The need for Speed an Odyssey for runners
The phrase ‘‘all walks of life’’ takes on a particular meaning for runners. When you’re running with a group, or in a race, it doesn’t really matter who the person alongside you is. Whether they’ve changed out of a corporate suit or overalls, whether they’re a professor or a school dropout, when you’re running, none of that matters.
No matter your background, the hills will make your heart work harder (some harder than others) and the finish line won’t get any closer unless you keep moving forward.
Running doesn’t care how much you earn, where you live,
where you were born, where you went to school, or what your favourite band is. Running doesn’t care.
It’s something I’ve always loved about it.
This week on the Dirt Church Radio podcast, co-host Matt Rayment and I spoke to some runners who love that about running, too.
The Speed Freaks is a running group from Christchurch’s Odyssey House, a residential drug and alcohol addiction treatment programme.
A couple of times a week, men in treatment and some staff go for runs, under the guidance of a coach, Jamie Hawker, a wellknown Christchurch running community figure.
They build up for races – next up is the Crater Rim trail race in October, where they’ll take on distances of up to 21km.
But it’s more than just running and getting fit. It’s also about breaking down barriers and giving the men the confidence to see that they are worthy.
One of the runners, Ray, who has been at Odyssey House for 10 months, finds a freedom from the ‘‘addict’’ label.
‘‘When you’re running, it takes away the stigma,’’ Ray told us. ‘‘You’re treated as an equal. We’re all just runners. That, for me, is the biggest thing that this running group can offer.’’
Stephanie Schnoor, one of Odyssey’s clinical social workers, who also runs with the group, sees those barriers getting broken down, especially with the way the Speed Freaks are treated when they go to events.
‘‘It defies a few of those rigid boxes that people themselves