A Vancouver-based member shares how Precision Run Club upended her perspective on running.
I Tried is a series that spotlights an individual as they experience an Equinox offering. In this installment, Equinox West Georgia Street member Sahar Barzani tries Precision Run Club.
Nearly six days a week for three years, Sahar Barzani could be found in her Club cycling through some of the major group fitness offerings: HIIT, strength training, and, alongside her partner, boxing classes. Admittedly, running was never a part of the Vancouver-based member’s routine. “I thought, ‘Yeah, I cannot do that,’” she says. “It was obviously a big no for me.”
That hard “no” became a soft “maybe” when her Club, West Georgia Street, launched Precision Run Club, says Barzani. Open to runners, so-called haters, and every athlete in between, the weekly meet-ups entail either a straightforward out-and-back run or a “run-cross” workout, in which the run is broken up with strength and conditioning work using resistance bands and cones, says Geoff Bagshaw, the Club’s group fitness manager and a Precision Run Club coach.
The West Georgia Street Precision Run Club route is usually about four to five kilometers (roughly two-and-a-half to three miles), depending on the type of workout, and always starts with a group warm-up. Often set along the scenic waterfront, the run-cross workout is worthwhile for the views alone. “You're looking out at the ocean and the mountains and everything like that,” says Bagshaw. “So it's probably one of the most breathtaking spots in Vancouver to possibly work out. And we're very fortunate because it's got this big deck area and benches that we use for step-ups, push-ups, triceps dips, and everything like that.”
After hearing about the new offering in April, Barzani decided to simply “give it a go.” “I wanted to build up a physical and mental resilience, and I knew that I would not enjoy it, but I wanted to push myself to say, ‘Yeah, I can comfortably run a 5K,’” she adds.
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The first workout was exhausting; Barzani says she felt light-headed, had to pause to catch her breath a few times, and walked at some points. But seeing other members make it to the finish solidified her goal of finishing a 5K without any stops. She came back the next week — and most of the weeks after that. With each meet-up, the workout felt easier. “Every week I'm running more with less stops,” she recalls.
The group runs have rubbed off on her solo training, too. She’s taking indoor Precision Run 30 classes to improve her performance on the street and going for outdoor jogs by herself. Although it’s a mental battle to bring herself to the Run Club some days, Barzani says she keeps coming back just to be a part of the team.
It helps that the coaches both cheerlead and challenge. Bagshaw says he makes an effort to socialize with every member throughout the workout and snag high-fives at the end. Every path crossed is a moment to celebrate and support. “Geoff is awesome,” Barzani says. “He always gives lots of positive energy and motivates everybody to push to the limit — I really love that.”
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Barzani knows her journey is just beginning. She’s planning to invest in her running, taking more Precision Run Classes and maybe participating in an official race this year. (Bagshaw is also trying to get Club members to sign up for a race together so they have a team goal to work toward.) Thinking back to her mindset a year ago, Barzani says she never imagined herself in this position. “I would like to push more now,” she says. “I can see hope, because I thought I could never run, but all these small steps are just somehow giving me motivation to do more.”
To that end, Barzani has one piece of advice to members like herself, who long thought of themselves as “not a runner.” “I had never thought that I could run, but now I say, yeah, everything is possible,” she explains. “You just need to put some time and effort in.”