Articles, tips, miscellany
Who are you?
by Renaud Briançon, Paris Frontrunners
Funny question? In fact, that's the question I did not ask myself three years ago when I founded Paris Frontrunners. Two other co-founders, Pascal and Gilles, helped get things rolling in good spirits and then, when I look at the course we've taken, I realize that there's only one good reason to explain how the club has developed so well.
* It's more than the love of sport, because some member have started out as green as seminarian.
* It's more than the appeal of the brunches, the drinks and the parties, the outings and the Frontrunner T-shirts, all of which have grown in quality and quantity to the extent that one could seriously question the athletic objective of the club (athletics?).
* It's more than the group effect, even though people attract more people (sometimes lots of people, even attractive people!)
* It's also more than the publicity, so well handled by Pascal (see our latest newsletter!)
* It's even more than the regular fun runs/walks and the races.
It's simply the enthusiasm that every person brings to the club. It's contagious!
How do you respond to a smile, to a kind word, to an open mind, to a friendly gesture, other than with a reflection of the same, a mirror effect.
Sometimes the week's troubles (as in personal problems) or just the weather dampen our spirits. But the club is the dreamed-of place to bounce back and move forward. So just bring on that good mood with a smile, it works every time.
Furthermore, for us, it's the place where we can drop our contrived society masks and just be ourselves , or at least get a little closer to it. Our jogging and walking community is a reassuring one, ant it allows us to find ourselves.
The reason I'm telling you this is that, for over three years, you have been my beloved guinea pigs. So each of you, old timers or new members, let yourself be won over by enthusiasm. Then, let yourself gravitate to a responsibility in the club based on your interests. You'll do the club some good and more so, it'll do wonders for you. Wanna bet?
Renaud
[Renaud is the founding member of Paris Frontrunners and is their immediate past president.]
Translated from the Paris Frontrunner Newsletter (Oct. 95) by David Reithoffer, Frontrunners/Frontwalkers Chicago.