No track, no problem for RRC staff
LAURA HAYWARD, CONTRIBUTOR
Bruce Locken runs the stairwell at RRC’s Roblin Centre during his lunch hour. THE PROJECTOR/Laura Hayward
A lunchtime hobby has turned into a 140-pound weight loss for Red River College’s Bruce Locken. The library employee runs six flights of stairs at The Roblin Centre during his lunch hour every workday.
“I was walking past the Pan Am Boxing Club on the way to work one day, and I noticed they were running up flights of stairs for exercise, and I thought, ‘that’s something I could do,’” said Locken, 54.
Since Locken started running the stairs during his lunch hour six years ago, he has lost 140 pounds and continues to maintain a 110-pound weight loss. But a lower scale number isn’t the only benefit Locken has experienced.
“I feel charged up when I come back from my lunch break,” said Locken. “All of my endorphins are flowing.”
Locken tries to fit in more exercise after work. He walks seven minutes from Portage Avenue to the college each morning rather than getting off at the closest bus stop.
“If I don’t have time after work, I don’t feel bad because I already had a good workout during the day,” said Locken.
Locken said the most important aspect of exercise is finding something you like to do.
“It’ll become a routine, and you’ll always find the time to do it if you like it,” he said.
Although The Roblin Centre has a gym open to staff and students, Locken chooses not to use the small facility. Braden Demchuk, a regular gym user, said a busy day in the gym includes only about 10 people.
“The equipment here is older and it’s fit into a tight space so 10 people in here feels busy,” said Demchuk, 20, a business administration student at RRC.
Locken’s music playlist is a big factor in his daily routine.
“I couldn’t do it without my tunes,” he said, noting Happy by Pharrell Williams is one of the top tracks on his playlist.
