Category Archives: Running Posts
I have a unique perspective on the growth of the store. While our official grand opening was August 19, 2014, to me, it was born that February of 2014. My youngest son Cooper was just born, and while I had a few days off work, I needed running shoes; this is where the idea for Run Moore was born. Each milestone achieved, both of the store and my son, is inseparable for me. People ask, “How long has Run Moore been around?” And to me, the answer is, “Long enough to tread water in the pool with floaties on.”
When I sat down to write this intro for our newsletter, I had a much harder time than usual. I can normally sit down and just start typing, but this time I found it to be very difficult. It’s hard to put in words what I’m feeling right now, but I’ll try.
When someone I don’t know walks into the shop and asks how I am, I typically respond, “I’m living the dream.” It seems like it is said in jest, but I really mean it. Every day I get to talk about my passion: running. It is crazy how we have turned this small idea of opening up my own shop into reality in less than three years -and the result is more than I could have dreamed of. With your help, we have won awards and expanded our store. We have been a part of many people’s running journies and successes. We have partnered with local charities to raise funds for a variety of causes and have helped runners achieve their personal goals.
Through Run Moore, I have been able to share my passion for running with the community. I have been hosting a radio show about fitness each week, and next Spring I’ll be teaching a class on trail running. The things we’ve done and seen would have been unfathomable to me a few years ago.
Not to mention I am feeling healthy and looking to compete in another Fall marathon myself. After three years, I feel like I finally have a really good balance between the shop, my family, and my own running.
These opportunities that have come along would not have been possible without such an incredible community and wonderful staff. Just last week we received our 94th 5-star review on Facebook. This one felt special though because the review was about an experience when I was not in the shop, it was just my capable staff. Thanks to them I can find other venues to grow the store. I have faith in their ability to provide our customers with the best experience and knowledge.
Thanks to them I can volunteer at a charity event at the hospital one day and plan a 5k course the next. It is wonderful to be surrounded by staff who care just as much as I do about the shop and running. I am so fortunate to have such amazing people working with me who legitimately care about each customer and want to see Run Moore grow.
I hope to be able to thank everyone who has made this dream a reality in the upcoming week. The Three Year Anniversary on Saturday, August 19th, should be a lot of fun. Even if you’re not in the market for anything, please stop by and have a bite to eat so I can say thank you. I am so excited about the direction we are headed, and I can’t wait to see where the business will be in another three years.
As the weather changes, (this would be the 17th year that I have run in shorts during the winter). I have run in shorts through blizzards, wind advisories, temperature advisories, sleet, and snow. Wearing shorts in subzero temperatures has become a stupid symbol of my refusal to compromise with Mother Nature –something that I am proud of.
So, why do I do this? Well, it started out because I hated running in pants. I know the technology has improved tremendously since the last time I ran in long pants. But I cannot erase the constraining feeling of those itchy pants. I refuse for something as trivial as pants to take away my enjoyment of running. After I made this vow to myself to only run in shorts I have learned many important lessons. However, if I decide to share some of my tips for running in the cold, and they inspire you to join me on this chilly voyage, you have to give me some credit. Deal?
The first thing I discovered about running in the cold was that as long as my core and fingers were warm, the rest of my body would stay warm too. To compensate for my chilly legs, I usually wear two pairs of gloves and a base layer top with a t-shirt on top. Having a shirt that is tight allows my body heat to stay close to me and keeps me cozy and warm. My other secret is that I like to do some pushups right before I head out. If try to get my heart rate up, and get the blood flowing it can help me stay warm throughout the entire run.
A wise man once told me that you do not need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows… but I am pretty sure there is an app for that. Regardless, when I leave the house I get a feel for the wind, and pick routes that would push against the wind as to run with the wind at my back on the way home. I believe that one of the worst things you can do is start with the wind behind you, get a little sweat going, only to have the sweat freeze onto your body on the way back.
My last tip I learned is from my experience with chest cramps on cold days. I’ve tried everything from inhaling/exhaling exclusively when my foot hits the ground to taking big, deep breaths to help expand my lungs. Nothing seemed to work for me, and I was worried that my days running in the cold would have to end. Finally, one day I tried drinking a hot beverage as I was heading out for my run and boom –no cramps. Now when I am walking out the door I am usually sipping a hot mug of coffee or tea. It seems like if I can get that warmth inside my chest when it starts it keeps me warm my whole run.
There may be a day in the future when I have to end my streak and try running tights or something else, but for now, these tips seem to be working just fine. I am planning another winter of weird looks from people passing by and red, ashy kneecaps. Hopefully, after this article, I will see others taking on the shorts look with me this winter.
Last year I made my plans to go with the sole purpose of showing the brands that have failed to bring us on board that we were a serious business with the great potential. I wanted to walk up to the head honcho of Brand: “_____” and tell them they were missing out by not giving Run Moore a chance to sell their product. I wanted to poke someone in the chest and show them my cool new Run Moore shirt and tell them who we were. I assumed I would leave the conference with relationships and contracts from every shoe brand who attended and I figured within a month, I would have them all available for purchase at the shop. Turns out it did not quite happen that way. While I did speak to a few big scary people who would smile and put my business card in a stack of 50 other cards… I felt like no one really cared who I was, or why I was there.
This year – things are different. I went in last year almost apologetic that Run Moore was there. I walked around the convention center like an outsider and while I took in everything I could, I really did not talk to other store owners or get involved with the breakout discussions. My mindset this year is to catch up with my reps and see what’s new for 2017. I am happy to go and learn and listen and if I get the stink eye from other shops, oh well. Run Moore has proved time and time again that this community is here to support us and we are here to support this community. I don’t need to make apologies for what we carry or what we do.
