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All Things TRT

Why Community Matters

Why Community Matters

WHY COMMUNITY MATTERS

Anyone who pops by the store every now and then knows I’m a “hit or miss” team member.  Either I’m there for a good solid week or so for shift work or not there at all for a two week period.  This is because I travel around the great state of West Virginia visiting different communities, individuals, nonprofits, small businesses, local leaders, and families through my other job and service.  While I’m on the road, it still resonates with me and the understanding is clear, community matters.

To make this post easy to read, I could make up a list of why but instead, as with the methodology I’m using this year through work projects, I will tell you some snippets of stories:

Just the other week I was able to go read at a few local libraries on behalf of Two Rivers Treads.  I’ve done some reading and events in other parts of the state so my hopes were not high for numbers of kids who might show up.  Well, we showed up for the first library reading and there were 20 plus people there! Now, with kids they know when you are faking so I had practiced three times for this reading and made up some exercises/movements to go along with the story.  These 30 minutes of preparation paid off. The kids loved it! We were reading, moving, and participating fully in a small activity, together.

Two Rivers Treads also has two garden plots at our local community garden (Ranson Old Town Community Gardens) and I walked over there the other day from the store with a friend and her two boys.  I’ve run around town with the boys and mom before as a part of Bros and Bras (social-fitness) community group, so they knew me. They weren’t 100% excited like I was about the garden as we were walking but somehow during the process they expanding their interests and we started having a blast!  Our hands were dirty and we learned about the process of gardening together.  We even had mom pull out her phone for advice from the internet.  We learned when to pick the beets and how to cook beet greens (they were pretty good blanched then sautéed with some avocado oil and garlic).  It was a nice time learning, picking greens, and laughing at my “baby carrots”...anyone who gardens can imagine what they looked like when I say I didn’t thin the carrots. It was fun!

Our store use to be located in Shepherdstown so we occasionally get back there to participate in festivities.  A few months ago, I was lucky to be the team member who spent time at Dog Fest 2018, educating and promoting the store products and mission.  We had a raffle for a sweet dog/leash combo product from Ruff Wear and a wonderful older woman won the raffle, she was not present to win though.  The next time I saw her was during one of our free events in store where a Dr. Jared Matlick (PIVOT Physical Therapy) visited the store and hosted a movement basics class for senior individuals. We hooked her up with her sweet prize and she was able to learn some important components of movement from our speaker.  It was a winning day for her!


All of these are just small ways in which we work to help develop community and build relationships.  While we are a small retail store there is so much more that comes into play with Two Rivers Treads, thanks to Dr. Mark’s vision.  We encourage our patrons to try and build community around their homes because it is vital for life, it builds relationships, helps saves lives, brings joy, and share love.


Thanks for taking the time to read this blog post and if you are interested in learning more about our store, products, or outreach, feel free to give us a call or shoot us an email!


FOSTER:)


304-885-8843

trtreads@gmail.com

 

 

This blog post was written by Two Rivers Treads employee, Foster.

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Miner's Lady 8-Hour & Trails in Motion Film Festival

Miner's Lady 8-Hour & Trails in Motion Film Festival

Two Rivers Treads is proud to present “Miner’s Lady 8 Hour Endurance Race”, gearing up to take place Saturday, July 28. For those of you unfamiliar with endurance events; this particular course consists of a 10K loop meandering through the remote woods of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.  Participants run the loop as many times as possible in the 8 hour time frame. The brain child of store manager, Sarah Hodder, and Freedom’s Run Race Director, Katie Nolan Thompson; the two paired up to design this challenging event for individuals to test their physical limits, but also have a good time sharing the love of running with fellow ultra runners.  The event takes pride in being a low frills, green event. Runners are asked to carpool to keep gas emissions low, reusable cups are being used to cut down on wasted plastic at the aid stations, race packets are digital, the race medals are wooden, and all prizes have been locally sourced. Our logos were even made by two amazing local artists, Alex Stevens and Shane Harris.

minerslady

(Logo by Shane Harris)

minersladyalex

(Logo by Alex Stevens)

You may be curious about the unique name of the race, and it may seem oddly familiar. A lyric from the ever popular,  “Country Roads”, the name was inspired by the John Denver Classic due to the coincidental fact that the Blue Ridge Mountains and Shenandoah River only intersect in West Virginia for a very short distance  – largely the area that the race course covers. Since both Race Directors are women, the name seemed perfect; but don’t worry gentleman, you’re still welcome to run the race. The event is for everyone.

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(Photo from a Miner's Lady training run in March!)

In fact, a very talented athlete will be joining the TRT team for the event – John Kelly. John Kelly, has sprung into the Ultra Running community as he debuted as the 15th  finisher/ winner of the grueling, Barkley Marathons, in 2017.The Barkley Marathons were made even more popular thanks to a Netflix Documentary, so even non-runners can understand the painful journey John has gone through to complete such a race. In fact, there were no finishers in 2018! John has also gone on to complete the first ever sub 24 hour run at The Wild Oak Trail 100 and finished as the 26th amateur (after coming out of the water as the 820th) at the Kona Ironman World, all while completing his PhD!


He continues to inspire through his motivational lessons of persevering even through what seems like impossible scenarios. But don’t take our word for it, why not hear from him yourself.   John will be speaking at the Trails in Motion Film Festival held at the newly renovated Charles Washington Hall, in Charles Town, WV on July 27.


The Trails In Motion Film Festival is an annual international film tour for the community, by the community, bringing a collection of the finest trail and ultra running films to passionate audiences around the world. Join like-minded trail runners and adventure sports enthusiasts at engaging film festival-styled events as they come together to celebrate the diverse culture of the sport. Tickets are on sale now at Eventbrite.com.

Although, Miner’s Lady is filled, you can try your luck at joining the waitlist, or come out and volunteer. Make a weekend of it and stay for the film festival as well!

Proceeds from the event will benefit The Outdoor Education Center of For Love of Children and the Rolling Ridge Foundation. To learn more about the organizations or Miner’s Lady visit our website at www.minersladyenduro.com. Happy trails!

 

This blog post was written by TRT employee and Miner's Lady Race Director, Katie Nolan Thompson.

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