Members of Run Oxford practice monday. (DM Photo | Logan Kirkland)
Marvin King is no stranger to keeping busy.
Besides being a husband and father of three, King serves as an associate professor for political science and senior faculty fellow for the Residential College South— and continues to find things with which to involve himself.
In 2013, as a board member of the Oxford Parks Commission, King along with board members decided they wanted to start a Couch to 5k program. It would eventually become a local community running club called Run Oxford.
“We wanted something for the community, and running is great exercise,” King said. “There is a strong tennis community here and we felt runners needed the same thing.”
With over 400 Facebook members and 50 weekly participants, Run Oxford is thriving. King, who also serves as president, is only a piece to the club’s success, however.
With the help of Jill Knight, vice president of Run Oxford, Nathan Hammer, secretary, and Ed Dean, treasurer, Run Oxford is showing signs of growth and an exciting future.
Run Oxford meets on different days and has different workouts to fit the needs and schedules for each member of the club. King encourages people who are interested to always check their Facebook page, Oxford MS Runners, to be informed about meeting locations and times and to communicate with other runners if times and locations need to be arranged.
A typical workout week for the club begins on Mondays at 6 p.m. with a four- or five-mile run. Tuesdays at 7 p.m. at Lafayette High School are track workouts. Wednesday at South Campus Trails, formally known as Whirlpool Trails, and Saturday morning long runs.
Run Oxford has runners of all kinds. King said they have beginning runners and runners who run marathons, so he encourages anyone interested to come out.
Knight found success with the help of Run Oxford. Last April, she ran in the Boston Marathon. In pouring rain and 21 mph headwinds, Knight finished the 26.2-mile race with her very own personal record.
“Boston was amazing,” Knight said. “There’s something about the group that makes you want to keep up. It doesn’t come easy and it doesn’t come overnight, but with consistency goals are being achieved.”
The group has a “leaderboard” to encourage participation. Each workout and race that a member attends, points will be given and the person at the top of the leaderboard will be rewarded.
“You know traveling and paying for races all add up,” King said. “ As a group we want to help and reward the people who worked really hard.”
Presently, Run Oxford has no membership fee for their members. King said in the future dues will be collected because they do want to host their own runs.
Run Oxford is preparing for an eventful year. Beginning in 2016, Run Oxford will begin their very own Grand Prix race series. The inaugural race of the series will be in February with the Mighty Half and 5k. The races to follow will be the annual Oxford Double Decker Spring Run in April, the Splash ‘N Dash 5k in June and the Great 38 in the fall, which will have both 3-mile and 8-mile runs with proceeds benefitting the Chucky Mullins Foundation.
To make the series fun and competitive, Run Oxford will make the race series a competition between the runners. At the end of each race, times will be recorded and the person with the lowest cumulative time at the end of the series will be rewarded.
Stressing his interest in finding sponsorships, King said they are now seeking sponsors for the Grand Prix race series. Proceeds will go to helping start a youth running program and help offset cost to the running club for timing equipment.
King and Knight both expressed their desire for the younger generation to participate in Run Oxford. Hoping to draw the attention of younger kids to the program, Run Oxford invites children to Tuesday track practice.
“We want to encourage everyone to run, especially young people,” King said. “If people start running when they are younger then they are likely to have a lifetime of physical fitness.”
Running is like any other activity: you have to start somewhere. Run Oxford wants those interested to know that anyone is welcome to become part of their running club.
“I still love my solo runs, but the encouragement found in this group is irreplaceable,” Knight said. “We genuinely want people to be their best.”
