Women with Will at the Indiana University Sample Games. Shaylan Owen | INstride

» More: Success Stories - Women With Will

» Photo gallery: The ladies of Women with Will
» Photo gallery: Women with Will at a surprise scavenger hunt
» Photo gallery: Women with Will cover shoot for INstride

It’s a cold, gray Saturday and women are scattered about running through the still-scenic Indiana University campus looking for something. Is it this way or that way?

But these women have already found what they’re looking for in Women with Will — or W3, a calorie-kickin’, carpe diem combination of friendship and fitness that brings women together every Saturday for a walk or run.

On this mid-February Saturday, Valentine’s Day in fact, the group’s founder/coordinator/chief cheerleader, Emily Ward has organized something special for the group.

Ward’s Valentine to the women: A surprise scavenger hunt sending them around campus to pick-up clues that send them to various destinations.

And what fun is a scavenger hunt without a few prizes?

Sweat never tasted so sweet.

“I came back from the scavenger hunt buzzing— won a little award (person who came the furthest distance to join the group),” explained “newbie” Catherine Pearce in an e-mail. She recently moved to Bloomington from England. “And I experienced my first sense of belonging here in Bloomington—that was a huge moment for me. I’m really proud to be a part of the group and it’s a real treat to run with people who motivate me to do more myself. Honestly, I was just looking for a way to get regular exercise in, but with W3 I’ve found inspiration.”

The inspiration started with Ward a decade ago. W3, the group she started as a graduate student through her church, celebrated 10 years in March.

Group’s origins

Ward, a program director at Indiana University Division of Recreational Sports, proudly pulls down a piece of W3 history from a shelf in her office.

“Women with WILL. Est. 1999.” reads the inscription on a thick silver frame. Front and center are smiling women in shorts, sportswear and sunglasses. They’re showing the jubilation that comes upon competing in—and completing—a triathlon for the first time.

Ward smiles, sharing how all the women biked, swam and ran their way through that Danskin-sponsored women’s triathlon in Chicago. Only one other woman in the group besides Ward had ever tackled such a physically-demanding triple-threat.

But before the glory came the training and before the training came the convincing.

New to Bloomington, Ward joined a women’s group at her church. Each woman was asked to share her strengths and how that might help others.

Ward offered to train the women for a triathlon. The collective response was a mix of curiosity and hesitation.

Most of the women wanted to exercise and train with Ward, but were skeptical of a triathlon as the end result.

But Ward had the personality and professional past to make it happen. Ward has competed in so many triathlons she’s stopped counting. She coached women’s collegiate swimming, pushing the young women to dare and dream even bigger, farther, faster ... better.

Same philosophy, different group. During the first work out, a bike ride from the YMCA to Meadowood, the women told Ward they needed to stop for a snack; a short time later, they were all biking to McCormicks Creek State Park—no break for a snack—for a night of camping. Husbands and friends drove the gear to the campsite.

And every woman who came to hear Ward’s idea that day at church crossed the triathalon finish line. But they didn’t want it all to end. Someone asked: What’s next?

“No one wanted to stop,” Ward said.

And they didn’t.

The group decided to continue meeting and seeking new adventures—and members. Ward posted just a few signs around town about the group and an upcoming call-out meeting. Fifty women showed up at the now-closed Encore Café. Ward and the others were shocked by the turnout. An online group page now helps with communication.

Typical Saturday

The Saturday routine isn’t for sissies; the group’s namesake is well-earned. But the group is open to all women, all fitness levels. “No matter who you are, you’re welcome,” Ward said. “The goal is for no one to be by themselves.”

That means plenty of planning for Ward, who designs the routes so the women can all do a 3-mile or 30-minute run together—and those that want to keep pumping endorphins can continue on. Home base is the Bloomington Bagel Company, where owner Sue Aquila is also a member and joins in when she can.

Members of Women with Will meet at 7:45 a.m. and take off at 8. They return to the BBC. After the work out, those that have time cool down (or warm up) with a snack or drink and visit.

For the women, spanning in ages from their 20s to a strong core in their 40s, 50s and 60s, the camaraderie is contagious and explains why the group has more than 125 “members” who receive e-mail updates.

“Women in the group were telling their friends and co-workers,” Ward said of how the group grew over time. Biking enthusiasts in Women with Will have also formed an offshoot biking group.

There are no officers, no dues, no sorority-style selection process. Ward and the women describe those Saturday routines as casual and welcoming. They are for every sneakered soul open to a 7 o’clock alarm on Saturday.

“Spring is our biggest Saturday period,” Ward said.

W3 has celebrated together over all these seasons of Saturdays with birth and marriage. And they’ve seen each other through death, divorce and disease.

“It’s a microcosm, we’ve had deaths, births, divorces, cancer,” Ward said. They have formed “really powerful friendships” in those miles walked, run or biked side-by-spandex-side.

The group is open to others who want to work on fitness together. Ward’s response to questions of “can I bring someone” is the same today as it was in 1999: “The more, the merrier.”

Members of Women with Will go for a Saturday morning run in February. Shaylan Owen | INstride