Caitlin Macaulay missed being part of a running team since she ran high school cross country. Then, last winter, she and two friends who shared her passion decided to create their own running club.

Macaulay, Lynda Bradley, both occupational therapy majors, and Jennifer Koehler, a physical therapy major, are the creators of the Quinnipiac Running Club.

When they first started it, the three juniors did not expect more than a dozen others to join club. But, to their surprise, there was a lot of student interest which lead to the club’s current roster of more than forty members.

“We were surprised to find that even in the cold of winter people were interested in joining the club,” Macaulay said.

After the cold winter weather shifted to milder spring temperatures, membership in the club increased.

“It was difficult scheduling runs around classes,” Macaulay said, “[but] as the weather got warmer, the numbers increased.”

The club meets to run six days a week and organizes addition running events to encourage even further growth.

“This year we plan on running many road races on weekends,” Macaulay said. “We would also [like to] take trips to local trails in the area to get some wooded trail running off campus.”

The club also plans to host bake sales and other fundraisers to cover the cost of race entry fees, t-shirts, and pre-race pasta parties, since the club is not yet officially funded by the University..

Macaulay, Bradley and Koehler plan to spread their knowledge of running through a program they are creating with other club members and Dunbar Elementary School in Hamden.

The students will work with a gym teacher at the school to run a program that will teach children the Running Club’s non-competitive motto of “Run for Fun” as well as to reinforce the benefits of running both for health and enjoyment.

Even though Macaulay, Bradley and Koehler all completed a half-marathon this past year, they encourage runners of all abilities to join.

“We are excited for this year and our members have almost doubled since last winter.” Macaulay said. “Our returning members are as excited as we are and have helped to motivate us. Runs this past week have been a lot of fun and I’m so glad to be running with a ‘team’ again.”

To find out more information about the Quinnipiac Running Club contact [email protected], [email protected], or [email protected].