Running with the pack can be solid motivation

Summoning the motivation to go run those two miles after work on a Tuesday isn’t the easiest accomplishment for beginning runners. More and more runners in the Wichita area are finding the cameraderie and support of running groups to be the solution.

Some have found co-workers or neighbors to be running partners. Others join training programs like the ones offered by Fleet Feet Wichita. Weeknight group runs organized by the local club Run Wichita are also popular.

“Most people don’t love to run, but they love the cameraderie and accomplishment they feel when they’re a part of a group,” said Renine Stanslowski, Fleet Feet owner. “Running groups provide that amazing, supportive environment where you’re welcomed and you’re part of something. You’re not by yourself anymore.”

Here are the stories of three Wichita runners, each of whom found support in the local running community as they prepared to run in the 40th annual River Run on Saturday morning.

The empty-nester

For the longest time, Debbie Whiley used to say the same thing every time she would see a jogger during her daily commute from work to home in Andover.

“I’ve always wanted to do that,” Whiley would tell herself.

But running takes time and finding time in her busy schedule didn’t seem possible to Whiley. From 9 to 5 she worked as a mortgage lender at a bank. Outside of that, she was an involved mother to Meg, her only child studying business administration at Kansas State.

“I just didn’t have time,” said Whiley, 48. “You work a full-time job and then as a parent, you do what you have to for your kids. You make sure to take care of them and sometimes you forget to take care of yourself.”

When her daughter graduated, landed a job and moved to Kansas City, Whiley felt like she finally had the time to commit to running. But she didn’t want to do it alone, so she joined the No Boundaries training program offered by Fleet Feet last August.

Whiley immediately felt the power of the group. She met runners who had just begun like herself, runners who also worked full-time jobs, and runners who were parents with newly-empty houses.

“That’s what keeps me coming back, it honestly does,” Whiley said. “There’s probably about 10 of us and we’re all in this group that lets you send messages. Whenever you want to run, you can just send a message, and usually somebody will always pipe up and say they will run with you. It’s just an amazing community.”

Whiley will run her first 10-kilometer race on Saturday, less than a year after starting her training. Back then, she thought it would be an accomplishment if she could ever run a mile without stopping.

“I would have said you were crazy if you ever told me I was going to be running six straight miles a year ago,” Whiley said. “But Saturday, that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to do it.”

The family runner

As a pediatrician, Stephanie Kuhlmann is always looking for ways to promote healthy lifestyles for children.

Kuhlmann, 40, a Wichita native, has never considered herself a runner. But when the opportunity arose to work with Renine Stanslowski at Fleet Feet, organizing a group called the “Mini Milers,” Kuhlmann jumped.

The program, for children 6 to 12, has grown in popularity since it began in 2014. Not only are parents enrolling their children for the benefits of an active lifestyle, Kuhlmann said, they are turning running into a family event.

“It’s very important to get kids plugged into a healthy lifestyle at an early age,” Kuhlmann said. “Running is definitely an activity that everyone can do together, regardless of age.”

Kuhlmann has seen the impact in her own life. When she enrolled her 7-year-old daughter, Kuhlmann said she felt inspired to return to her active roots.

“I used to play sports growing up all the way through college,” Kuhlmann said. “Then I got into medical school and then residency and I kind of put my own lifestyle on hold. Now I’m trying to get back into it. I wanted to show my own daughter the importance of living a healthy lifestyle.”

On Saturday, Kuhlmann, her husband and her daughter will be one of the growing number of families to run in races like Saturday’s 2-mile.

“There’s not a lot of activities that all three of us can do together,” Kuhlmann said. “This is something the whole family can do the same thing together and that’s pretty special for all of us.”

The inspirational runner

Following gastric bypass surgery in December 2014, Shirlene Small did not want to waste the second chance at a healthier lifestyle.

She wanted to take up running, but didn’t know where to begin so she joined a running group. Small can still recall how difficult the first week of training was when she had to jog for 30 seconds straight with three-minute breaks of walking.

“Those used to be the hardest, longest 30 seconds of my life,” Small said. “By the end of that, I was gasping for air and looking for a chair.”

Through the support of her group, Small persevered and has been training for more than a year now. She has lost 160 pounds since the surgery and will run in her first 10-kilometer race Saturday, exactly one year after she completed her first race.

“I could have done one day, maybe two days by myself,” Small said. “But when you’re wanting to get better and improve, having people training with you adds that support system and that accountability. We all just show up and inspire each other and everybody builds off of that and we all get better.”

What Small has enjoyed most about the group is the camaraderie. Just last month, the group ran in a 5-kilometer race to help raise awareness for colon cancer because one of its members is a survivor.

That type of support is what makes running special.

“My life has changed in very big ways and very subtle ways,” Small said. “There are things I know I wouldn’t be able to do today if I hadn’t gone through with the surgery and things I haven’t been able to do for a long time since I’ve been this physically active.

“Overall, my quality life has gotten so much better and it’s because of the support I received from my friends and family.”

This story was originally published June 3, 2016 at 5:05 PM with the headline "Running with the pack can be solid motivation."