It is probably the best form of cardiovascular activity out there. In addition, it is social by nature and often results in long-lasting friendships. What is this marvelous activity, you ask? Running.

The MRun club at Michigan partakes in this glorious recreational endeavor six days a week. Led by seniors Aaron Metler and Greg Haapala, along with sophomores Thomas Briley and Paul Johnson, the club keeps members in top physical shape and develops strong friendships.

"With the accumulation of a structured training program, frequent races, team apparel and dedicated members of all abilities, a foundation has been established for friendships and memories that will last a lifetime," Briley said.

This can clearly be seen in the persistence and perseverance of the runners. A large group of twenty familiar faces comes to every run. Moreover, team camaraderie is abundant.

Even though running is an individual sport, the members show tremendous support for one another.

The club is composed mainly of veteran runners - many of whom competed in high school - with a few recreational runners as well. But there are still a handful of newcomers.

MRun runs along many routes, the Bird Hills trail being the most common.

This trail is a beautiful excursion along the Huron River. Members are all given maps of the routes just in case they fall behind or get lost.

Exploring Ann Arbor on foot, MRun has discovered numerous parks and other new places to exercise.

"It's amazing how many parks there are around here," Riley said.

The club is competitive and participates in many races throughout the season. In fact, MRun won the Midwest Club Competition.

On April 1, it is hosting the Club Tournament in Ann Arbor, where many club teams from around the Midwest will be present. It has also competed in some varsity-level events.

Although a much higher level of competition exists in the tournament, MRun still enjoys being part of such an event.

Through effective training, the members have experienced tremendous improvement. They engage in many intense workouts, including intervals such as 20x400 meter repeats, fartlek (where the group speeds up at random points throughout the run), tempo runs (runs at near race pace), mile repeats and hill repeats. One of the favorites is running repeats up Harvard Street a 250-meter behemoth of a hill.

Through all this hard work, there have been outstanding results among every member of the team.

The club is thankful to the training program that Briley (or Trainer Tom, as they call him) carries out. There is no doubt Trainer Tom's program has proved beneficial for the club.

"Tom has implemented a training program that has guided everybody to an elevated level," Haapala said.

The runners have also experienced several adventures. On Halloween night, the group got lost and ended up finding their way after nine miles of detours.

Outstanding race times, exhausting workouts, memorable excursions and meaningful friendships are all phrases that can be applied to the MRun club. Stretching together before and after each run, talking about various topics including the length of a team member's shorts and the results of a basketball game, the team is truly a well-defined community.