After such a long winter, we hope you’ve been enjoying getting out on the trails this spring as much as we have! We can’t believe it’s May already, and Charlie Horse Trail Half-Marathon (& Dirty Pony 5k) is right around the corner.
Charlie Horse Trail Half-Marathon is a great race if you’re new to trail running and want a challenge, a veteran trail runner looking to PR, or just love running trails but don’t quite love the ultra distances.
If you’re not ready for a half marathon, Dirty Pony 5k is another option that gets you out on the trail and access to all the post-race fun.
Not wanting to run but want to get involved in other ways? We would love to have you as a volunteer. Registration for Charlie Horse 1/2, Dirty Pony 5k, and volunteering are all open and available on UltraSignup. Hope to see you on May 24!
Part of the Pagoda Pacers’ mission states that the club will “educate the public on physical fitness and wellness.” According to the National Board for Health and Wellness Coaching (NBHWC), there are eight areas of wellness: social, physical, intellectual, occupational, financial, emotional, environmental, and spiritual (meaning purpose, peace, etc.). As such, I thought it might be nice to have a small article that relates to wellness included in the club’s newsletter that could be useful to many club members.
Stress falls under the emotional category. I started working at my current job over three years ago, and I am unable to wear my fitness watch due to regulations. I never liked wearing my Garmin while sleeping. For over a year, I have been meaning to purchase an Oura ring, and I finally bought one a little over two months ago. This ring measures sleep, heart rate variability (HRV), resting heart rate, body temperature, activity levels, and blood oxygen. After using it for awhile, it will tell you your chronotype. You can track your meals by typing or taking a picture of what you eat, and it will take into account timing of meals and such. Oura also syncs with Strava, Apple Health Kit, Google Health Connect, Headspace, myfitnesspal, Chronometer, and others.
I wore the ring for about a month to gather baseline data without changing any lifestyle habits, though I was not surprised by the results. Sleep was ok, and heart health is on point, but stress is at the high end. Part of this is the fact that I am on my feet all day at work, and it might be that the ring is reading a higher heart rate and not linking it to being active. Part of it is not giving myself enough time to relax and unwind after being active at work all day. It also showed that my stress levels were not recovering after my workouts.
The great thing about this ring is that you can tag various things that might affect your sleep and stress. There are premade tags, but you can create your own tags too. This allows you to see what affects your sleep and stress. For example, I spent almost an entire vacation day at home doing arts and crafts, and that significantly lowered my stress levels. Even one evening when doing about 40 minutes had positive effects on stress and sleep. The great thing is that with the ability to create your own tags, you can find what works for you. Being out in nature, mediation, breathing exercises, cuddling with your child or pet, journaling, and so much more.
Granted, you can often tell what works for you just by how you feel after certain activities. But there can be surprises. I thought that breathing exercises were helping me, but the data showed they were not. I have made a few changes over the last two weeks. I cut out harder workouts (for now). I want to try easier bike rides and see how my body’s stress levels respond to those, as opposed to runs. Arts and crafts have had a huge impact on lowering stress levels. Sitting in front of the TV “relaxing” does not. Journaling has also helped with stress levels. The experimenting is not over, by far!
If you are looking for an alternative method to a smart watch for measuring and managing stress and sleep, an Oura ring may work for you.
Come early, grab a drink, stay after—it’s easy to chat, catch up, and socialize as a club before and after business. And if you need to skidaddle right after the meeting, that’s OK too.
Please remember to RSVP no later than Sunday, May 10!
A group long run, starting at the Shed Rd trailhead, will take place on Saturday, May 30, 2026.
Join us at 9:30 a.m. for a 10(ish) mile run, featuring a challenging mix of rocky, hilly trails at French Creek State Park. This run will be led by Shaun Luther.
Specific route options (including something shorter than 10 miles) will be posted to the Facebook Event closer to the day of the run.
There will likely be a group heading out to lunch afterwards (probably at Fork & Ale or Hidden River), as well, if you have the time!
This month’s Away Game will take us to the crown jewel of Philadelphia’s park system: Wissahickon Valley Park!
We’ll meet at the Wigard Avenue Trailhead, off Henry Ave in Roxborough (not too far from Dallesandro’s Steaks!) at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 16 for a casual, group run of about 10-12 miles (with shorter options for those who want to do less).
Post-run lunch spot and route will be announced on the Facebook event, where you can also post other questions, carpooling requests, etc.
Our mid-week group runs have at least two different distance options (3-4 miles and 5-6 miles) with an appointed leader for at least one of the two routes. Each run will have its own Facebook “event,” and the routes will be posted a couple days before the run. After each run, those who can will stick around for food, drink, and good conversation, either at a nearby restaurant or a club member’s residence. Come for the run; stay (if you can) for the fellowship. (If you don’t have time to stick around, no worries—just come run with us!)
May 6: Shillington Park (meet by the pool) — post-run to follow at Paolo’s
May 13: Rustic Park—post-run to follow at Italian Delite
The Pagoda Pacers Athletic Club is proud to announce and congratulate its 2026 scholarship award winners, each of whom is a Berks County high school senior. Each winner will receive a scholarship of $1,000 toward their upcoming higher education plans.
Two scholarships are open to all high school seniors whose parents are current members and in good standing for at least one year of the Pagoda Pacers.
The recipients of the 2026 Member scholarships are:
Katelyn Wagner, a senior at Oley Valley High School
Kyle Padilla, a senior at Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School
Two scholarships are open to all high school seniors who participated on a Berks County high school’s cross-country team.
The recipients of the 2026 Cross Country scholarships are:
Hannah Houp, a senior at Oley Valley High School
Daniel Shank, a senior at Daniel Boone Area High School
The club received applications from many very strong and deserving students. We wish all who applied the best in their future endeavors.
The Scholarship Committee members are Beth Kohl, Cathy Unruh, Sue Jackson, Karen Rule, Curtis Musser, and Katie Beane. If you are interested in joining the Scholarship Committee, please contact scholarshipcoordinator@pagodapacers.com.
This is the end of the May ’26 Newsletter.Continue scrolling if you would like to view older content.
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