Saturday, February 18, 2012

All Shapes and Sizes

At MOTR we love that women from all walks of life have found a home with us ~ a comfort zone, a great group of friends, a support system of encouragement on the lifelong journey of fitness.

We are moms, we are not moms. We are fast and slow, work inside the home and out. We are married and single, divorced and even widowed. And we run to leave it all behind on the pavement.

We are young (18), and not so young (73!)...and we come in all shapes and sizes!

We want to be an organization that offers a comfortable entry into this lifelong journey of fitness, especially for those who feel they have a long way to go. Don't ever think "I have to lose the weight first" to come and join us.

It can take an extra vote of self-confidence when you have weight to lose and you are contemplating starting a running program. In the next couple weeks we will be posting some entries on this topic from a guest blogger, Anne Kelly, President of an active wear company that specializes in plus-size athletic clothing. You won't want to miss her encouragement, so check back soon!

Monday, February 6, 2012

Running Strong in a Tough Economy

With the kickoff of spring registration, we wanted to take some time
today to clarify some details on the new MOTR program improvements and structural changes that you will see this year, as well as provide info on obtaining financial aid.

At Moms On The Run, we have been busier than usual in this off-season
getting ready for a fabulous 2012. We have taken your 2011 survey
feedback very seriously in deciding what things to keep the same and
where we need to make program improvements. We know there have been growing pains with the fast expansion in the past couple years, and we now have year-round customer service and administrative help to meet the needs of our valued customers. In addition, corporate MOTR will not be personally operating and managing new locations. Instead we are transitioning to franchise ownership over the next few years and will even begin to transfer ownership of some of our existing locations.

This will be a process, but by reducing administrative burden and
costs we will not need to raise program prices as much each year and
we will be able to have a higher level of service and personal
attention available to each of our valued customers.

We are excited about the changes coming in 2012, including extra
training for our coaches and instructors, a FREE 10k training program,
an additional optional run each week focused on distance, a new
“instructor meet and greet” before the class start date to minimize
the first class paperwork process, and more incentives to keep you
motivated.

We are able to offer a higher level of customer service and these
various program improvements while increasing the price only 5-10% of
our previous 2x/week pricing. There is one major change that is making
this possible, and that is that we will be moving to a single MOTR
membership price that includes up to three classes per week!

The class structure will be very similar to last year two of the days,
and a volunteer coach will facilitate a third workout which focuses on
adding distance for those who are looking for that. We encourage even
the women in the learn to run program, or those who aren’t interested
in distance, to still come that night and workout at their own
preferred level and distance.

This decision to transition to an unlimited class pricing structure
has been made primarily due to the following reasons:

~Our participants who are enrolled twice a week have a much higher
satisfaction level
and have significantly better success in the
program. Every mom has her things that will come up such as weekends
away, kids’ sports activities and vacations, but we want a structure
in place that encourages all of our women to get to class as often as
they can.

~We are offering 3 runs per week next year, so that the majority of
our members will be able to make at least two of these workouts. We
certainly don’t expect anyone to regularly commit to 3 meetings with
us. We all know that a minimum of 2 workouts per week are essential
for success anyway (ideally 3), and we also know that it is a lot
easier to get these in with the motivation of meeting up with your
team!

We are enthusiastic about the new membership structure we are
introducing this spring. In each location, we will have an
“all-season” pass that includes not only the 3 workouts a week in your
own city, but members will also have the ability to make up a class at
any of our locations at any time! This includes weather cancellations,
holidays, and your personal schedule conflicts.

We know that there are women in our program that may only be able to
commit regularly to once a week, but we are confident they will find
their membership and the opportunities it affords to be an increased
value this year. For women that are only able to attend once a week,
they will find the price to still be very competitive with other
private fitness programs.

At the same time, we realize that any price increase is difficult in
this economy, and we want to stress that scholarships and financial
aid will continue to be available! Our aid application for 2012 is
available on our website, as well as various discounts that you may
qualify for. This information is all found on our more details and FAQ pages. We do not want finances to be a prohibiting factor for anyone who wishes to participate. Please contact us if you need assistance and we will be happy to work something out.

Thank you! Looking forward to a great spring!