It’s a digital world and we are all plugged in. From smart phones to tablets, we constantly have our faces buried in a screen trying to stay up to the second on breaking news. With social media, many of us are consumed with who is liking our status updates or commenting on our photos. But how has living in a world where we stare at bright white screens made the fitness community MORE active?

I’m guilty of being “plugged in” just as much as the next person — with a computer, a laptop, a smartphone and a tablet, I’m just a finger swipe away from being submerged in the digital world. But to me, THAT world is an active one. Once I’m “in”, fellow runners and fitness fanatics with similar goals and ambitions surround me.

Somehow, the fitness community has figured out how to capture motivation and inspiration in less than 140 characters and post-workout selfies. If you are reading this, it’s likely that a simple flip through your social media feed will result in someone getting ready to, or just finishing a workout. It’s a constant stream of people we can easily relate to finding time in their day to do something they are passionate about.

We share our experiences, positive or negative, and we motivate and inspire one another in a reciprocal relationship. Someone sharing a photo from a tough 5-mile run or a blog post about a blissful yoga session is exactly what someone else might need to carve out 30-minutes in their day to be active. It’s the perfect, unintentional side effect to what started out as staying in touch with friends and family on the Internet, and we are all benefiting from it.

The Run Local Social Club

We’re taking that same motivation and inspiration that happens through social media and taking it to the streets. For 2015, Represent Running will be hosting a social event on the first Saturday of each month around the Bay Area. It could be running a few miles, or a yoga class, maybe a spin class, to anything that gets the running community in touch with the local scene.

We’re kicking off 2015 in San Francisco with a 3-mile run, join us:

• January 3, 2015, 8 a.m.
• Pier 14 (next to the Ferry Building), San Francisco

Afterward, we’ll hang out, take some selfies, and maybe grab some coffee. It will be a great way to kick off the New Year with friends, new and old.

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