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Taking Small Steps All the Way to a 5K

"Walk Your Way to Running a 5K" program gets six women to their goal in 12 weeks.

What started out as a way to lose weight has turned into a business for walking/running coach Kiersten Bartolotta, owner of Walk to Run Fitness. Her "Walk Your Way to Running a 5K" program is a 12-week fitness regimen that helps participants work their way up to running a 5K race upon completion.

It is a fitness program that takes small steps to get people in shape for running their first charity 5K (3.1 miles) race in 12 weeks. The group -- consisting of six women ranging in age from 37 to 54 -- meets once a week and is trained by Bartolotta through walking and running intervals, slowly increasing the running intervals each time.

"I started running a couple of years ago with a goal of losing weight," Bartolotta said. "I have three kids and with each one, I kept getting bigger and bigger. When I got laid off from my job, I started to really focus on running and doing races for fundraising/charities. My major accomplishment was last year when I ran a marathon to raise money for the fight against pancreatic cancer because my grandfather died from it. Soon after that I went and got my certification to be a running coach and created my class 'Walk Your Way to Running a 5K' -- a 12 week fitness program."

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The group started its training on September 29, walking and running through the streets of Sayville. "When I started this first group, I didn't know how inspiring this experience would be," she said. "The goal was always to take average people -- overweight, skinny, young and mature -- and motivate them to do something they never thought they could do. But when real people show up with their courage, their strength and their determination, I realized how rewarding this experience had become."

The group is now in its ninth week and Kiersten is amazed at how far each member has come. "After they completed their run, they were shocked to find out they ran two and a quarter miles," Bartolotta said. "They couldn't believe that they could do that after eight weeks of training. And they were very proud (but still scared about our 5K in four more weeks.) They were also exhausted. It was not easy."

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She added, "With each week, we become more of a team. We work together and talk as we sweat. These women are facing this challenge for different reasons and they believe that their success is dependent on crossing the finish line December 18th. As I train them each week, I try to explain that completing the 5K race is an important goal and an essential part of the program but it is not the most important part. The part they must remember and take with them always is that they have succeeded already just because they had the courage to start."

When the program ends, Bartolotta's hope is that she has instilled a life-changing motivation in her clients. "I wanted to start a business that helped people," she said. "I wanted to motivate them to make specific changes in their life, to learn how to set goals, and best of all, reach those goals. I always say that after you finish my program, I don't care if you ever run again. But I hope you take from it that you have to set fitness goals all the time and work out three to five days a week for the rest of your life."

She added, "My focus for my participants is for them to learn how to be healthy and set reasonable but challenging goals. Along with that you get extra benefits like keeping your sanity (by escaping your children to exercise), learning how to maintain your weight, setting a good example for your children and just an overall increase in self confidence because you know you did the best you can."

Bartolotta's Walk to Run members will be racing in the Ho Ho Ho Holiday 5K race in Bethpage on December 18. The race raises money for "The Opening Word," an education program for poor, uneducated women. "I stress that the groups finish time is not important," Kiersten concluded. "We just want to cross the finish line and get hugs from our loved ones. It will be an exciting day for the group."

For more information, visit www.walktorunfitness.com. 

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