Recruiting

Runners love to run.  Runners love to talk about running.  Runners love to convert recruit non-runners to their religion obsession.

I am a runner who is guilty of all the above.  So I was super excited to run the Rockville Twilight 8K with two friends - one who runs occasionally, and one who does not run at all.  This was their first race.  I was really excited for the both of them...and for me because I just love races!

Thankfully the weather was cool and we were spared the suffocating heat and humidity thats been enveloping our area recently.  The race was festive and well-attended despite the rain (drizzle) that had been coming down all day.

Waiting for the race to begin

The strategy would be a mix of running and walking, which I really advocate for those just getting into running.  The goal was to finish the race injury-free...and we rocked it.  

We ran the first mile and decided to walk through the first aid station (I also advocate new runners walk through aid stations so you can maximize water intake and rest just a tad; I did during the Marine Corps Half that I ran earlier this year, and PR'd).  This course was surprisingly hilly, and we ran/walked the next 3 miles over a few rolling hills.

It got dark pretty early in the race, so we were running through the dark streets of Rockville for most of the event.  Residents came out to cheer us on, which was awesome, though one young boy felt he needed to be brutally honest with us and yelled, "Why are you walking?!" to which my friend replied, "Because I'm a failure!"  We got a good laugh out of that.  You'll understand in 30 years, kid.  

The volunteers were also great, some of the most encouraging volunteers I've encountered.  

Just before the 4 mile mark, there was a live rock band playing and the lead singer sounded...well...young.  And he was!  I think all members are under the age of 15.  The band is called Throwing Wrenches and they were quite awesome.


As we passed the 4 mile mark, we decided to just run the last mile of the race.  We passed a ton of people and finished strong at 1:09.  The ladies did AWESOME.

We got our beer and hung out curbside talking about what podcasts and television.  And Burning Love (have you seen this?  YOU NEED TO.  So funny).  But the best part of the night?  Talking about running another race.  Oh yes.  I'll keep you posted as to what we decide.  Here's to hoping the addiction has started. :)

This weekend I also found out that my once-in-a-while-I-run-on-the-treadmill-running sister ran TWO MILES outdoors last week!  I am so proud of her.  She said she took it slow, listened to her body, walked when she needed to and stretched when she felt her body needed it.  I hope the addiction takes a hold of her too.  The thing is, she lives in Hawaii, so she really has no excuse not to run, right?  I mean, this is her playground:

(src)

(Hehe.  I just outed you on my blog.  Now you HAVE to run. :)

Seriously, though.  So proud of her.  One of these days we're gonna race together.

Do you try to inspire others to run?  Do you recruit friends to run with you?




RAR!