Local groups provide our community with the opportunity to make connections, to enjoy art, to help others, to have fun and more. Throughout 2023, we are featuring area groups that better our community in this feature called “Come Together.” For the month of February, we are focusing on the Kent Island Running Group, which links together locals of all skill levels to enjoy exercise and the camaraderie of like-minded individuals. Group president Kirsten Strohmer tell us about how the group works, her personal running bests and more!
How did you get involved with the group? I joined Kent Island Running Group in 2016. It was winter, and I needed to exercise. I had run on my own in the past, but was looking for a group of friends and people I could learn from. So I looked up “running” and “Kent Island,” and was on my way. I became vice president about five years ago, and that parlayed into becoming president. I enjoy the leadership position because I like trying to find ways to expand the group, partner with other running clubs, and put together new programs.
Do you have any personal feats/runs you are proud of? Well, we’ve all had that “best race,” and mine would be Freedom’s Run in Shepherdstown, WV. It was a hilly, beautiful course, part of which ran through historic Antietam Battlefield. It was my best time ever for a half. However, the things I’m most proud of are what we’ve accomplished as a club. As of this year, we are offering scholarships to Kent Island and Queen Anne’s County High Schools. We’ve collected and donated nearly 200 pairs of running shoes that go to African merchants. We maintain our connection to the community through our organized race events that benefit the Get Pumped for Pets and Kinera Foundations. Our club has an all-time high membership of 110 whose members are creative and put together fun activities for one another.
How do your run meetups work? We run on Tuedays at 6 pm starting from Bark’s Barbeque in the Business Park; Wednesdays at 5:30 am at Shore United on Castle Marina Rd for those early birds; and, Saturdays at 7:30 am under the overpass at Piney Narrows Way, which is when the majority of the group participates. During the summer, the Tuesday evening runs change location to the Kent Island High School track and constitutes our speed training. As to how far we usually run, there are so many of us with different goals that distances and paces aren’t the same for everyone. For instance, we have walkers who walk a few miles and some who walk over 10 miles, and runners who are training for a half marathon or more and are building up weekly mileage. We have ultra-runners who may have an event coming up so they may do 20 miles on a Saturday or Sunday. Right now, though, 10 miles seems to be the max. However, there are many spring races around the corner, so I expect more of us will start working on speed in the coming weeks and gradually increase distance.
Do you have any special events coming up? Absolutely! The Hot Chocolate 5K is Sunday, February 19th at Kent Island Elementary School, and Get Pumped for Pets 5K/10K/15K is Sunday, March 26th at Terrapin Park. After that we’ll switch weather gears and have the Solstice Stomp 5K on Saturday evening June 24th at Cascia Vineyards. Our fall race is the Historic Stevensville Metric Half Marathon on Sunday on September 24th.
Do you have new members join without a lot of running experience? Any tips for new runners? All the time! In fact, most of our runners have little running experience, or haven’t run for a long time and want to “get back into it.” Also, most new members ask before joining if it’s okay to join because they’re “not fast.” Oh, my goodness! Everyone is welcome and none of us cares about how fast anyone is. There is always someone to run or walk/run with because we have all paces. And we’re so friendly; it’s easy to fit right in. And before you know it, you’re running races faster than you thought you could, and loving all the excitement that comes with it. As for tips for those just starting, they should talk to us. We have certified coaches who can make specific recommendations based on a person’s current fitness level, weight and goals. Once we learn about you, we can give proper tips – one size does NOT fit all!
If you would like to learn more about the Kent Island Running Group, you can go to their website at www.kirg.org. There you can see their upcoming schedule, sign up for the group and more!