that's what she said: Revolution Run 2014

Virtually every runner friend I have was planning on this event. It's an annual run held out at the Olympic oval. For a period of a set time (this year was 5 hours), you run as many laps as you can. A runner can go for a 50k, a full marathon, a half marathon or literally anything in between, more or less. Completely individual. Which is really what the sport is about - individual performance.

Well, last year, I bought a pass to the oval for the winter months when ice and inversion air would prohibit me from running outside. It's almost as bad as the dreadmill/Satan's Sidewalk to me. Around and around and around in circles. Again, and again, and again. Ugh. I often found that after about 3 miles I would be so bored I would start running the spectator bleachers in between to mix things up. My garmin doesn't work inside and I would lose track of my laps so I would end up leaving with no idea of exactly what mileage I had put in. I got my money's worth certainly, but it wasn't my favorite thing to do.

So when everyone started talking about this years Revolution Run, I was NOT ON BOARD. Serio? 5 hours of running in circles? Always turning left? Sounded like a death march that would do nothing but irritate my IT band.

But then.......I discovered that I wasn't scheduled for work until the afternoon so my morning was free, all my friends were signing up and starting to plan fun things for it, I realized that I needed to get serious about training for Boston and lastly, an opportunity for a 50% off entrance fee came open.

I jumped. I caved. I capitulated. And I've never been more happy about it!

(picture courtey of Galen Garrison)

(picture courtesy of Galen Garrison)

I got to the oval about 7:30, picked up my packet (due to late registration - no shirt for me, but that's okay) and then went in search of my Run4Fun friends area. On my way there, I ran into a couple of more runner friends and already the vibe was positive and I knew it was going to be a fun day!

I found our tables, ditched my outer layer of clothes, posed for a picture and then it was time to get going. The event coordinators had a timing pad and your bib had the coordinating chip so each time you passed it, it would calculate your laps. How awesome is that? I could just run without even attempting to try and remember where I was at. There was an aid station with all the necessary things but most importantly, the entire oval was filled with runners of all abilities. I saw several ultra runners, marathoners, half marathoners and some people there just to kick off their new years resolutions of getting healthy.

The Run4Fun facebook group. Well at least some of us :)

Just a few of my running idols

Getting my 4 "tat"

(picture courtesy of Kimberly Hunt)

oh, and other group pic of us! I love these peeps!

SO FUN! There wasn't one single lap that I didn't have someone to chat with, laugh, encourage, tease or just try and keep up with. It literally made the time fly by! I knew I had until 11:30 to run before I needed to leave, and I wasn't really looking for any particular goal except get a chance to say hi to as many friends as I could. I took it easy, adjusted speeds as I found friends to run with for a bit, wandered to the bathroom, sipped at my Monster on the table, and basically just had a fun party.

Me and my girl Kandi

The Rockstar Kimberly

My brothah from another mothah Paul

At one point, I decided to go to the table and see how many laps they had me down for. To my amazement, I had done far more at that point than I would have guessed. I could easily complete a half marathon within my time frame. Easily. With time to walk, chat and stretch.

Yo Enrique! A benefit of my "job" - I get to make new running friends from loyal customers!

Sometimes I get to bump into friends I haven't seen in a long time (missed a picture with you Chadder)

Goll dang I love this girl! But serio? Look at my chubby face! Momma needs to cut back on the skittles.....

Once I completed the 48 laps to equal the 13.1 miles, I walked a couple slow laps with a buddy who knew just what to hand me ( a vanilla coke zero) and then I wandered back to our Run4Fun tables and stretched and talked to some besties.

What a fun event! More fun than I even thought it could be. I really anticipated a borefest, interspersed with a little conversation with a few friends, but instead it was the exact opposite. I fun fest with mostly conversation, and the running was just a sideline attraction.

After stretching, hugging and saying goodbye, I headed home with a huge grin on my face and just the right amount of soreness in my legs. 13.1 - not bad. I'll take it. But more importantly, I'll take all the friends, new and old that I have with this fabulous running community here along the Wasatch Front. I dare say, we are a tight knit community that encourages one another, takes care of one another and looks out for each other. I love it. I couldn't ask more from my beloved sport.