It's safe to say that if you are reading this right now, you know someone who has been affected by cancer. It's more common than it should be, and in a nutshell… it just sucks. Our RedShed Community is not immune to this disease… we have had several members battle different forms of cancer over the years; but we are a resilient group, and we get to celebrate that resiliency on Friday night, February 18th, 2022.
Jani-Ro… the origin story!
In October 2010, CrossFit was promoting "Amazing Grace" as a breast cancer awareness fundraiser… do the workout "Grace" and donate money to the Amazing Grace fundraiser. Our own Janice was in the midst of her battle at that time, so of course we were all in! But I didn't feel good about raising money for a fundraiser that was not directly associated to NJ or our small Sussex/Morris County community. So I did some research and found Mare… Sussex County Women's Forum (Friend2Friend). I called her up and let her know we were having an event, and wanted to give her all of our money!!… and our relationship started!
During the next year, another one of our athletes was hit by cancer as well… Ro (Rosemary). The more I thought about Janice and Ro; and our community… I wanted to make it about them, and about us helping them and other women in our community. So instead of being just another sheep in the herd of CrossFit Affiliates doing whatever CrossFit did at that time (Amazing Grace, Barbells for Boobs), we created Jani-Ro… a 10min workout that was user friendly and infinitely scalable.
Officially, Jani-Ro began in 2011, but the idea was spawned in 2010. It is now 2022, and we have only missed one year of doing Jani-Ro, and it was because of covid.
So here we are… 11 years later. Many of you may not know Janice or Ro, and that's ok! You don't need to know them to appreciate what this event means… what it means to them, and all of the women who are in need of mammograms. All of the money we raise during Jani-Ro goes directly to Sussex County Women's Forum… 100%!!!
Yes, Jani-Ro represents Janice and Ro… their perseverance and their resiliency… their strength and determination… and their love for life. But this also is a representation of RedShed… our community of athletes who are willing to come together and help those in need, expecting nothing in return.
The shed is what it is because of people like Janice and Ro, and all of the people in our community that rally around them. The magic that happens inside of our four walls isn't only about fitness, pacing and energy systems… the magic comes from you, the people that make our gym so damn special!
11-12 years ago we had no idea where this was going or what it would become… and it has become something incredible. Yes, it's still a business, and we must structure it in a way to keep the lights on and our coaches paid… but it's also so much more than that. It's my life's work… It's Shawn's passion… and it's your home, free from judgement… a safe place to train your body and brain!
On behalf of Shawn and all of our wonderful coaches, I want to say thank you. Thank you to all who are helping, donating time, efforts and goods… to all who are participating and spectating, and to all who are donating funds. I also want to say thank you to Janice, Ro and Mare for showing us that love makes a difference!
Cheers to another year of Jani-Ro!!!
Yours in Fitness,
Coach Pat
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love this!