Photo: Emma Wheaton
Two years ago, amidst all the clubs and teams at Garneau, Ms. Hermanovsky noticed that not only were there none promoting recreational exercise, there were none offering exercise free of judgement, competition or marks.
“Without competition, it is a good way to show girls that it is possible to exercise for fun. Not for school, marks or anything, just for fun,” said Ms. Hermanovsky. Many of the members of the club are beginners, just learning to love running, just starting to feel passion for exercise. Others however, are veterans who have loved running for years, and are committed to improving.
The club normally meets on Day 2’s, Monday to Thursday, in front of Room 321. All members walk, stretch and warm up in front of the school before beginning their run. Afterwards, they jog through the trails in the valley near the school, running around 4 km in total. To track improvements, the members utilize a timer to mark specific increments of running and resting. Usually, they run as a group and make sure to cheer everyone on while they run.
Every year, the club trains for the Sporting Life 10 km Run. This event pushes the girls to work harder, and helps keep them on track to improving themselves as much as they can.
For the future, Ms. Hermanovsky wants to increase the club’s attendance, training, and marathons participation. She hopes to ultimately change the definition of exercise for girls at Marc Garneau.
