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A Run For Your Money

CANDACE C. MUNDY/TAMPA TRIBUNE

Carole Mathis, a Temple Terrace resident, along with other women, start out walking with bags of beans in their hands during a workout class with Carrollwood trainer and marathon runner Lynn Gray. Gray coordinates an 8-week women's running class that she calls Walk to Run. The group meets weekly to concentrate on fitness and learn the proper techniques of walking, progressing to running

By ELIZABETH LEE BROWN, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 2, 2008

Additional Photos

CARROLLWOOD - The premise for Lynn Gray's Walk to Run fitness program is simple: Anyone can be taught to run.

But before that first jog, they must learn to walk.

Students learn to take basic steps and proper alignment. They quicken the pace to speed walking.

It's not until week three or four into the eight-week program that students work up to a jog.

Gray, 55, an accomplished long-distance runner who has competed in more than 80 marathons in the past 30 years, said newcomers don't realize they need to strengthen their muscular and skeletal system with sustained walking before graduating into a jog, or they risk injury.

"You need to build up flexibility, learn the breathing pattern," she said. "Many of them just go out and run."

Doing too much too soon is one of the biggest mistakes. Beginners need to develop their physical condition first.

Unfortunately, most go straight into counting mileage by jogging two to three miles, Gray said.

Recruits enlist every eight weeks when a new session begins. They join the walking program, which often has speed walkers from previous sessions.

Gray's classes incorporate speed walking, flexibility, exercise and weight training. Students learn heart-rate monitoring, resistance training, nutrition, how to burn more calories on the runs and walks, the benefits of exercise and how to build leg power.

At a recent hour-long workout at Lake Park, Gray evaluates walkers' form and yells friendly reminders.

"Don't overdo. You're not in the Olympics. Put pep in the step. Be determined, girls. Remember your form. Keep those butts in."

Those are some of the words of encouragement Gray offers during the workout. Beginner walkers need a lot of affirmation, she said.

"It takes a while for that strength to be had. I'd like for them to spend more time on their feet for two months so their legs, tendons, and muscles are strong before graduating to a jog and all that pounding," Gray said.

Something as simple as having a slight curvature of the spine can create shin splints, she said.

Gray prides herself on teaching the novice runner and offering a safe fitness program for everyone at all ability levels.

She gives homemade beanbags to help with form. Clutching the bags keeps the arms stable yet moving in the right direction, so walkers have forward momentum, she said.

Gray offers a weekly training session for runners who compete in long races but prefers to focus on helping the novice walker and runner in classes held twice a week.

"There's more of a need for the woman now who wants to get into fitness," she said. "There are more women now on the running quest."

Gray's students have nothing but praise for the former Jesuit High School teacher.

"I would call Lynn genuine, authentic. She's the real thing," said Mary Jueong, a 46-year-old Lutz resident who joined "Walk to Run" in September.

Jueong signed up with a friend to gain a healthier lifestyle.

What she found was a diverse group of women in various ages, professions and fitness levels who welcomed newbies without judgment.

She also found a new motivation to stick to the fitness regiment. The program provides fitness goals and guidelines tailored to each walker or jogger.

"She tells you, 'Don't feel like you have to keep up with everybody,' " Jueong said. "Everybody has their own battle to fight."

Since starting, Jueong hasn't lost a pound because she hasn't changed her diet, but she does feel she has increased her stamina for the weekly workouts.

She credits Gray's years of teaching in the classroom to her knack for inspiring students.

"She knows how to get to different age levels and different mentalities. She treats you like you're the only one there," she said.

Betty Black of Northdale also signed up in September. Her son, a marathon runner, had been suggesting she join Gray's group the past three years.

After the first meeting, she realized she had wasted three years by waiting.

"She's terrific, she's passionate, she clear, she's consistent, and she's determined that everyone reach their full potential," Black said.

Black started the program like other newcomers - by walking. Soon she progressed to jogging and set even higher standards and got competitive.

Since September, Black has run a 5K race, a 10K, and plans to run a 15K at Walt Disney World in May.

At 73, she usually wins something in her age group.

"I liked her style, and I liked her dedication," Black said of Gray. "Her goal is to just help women be more fit."

She calls the walking series a complete program because Gray incorporates each workout with a fitness talk on issues such as conditioning, the benefits of cardio walking or the importance of a balanced diet.

Gray started running to get fit and to kill time while waiting for her football player boyfriend at the Florida State University track.

Soon she met other runners who ran longer distances and started running with them. In the late 1970s, she started running marathons.

The number of marathons she has completed is not as remarkable as where she finishes. Gray said she has always come in first or second in her age group.

Ten years ago, she started a coaching program called Take ... The First Step when friends asked her for advice on how to begin jogging.

She began to train them individually. Word spread, so she started a women's running club. Gray taught the original group of 10 the skills and physical techniques necessary for running.

Since then, more than 100 runners have gone through her training program.

"Women wanted to learn to stay fit permanently," Gray said. "I don't want a temporary fix. I set it up as a permanent lifestyle."

WALK TO RUN

CONTACT: Lynn Gray, certified running coach

PHONE: (813) 961-9347

WEB SITE: www.TheFirstStep Club.4T.com

Tips For Beginners

1. Do not overstride. Shorten your stride.

2. Go more from the heel to toe or midfoot to toe foot placement.

3. Stay in a straight line.

4. Use powerful rearward arm strokes, continually driving back and forth at just below waist level.

5. Bend your knees.