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Date: 3/18/2021
EAST LONGMEADOW – Competitive running is a sport many people think of as impossible for them to do, even if they wanted to.
“Even when I was younger, I played basketball. I never thought about running. It was always the punishment. The idea of doing 26.2 [miles, the length of a marathon] seemed like something I could never do,” said Scott Riecke, CEO of the Ordinary Marathoner Foundation, a nonprofit that encourages running through community programs. But when Riecke was in his late 30s, he said, he was looking for a competitive outlet.
When Riecke first tried running, he couldn’t do a half mile, so he began training. “It really got me in tune with that competitive athlete I used to be,” Riecke said. He trained for a 5k, then a l0k, then a half marathon.
At that point, Riecke turned his competitive outlet into a creative outlet. He and his wife, Stefany Schaefer-Riecke, began the Ordinary Marathoner podcast letting people know they can become runners, even if they thought they never could. An online community with over 1,300 members grew out of that project and it has since turned into the Ordinary Marathoner Foundation.
“Our mission is to introduce, or in some cases re-introduce, this sport to people who may not believe it is accessible to them due to lack of resources, knowledge, or guidance,” The group’s website explains. “Running and other cardiovascular activity can significantly improve physical and mental health. As a form of aerobic exercise, running can reduce stress, improve cardiovascular health and help alleviate symptoms of depression.”
Although the foundation is based in East Longmeadow, its volunteer advisory board members live around the country. The board members generate ideas for the foundation. Their job is to research the cost of a given proposal, the logistics of initiating it and how to measure its success. The proposals are then voted on by the board, as a whole.
One board member, a marine veteran, suggested providing running equipment to veterans. Another had the idea to offer a running group for deaf athletes, who often have inner- ear-related balance issues. Yet another program will design a training program for people with autism. A coach has been found who is certified to work with people on the autism spectrum and the foundation aims to have the program operational in April.
“It takes four or five months to teach marathon distance,” Riecke said, and many marathons are organized for the fall, so the goal is to start these programs soon to give people time to train.
Despite the spread-out nature of the board, Ordinary Marathoner is also partnering with organizations here in East Longmeadow. Riecke said that he has been in touch with the East Longmeadow Recreation Department and 4RUN3, a fitness training and apparel business in Center Square in hopes of creating a youth running camp in the spring or summer.
The foundation hosted a virtual fundraiser on March 1 to raise the necessary funds to begin the autism program and the kids’ running clinic. It raised just over $3,000, which Riecke said is enough to get the programs off the ground.
“Runners are a supportive and generous bunch of people,” Riecke said. “We hope to bring enough integrity to inspire donations,” to fund the foundation’s programs.
To learn more about the Ordinary Marathoner Foundation, visit https://www.ordinarymarathonerfoundation.org, https://www.facebook.com/groups/OrdinaryMarathoners, or https://twitter.com/OMFcharity.