We all know how important exercise is to our health. But the reasons that we have for not getting started or staying committed to exercising are numerous:
- Have no time
- Too tired at the end of the day
- Don’t like to exercise alone
- Need motivation
- Get bored easily
- It’s not fun
- Too old/out of shape
- Can’t stick with it
- Too expensive
- Don’t fit in
Sound familiar?
Diego Velasquez had a deep-rooted connection with sport. He wanted to help to transform people’s lives for the better by encouraging them to join daily individual and group physical exercises combined with social responsibility to help the community.
In 2011, he helped create the group Race Junkies. A nonprofit that’s free to join, Race Junkies’ mission is to promote health and exercise. The group’s core belief is that through sport, there is the power to change lives. They seek to bring inspiration to every person, see possibilities where others see only challenges, create a culture where people feel they belong, and encourage people to train. The nonprofit group works with local sponsors to get donations that directly enable the group to promote exercise by helping fund team uniforms, cycling equipment, and race entry fees.
Some members of Race Junkies simply enjoy running, cycling, or swimming, and others are marathoners and triathletes, often traveling and supporting each other in local, national, and international events. Members coordinate training programs, with the most seasoned athletes becoming leaders and mentors to newer members. The team is enriched by the diversity of cultural and professional backgrounds, and everyone is welcome: kids, adults of all ages, elite athletes, and non-athletes.
Starting an exercise routine is not easy. Some of the biggest barriers to exercising regularly are fitting it into your schedule, accountability, needing motivation from others, diversity, and the challenge to keep exercise from becoming boring.
With Race Junkies, there are always people biking, running, and swimming at different times, on different days, at different speeds, and in different locations in Coral Springs and areas nearby. This suits Thiago, who joined Race Junkies two years ago, just fine. He finds the time and motivation to train despite having a newborn, driving kids to school, and working all hours of the day with people around the world in different time zones. His goal is to finish the Ironman 70.3 later this year.
“You will never be alone if you don’t want to,” said Thiago. “The beauty is the motivation others bring to the group. You always have a partner or a group to train with.”
Added Kevin, who, after “plenty of sedentary and self-indulgent behavior,” decided he wanted to exercise to set a good example for his daughter, and now has run the New York City marathon and many half-marathons and aspires to compete in a full Ironman. “There are a lot of tools available as well. I for sure wouldn’t have access to the amazing swim coaches there are or the bike resources.”
It’s easy for a “no can do, no way no how, it’s just not me” attitude to sabotage one’s exercise goals. But Race Junkies members find those obstacles can be overcome surprisingly easily, even if at first, they think that exercising and competing are impossible for them. “Once they join, people realize they didn’t even know there were goals they could push themselves toward,” said Kevin. “It goes from painful, to I don’t know why I’m doing this, to I can’t stop doing this. And it happens very quickly.”
While they are inspired by other members, Race Junkies often find that training at their own pace and not comparing themselves to others is a winning formula. Certainly, this was true for Lorena, Diego’s wife. The triathlon bike (tribike) that Diego gave her sat untouched in their garage for two years before she started riding. Initially unsure and intimidated by people more athletic than she imagined she would ever be, since joining Race Junkies nine years ago, Lorena has completed three 70.3 Ironman races. When she turned 50, she ran the New York City marathon.
The how and why members have gotten involved with Race Junkies varies, but the sense of health, strength, and well-being it fosters, and the desire to mentor and give back to the group, is a common experience.
As Roberto, a member of Race Junkies for five years and marathoner who “never tries to win anything, only to compete with himself,” said, “We have all types of people with all types of goals, but we come together and support each other. I try to give back as much as I can as a ride leader with the group, hosting two rides per week, helping with bike mechanics, and offering a bike clinic for the group. But even more than supporting each other in sports, we support each other in life.”
Everyone is welcome to train with Race Junkies. To learn more about the group, contact them on social media:
- Instagram: racejunkiesusa
- Facebook: Race Junkies—www.facebook.com/groups/1835441360110979