Life is full of fitness surprise!

John Moraris has a close friend to thank for the push it took him to commit to fitness. Last fall, a friend took him to play racquetball one day and, after their game, invited him to walk/run a mile on the treadmill with her. After that first day, he started running Mondays and Wednesdays after their game. A month later, she bought John a gift: a 6-class pass to Orange Theory and a fitness monitor. She’d scheduled herself for the same class and promised to accompany him to each one.

‘I was hooked’

“Everyone wants to lose weight when they’re overweight,” John, who lives in Mt. Prospect, says. “Having a friend made it easier to form a routine. That’s all it took—after those 6 classes were over, I was hooked. Exercise made me feel great, and nothing else duplicated that feeling.”

‘Real’ running shoes

That same friend led John to Runners High’n Tri. “I was running on the treadmill in my tennis shoes, and she said, ‘we’d better get you some real running shoes.’” Erin, one of our staff, spent time with John educating him on why running shoes are made for running and how they’d help protect him. “She fitted me with shoes that helped and motivated me.”

Erasing stress

“Now,” says John, “I go to Orange Theory six days each week. I keep my heart rate in the target zone. I make sure to not eat too much food—and not terrible food. I look forward to the time and space to run and exercise—it erases the stress of work and family life with three little ones.”

John’s first time running outside was April’s Race to Wrigley 5K. He’s looking forward to more races in the future on his fitness journey.