The Japanese call it Shinrin-yoku. “Forest bathing”, a long walk through the forest, breathing in the wood essential oils in the forest air, is a recognized form of wellness in Japan. Benefits are believed to include a reduction in stress hormones, heart rate and blood pressure.
And while it is not precisely forest-bathing a run through nearby Palgrave Forest is bound to be both restorative and a good work-out.
Nikola Boadway, owner of Palgrave Personal Training, and Tina Haller, owner of Healthy Lifestyles, became aware about 8 years ago that they were each leading running clubs and decided to merge. The result is the Palgrave Running Club.
“We’ve designed this so almost any level of fitness should be able to keep up” says Tina. The CanFitPro Certified Personal Trainer moved to Caledon almost 20 years ago from Peterborough.
Novice runners can attend the Learn To Run (LTR) Clinic, a 12-week session where they slowly progress from running 1 minute intervals to 5 kilometres of trail running, at which point they can join in with the running club.
“Trail running is easy on the joints” explains Nikola, who was Certified as a Fitness Instructor in 2002 and then continued to add certifications as personal trainer, exercise coach and holistic lifestyle coach, transitioning from group exercise to small group and personal training. “Every week we run a different route and since the forest is constantly changing it’s almost mediative and addictive to run in such an amazing environment”.
The Club has a total of 5 coaches, 2 for the LTR clinic and 3 (Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced) for the Trail Running Club. The LTR Clinic commences April 7th for 12 weeks for $75.00. The Trail Running Club is $25.00 for the season (April 7th to September 29th).
To register contact either PalgraveTraining.com or Healthy-Lifestyles.ca
