Sarah Gilchrist is a self-proclaimed group starter. And as an avid runner, she saw the void of a community running group in the Osoyoos and Oliver region as a perfect opportunity.

The Desert Valley Running Club (DVRC) started as a small Facebook group where Gilchrist invited some friends where people motivated each other to be active. Through this, some people took to wanting to create an actual running group in the community.

Growing up in a big city like Edmonton and then later living in Vancouver as well, Gilchrist explained that, “anything I’ve ever been interested in trying, there’s always been something that I could join to learn more through or to meet other like-minded people.”

Although Osoyoos and Oliver aren’t lacking in groups by any means, Gilchrist said she did find that there’s not as much diversity of different types of groups. 

And so began the Desert Valley Running Club. Gilchrist, who is a teacher at the Osoyoos Secondary School, created the group along with Brock Jackson where people participate virtually by posting their runs and trying to motivate each other to stay in shape, and stay active.

“We have done a few in-person meetups, just like a monthly run as well. But we’re looking to grow the group a bit more and I’m always trying to seek like-minded people,” said Gilchrist.

It’s no surprise to anyone that COVID-19 has stifled physical exercise for much of the population. I, like many others, was motivated for a solid month into the lockdown, religiously keeping up with exercising through Zoom classes and YouTube videos. But I soon felt screen fatigue and dropped off a healthy schedule.

“I think COVID really impacted that. It’s really easy to just hide in your home and not be seen, and it was a struggle for me too,” said Gilchrist.

A recent study done by Statistics Canada states that even before the pandemic, less than half of Canadian adults met the recommended 150 minutes of physical activity per week. International and Canadian research shows that during the pandemic, adults have decreased their time spent exercising and increased their time sitting.

Additionally, the study also explores how many Canadians could potentially develop cardiovascular disease over the next three years due to reduced levels of physical activity during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“For me, I work out every day. I will run, I’ll bike, I’ll do my thing, whether I’m in a club or not, and that’s just me, that’s what I do for mental health, for physical health, for many, many reasons,” said Gilchrist.

At the same time, she also said that she likes to have a level of camaraderie and meet other people that can inspire her, give advice, and keep her accountable with her goals.

“There’s also been a lot of interest from friends and other moms my age, who are like, ‘oh, I used to be active, and I’m not anymore, and I’d love to get back into it,’” said Gilchrist.

For those who want to jump back into running or being active generally, the running club has organized a ‘Learn to Run’ clinic that helps people to slowly build their stamina and get back into the groove of things over the course of 10 weeks at the end of September. The clinics will be offered in both Osoyoos and Oliver

“We thought that might be a good way to build our base of people. Because those expert runners, people that are already into it, they may not be interested in joining a club. But there might be some people who want to get into it, and then they’ll learn how to do it,” said Gilchrist.

The club has also organized a virtual Terry Fox run on September 19 in Osoyoos.

“They’re sort of a bunch of different types of people with different motivations. But for me, it’s not an elite running club or anything like that. It’s about inspiring each other and getting together and having some fun together,” said Gilchrist.   

For the future, Gilchrist is ambitious in her vision at making DVRC into a more formal running group and even make it into a registered non-profit in order to organize fundraising events.