Local Club Has Members Running for Covers

October 16, 2009: With the arrival of the fall marathon season, many local runners welcome the colder temperatures that sometimes come to Central Florida this time of year. There are a number of Central Floridians for whom a cold night doesn’t mean a comfortable training run the next morning; it means a very uncomfortable night trying to find a place to stay warm. The Orlando Runners Club (ORC) is reaching out to the many residents that call the Men’s Pavilion at the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida home on these nights by conducting a blanket drive at one of the Club’s Sunday morning group runs.

At 7:00am on November 1, members of the ORC and their guests and visitors will meet, as they do every Sunday, at the corner of Park Avenue and Welbourne Boulevard in downtown Winter Park. Only this time, in addition to sharing their stories of training runs, marathon adventures and sports drinks, they will be sharing their hearts and collecting blankets for the homeless. The ORC invites all runners in Central Florida to join us for this group run, and bring along a new or gently used blanket or two and some hope for the homeless.

The ORC welcomes runners of all abilities and paces on Sunday mornings; distances vary from 5 to 11 miles through scenic Winter Park. Water stops are available at miles 1.5, 4 and 7; runners are advised to bring their own sports drinks and energy supplements as needed. This is not an official race event, no timing is provided and runners will be sharing the roads with other runners, cyclists and vehicles. For more information on the group run or blanket drive, contact Jack Gallagher

(gallagher.consulting@earthlink.net) or Amy Tatum ( amyt262@yahoo.com).

About the Orlando Runners Club

The Orlando Runners Club is a local non‐profit running club in Central Florida established in 1974. Our goal is to connect local area runners, promote the health and fitness benefits of running, and provide opportunities for runners of all ages and abilities to get together for fun group runs and social activities. For more information about the ORC, visit our website at www.orlandorunnersclub.org.

About the Coalition for the Homeless

The Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida was created in 1987 by a group of concerned citizens who noted a growing problem of homelessness in the community. The Coalition is now the largest provider of homeless services in Central Florida. The Coalition is able to help nearly 650 people each day, including men, women and children. They provided more than 234,000 nights of shelter in the past fiscal year, and served nearly 270,000 meals in that time frame. For more information on the Coalition, visit their website at www.centralfloridahomeless.org.

Provided by: Florida East Coast Runners.

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