This month were featuring a pretty cool night running group out of Washingtin called Manito Park Night Shift. Most people would say most running groups are all the same. But we beg to differ. We talked to Erik, the founder of the group and he told us, "The group formed by accident." And of course, some of the best things ever created were created by accident. Post it notes and potatoe chips to name a few. Even better, this group started out of an act of kindness.
Erik explains, "I was snow shoeing up Mt. Spokane. Lensa, who I didn't know at the time, was hiking in front of me and her friend was teasing her on not training for the Snake River Half Marathon. After about 30 mins I finally said, what if I helped you train? Turns out Lensa works nights and doesn't get off work until 10pm." So instead of training in the morning like normal people, they had to train 4 nights a week before Lensa went to work. But he wasn't the only one who thought it was a great idea.
"Kevin soon heard about us and he joined us too. At first we told folks on the Manito Running Club facebook page." But eventually the 2 jokesters Erik and Kevin had to start their own Facebook page to manage all of the hilarious posts they were posting. As the group has grown over time they amassed more and more people who don't mind their groups wacky sense of humor. "We are all about inclusion and getting people to start running. We tease each other, but nothing ever personal that will hurt someone."
Thanks to Lensa, the group now runs Snake River Half every year. And have a blast doing it. If you're up in Washington and want to check out a super cool group of night runners with a sense of humor, check out the Manito Park Night Shift running group.
Check out their Facebook Group HERE...