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Metro Detroit trainer inspires runners with Couch to 5K Training

Metro Detroit trainer inspires runners with Couch to 5K Training
Metro Detroit trainer inspires runners with Couch to 5K Training 01:22

ROYAL OAK, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - A Metro Detroit trainer is welcoming runners from all walks of life, preparing people to run their very first 5K. 

"Anyone can do this," Sue Barnes said. "If you can run a minute and walk a minute, you can do this."

Sue Barnes is the owner or, as she puts it, "Chief Motivational Officer (CMO) at Socially Motivated Wellness." She's been training people since 2009 but decided to start her own company years later.

"We started in 2016. Prior to that, I worked for another race and was a trainer director and decided I want to train more people for more races," Barnes said. "The motivation is the group, building a community and getting people out and moving."

Barnes now hosts weekly group training where participants come out and run or walk. She calls it couch to 5K training and the community she's helped build makes it easy for friends to quickly become family.

"It means the world to me. These people become my family. A couple of years ago my husband went through a cancer scare, the runners were the ones who were there," she said.

Some people in the group are recovering from injuries or surgeries, and others have never run before. Regardless, Barnes says everyone is welcome.

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