Photo: Castanet

Columnists Maximilian Ruther, Michael Potestio and Aaron Schulze celebrate after completing Boogie the Bridge.

After a seven-week journey with RUNClub preparing for Boogie the Bridge, columnists Aaron Schulze, Maximilian Ruther and Michael Potestio reflect on Sunday's big event, which drew more thousands of people to downtown Kamloops.

'Punched in the mouth'

To quote boxer Mike Tyson prior to his world heavyweight championship fight with Evander Holyfield, “everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”

I had a plan for Boogie the Bridge on Sunday. Until I got to the starting line.

Following speeches, stretches, synchronized movement, the RUNClubbers of the future getting things started with the 1K race and last-minute pleasantries with runners I’ve trained with over the last two months amid of sea of red shirts in the parking lot outside Sandman Centre, my time for the 10K arrived.

With Europe’s The Final Countdown perfectly synced with the start time, I couldn’t help but borderline sprint out of the gates. My anxious excitement took over me and I blew up one kilometre in. I got punched in the mouth.

The next nine kilometres were a grind. Especially running up Overlanders Bridge the second time. Extra water sips led to a porta-potty break that ate up enough minutes for me not finish the 10K within an hour.

It's hard for me to make out faces when I’m passing by people during a task I’m locked into. But I was able to catch words of encouragement from my fellow Boogie homies who I crossed paths with on the turnaround. It helped me barrel on through my fatigue.

Crossing the finish line filled me with accomplishment and camaraderie, along with post-run bananas and granola bars and juice.

My hip tenderness will last the week. But the memories will last forever.

-Aaron Schultze, CFJC News

Photo: Aaron Schulze

Columnist Aaron Schulze at the finish line after running 10K at Boogie the Bridge.

What a journey

Boogie weekend always feels like a celebration. The chalk on the course, the Expo, and how the energy builds up just before the start reminds you what makes this event so special.

When I joined Boogie training this year, I came in with a bit more experience under my belt. After running my first half marathon last year at Boogie, a marathon, and two ultras later that same year, I was recovering from a tough lesson of overtraining and hitting the wall at Boundary Bay. That injury forced me to slow down and re-evaluate how I trained.

Throughout the spring, I built a solid routine by mixing trail and road runs, strength sessions, mobility work, and cycling. I worked with a physiotherapist to address some imbalances and focused on staying injury-free. Consistency became my biggest tool.

This spring was full of good moments, from volunteering at Parkrun and reconnecting with the local running community to spending a weekend in Revelstoke, training on the trails for my upcoming race. I am also proud to have won a lottery entry for the Berlin Marathon, another exciting goal for this year.

Running the 10K at Boogie this year felt like the right call. I gave it a strong effort and was happy to finish third in my age group, setting a new personal best. Seeing so many of my teammates reach the finish line made it even more special. Watching their smiles and celebrations, knowing how much work they had put in over the weeks, made me just as proud as finishing my own race.

Running, like life, teaches you a lot. Mostly that if you keep showing up, it really does add up.

-Maximilian Ruther, RUNClubber

Photo: Maximilian Ruther

Maximilian Ruther (L) with Jo Berry (R) at Sunday's Boogie the Bridge.

A sprint to the finish

Did you see the movie Gattaca?

Ethan Hawke? “I never saved anything for the swim back.”

Yeah, I wanted to do the opposite of that on Boogie The Bridge Day.

I’ll be honest. I’m usually not awake yet when this annual Kamloops tradition rolls around, so I had no context. Finally, experiencing it for myself, I can say it was quite impressive. It’s like church on Easter Sunday — everyone shows up. Riverside Park was like Comic Con for runners — probably with even more spandex.

It’s an intimidating scene for us normies.

RUNClub training prepared me for this day, but I’m still nervous. I’ve done this 5K route multiple times over these eight weeks, but there are many eyes out today.

I’ve only just started to find where I fit in RUNClub as a power walker, but Shannon and I plan to incorporate some run intervals as well. I don’t want to flame out, so I ration those stints.

While I worry at times about going too fast, when I see the finish line, I still have plenty left in the tank.

So much of RUNClub has been about finding my pace — I’ve learned a lot — but with the final stretch in site I decide to leave it all out there and sprint to the finish.

It feels good to have accomplished this run. To my surprise I did it in under an hour as well.

Shannon and I say goodbye at the finish line, but as she departs, I realize I have more to say and run back to catch her, give her a hug and thank her for doing this training with me.

It was easy to make friends in RUNClub, but there’s nothing like having a friend in RUNClub.

Having Shannon with me for moral support, walking those kilometres side-by-side, asking me if I was ok when I was trying not to show that I wasn’t, was invaluable.

I wouldn’t have been able to do this without her.

A shout out is also in order to our colleague Kristen who peer pressured us (in the best way) to do this. As someone who is well-versed in RUNClub, having her advice and praise along the way helped motivate me as well.

This experience has shown me that I’m capable of more than I think I am. What may seem daunting at first will not be as long as I can take that plunge.

I’ll see you next year.

-Michael Potestio, Castanet Kamloops

Photo: Castanet

Kristen Holliday (L), columnist Michael Potestio (centre) and Shannon Mitchell (R) at the Boogie the Bridge start line on Sunday.