So in May of 2011 I was informed that I was chosen to be part of the Team Marathon Bar team. I was one of 249 others that were picked out of thousands of other people. I was excited to know that I had made the cut. I joked with people telling them that I think it was part where I stated in my ambassadorship form the fact that back in my college days my cross country team would eat Snicker bars after a hard workout or race to get that much needed energy and for me sugar back into our systems. Protein Bars and Energy Bars were not heard of back in the late 80's. We had Gatorade and Snickers Bars!! Could that have been the remark that cinched the deal for me I will never know. I think everyone was told it was because of their commitment to a healthy active lifestyle.
So now i look back on the whole deal from June until December. The positives have been I have developed friendships online with fellow runners, I have met some really great people on the team, and i gave and received a lot of encouragement from fellow teammates. The team inspired to train harder and bring my times down which i did. I am still not seeing those 6-6:30 minute miles I ran back in the college days, but I am bringing it down consistently.
Some of the things I did not care about the gig was the fact that I had to pay quite a bit of money to participate in at least one Rock n Roll Marathon series race. I love Chicago, I am glad I experienced running there but I spent quite a bit money of my own to represent a brand. Really that was the only thing that truly bothered me about the whole deal. I just feel that Marathon Bars should have paid for our entries into these races and got us better deals on hotel rooms.
I am not much of a "big race" runner. I don't mind a couple thousand people but when it gets up there around 10-15,000 people well that is just too big for me. I will take my local events and mid Michigan events any day to another RnR race. I like to travel and then run in the area that I am staying at. This summer I ran the "Rims" in Billings Montana that was more amazing than the race in Chicago. I ran the trails in Munising Michigan and nothing compares to that beauty in the UP.
I liked the crazy mix of people that were chosen for the team. There were others like me who have run since they were kids, or who had run at the collegiate level. There were people who fought against obesity and being over-weight and not eating right. There were all ages and ethnicity it was a great mix! Everyone had a story to tell. It was interesting to see some peoples stories go from being obsessed with eating and then taking that obsession and throwing themselves into running and then to have running become their new obsession.
All I have left to ponder is that I do not know what I will do if I am chosen again for another ambassadorship. I guess it depends on what is required of me. I will make that decision if and when it comes this year. Even with out an ambassadorship I will still be living my healthy active lifestyle like i have my whole life and I will still be inspiring others to join me in my love for running. Running is very personal to me at one point in my life i thought it was the only thing I could do and do good, but fortunately for me I found other things in life I am good at as well and have identified myself with those things as well. I will keep running until I no longer can that is my goal! Stay On Keep On Marathon!
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