Run It Fast®

Here is the medal for the Wounded Warrior Half Marathon & 10K that was held on June 10, 2012 in Las Colinas, Texas.

This is a great medal which honors all branches of the military. The race benefits the Semper Fi Fund.

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[Medal submitted by Kyra – Follow Kyra on Twitter @KyraTX]

This is the medal for Ironman 70.3 Kansas held on June 10, 2012 in Lawrence, Kansas.

This is a very colorful medal! I wonder if there are any flying monkeys hiding in the wheat?

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[Medal submitted by Brian Lueb – follow him on Twitter @bmlueb]

This is the medal for the Utah Valley Marathon which was held on June 9, 2012 in Provo, Utah.

It’s a sweet medal with a fun spinner in it.

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[Medals submitted by RIF #20 Laura Raeder – follow Laura on twitter @LauraRaeder and RIF #150 Jason Howard – follow Jason on Twitter @Jasonrunsutah]

This is the medal for the Cougar Half Marathon that took place on June 10, 2012 in San Diego, CA.

A fierce medal with the cougar claws breaking through!

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[Medal submitted by RIF #5 Lisa Gonzales – follow her on Twitter @runlikeacoyote]

Here is the medal for Ragnar Relay Chicago that was held on June 8-9, 2012 from Madison to Chicago (198 miles).

Fun little map on it! The Ragnar Relay website.

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[Medal submitted by We Run This – Follow them on Twitter @WeRunThisDotOrg]

This is the medal for the Chicago 13.1 Marathon that was held on June 9, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois.

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[Medal submitted by RIF #152 Billy Zuccaro – follow Billy on Twitter @Billyzuke]

Marj Mitchell with her daughter and niece

We thought it would be fun to profile club members on Run It Fast so we could get to know each other a little better. Marj Mitchell, RIF Club Member #4, was kind enough to be our first interview. I haven’t met Marj yet but I have seen her interactions with other club members on Facebook and she is one of the most supportive and positive people in the RIF Club. I am very happy we get to shine the spotlight on Marj and give back just a little of what she’s given to the running community.

So, without further ado…meet Marj Mitchell.

RUNNING STATS:

Name: Marj Mitchell

RIF Club: #4

Years Running: I began running in 2008.  4 years running

Favorite Race Distance: marathon

Favorite PR:  1:35:25 Chikasaw Chase 10 miler run on 8 January 2011

Favorite Race: Andrew Jackson Marathon

Favorite Bling: 2nd place trophy Andrew Jackson Half Marathon April 17, 2010.

Next Race(s):  Marathon For Memories, Trenton Tennessee September 8, 2012 and Winchester’s Southern Tennessee Plunge Marathon October 6, 2012

What Makes You Feel Fast?:  When I have had a good night’s sleep, when I have hydrated adequately, when I have had my breakfast, when I know my running form is spot on for the day, when the gun goes off and my adrenaline kicks in and I am in the mood then I sing softly to my heart this little mantra “I will win, if I cannot win, I shall be second, if I cannot be second, I shall be third, if I cannot place at all, I shall do my best….”.

FUN RUNNING QUESTIONS:

Where is the most beautiful place you have ever run?

The most beautiful place I have ever run is Mikon Farm in Sudwala South Africa, owned by my niece and nephew who began a mountain biking resort there as well.  It is called Mankele Mountain Biking www.mankele.co.za situated along the Mpumalanga escarpment with tropical forests, open grass lands, rivers, dams, ravines and mountain ranges.  My brother and I took a long vacation there in 2009 to visit family and my brother rode his mountain bike up the trails and I ran on them.

Which of your running routes make you the happiest and why?

Pinson Mounds State Archeological Park – when I first introduced pace runs into my 18 week winter training at the beginning of this year, I tested the waters in this beautiful park where deer were plentiful and I could focus without distraction of any kind and try to run the speed I thought I should be running in the marathon.  I had so much fun with the pace runs and will always in my mind associate the park with marathon training.

Chickasaw State Park –  It was here that I did all of my long runs and explored the vastness and beauty of the one of the most beautiful state parks in Tennessee.

Why do you race?  

I race because race day is exciting and I am addicted to adrenaline. I love the camaraderie of meeting up with my friends at local races and sharing our race experiences and talking about everything running related.  The sense of being completely understood by these friends instead of sometimes being considered quite crazy by other people in my life as to why I get up at 5am to run and train in all kinds of weather encourages me to keep going.

What running moment are you most proud of?

The day I went from being just a 5K runner to becoming a marathoner when I finished my first marathon, The Andrew Jackson Marathon on April 9, 2011.

