest Akers Golf Course which was hosted by MSU’s varsity cross-country teams. MSU Run Club will continue to compete in NIRCA events throughout the fall before the track season begins in the winter and spring.

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