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Giving Back To The Sport I Love

October 9, 2016

This Fall I signed up to volunteer for several race events with the Hartford Marathon Foundation. For the Hartford Marathon I volunteered to work the merchandise area of the expo at the XL Center. I worked on Thursday from 2:15 – 7:30.

I arrived to the expo on time and checked in at the volunteer check-in area. From there I was given a t-shirt and a swag bag and was instructed to head to the merchandise area where I met up with the other volunteers working there.

The expo was set up a different way this year. When you arrive, you met with the volunteers to give you your bib and race information. After that you went around a corner to the shirt area where you received your shirt, then the gear bag for race day check-in of your gear. Then you went around another corner to the RunHMF merchandise area where there was a great selection of RunHMF shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, tanks, hats, beanies, glasses, mugs, magnets and much more. The organization of the layout of the expo was perfect to weave the people from the registration desk, to the shirts, to the merchandise, forcing them to walk through that large area of Hartford specific merchandise, giving it a lot of visibility.

I stationed myself at the T-shirt bar and helped people find shirt sizes they liked along with any additional help they had with merchandise on the floor. It was a lot of fun to watch people come around the corner and see all of the items for sale and the looks on the faces of first timers at a race expo. I had the pleasure of talking with one runner named Sara. She was shopping specifically for half marathon merchandise. This race was going to be her first half marathon, and I completely related to how she felt about wanted to wear something proud about having run a half marathon. So I helped her decide on purchasing the 13.1 grey and white sweatshirt. She was aiming for a 2:30 finish time and I told her I was as well so I was hoping I’d see her at the race.

I saw a few friends come through to shop like Kimberly Markey and Lori Connelly so we talked and then they continued on to shop the rest of the expo. I also made it a point to Face Book live stream so others could see the merchandise that was being sold for when they pick up their packets the following day. It was a good way to give people a preview of what they wanted to purchase.

I had a great time volunteering and look forward to doing more things like this in the future. I plan to volunteer and pass out medals for the kid races at the Movember races in Middletown. My kids are interested in running the mile run so that I could pass out their medals to them. It was a great experience to be on the other side of the experience and give back to the sport that I love so much. I also enjoyed talking to the runners and interfacing with them, discussing their expectations for the race and what they have run in the past.

Durham Fair 2016

September 25, 2016

We have been making a tradition to go to the Durham Fair every year and this year was a beautiful, perfect Fall day for it! Having family time together was also one of the reasons why I chose to defer my entry in the Marine Corps Marathon. The weekends are full of activities; but most of all they all involve the family and they bring me joy. This weekend was a perfect weekend with a family night on Friday, followed by a fun day at the fair and closed off by a win with Adrienne’s softball team!

Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend 10K – Day 2

September 23, 2016

When I write my recaps for the races I like to include the time I woke up so that I can refer back to it the next year when I am making my plans for race mornings. I do remember that I set my alarm for 4:00 for the 10K because I figured the latest that I would leave my room would be 4:45 or 4:50 and I could arrive to the staging area close to 5:00. The hotel that I stayed at is close to a mile away from the start line. So it’s about a 15 minute slow walk. The race starts at 5:30 and I am never in the first corral. So sure, it may be cutting it close; but I like to sleep as much as I can!

I met Susana Cruz and Jennifer and Bill Taylor in my corral. I was going to meet Dale Martin; but she was in Corral F and was with Jennifer Leisten so I knew she had someone with her. I wanted to get as many pictures as possible with Susana because we were dressed as Jasmine and Vacation Avenie for the 10K theme of Aladdin. We were also hoping that with all of our picture stops we would eventually hook back up with Dale and Jennifer.

We took off from our corral at 5:40 a.m. and ran most of the beginning section of the race. Like previous years, we started off on some of the city streets and then entered backstage into Cars Land. I was fortunate enough this year to get into this area when the sky was still darker and it looked amazing!!! We HAD to stop for pictures there for sure. Then Susana did her 22 push ups for the 22 push up challenge, where I knew what was coming next…she nominated me. So I did my 22 push ups on the main street of Cars Land while a cast member recorded a video of it for us!

Instead of doing intervals for this race we pretty much ran, took pictures, then ran again to the next picture stop and continued this for the entire 6.2 miles. But this course had a LOT of picture opportunities. If it wasn’t a character stop that you can pose with the characters, there were selfie-spots where you could take a selfie with the characters on an elevated platform or on a park vehicle. I was very impressed with how many characters we were able to get photographs with and the rare characters that you don’t typically see out in the parks.

