Want Free Stickers?

Wanna get sticky at your next run?

We've got a boatload of free stickers to give away, and we'd love for you to stick them on your arm, face, butt, leg, etc... during your next race. You could also just stick it on your shirt. Or your car. Or your notebook. Or wherever.

If you'd like free stickers (limit 3 per request), please send your name & address to:

kelspot@gmail.com

Then - send in a picture of you representing RKR.com in style & you'll be posted up here on the blog for all to see. Tell your friends!

Keep Running,
Kelli

"I Don't Run"

It's actually really encouraging to me that only 24 hours have passed since creating Run Kelli Run & I've already been contacted by numerous friends, both new and old, informing me that they read my initial post & they're thinking about starting running.

Let me tell you that I have talked to plenty of people about my running. Some are totally intrigued by what I do and some of them could literally give zero shits about what I'm saying. In those conversations, I usually take the hint and shut up regardless of how excited I am about an upcoming run/achievement. After a generic "cool" response or head nod, the lackluster conversation is usually concluded with them telling me "I don't run."

I never used to run either.

2 years later, I have broken 300 miles in training while running a 27 minute, uphill 5k.

Before 2010, I was a dancer who used to whine when her teacher made her class do crunches. During my senior year of high school in 2005, we had to run a mile as a physical fitness test. I SKIPPED A DAMN LAP OF IT BECAUSE I HATED RUNNING. If anyone on EARTH "didn't run" - 

IT WAS ME.

There is a difference between that time you ran to the bus stop in the rain and the running that myself and hundreds of thousands of others love so much. Running is a mental and physical challenge. For most people who lace up and drive to a 5k on a Saturday morning at 8am - they aren't going out there looking for newbies they can crush on their way to the finish line. They're there for one reason and one reason only: themselves. 

If you have never crossed a finish line harder, better, faster, or stronger than a previous run - there is no comparison to that feeling of accomplishment. It's something I can't fathom NOT wanting to experience, and now - I'm unsure how I ever lived without it. There's no team, no coach, no nothing. It's just you out there. YOU got yourself there. It's amazing.

I started out by running 15 to 20 minutes three times a week on a treadmill from 1991 in my mom's basement. I remember the first time I ran 2 miles down there, I literally felt like an Olympian. It's a little funny to look back on, but I'm still proud of it. There is NO accomplishment too small with running. It doesn't matter if you ran a 6 minute mile or a 12 minute mile. What matters is that you ran it.

I don't find the novelty with laziness that so many people in my generation seem to embrace. If I don't take care of my body, nobody else is going to. I don't think getting fat is funny, and I don't think it's cute when someone my age is out of breath after walking up a flight of stairs. Am I supposed to? Yeah, being healthy is a choice and yeah, it takes a little bit of work. But honestly - what is more important to you than that? Time isn't our side, but in the same light - it's never too late, either. SCREW the people who think you're lame for ditching a night of drinking for the treadmill. Encourage them to join you, and if they don't want to or can't respect the fact that you're ready to make a change? Dust in the wind coming off your Asics as far as I'm concerned.

If you're thinking about starting running, I think you know what my opinion on that would be. But if you REALLY want to start running, stop effing talking about it or thinking about how swell it would be. Your plans to start "next week" or "after the holidays" aren't getting you anywhere. Someone out there who is busier than you, more out of shape than you, and older than you ran today. Schedule your runs and stick to them like the most important meetings you've ever scheduled in your life. Running one week and being "too tired" the next doesn't cut it. You can't expect to fall in love with something you refuse to make time for. And I promise you, no matter how exhausted you are driving to the gym or lacing up your shoes on the front porch - you will feel better after that run. It's not cliche and it's not a bribe and it's not me trying to trick you. It's true, goddammit. 

It's November. If you want to start your love affair, sign up for a 5k in the Spring. Go to Active.com RIGHT NOW and search your zip code.Pick a race in April or May and sign the hell up for it. Send in your entry fee, get a confirmation email, and print that thing out and tape it to your mirror. When you're "too tired" to run, look at that paper. When you're "busy this week", look at that paper. You're signed up to run 3.1 miles in 6 months and yes, you're going to do it.

Get off of your couch and run.

DIY Medal & Bib Display

I'm a big fan of Etsy. I've bought plenty of artwork and other homemade goods from various crafters on the site, but there are some things that I come across and I think: "I could totally make that myself."

So I do.

If you consider yourself on the crafty side like myself and you want to get those race bibs and medals OUT of that shoebox - you can take on this nice little project. Similar products run for $28 to upwards of $50 on Etsy. My cost? Less than $10.

 

 

What you need:

- Piece of wood (my piece of wood is about 9" x 13")

- Two metal clips (should be the kind with small holes on the top of the clamps - see photo)

- Two thumb tacks

- 4 Cup Hooks (should be the kind that screw in)

- Paint in whatever colors you'd like

- Pencil

What to do:

1. Start off by painting the board and letting it dry completely. Don't put any writing on it just yet. Make sure you paint the sides of the board, as well, since these are visible when hung on the wall.

2. Grab a bib and center it on your board. If you plan on writing a large phrase on the top, make sure you leave yourself enough room. Measure in about one inch from the edge of the bib and then move about an inch up. Make a marking with a pencil, then repeat on the other side of the bib. This is where you'll tack in your metal clips.

