Snoqualmie Valley club gets locals out and running
July 1, 2009
By Ryan Piersol
They run early, they run every week and they run for fun.
Most importantly, though, they run together.
Inspired by his own experience and continued requests from friends, Valley resident Sean Sundwall began the Mt Si Running Club early last month. The group, which includes several dozens of running enthusiasts from around the Valley, meets at 7 a.m. every Saturday at the track at Mount Si High School.
Currently, the club is simply a meeting ground for those in the area who are interested in casual runs. But it’s that social network that Sundwall says was so lacking in the Valley.
“Enough people asked me if I was going to put on a running club, that I finally decided to do it. The demand was out there. There are a lot of people who like to run,” he said. “I don’t get a chance to run with people around here much and there was really nothing around Snoqualmie that allowed people to run with each other.”
Sundwall, who has competed in Olympic Trials, was the creator and organizer of the first ever Snoqualmie Railroad Days Run, which took place during the Snoqualmie Railroad Days last August. Both before and after that run — which he says garnered lots of local interest — he was approached by individuals interested in joining a running club.
Sundwall already had been involved in a club in the Seattle area and had some ideas about how to get a club in the Valley going. The first meeting was June 6 and the club has gotten together every Saturday since.
“It’s intended for adults. It’s primary purpose is to provide a venue for people who like running and are into running and want to have some kind of social interaction with people once a week,” he said. “We have all kinds of skills levels. We have people who show up and run seven-minute miles and people who run much faster. But everyone has at least one or more people to run with.”
“It’s been really good. I think, every single week, we’ve had more than we had the previous week. Word is getting around and people are coming out and enjoying it.”
The dues to join the running club are $40 a year. They include a T-shirt and a membership card that entitles members to discounts at a number of stores and businesses both in the Valley and on the Eastside. The club also sends out a monthly e-newsletter, will have quarterly guest speakers and will hold social gatherings twice a year.
Sundwall’s running club in Seattle often enters competitions. Right now, the Mount Si club is only being used as a tool to get locals running, but Sundwall said that could change in the future.
“As more people find out about it, I would love to have teams that compete in cross country and track at a national level. That’s a really fun experience,” he said. “At the same time, if that doesn’t happen, that’s fine. What I want more than anything is for Valley runners to feel like there’s a place to run with other runners.”
To sign up for the club, go to www.runsnoqualmie.com or e-mail msrc@runsnoqualmie.com.
Reach editor Ryan Piersol at editor@snovalleystar.com or 392-6434.
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