HEALTHMatt James Reveals 'He Had To Get Out And Run' While Quarantining With Pals Tyler Cameron, Hannah Brown In Florida
April 29 2021, Updated 10:57 a.m. ET
When everyone was quarantining amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Matt James was fortunate enough to be living in the same house as his best friend, Tyler Cameron, in addition to some other pals like Hannah Brown.
However, the 29-year-old realized he needed to take some time for himself and exercise when he was staying at Cameron's house in Jupiter, Fla. "Being home and not being around other people, being around the same people, I had to get out and run, and it was something that permeated throughout the house," James tells OK! while discussing his partnership with Dick's Sporting Goods for May's National Runners' Month.
"I didn’t have a car down there, so literally everywhere I had to go, I was like, 'OK, how bad do I want to get that smoothie? Or how bad do I want to go over to my friend's house?' So, I was typically running places, and we were fortunate enough to be in a place like Florida that there is a little bit more space and [is] close to the beach."
The Bachelor star was even able to coerce his buddies to get outside with him. "I started going out and running, and we got Tyler coming out and running — and the rest of the house," he shares. "We were doing group runs together, we were doing quarantine runs together, it was awesome and that is really why I love running.
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"It’s all about building community and one of my favorite things that Tyler always tells me is that if you want to go somewhere fast, you go by yourself, but if you want to go somewhere far, you got to bring someone with you and that is really the mentality we bring into all of our workouts."
The TV personality, who is currently training for a marathon, revealed that working on the upcoming annual campaign for May was a no-brainer. "The messaging is on brand," he says, referring to this year's campaign theme "#SeeYouOutThere," which celebrates the many benefits of running.
Leading up to May 1 and in the days that follow, James will be posting content on social media to inspire his followers to pound the pavement. The best part? People that share a picture or video to Instagram showing how they're using the hashtag while tagging @dickssportinggoods in May will have an opportunity to win some "dope" prizes, according to James.
"A runner doesn’t look like a certain type of person. Everyone looks like a runner because that is who makes up these different events and that is who makes up the community," he says. "So, I just encourage people to take that first step. It doesn’t have to be a mile, it can be a half a mile, it can be walking initially, but it’s getting people back out there, and it’s not going to start without that first step."
