“Train With Me: The First Annual Super G Marathon” was a month-long performative project invested in exploring community diversity through the facilitation of social interactions centered around a public workout space and a recreational marathon.

The piece was developed as part of The Super G Experiential Residency Program (Greensboro, NC), a project initiated by artist Lee Walton and community activist Donovan McKnight as a means to facilitate the production of “experience,” using the Super G International Food Mart as a platform. The program’s structure resembles that of an artist residency, but is open to anyone who has an idea they would like to realize.

During the month of October, I installed a public gym inside of the flea market section of the grocery store, with the initial structure and goal being to train in a seemingly continuous manner for the duration of the month-long residency. The gym was open six days a week during the flea market’s hours (seven to eight hours a day). Coming from an endurance and process-based background, the impulse to create a performative spectacle out of a common place action (training) served as the original stimulus for the project; however, it also came to include a strong interest in social engagement that aimed to highlight, explore and provide a service for the diverse demographic that frequented the store.

Throughout the month, nearly 50 customers, employees and passersby joined the gym and worked out alongside me. Participation varied from curious individuals stepping in to momentarily ride the stationary bike to more engaged members that utilized the gym on a regular basis. Each member was invited to participate in the culminating event of the project, The First Annual Super G Marathon. Unlike a typical marathon (totaling 26.2 miles), the route was composed of the shortest distance between 26 customer addresses collected in the Super G Mart over the course of the month.

The run took place on the last weekend of the residency, concluding at an address in downtown Greensboro as part of the Art in Odd Places Festival.