New Williamston gym aims to spread the love of running

Before Marie Bowen started running, she said she struggled with symptoms of asthma. Then she got her mother, who had prediabetes and osteoporosis, into the hobby. Her symptoms improved to the extent that she no longer needed medication.

It’s stories like that, and the chain reactions they cause, that led Bowen to take up work as a personal trainer despite also working a full-time job in the tech industry.

Last month, she took things a step further, opening a running-focused gym in downtown Williamston. It makes for a busy life, she said, but it’s well worth it to cultivate a community that will help beginners fall in love with running.

Rundezvous opened its doors April 11, offering high-tech treadmills, weight training and community-focused classes. A primary focus is the gym’s high-end Peloton Tread+ Pro treadmills, which Bowen described as feeling “like running on a cloud.” In line with the comfortable, accepting community Bowen is hoping to build, the gym also includes a kids’ corner and a nursing room.

A central draw of the gym is its high-end equipment, which comes with its own training courses. The gym’s lowest-price membership is $59 monthly per individual and includes access both to the equipment and to the subscription memberships for Peloton and Tonal, which provide access to live courses and personalized training routines.

The Peloton treadmills feature swiveling screens, allowing courses to include  weight training and floor exercises. Tonal is a large, wall-mounted tablet with two adjustable arms extending from its sides, each housing a cable that can offer up to 100 pounds of resistance. That allows it to fill the role of several machines while automatically adjusting resistance and customizing workouts.

The treadmills also feature a speed knob, which allows for much faster speed adjustments than the incremental buttons on most treadmills. Bowen said that feature is particularly useful for interval runners and folks who would typically jump onto a treadmill’s rails when they can no longer maintain the necessary speed, a dangerous practice.

But they’re also useful for beginners, Bowen said, such as a couple that comes in most mornings to stroll several high-definition “walks” in different scenic parts of the world on the treadmill screens.

Classes, led by Bowen or another trainer, are $18 for drop-ins, and the gym’s highest-end subscription includes unlimited classes at $149 monthly. Classes accommodate all skill levels and include both strength and endurance training.

The classes intentionally cultivate an accepting environment and encourage attendees to befriend each other.

On Wednesday mornings, Bowen runs a class called “hot takes and heart rates,” where she said the communal focus helps participants power through an hour of running.

“I ask them random questions — would you rather do this or would you rather do that — and it’s their favorite class. We’re on the tread for an hour, but because we’re laughing so hard, they don’t even realize at the end of the class what they’ve done. And they look at the miles, and they’re like, ‘Holy crap, I can’t believe I did that.’”

Many gyms, Bowen said, fail to provide a beginner-friendly environment. The equipment is confusing, everyone is in their own little world, and beginners feel intimidated. Rundezvous is the inverse, she said.

“I just want people to see that we can meet them where they are. Give yourself some grace, and don’t be intimidated, because a lot of people are scared to go into normal gyms. They have no idea what they’re doing. It’s quiet in here, I can help you, and we’ll laugh through it.”