Calling all runners
Local training group makes strides
CUMBERLAND — If you have been slogging through your road races at the same pace time after time or are just now thinking about trying out the sport of running, you might want to check out the New England Distance Project’s community running group.
Aaron Dinezo, a New England Distance staff member and the group’s coach, said an expanded version of last year’s community running initiative will kick off on April 8 with an opening run and training session at 8:30 a.m. at the Front Street parking lot of the Blackstone Valley Bikeway in Lincoln.
The community group drew about 75 area residents to the largest of its two sessions last year, and Dinezo is hoping to build on that level of interest this year as the group becomes a year-round running training club.
“It is really open to anyone,” Dinezo said while explaining there are member- ship options for both individuals over 18 and for families. The group is for both experienced runners and newcomers and hopes to generate interest in running for residents of the greater Woonsocket area and nearby communities such as North Attleboro, Pawtucket and Providence.
Running sessions will be held at the Cumberland Monastery, the Cumberland High School track, and along the
Blackstone River Bikeway.
Participants will receive training pointers and instruction from professional runners like Dinezo and veteran coaches and trainers such as Roland Roy, a Cumberland High School running program volunteer, and Kim Chula-McGuire, a doctor of physical therapy and a veteran runner.
The training sessions, scheduled to be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6 p.m. and on Sundays at 8:30 a.m., will feature three sections of runners based on fitness and goals, and a related workout for each grouping.
The first of last year’s two group sessions targeted getting the team members ready to run Cumberland’s Arnold Mills 4 mile race on July 4th, Dinezo noted. The second group training session didn’t have a specific race as a training goal but focused more on several competition distances and goals.
The funding raised through the club’s annual membership fees of $100 for individuals and $240 for three or four participants will help New England Distance continue to run cross country and track programs for underserved student athletes in Woonsocket and Providence.
New England Distance revived the Woonsocket Middle School cross country program in 2014 and has gone on to bring back indoor and outdoor track programs for the school as well.
The non-profit organization has also taken on bringing cross country to Providence middle schools and is in the process of adding track and field programs at some of the schools it serves, Nathaniel Greene, Nathaniel Bishop, Delsesto-Springfield, Roger Williams, Esek Hopkins, Gilbert Stuart and West Broadway.
New England Distance’s staff runners are provided housing to be available for their community instruction roles, and in turn that allows them to continue to train for their professional careers and attend national and international competitions, according to Dinezo.
“My teammates are great athletes and individuals. We all split our time between our own training and goals, while coaching others to promote health and wellness, but we push each other to excel,” Dinezo said of New England Distance and its runners. “Just last month, three of my teammates represented the United States at the Pan American Cross Country Championships in El Salvador,” he noted. The teammates were Katrina Spratford, Obsie Birru, and Rachel Schilkowsky, he said. Spratford came in with the best time of the group for 10th place overall, and Schilkowsky and Birru, 15th and 17th place respectively.
Dinezo himself is a graduate of California University of Pennsylvania, where he was 7-time All-American. While pursuing his professional running career, he spent time training in Colorado and was the runner-up at the 2016 USATF Cross Country Championships. Aaron holds personal bests of 13:58 for 5K and 28:40 for 10K.
Cumberland resident Chula-Maguire started her running career as an adult to stay in shape when she finished playing competitive soccer. After joining a running club in 2008, she has competed at many distances, from the 800 meters on the track to the half-marathon on the roads, with her favorite events being the 800 meters and mile on the track. This past July she was selected to run the Master’s Exhibition 1500 meters at the Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon.
“Our mission statement is to promote health and wellness in the community and the community running group is very much aligned with that mission,” Dinezo said.
Runners participating in the group will not only get some help in breaking out of their routine training practices and expectations, but also have some fun running with others on a team, Dinezo explained. “They will experience what it is like to be a part of a team and see how that gets people motivated,” he said.
For more information on New England Distance Project’s community running group visit the website, nedistance.wildapricot.org.