After we ran down Main Street I had to FaceTime my kids because they were heading out for the day with my parents. So I was talking to them via FaceTime and showing them what Sleeping Beauty Castle looked like down Main Street. The funny thing was, they kept asking where the castle was! They are so used to Cinderella’s Castle that they didn’t recognize a smaller castle. As we were exiting the park Mickey Mouse was also waving to us from the Train Station so the kids got to see that as well.

When we were running through Downtown Disney for the last mile, we heard that the balloon ladies were just 90 seconds behind us. We laughed because we took as long as we could to enjoy every minute, character and mile of that race! When we finished we found Dale and Jennifer and they passed us and finished before us!

The Disneyland 10K is still one of my favorite runDisney races. Most of the course is run through the two parks and there are lots of opportunities to take pictures. It also ends early enough so that you have time to enjoy breakfast and the day afterwards. I had an excellent day after the 10K. More on that in my next blog post.

Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend Hotel Recommendations

September 20, 2016

I’m starting a new section of my blog which will provide you with hotel recommendations, especially to use for race weekends. Cost is a factor when I travel for race weekends because I am traveling alone and want to do it as cheap as I possibly can because I really just need a bed, shower and coffee maker.

When I went to Disneyland for the past two Dumbo Double Dare Races in 2016 and 2015 I stayed at the Best Western Plus Pavilions. I was very happy with this hotel last year and booked again at the same hotel this year. It is close to the Disneyland Resort area and Downtown Disney and is just about a 15-20 minute walk to the starting area for the races. It is also a more direct route to the races which does not require you to go though security and bag checks like you do in the area between Disneyland Magic Kingdom and California Adventure.

I also booked this hotel for the price. I was able to book it for $135 per night and I use hotels.com so that I can earn free nights. When you book again to the same hotel you also get special pricing. They also offered something great this year that I took advantage of. With their location right next to Denny’s, you are given a voucher for each night you stay there to use for breakfast the following day between 7:00 – 10:00 a.m. And your choices are not just a muffin and coffee. You can choose from eggs, pancakes, toast, tea, coffee, or juice and a side of bacon, sausage or turkey bacon. I made sure to take advantage of this the morning of the 10K since I finished early enough to take a fast shower and head over to the restaurant before 10:00 a.m. I thought this was an excellent addition to their accommodations there.

They are also located on a road that makes my return trip to the airport very easy because there isn’t usually theme park traffic when I depart on Sunday late morning.

I am very happy with the cleanliness, the amenities, the bed and how quiet it is at this hotel. I suits my needs perfectly for a race weekend. Check out my video of the hotel.

Disneyland Half Marathon Day 1 – The Expo

September 19, 2016

My flight out to Disneyland was uneventful and easy. I took a new flight which Southwest never had available before. It left Hartford, CT at noon, stopped in Las Vegas and then I landed in Santa Ana at 5:30 p.m. I had never been to Las Vegas before and this was the closest to the strip that I was going to get.

After I arrived at the airport I got the rental car and drove over to the Disneyland Hotel for the Health and Wellness Expo. I had trouble getting there this year. There was traffic and the parking to Downtown Disney had changed from what I was used to. So I ended up driving through a parking garage and then doing a few u turns before I finally coughed up $18 and just parked at the hotel. Because by this time it was 7:00 and there was only an hour left at the Expo.

I collected my bib and race shirts and the then went straight to the official merchandise area. I was traveling on a tight budget this year so I wasn’t going to get much stuff; but I wanted to get my traditional magnet, sweaty band and Coast to Coast shirt.

I was very impressed with the amount of merchandise at the expo. It appeared that they had everything in stock and everything I wanted was there. They also had a lot of new things there this year. Many different runDisney shirts (not specific to that actual race). As well as accessories.

After I purchased my merchandise, I quickly scanned the expo floor to find Merle with her new company Treadbands, and I also wanted to have Jeff Galloway sign my bib and get my traditional photo with him.

By this point it was 8:00 and I was starving; so I went over to Tangaroa Terrace to get a pulled pork flat bread and then walked over to Downtown Disney to purchase gifts for the kids from World of Disney. I made it to my hotel room by around 9:30 and prepared my gear for the 10K race the next morning. I wanted to be in bed by 10:00 and wasn’t too far off from my goal.

So day one was a success and I was looking forward to the 10K and seeing Dale, Susana, Bill and Jen, and Jennifer. I was also looking forward to my day with Karen to see the sights of Irvine, a vineyard and then dinner at the ocean with a sunset! Stay tuned for a recap of my Day 2 in Disneyland and my California adventure!

Beardsley Zoo Outing with the Family

September 18, 2016

Life has been busy lately. But I’m trying to balance the busy with fun, too. We are members of the CT Science Center and they are extending their offer for free visits to the Beardsley Zoo in September through October. With a calendar that has events going on every weekend, we were able to visit the zoo yesterday for an afternoon of fun!

Check it out!