GETTING STARTED

INTRODUCTORY MEETINGS

At the beginning of your next class session or even before the season starts, your instructor and/or franchise owner might setup a brief introductory meeting to hand out your season materials and make sure your membership account is ready to go with a signed release form.

This is a great chance to get any questions answered that you may have about the season. If you are not able to attend, please arrive to your first class 15 minutes early.

THE FIRST DAY/WEEKS

The first day will start with a brief meeting and fun icebreaker therefore, please allow 1 hour and 15 minutes for this class. ALL PARTICIPANTS are encouraged to attend the first class, even if it is not a day you are normally able to run. The first class will take place even in rain at all locations that have access to indoor facilities or a large shelter.

Please allow for extra time to be at class the first 3-4 times, as there may be new participant paperwork and opportunities to get to know each other. After this introductory period, we promise to try to stick with the schedule and get you out on time.

WHAT TO BRING TO CLASS

• Good running shoes
• Water (If your meeting location has restrooms, please be aware of the hours of operation for your location’s facilities when planning your fluid consumption)
• Jogging stroller if you have a child
• Sports interval timing watch or interval training app (optional)
• Exercise mat
• Dumbbells or stretch fitness band

Please learn to program your watch for intervals before your first class, as there won’t be class time available for teaching this. If a watch isn’t in your budget – no worries – you can keep an eye on your own watch or use an interval app on your phone*, or you can keep an eye on the rest of the class; there will likely be enough participants with watches. *Many of our locations use the Seconds Interval app, The paid version has our workouts pre-programmed and ready to go.

We recommend an exercise mat for stretching and strength. The ground pavement/grass may be wet or there may be chemicals sprayed on grass.

SAFETY

If you are among the last to leave the workout site please make sure no one is left alone. Let’s watch each other get strollers packed up, make sure cars start, etc. If participants want to stay after and chat, the instructor is free to leave as long as there are at least two participants staying.

We recommend several runners from each group bring their phones along for the workout.

We don’t recommend running with earbuds, for ultimate safety and awareness of your surroundings, and connection with your classmates. We understand that music can be very motivating and helpful and if you choose to listen to your tunes, please leave one ear open for communicating with the instructor.

​Another important safety and etiquette tip on the trails is to always stay on the right and be watching for other runners and cyclists that may want to pass you. Do not run more than 2 people side-by-side. 

CHILDREN

Children are welcome at your own discretion, to be in a stroller, bike, walk or jog with you, etc. They are your responsibility and must not be a danger to others on the trail. Please advise them to put safety first and stay out of the way of participants. They are not considered to be a part of the program, and you will release liability for them on your waiver. In past classes some children have been there regularly and others have been there occasionally. We know some moms see this class as their break from kids, while others do not have child care. Please respect each other’s choices.

CLASS SIZE

Not only do larger class sizes help keep our prices low, but also are the preference among most members. More camaraderie, more fun… and it’s more likely that someone else in the program will be at your pace! Our instructor/coach to participant ratio is usually 1:10-30 depending on participant pace levels. Due to the high amount of late registrations, it may take a bit to get enough instructors and coaches in place in locations where extras are needed. For our smaller programs, we will continue to market to build the program after the start of the season. Ask us about referral bonuses for bringing friends into the program!

ATTENDANCE

We know you’ll make this a priority (after all it’s no fun to make up the workouts on your own) but it’s understandable that everyone will miss classes, especially in the summer. We have found in the past that average attendance is around 50-70%. If you miss classes, you don’t get discouraged and COME BACK!

Please try to complete the workouts on your own when you miss, but even if you have not, come back! Attendance is taken at every interval class for the purpose of accountability and if applicable, awards at the end of the season. Cancel your enrollment in your GEMS account calendar if you’ll miss one of your scheduled classes. Race participation during a given week always counts for attendance. Please let your instructor know if you were gone from class due to a race.
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Your instructor will need to miss classes too. They’ll make effort to find a sub, but in the rare event this doesn’t happen, you’ll have the workout schedule and be able to complete the workout. If your instructor hasn’t arrived 5 minutes into the class time, feel free to get started. You’re welcome to make-up a class if this happens at any location any time, if another location is available. We have a flexible class make-up policy: any time you need to miss, any time there is a weather cancellation, any time there is a class off for a holiday or race, you can make it up in another location any time. Please give the other location a heads up before you come, and you can find the contact for that location on the website. If you don’t have other nearby locations, your coach will be sure to offer make-up opportunities per your class cancellation/make-up policy.

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM YOUR COACH

We welcome women of all fitness levels in our program and love to help you achieve a variety of goals. During out workouts we will get quite spread out and there won’t necessarily always be someone at your exact pace, but your coaches will run like crazy to touch base with you at least once during every class! We strongly recommend timing the workout with your own watch or interval timing app, as we cannot guarantee all runners will hear the instructor’s whistle every time.
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We all have different learning styles and ways we like to work on our goals. We know some prefer to be more independent in their workouts, while others appreciate as many tips and as much motivation as they can get! Please don’t hesitate to give us feedback on the level of coaching you are receiving. We are happy to listen, advise, and offer any assistance that may be helpful. Likewise, we will reach out when we can, to help you improve your form or reduce your risk of injuries.