Garden Route Therapy

I was just beaming when I received an email update and photo last week from a friend and outstanding volunteer at Providence Farm, who has graciously taken over the coaching role of the running club since the completion of my internship.  The news came that the runners had made it to the first lookout point on Mount Tzouhalem and were rewarded with a great bird’s-eye view of the farm.  They are so very close to the original goal, established in the spring when we started running, to reach the cross on top of the mountain. I felt so proud hearing that the group had been able to sustain itself and of their continued uphill efforts.

The weekly running club was established to provide two young men with a healthy recreational activity and a tool to manage stress.  I was so impressed by their commitment to creating a team and supporting each other despite having very different physical abilities.  They learned to follow a routine, warm-up, run their hearts out, cool-down and stretch.  Within weeks of working out together, they were easily outrunning me and I had to start doing more coaching from the sidelines.  They ran on farm lanes and through wooded areas, each step becoming more familar with the surrounding land.  Running and horticultural therapy came together as there were many great opportunities for identifying various native plants along the way and we would bring back samples of plants unknown to look up in a local plant guide.