Running is a heart-intensive, and heart-healthy, activity. The positives are seemingly infinite, as well as profound.
A quick Google search will yield an endless stream of running’s cardiac benefits, including but not limited to: strengthening the heart muscle which improves blood and oxygen flow, and reducing the risk of heart disease, stroke, and other related health issues. An article on the MedStar Health blog even states that “the heart becomes larger and more efficient than average as a natural response to intensive exercise”!
That’s the physiology, the hard science behind running and the human heart.
Now, there’s the other meaning of “heart,” the widespread cultural and metaphysical one that we associate with love and deep feeling.
It is this meaning that gave Run Wild Missoula the inspiration for the Heart Throb 5k, an annual running event that celebrates love in all its forms and gathers community around this celebration. And it is, by all accounts, a fun and enlivening occasion.
“The club used to do a few different types of February runs,” says Trisha Drobeck, Run Wild Missoula’s Executive Director. “Pre-Covid, it was Heart Throb, more geared towards a movie star theme, like good looking heart throbs, that kind of thing. There were pictures of the heart throbs as you moved along” the route.
“After Covid, when I came on board, we tried to make it just a little bit more meaningful,” she continues. “We partnered with the Western Montana Community Center [informally known as “The Center”].”
“Love and connection are at the heart of The Center’s work, which is why the Heart Throb 5K aligns so naturally with our mission,” says Miles Shuck, co-chair of the board at The Center, Run Wild Missoula board member, and this year’s volunteer director for the Heart Throb 5K. “The event brings people together in a spirit of joy, celebration, and community.”
“The benefits of this partnership extend well beyond the funds raised,” Miles continues. “Trisha is an extraordinary ally, and Run Wild Missoula has a strong, demonstrated commitment to intentional inclusivity. This partnership introduces The Center to people who may not have otherwise known about our work, and reinforces shared values, raises awareness of available resources, and helps foster a more welcoming Missoula.”
“It’s the combining of two very vibrant communities in Missoula,” Trisha says. “We have one of the most amazing running communities. We have 2,500 members in our running club, which is one of the biggest in the Northwest. And then we have a very strong community here that’s very vibrant, very dynamic.”
The spirit of inclusiveness extends all the way to how the event operates, because it is more of a “running event” than a “race,” after all. It’s intended to be a community gathering and not a test of physical strength.
“It’s noncompetitive,” Trisha says. “There’s no winners. We do give awards for best costume, best group costume, best dressed, but there’s no 1st, 2nd, 3rd place. We keep the entry costs super low, and it’s free for kids. We just want people to get out moving and having fun.”
Running brings people together, people who might otherwise have very little in common but find commonality in movement. It’s safe to say that running, and the community around it, really does enlarge the heart.
“I have seen so many friendships develop throughout my years of running,” Trisha says. “I would argue that your running best friend—your running BFF—those are probably the most important connections that have been made in the club.”
“I have definitely experienced the power of connection through running,” says Miles, continuing this thread. “When I was training for the Missoula Half Marathon in 2023, my friend Sara, an avid runner, offered to be my training partner. Sharing this big thing with her and having her share her wisdom with me, guiding me through distances I had never attempted, added a beautiful new dimension to our friendship.”
It’s no surprise. Name an activity and chances are there’s a community that has formed around it, and within that community, deep bonds have been forged. Sometimes, the deepest bonds.
“I would say that our club has a strong history of love connections,” Trisha says. “I have seen folks who have met each other in training classes. I’ve seen many proposals at the finish line of the Missoula Marathon. In fact, our former Missoula Marathon director officiated one of those weddings.”
“It spans the breadth of time,” she says. “That just happens, no matter what you’re doing, whether it’s running or something else. That’s probably part of the success of our club, is that it truly is a place to make social connections, friendship connections, a love connection, if you’re so lucky!”
“Love and connection are at the heart of The Center’s work, which is why the Heart Throb 5K aligns so naturally with our mission." - Miles Shuck
"I’ve seen many proposals at the finish line of the Missoula Marathon. In fact, our former Missoula Marathon director officiated one of those weddings.” - Trisha Drobeck