One of our runners (Gar) asked me a few months ago why I coach.
“This is a lot of work, why do you do this?” I wasn’t prepared for the question, so I went to the simple answer. “I love SWET. It’s full of great people and I want to do what I can to keep it going.” Autumn and I have been running with SWET groups for years, but we haven’t owned it very long. It’s hard for me to say “own this club”, because I feel like it belongs to all of us. Without our runners and coaches, it would be nothing. It’s the people in SWET that make it what it is.
Owning the club and coaching the groups has changed my perspective about why I love SWET. SWET used to be about my running goals and getting to run with neat people from all walks of life. It’s great to just be a runner in SWET, but that field of view was narrow. Now that I coach all groups, on both sides of town, I get to meet every runner in the club, learn their goals and help them plan and train.
My perspective has changed.
It was right in front of my face, but I have discovered that SWET is overflowing with amazing human beings (even you, Gar). We have runners of all shapes and sizes, young and old, fast and slow. From new runners who just bought a pair of shoes and are about to run for a minute for the first time, to runners who have been running marathons for 40 years. Every running goal (and some triathlon goals!) imaginable can be found among our SWET runners. Goals big and small. Every one of our runners is setting up goals and knocking them down, challenging themselves, pushing their limits, and even if the run wasn’t so good, being a little better runner than they were yesterday. Somebody in our club is always running that next minute, that next mile and that next marathon. On top of this, many of our runners are doing this in the face of health challenges, or grappling with work/life balance, or even just the grind of daily life. This is an amazing thing to watch, inspiring, humbling, fulfilling, and a privilege to be a part of.
I love SWET.