3. With a thumb tack, press the back side of each clip on the markings you made. Be sure to push down the tack all the way or you won't be able open the clamp when you push on it. 

4. Along the bottom of your board, screw in each cup hook. If you want to line them up straight, use a ruler and draw a light line with pencil before going to town. I, however, suck at straight lines so I put mine in a zig zag pattern. These are surprisingly easy to screw in, just make sure you screw straight or your hook will be off to the side. A few of mine ended up kind of crooked, but luckily they're pretty easy to bend straight.

5. Once everything is in, go ahead and decorate however you'd like. Some boards just say "RUN" and others have cute little phrases like "Run Like A Girl" or "My Happy Place". I added the "HBFS" (harder better faster stronger) since it's my little catch-phrase, but you can really do whatever you'd like.

Also, I just attached my bib holder to the wall with those command strips and it has held up just fine. It's also pretty exciting to line up all your stuff in one place and see it all accumulated. It's pretty exciting to hang each new one up, too.

If you plan on making your own, link me to a picture. I'd love to see your spin on it!

Keep Running,

Kelli

Too Young To Race?

I'm sure this is a topic that will get covered by plenty of runner bloggers (roggers?) today. Since this story is gracing the front page of Yahoo this afternoon, I figured that I would shine some light on it for those of you who haven't heard about it.

I don't even know if I consider this controversy since the answer is SO blatantly obvious to me, but to each their own.

Look alllllll the way over to the left-hand side of the group. See that little pumpkin in the blue sports bra and black shorts? That's 12 year-old Kaytlynn Welsch.

We've all seen kids at 5k's and I've even seen a few run 10k's. They seem to come zipping by you and I've always thought it was pretty commendable that they were able to run those distances (and quite well) at such a young age. Apparently, Kaytlynn and her younger sister Heather (who is 10) have competed in more than 160 endurance races (combined) in the past two years. While that number is impressive by itself, both of the girls have managed to keep good grades in school.

Now that's what I'm talking about.

But of course there are people out there who think this is some form of cruel and unusual punishment (even though the girls express their love for the sport) and feel as though their parents should be ashamed. In a world of Honey Boo Boo's and teen moms - why are THESE TWO the ones being criticized? 

Aside from my career, I also teach dance to middle & highschool aged girls. You could say I am slightly obsessed with ensuring that the younger generation does not slip into a fast food-driven, tv obsessed way of life. These young athletes should be an absolute inspiration not only to their peers, but to the folks decades older than them who take more pride in their Twitter follower count than they do their BMI.

How is this any more dangerous than people who enroll their 10 year old kids in contact sports like football and hockey? For the record, I don't think anything is wrong with those sports either, but it's very rare that you see headline articles on Yahoo criticizing THOSE parents. No, you don't see 10 and 12 year old kids that can run marathons very often. Just because these two have done something many adults, let alone children, will never achieve in their lifetime should not put them at the front of the line for criticism. If anything, it should be inspiring. Their parents don't put them up to it, but they also don't let them quit something they've already started either. As an adult who grew up under those exact rules, Kaytlynn and Heather will thank their parents for instilling that sense of responsibility in them one day.

Kaytlynn told the New York Times that she enjoys running and can go "on and on without getting tired". While she couldn't pinpoint EXACTLY what made running so fun, she did say that it makes a "purpose in her life". Whether you're a runner or not, it's hard not to respect a kid who has found something they love to do and will do anything to do it. Even if it means backlash from people they've never met.

Keep running, Kaytlynn & Heather -

Kelli

The Introduction Post

Gooooood Afternoon, Blogger!!

In order to get the vibe I'm going for, you need to read that line above in the style of Ty Pennington when he wakes up the family he's about to give an extreme home makeover to. If you don't know what that style is... I'm sorry, I can't find a YouTube video of it.

Anyways, I guess a short intro is on order. My name is Kell & you could say I'm a little bit experienced in the blog-o-sphere. My previous blog (unnecessarydrama.net) was a beauty blog and I just feel like I, how do I say this, outgrew it. I used to be really into makeup and cosmetics, and while I by no means enjoy looking ugly - I guess I just don't really consider it a "passion" anymore. Thanks to the blog, though - I do have roughly 5,496 lipglosses and 931 eye shadow palettes I whip out when I feel like getting crafty with my face.

Now, I run. It's what I do. I never ever ran before in my life until about a year and a half ago. I started running because I just started feeling weird. I was only 23 years old, but I was really anxious and I worried over health issues that I didn't even have. After I signed up for a gym membership and took to the treadmill - I found that after I ran I didn't have that anxiety. After weeks of running - I learned it was possible to TOTALLY live without it.

I've never looked back.

So here I am, older and wiser, and running 20ish miles per week. On Saturday, I leave for Florida to run my first half marathon. I guess what I'm trying to say is THIS is my passion now - not mascara and eyeliner. While I can still do a killer smokey eye, I prefer to spend my evenings hitting the pavement or the hamster wheel, and I'm pretty pumped to share my achievements, tips, reviews, and struggles with all of you. I haven't been running my whole life and I sure as hell don't know everything there is to know about IT bands and shin splints, but damnit - this is what I love to do. 

Keep Running,

Kelli