WILLIAMSTON — For years, Marie Bowen learned to expect the same response from people after she told them she was a runner.
“The first response usually is always, ‘Oh, I wish I loved running,'” Bowen said.
In truth, Bowen didn’t instantly love it either. She was an swimmer in high school and college, then a personal trainer who learned to love helping others succeed. But running grows on you, she said.
Bowen claims it can take time though, and she plans to prove it to clients at her new downtown fitness studio. Rundezvous (Run. Walk. Strength.) will open next month in a former party store off West Grand River Avenue. The studio’s focus is on running and strength training.
Beyond that, Bowen aims to present an environment where everyone will feel comfortable moving their bodies.
“If I can get one person to just love movement, then it has a trickle effect,” she said. “Your friends see it. They want to join in on the fun and your kids see it and then it’s a lot easier for them growing up. It’s really life-changing.”
Helping people succeed
When Rundezvous opens its doors on April 11, the nearly 3,000-square-foot studio will offer free weights, Peloton treadmills and a kids’ corner where children can hang out while adults take classes or enjoy open gym time.
The studio at 108 W. Grand River Ave. will also include an infrared sauna and NormaTec 3 compression boots, to boost circulation and reduce soreness. Visitors can expect regular classes and instructors, Bowen included, who are focused on helping them reach goals.
The fitness studio concept started taking shape for Bowen last fall and she considered properties in East Lansing before she settled on the West Grand River storefront in her own community.
But the motivation to open Rundezvous was established after Bowen started working as a personal trainer and coach.
“I really love seeing other people succeed,” she said. “When I see other athletes work so hard towards their goal and then achieve it, it’s just seeing the look on their faces is priceless. You finally realize what it was all for.”
She aims to offer a welcoming fitness studio. It’s important because newcomers often find gyms intimidating, Bowen said
“It’s very intimidating for a new person because they go in there and they see other people who look like they know what they’re doing,” she said. “A lot of people pretend like they know what they’re doing and so they’re just very scared and intimidated because they don’t want to fail, but failure is really what teaches us how to be better.”
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Appreciating the process
At Rundezvous, Bowen hopes to help clients replace the expectation for instant gratification with an appreciation for the process.
“People tend to give up right at that mark where if they had just gone just a little bit further, they would have seen some of those results,” she said. “The best thing about coaching is getting people to get out of their own way, unblocking them so that they can see their own value and their own success.”
Bowen began research for the business last fall. “I also started visiting some other gyms to see what they’re doing well, marking what I could do a little bit different.”
Williamston is the perfect community to support her concept, she said. “The second that I wrote on the windows, ‘Hey, Rundezvous is coming,’ I got lots of interest and other businesses welcoming me.”
Memberships will range in cost from $149 a month for unlimited membership for one person, including unlimited classes, to $299 a month for a family of three. Unlimited open gym membership, which allows use of the gym, will range from $59 a month for one person to $129 a month for a family of three.
Learn more about the fitness studio online at www.rundezvousllc.com.
Contact Reporter Rachel Greco at rgreco@lsj.com. Follow her on X @GrecoatLSJ.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: New fitness studio Rundezvous to open in downtown Williamston
Reporting by Rachel Greco, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
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