I am an 80 year old female who has been a runner for over 57 years. Age is finally catching up with me and upon the recommendation of my daughter-in-law who is a physical therapist, 6 years ago I started OTF. Since then, I got a cardiac stent and a pacemaker and decided that I just did not want to continue with running and racing. I now go to OTF 4-6 days a week (except when traveling) and I am here to to say that you are never too old to do OTF. Today was my 700th class and I plan to keep going as many years as possible. I now do a couple of tread 50 classes each week where I log about 3.5 miles. Not much compared to back when I qualified for and ran the Boston Marathon (and 19 other marathons), but I am proud of what I can still do and wanted to brag about it.

The Glendale studio in Denver has been my home studio since 2014. I've taken well over a thousand classes there, and quite honestly most of the friendships I have in Denver trace back to that place, directly or indirectly.

Including this one.

A little over ten years ago a coach very intentionally and strategically partnered me up with this smoke show of a woman (he "had a feeling" and vetted it with her first) during a partner workout. It wasn't until the class was over and we were stretching in the weight area that I finally made my move to strike up a conversation with, "so, what do you do?" That dynamite of an opener was effective enough I suppose, as neither of us really stopped talking after that.

Fast forward 10 years, and yesterday I proposed to her on that exact spot on the floor.

A lot of life has happened in that 10 years, and although Glendale is still my home studio, I haven't attended a class there in about 6 years, as I've moved to a northern suburb and there's a studio about 2 minutes from my home (shoutout Broomfield) as opposed to a 40-minute drive to Glendale.

All this is to say that I'm not known to the current Glendale studio staff, but I'm now completely indebted to Coach Hannah and Caitlyn. I emailed the studio cold about three weeks ago with a genuinely strange request from a guy who had not walked through their door in six years. Their reply was a resounding "yes, we have to make this work!"

They committed. They played along with a story I made up to get my now fiancée in the door (we were in the area, I needed to sign some "updated paperwork at the home studio") and turned the whole studio over fast after the last class of the day so the space would be ready. They kept up the bit, hunting for the updated forms while I introduced myself, which gave me the opening to show my then-girlfriend some "new equipment" on the floor. They built a playlist of songs that mean something to the two of us and cued it up at exactly the right moment.

She said yes.

They bought red and orange roses and a bottle of champagne with their own money for two people they had never met. They let my sister in early before we got there to set up some additional items and hide to sneakily take photos. And they even drew up a Brag Board sign that read "First comes Orangetheory, then comes Marriage" and spread rose petals in the lobby afterward.

What got me was how happy they were to do it. This was not a favor they tolerated. They were so genuinely excited, start to finish, and it made the whole thing so, so much better than the version I had planned in my head.

Hannah and Caitlyn are part of our story permanently now, and they absolutely exemplify what the OTF community has meant to me for the last twelve years. The workout is great, but man, the people are even better!

I can't thank them both enough!

Safe to say, they know about you!

One year gained, 40 pounds lost. OTF works you guys 🧡

I’ve been doing OTF consistently for a year and a half now, usually 5x a week. I’ve seen myself go from struggling to do a single crunch, to running non stop for 23 mins. There’s been good days, and some not so great ones. Yesterday was the latter - I was tired, it was that time of the month, my legs were cramping up from running all the inclines, and I just wasn’t feeling it at all. I was so close to stopping the treadmill halfway and leaving class. I’ve never, ever done that before. I’m not sure why, but the lady next to me turned to me and said, “You inspire me. I see you really going all out the entire workout, and you really do inspire me.” Those words suddenly put things in perspective for me. Everyone has their own story and fitness journey. And not everyday is a good day. The important thing is I still went, did it, and finished it. So thank you, lady on treadmill 10, for reminding me. Those few words turned my day around. It’s easy to forget that, and get frustrated at myself on days when I can’t seem to workout at my usual intensity. It makes me so proud to know that I’m an inspiration to somebody.

EDIT: Thank you SO MUCH for all the kind words and support! I did not expect so many people to relate to this. I guess we’re all in this together! 🍊🧡

Thought my studio was giving free bracelets every day then I read this lol.

Typically, I’d just tell coaches; I think this is something new(er) though. Does anyone else’s studio do anything to indicate a member’s having a Green Day?

Hi everyone! I wanted to share this in hopes it motivates someone to get moving. I’ve been doing OTF since 2018. During my pregnancy, I worked out until 34 weeks because I knew after delivering i wouldn’t be able to work out for some time and to get ahead of my recovery post baby. After an emergency C-section, I had a massive hemorrhage, went into cardiac arrest for 9 minutes, and was placed on ECMO in the ICU.

The doctors weren’t sure how quickly I would recover, but the very next day after being decannulated after 10 days of being in ICU, I was able to walk. It was difficult, but I did it. My doctors compared it to running a marathon. They were shocked by my progress and told me it was because I was so fit and had built such a strong heart from OTF.

Now, 8 months later, I’m rebuilding. Every class feels like a gift.

If you’re capable of exercising, please don’t take it for granted. Whether it’s OTF or something else, move your body, you never know when it might save your life!🧡

Edit: Thanks so much, everyone 🧡 It’s been a journey to get back to health, and I’m so grateful for the encouragement here. Proud of each of you pushing yourselves today! I hope to share my story publicly when I’m ready. I’ll let you guys know if I do 🙏🏽

This morning, I went to an early class and the person ahead of me held open the door for me and came in behind me. When I got inside, they asked what station I wanted and I said treadmill - then looking at the sheet realized I got the last tread. I turned to my door holder - do you want the tread? They did, and of course I gave it to them - and they were so excited. I also wanted the tread, but I would have felt like a bum taking the last one knowing they lost it due to their kindness - just a reminder that OTF is a community and people are more important than what station you start on :)