PHOTO-FINISH FOR LATIN RUNNERS VISIT!

Bob Rompre Photo/Langley Grovetrotters

There are some mornings when life just seems a little bit better than others!

Check out the photo galley | Smile Box below of Latin Runners! visit to Derby Reach Regional Park to run with Arian Nation, a.k.a. the Walnut Grove Sun Run elite (smile) training group!

Click HERE to see the photos of a superb Sunday.


Story that appeared in The Vancouver Sun reflecting the visit:

By Gord Kurenoff | Vancouver Sun

SHE had me at hola!

A chica bonita, with running tights that discourage any thoughts of passing and a mega-watt smile that would turn stone to gravy, came up to me Sunday morning, extended her hand and asked for my name.

“Gord,” I mumbled, thinking this goddess had mistaken me for some darn lucky dude, or that I was being Punk’d big time by our mischievous running leaders.

“George?” she asked in that Salma Hayek-Penelope Cruz dreamy accent that gets me each and every time.

“Gord,” I mumbled again, now on the verge of droolapoloza.

“Ord?” she said, as harp music from the heavens seemed to accompany her question.

“Gord … it’s like George and Ord combined. You know, like gored the bull,” I said slowly, knowing an extended explanation might prolong this pleasant process.

“Ahhh, like El Gordo. Si. So nice to meet you,” she said before floating away on a cloud giggling.

I would discover some 90 minutes later that this goddess with the all-women Latin Runners! informed everyone in her group that I was “the big stuffed one,” which apparently is what El Gordo means translated in Spanish. Close enough, I suppose!

With less than two weeks to go before the starting gun goes off at the 30th Vancouver Sun Run, our awesome training titans hooked up with an upbeat group of wonderful women to tackle an eight- and 10-kilometre course in Langley’s scenic Derby Reach Regional Park.

The Latin Runners!, led by Lluvia Meneses, joined us on a sunny morning and fit in perfectly, which is no surprise given that Senorita Meneses is a former participant in the fun Sun Run training group.

After training with Arian Soheili’s wild thangs in Walnut Grove two years ago, she caught the running bug and was inspired to do much more than just loop around fire halls, yell “we’re feeling great,” stretch against fences and burn out expensive shoes.

“I truly consider Arian my mentor. He inspired me to run, to have fun, to help people and to eventually start the Latin Runners! Running really changed my life, and now we’re running to change women’s lives. I could not be happier,” said Meneses.

Gord Kurenoff Photo/Langley Grovetrotters

Arian Soheili "welcomes" Lluvia Meneses to Derby Reach
Regional Park. And to think she considers him a mentor!

She applied for, and received, government grants to start a club that offers physical, emotional and social support and networking for Latino women, some who have had postpartum depression or faced other challenges in their lives, or who just needed to become active to grow their social circle in B.C.

She found that running led to long-term relationships, a “sense of belonging,” confidence and friendship building. Through her efforts, the Latin Runners! now have 10 clubs in the Lower Mainland, 15 leaders, some 90 members and 280 people on Facebook and other social media who keep in touch regularly helping each other.

The first session started last June with nine runners in Langley and then quickly it expanded to New Westminster, Abbotsford and Coquitlam. It continues to grow and thrive.

Their philosophy is to always run in company, always have a goal in mind and always support the other runners.

“And we can be loud at times … afterall, we’re Latinos! We always yell ’1-2-3 Latin Runners, a correr’ before we start — people tend to know we’re around,” said Meneses.

She chuckled when asked about her new group’s involvement in the Sun Run.

“Maybe next year as I know some really want to do it,” said Meneses. “Many of our members, mostly Mexican women, do not like training in the cold or rainy months when most Sun Run clinics start. I’m trying to change that thinking, and it’s happening, but it’s a slow process. They’re adapting to Canada, but many still prefer the warmer weather!”

She has received a lot of help from Soheili, SportMedBC’s coach Lynn Kanuka, and the provincial and federal governments who recognize her efforts as an outstanding program.

“Many ran their first 8K or 10K today with you folks. I’m really proud of that. We have something good going on here, more than just healthy exercise. Look at all the smiles — it has to be working, right?”

Despite refusing my request — OK, shameless begging — to join as their first male member, I still admire Meneses’ passion for paying it forward.

Speaking of which, if there is something I will take away from my Sun Run training odyssey — besides tips for muscle cramps, group selfies and new nicknames — it’s the fact that this entire exercise isn’t about how fast you run, or how far you can go, or how you fit or look in running gear. It’s all about the people, and the fact there are so many good ones, with so many great stories, and so many making this world a better place.

It truly will be bittersweet when we meet this Sunday for the final time in Walnut Grove as “Arian Nation.” We are all excited about testing ourselves in the April 27th Sun Run, but bummed out this weekly meeting of superb sole-mates is about to end. Good thing the memories never will.

While it may take me a few additional months of training — and a closer review of my Timbits diet — to experience the so-called runner’s high, I’m sure this scribe will feel the runner’s low when we do the Happy Feet warm-up routine for one final time Sunday.

Can’t express enough gratitude to our leaders, my training colleagues who put the fun in run, and the quality people who made this January-to-April experience nothing short of awesome.

El Gordo salutes you!
Stay happy and healthy.
Gotta run ...

Bob Rompre Photo | Langley Grovetrotters

Arian Soheili leads his group and the Latin Runners
through a morning workout at Derby Reach Regional Park.