***

So, that’s our first profile! What did you think? I hope you enjoyed getting to know Marj as much as I did. She is the embodiment of what it means to Run It Fast. She is out there, pushing her boundaries, bringing home the bling, and most of all…having fun!

Thank you for sharing Marj! Good luck with your races and don’t forget to Run It Fast!

P.S. If you aren’t part of the Run It Fast Club yet and would like to know what it’s all about, please click this link:

Run It Fast – The Club (JOIN TODAY)

[all photos submitted by Marj Mitchell]

Today is National Running Day – a whole day to celebrate the sport we love! Although I think every day should be National Running Day, it’s actually held on the first Wednesday in June.

We asked Run It Fast readers how they planned to spend the day and these are some of the ways our readers responded:

• Racing!
• Running! Of course. Everything from regular runs to tempos, speed work, long runs, and hill repeats.
• Club runs  and running store group runs.
• A Hasher’s Run where runners who may or may not be wearing red dressing will be running to and toasting their love of running at local bars.
• One selfless follower is taking care of the kids so her husband can run. <– fantastic way to encourage a runner.
• And best of all, celebrating the day with a first run back from injury.

These are just a few of the awesome ways you could celebrate your love for running. Don’t forget to share that love with family and friends and maybe next year, we’ll have more runners celebrating the day!

You can also check out these 10 tips from the National Running Day website for some additional ideas.

Whatever you do, we hope you have fun and Run It Fast!

Run It Fast – The Club (JOIN TODAY)

[badge via the National Running Day website]

We get a lot of awesome medals submitted to Run It Fast and we thought it would be fun to select the best medal submitted each month. Of course, we might be a little biased so we would like to invite you to help us decide the best bling. At the end of the year, we’ll have one final vote to select the best medal of the year!

So, let’s get started. Below you’ll find a link to the survey for the medals submitted in January 2012. Let us know which one is your favorite!

January Medal Survey

Thanks for voting!

On Saturday, during the Nanny Goat 12/24/100 Ultra Race, I saw some tempers flare and heard others had tantrums/meltdowns. I had not seen that before in a trail race/ultra before and it surprised me. I thought it was just me who had little meltdowns during races. Luckily, no one was there to see the one I had on Saturday. While I was on the course, I tried to be positive/laugh so only Twitter bore the brunt of it. Which was, thankfully, only one tweet.

I think that when you enter the world of ultras and you see all these amazing people doing them and read about all their great adventures that you have this idealized vision of what an ultrarunner is. I know I do. To me an ultrarunner is someone with their sh!t together, who always smiles, never complains, figures out issues and deals with them, and just keeps running strong.

Yeah…that’s not me. So far, I’ve done 4 ultras and in every one of them, I felt:

• Depressed – because I wasn’t as fast as I’d hoped.
• Frustrated – because I couldn’t figure out stomach/feet/leg issues.
• Whiny – because I wasn’t having a rainbows & unicorns race.
• Sad – because I didn’t turn into the magical, glorified ultrarunner I thought I would be.
• Angry – because I sometimes thought about quitting.
• Fear – because I sometimes thought about quitting.
• Doubt – that maybe, just maybe I didn’t have what it takes to run ultras.

So I must be doing it wrong. Right?

When my friends run ultras or I read race recaps of ultras, I’m always looking for some insight into what they were thinking when they were out there. Did they hit a low point? Did they have any doubts or fears? Am I the only one with thoughts like these?

And then when people congratulate me or tell me that they are proud of me for what I’ve accomplished, that little devil on my shoulder whispers in my ear “yeah, but they don’t know you were _____ (fill in the blank with any of the above).” That stupid little devil makes me feel guilty for accepting praise. I REALLY need to get rid of her or at least put a muzzle on her. Because you know what? I’ve been getting them done. Sure, it hasn’t always been pretty but I finished all 4 of them.

So I must be doing something right. Right?

I guess the whole point of my post is this…If you are thinking of going for an ultra (or your first marathon or half marathon or whatever new distance) but you’re not sure if you can do it…then go for it! Because if I can do it, you can do it.

Just know this…ultrarunners are NOT perfect. Take me for example. I am not a gifted runner. I’m not fast and I’m not agile on the trails. I am full of insecurities and doubts. I have low/ugly/would you like some cheese with that whine moments. I am not the poster child for an ultrarunner. Or even a runner really.

But…I am a runner and an ultrarunner. So, even if it isn’t all sunshine and roses, I keep going. That’s all you have to do. Keep going until you’re done. If you can do that, you ARE doing it right.

[photo submitted by me]