One of the best parts of traveling around the country to marathons is meeting all the people along the way. I get the opportunity to meet amazing women that all have their own stories in why they are doing a marathon and what it took for them to get to the place they are in. Last weekend at the P.F. Chang’s Rock n Roll Marathon and Half Marathon in Phoenix I was inspired by Team in Training.
Up here in Missoula, Montana we don’t actually have a local team in training group so my knowledge of the organization was limited to the people I’d see on race courses. To be honest, I’ve never noticed all that many people sporting the bright purple jerseys. But at the Rock n Roll I got a glimpse into what seems to be an enormous organization that is motivating people to not only accomplish huge goals but teaching them how to do that with a purpose. While I was already amazed with the group from meeting participants at the Mile 22 Bags booth it wasn’t until the expo was over that I got a glimpse into the best part. Saturday night after two long hard working days at the expo I decided to take a quick dip in the hotels hot tub. Trying to get from my room to the pool wasn’t easy. I encountered group after group meeting with their Team in Training groups the night before the race to have some last minutes motivation. All these groups seem to be united, driven, and show support for one another. I LOVE IT!! So while I don’t really know much about the group I encourage anyone interested in training for something they never thought possible (like a marathon) to look into Team in Training in their area. I know I’m going to be finding out how to get one started here in Missoula! Here’s the site for anyone interested in these amazing people: www.teamintraining.org
Also, I just spoke with a team in training employee and I will be donating a bag to a silent auction! I love being able to get involved. All of you out there that do Team in Training…I would love to help you too!
I would love to hear from people involved in this organization. How you got involved, if you’d ever trained for something like a marathon before, what you do to raise money, etc.
Next weekend I am excited to be at the Surf City Expo with a great friend of mine, Glory. Glory and I lived in China together and eventually decided to train for our first half marathon together!
Stefanie
Tags: marathon races, Rock n Roll Arizona Marathon, team in training
Thank you for your support of Team In Training! I started with a cycle century in 2004, in memory of an aunt who passed several years before. In April 2006, a high school friend lost his 14-year battle with leukemia, and I knew it was time to go back, so I did another 100-mile cycle event. From there, I came back to run the Nike Women’s Marathon in 2007, the Miami Olympic Tri in May 2008, and then became a team mentor for the Nike Women’s 2008 and Disney Marathon 2009. I’m back for Fall 2009, mentoring Nike again and also doing the local century ride. The money that we raise goes to help the many local patients who have been my inspiration and motivation. Thank you for a part of this great cause!