{"id":102173,"date":"2025-08-30T01:59:07","date_gmt":"2025-08-30T01:59:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/102173\/"},"modified":"2025-08-30T01:59:07","modified_gmt":"2025-08-30T01:59:07","slug":"positive-portage-runners-mix-fun-fitness-and-friendship-portageonline-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/102173\/","title":{"rendered":"Positive Portage Runners mix fun, fitness, and friendship &#8211; PortageOnline.com"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/893598521937753\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Positive Portage Runners<\/a> are finding their stride as a local group that brings together community members who share a love for running, walking, and staying active.<\/p>\n<p>Organizer Diane Wing says the idea started a few years ago after she looked for something similar closer to home.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI travelled to Winnipeg sometimes to go run with the group and thought this would be so much fun. I thought, let&#8217;s see if Portage would like to do something like this. I got some good responses,\u201d notes Wing.<\/p>\n<p>The group officially came together about three years ago and has been running steadily ever since.<\/p>\n<p>Related stories:<\/p>\n<p>Participants meet at 6 p.m. on Wednesday evenings near Stride Place, often circling Island Park, though the route can change depending on what\u2019s happening in the community.<\/p>\n<p>Wing says flexibility helps keep it fun. Although attendance varies, the focus is less on numbers and more on creating a welcoming space for all paces.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe do welcome walkers as well,\u201d adds Wing.<\/p>\n<p>The name of the group reflects the vision Wing had when she first started organizing runs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI just wanted it to be a positive experience,\u201d she remarks.<\/p>\n<p>That positive spirit has carried into the group&#8217;s involvement with community events such as the Terry Fox Run, which is taking place at Island Park on September 14.<\/p>\n<p>For many, joining the group is about more than exercise; it\u2019s about belonging.<\/p>\n<p>Member Stacey Moffat shares how it helped her connect after moving to the area in 2018.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I didn&#8217;t know anybody around Portage,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I saw Diane&#8217;s post about the running group, so it actually got me involved in meeting people in Portage, and it got me involved from there. Then it got me joining soccer leagues after that.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Beyond local runs, members sometimes connect at events elsewhere, creating opportunities for shared experiences.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat&#8217;s another great thing about this group; we always have that in common. If something comes up somewhere in the States, we all get together and go. They went to Arizona last year,\u201d mentions Moffat.<\/p>\n<p>While the club isn\u2019t about high pressure or competition, some members still set personal goals.<\/p>\n<p>Moffat admits she\u2019s pushing herself further.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI&#8217;ve done a few half marathons, gearing up for a full,\u201d remarks Moffat.<\/p>\n<p>With a mix of casual joggers, walkers, and more serious runners, the Positive Portage Runners continue to build a sense of community, one stride at a time.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/portageonline.com\/features\/daily-news\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Sign up<\/a>\u00a0to get the latest local news headlines delivered directly to your inbox every afternoon.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Send your news tips, story ideas, pictures, and videos to news@portageonline.com.<\/p>\n<p>PortageOnline encourages you to get your news directly from your trusted source by bookmarking this page and downloading the PortageOnline app.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Positive Portage Runners are finding their stride as a local group that brings together community members who&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":102174,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[6647,102,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-102173","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-fitness","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102173"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102173\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}