Run, Stacie, Run

In honor of our run coach traveling to Boston for the BOSTON MARATHON, we thought you'd enjoy these interesting facts about the Boston Marathon:

1. The Boston Marathon is held on Patriots Day - the third Monday in April celebrating the battle of Lexington and Concord in 1775, the first battles of the American Revolutionary War.

2. $806,000 PRIZE PURSE AT STAKE: The total prize money distributed among the winners of the 114th Boston Marathon will be $806,000. How much are you gonna win Stacie?

3. 4 Olympic Champions have won Boston - Fatuma Roba (ETH), Joan Benoit Samuelson (USA), Rosa Mota (POR), Gelindo Bordin (ITA)

4. Legendary John A. Kelley started a record 61 Boston Marathons and finished 58, his last one at the age of 84.

5. The Boston Marathon was first run on April 19, 1897, its original distance was 24.5 miles and had a "field" of 15 runners.

Now, lace up your shoes Stacie and get those Fleet Feet Running!!

Letter from Coach Stacie to North Carolina Marathoners

Enjoy today! You are a marathon runner!

I hope that your family and co workers are showering you with praise over your fabulous weekend of running. They should be. You all did great. Enjoy their praise and soak it up. Don't diminish what you have done -because every person who says "congratulations" isn't just congratulating you on your race this weekend.. They are congratulating you on the countless miles of training that you have done to get to this point. So whether the weekend's race went better than expected or was more challenging than expected. whether you flew through the finish or hobbled through the finish. you have done something amazing. And if for one moment you question just how amazing the 26.2 distance is, then check this out:

The modern Athens Marathon commemorates the run of the soldier Pheidippides from a battlefield at the site of the town of Marathon, Greece, to Athens in 490 B.C., bringing news of a Greek victory over the Persians. Legend has it that Pheidippides delivered the momentous message "Niki!" ("victory"), then collapsed and died, thereby setting a precedent for dramatic conclusions to the marathon.

So enjoy today and being showered with praise. And don't be the person who shrugs it off and says "oh - it wasn't that great". or "oh - it wasn't as fast as I wanted". or "oh - it was no big deal." It was a big deal. You ran further than most people are willing to drive for a commute to work. And you had the dedication to train long enough and hard enough to do it right.

I'll stop babbling now so you can look up from your computer to listen to your next coworker, friend, or family member tell you how great you are. Just smile and say thanks - cuz you really are!
Coach Stacie O'Battjes

A Few Lucky Charms!

We celebrated the end of our marathon training program with a 2.62 run from the store on Wednesday night! 100 people came out to celebrate our marathon runners as they finish training and get ready for the North Carolina Marathon, March 20th! The get together featured FREE shoulder massages of all the marathoners by family and friends, great door prizes and a few boxes of Lucky Charms! The Shamrock Run was done in typical Fleet Feet Style including rubbing a rabbit’s foot for good luck (Nancy in a costume), touching our good luck shoe, and a free piece of Double Bubble, “the best piece of gum you’ll ever get,” says Stacie! Keith brought out our turtle, a powerful symbol for participants in all of our No Boundaries programs – it’s about the journey, the turtle always finishes!

Our event featured not only marathon runners, but runners of all types and ages-our No Boundaries group was there getting ready for their first 5K. Family and friends were there for fun and support! We are proud all the runners who turned out on cold Wednesday night sharing a love of running-26.2, 10K, 5K, 1 mile fun run, as the turtle says it’s all about the journey! Wish our marathoners a little Luck and whole lot of endurance on March 20th. Missed this Social Event at Fleet Feet? Join us Wednesday, March 17th at 6pm for a little leprechaun chasing at the store! RSVP at our websitehttp://www.fleetfeetwinston-salem.com/leprechaun-run-march-17th-6PM.