I can’t wait to get down to Orlando and see all the new stuff coming out next year. I’m excited to learn new and exciting information about running an efficient business. More importantly, I can’t wait to walk in with my head held high and not only represent my shop but the wonderful community we serve.
I love Seinfeld. I don’t know if there is a show I’ve re-watched more than Seinfeld. There was an episode when George was trying to think of a new career. George mentioned that he enjoyed sports thought that he could make a good announcer or color man for professional baseball. Jerry burst his bubble when he reminded him that broadcasters tended to be ex-ballplayers. George replied that he did not think it was very fair. This joke was made fifteen years ago, and it tends to hold pretty true across the board in sports. When I tune into watch an NFL game I expect to hear Troy Aikman or Brian Billick breaking down and analyzing the events that are transpiring on the field. What I don’t expect to hear is my local weatherman, who has never taken a snap at even the high school level, telling me why the Ravens are playing in Tampa 2 coverage.
For some reason, when races like the marathon or the Baltimore 10 Miler air the local news team that I watch for traffic are providing the analysis. While they are great at what they do, they usually are not knowledgeable in competitive running. Why put them in that spot? Why not use, I don’t know… professional runners to announce a running event? Within five minutes of my shop, we have a guy who has qualified for the Olympic Trials in various distances for multiple Olympic games. We also have a running author and coach who have assisted runners in the area for years. We even have a college coach who has helped not just collegiate runners, but post-collegiate runners achieve their full potential. I would imagine that any of those guys would do a great job breaking down strategy and form from their unique perspective, providing excellent coverage for viewers.
I do enjoy the feel and the personal stories of the runners who are not going to win but are out there giving it their all. I like seeing the oldest entry (93 years old!) in the half marathon line with his family to tackle the distance together. However, I get frustrated with comments like “well, this marathon is 26.2 miles” and little details such as when they fail to update the women’s race for the first two hours. I don’t enjoy seeing non-runners on camera trying GU Energy and making faces about how weird it tastes. I especially get ticked when the runner who eventually wins was announced as a relay participant for the first half of the race and therefore not a factor. I don’t fault the anchors at all – they are simply doing their job and trying to report the race to the best of their abilities. I just wish they used people in the community who could use their expertise to present the event as an important sporting event, not as an event where 25,000 weirdos show up to jog around downtown Baltimore.
I understand that I am probably a part of the minority as I can watch a marathon and be interested the entire time. I totally get that the network is trying to fill hours and hours of coverage and maybe it is easier to keep non-runners tuned in by having familiar faces of their daily news to provide information. Maybe next year the news team can just handle the inspirational and human pieces and let the runners manage the race updates? Post your thoughts below on our blog, I would love to hear your opinion!
Sharing the Burden
I don’t sleep. This fact goes back for years and years but I have never been a person who can get their head down for seven hours of peaceful and necessary rest. I am almost always awake between 2:00-3:00am and sometimes, if I am lucky, I can get back to sleep relatively easy. But some nights I end up going downstairs and staring at the wall for a few hours. I relate this restlessness to stress and anxiety. I used to justify my insomnia by bragging that staying awake provided me the time to work out my daily problems, or prepare myself for possible pitfalls. Lately, I have been trying to alleviate some of the factors that prevent my nightly rest, but I have come to the realization that at the crux of my problem is a simple explanation – I don’t know how to ask for help.
As long as I can remember, I have struggled sharing the burden on helping with tasks for fear of putting out a subpar product. I often think that’s why I got into running to begin with. I have the control to achieve exactly what I want from running, it all depends on the amount of effort I put in. There is no nepotism, favoritism or shortcuts. If I put in the work and train correctly, I can push through any obstacle, and see a positive outcome. I don’t need to worry at night how to get better at running; I just need to run more. The amount of work that comes from operating a business is overwhelming, but unlike running I cannot just power through on my own. After years of living this way I am lately starting to show the cracks in my armor. It is almost as if I can no longer carry all this weight on my shoulders. My sleepless nights and additional stress are affecting my family, my running and the business. So, what can I do to fix this? I need to learn to ask for help.
This is not the easiest thing to practice, but I am willing to try. To take some of the weight off my shoulders I am learning to share my responsibilities. Today, I am having my new intern from McDaniel College make a post for me and I am not going to even double check it. I have another new hire that will be here later today, and he will be putting inventory away and checking on stock and I have to trust that he will do it to the best of his ability. If I can’t allow people that are here to be my support, which is what that they were hired brought here to do than I might as well just work alone and continue to stay up all night. After all, despite all of my training, sometimes what makes the difference in a race is the unexpected support of a fellow competitor or a cheer from a spectator.
I bring this up as we prepare for a big race this Friday night. The Chase the Light 5k is a race in honor of my friend’s son who took his own life in early 2015. I only met Chase once or twice but I’ve been friends with the family for several years. They are some of my favorite people, and I don’t know, or can’t begin to know, what it is like to be in their position. But, I do think that on a personal perspective that I will be thinking of them this week as we organize the race, and I will try to avoid finding myself becoming overwhelmed in any of life’s challenges.
I don’t know why we have such a stigma over mental health and openly discussing it. I had Chase’s family on my radio show two weeks ago and it was still very difficult for them to talk about it. Mental health disease should be recognized and talked about in the same way as any other disease. No one should feel guilty or ashamed for having depression the same way as no one should feel ashamed for having Lyme’s disease. Both diseases need treatment, support, love and attention, which is why this event on Friday is so important.
For anyone looking for a great event raising money for a great cause then I invite you to join us Friday for the race. A link to the register is below, and all funds will stay in Carroll County, going toward suicide prevention. There is live music, free beer and all the Fall Fest activities following the race. Bring your whole family and come run/walk or cheer everyone on.
