Collegiate Times

Have you ever run up and flipped off one of the columns outside of Dietrick Express or vaulted over a wall? If you have, you may be able to call yourself a free runner or a traceur (French for ?tracer,? meaning someone who gets from point A to point B as quickly and efficiently as possible).

Paul Mederos, a freshman computer science major, got involved with Le Parkour (French for ?obstacle-coursing?) and free running three years ago as a sophomore in high school. ?I saw videos online randomly and looked it up on Google,? Mederos said. ?From that site, I found more videos, articles and people talking on discussion boards. I met up with people from the discussion boards, people from around the D.C., Maryland, Virginia area, and we jammed together. From there, I was hooked.? (Jamming means to free run or parkour together.)

Parkour, as explained by Mederos, is an art form of efficient movement from one point to another, whereas free running is basically parkour and throwing in some ?flips and stuff? along the way.

Mederos explained it with the example of being chased by someone. ?In parkour, you would just focus on running away from someone that was chasing you, and you only have time to get over obstacles that block your way,? Mederos said. ?Free running is more of an urban movement with flips and crazy stuff and more tricks.?

Mederos participates in both activities.

The origins of parkour started back with David Belle, a Frenchman whose father was in the military. Belle, who lived in a suburb of Paris, was inspired by watching his father run the obstacle course and traipsed around as a kid with friends and jumped over things. As he grew older, he continued to develop his skills.

Mederos said parkour and free running are not media or monetary activities, but rather an art form or philosophy.

?You don?t need special gear to do it, just running shoes,? Mederos said. ?You can do it in rural landscapes, like forests, or in urban settings.?

Mederos said free running/parkour reinforces the concept of not being limited ? free runners are not confined to walking on the sidewalk or inside the fence ? they can get outside and be free.

?There are no obstacles, only opportunities,? Mederos said. ?Keep pushing yourself, don?t be scared ? (If I see a wall, it?s all mentality) I know there?s a way over this ? how can I get over it??

Mederos has already taught several people at Tech how to participate. His goal is to put together a parkour/free running group including the 15 people that already participate and make it bigger by getting more people involved.

?My main goal is to teach a lot of people,? Mederos said. ?Parkour is an easy, fun, healthy way to start slow and work into good shape. It could help solve America?s physical activity problem.?

Mederos said a wide age ranges of people participate in parkour/free running ? he?s seen 10-year-olds leading the way, as well as 40-year-olds getting involved.

?Age is not a factor,? Mederos said.

Mederos is actually on a national parkour team called the Tribe. The team consists of leaders in the parkour community around the United States. Thirteen parkour leaders currently make up the Tribe team.

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