by Monica Chamness
Staff Writer
They might not be the next Olympic gold medalists, but notoriety is not their goal anyway. Calling their weekly get-togethers Tuesdays on the River, a group of friends meet at 7 p.m. on the Southbank almost every Tuesday for a run that travels across the St. Johns River and back.
“My friend Liz came up with the idea,” said Craig Kornick, a doctor at Riverside Spine & Pain Physicians who leads the outings. “She and I were running on our own and thought it might be nice to bring a group together.”
In existence for nearly a year, the group is adding members. Kornick uses a grassroots strategy to recruit others for the club. He has printed business cards for ongoing events and established a website to post cancellations because of inclement weather.
Most of the participants work or live downtown, but geography is not a requirement to participate. It is an informal network of people who want to squeeze a little exercise into their schedule.
“The perception is that it’s a running club, but it’s not,” said Jay Magee, marketing project coordinator for Community Hospice of Northeast Florida. “They may feel they don’t measure up, but everyone goes at their own pace.”
“The very first time I didn’t think I could make it,” said Deborah Goldberg, marketing coordinator for CitiStreet. “But it’s not as hard as it looks. I like it because there’s no pressure and no competition. No one treats you like you’re taking too long.”
“Everybody waits for the last person to finish,” added Kornick.
The 1.7-mile lap begins at Friendship Fountain and spans both the Acosta and the Main Street bridges. Those who are a little more ambitious arrive early to run an extra lap or two. Attendance ranges from 15 to as few as three or four runners. Kornick says about 10 people attend on average.
“I started coming out in late April,” said Magee. “I’ve gone pretty consistently. It’s a good group of friends who get together on a night when we’re not normally doing something else. We socialize, but it still does the body good. You get something out of it and feel good after going home.”
“It doesn’t sound appetizing at first but once you go, you want to keep coming back,” said Goldberg.
Some of the runners are training for competitions such as the Tour de Pain. Kornick makes sure to keep his exercise buddies alerted to upcoming races.
“I’m training for the River Run in March,” said Magee. “My primary motive for joining was to socialize in a way that doesn’t leave me with a hangover.”
“I’m not a health nut but I like to keep people in shape,” said Kornick. “It gets them off the couch once a week. I would never run this much if it was not for the club. It keeps even me motivated.”