A week after landing in San Francisco to spread the word about Goodpeoplerun.com, here comes the first race - that’s the beauty of hanging out with fast folks, there’s always something planned on the weekend!
I had been told that the Brazen Racing events were well organized and very professional. This was an understatement. Everything I could have wished for was there, despite apocalyptic weather conditions. I even had a volunteer run after me yelling as I had taken a wrong turn. 110% involvement for that Lagoon Valley 1/2, 10k and 5k
While it was perfect on the RD side, I have failed to do my job at racing a good race. Went out too fast, jammed my legs and spent the rest of the race trying to catch my second wind that never came. The picture was taken while climbing a hill, and my face is saying “WTF, am I really only half ay up???”
So despite this poor performance that I was witnessing unfold helplessly, I was super excited to see the Gods - probably Scottish those ones! - had unleashed such crazy weather upon us. Seriously, at some point on a ridge, we had to lean forward against the wind and could barely open our eyes to see the trail because of the relentless hail wipping our faces. I smiled for a moment, amused by this situation that a lot of people would find absolutely nuts. So I just cruised and tried to still take the best out of it.
There were two solid runners in this race… and I finished 3rd! My friend Caitlin Smith, was hot on my tail - yet completely freezing! Only 8’ back and clocking a solid 1h45’41”, she took 4th place overall.
Was good to be back at racing with good company and jeez I better get some speed workout done before I start running backwards!
Cheers to bad weather and optimism.
Martin
How did I get there?
I still recall the days when at school they had us write an essay on the pros and cons of NTIC (yeah back then we still had the “N” #gettingold). Already did I tend to believe it was a step forward to human relationships.
Those past two days, I have landed in San Francisco and been staying at a friend’s place.
I caught up with few friends for a run, and planed on meeting a friend.
How did I get there?
Social media has become part of our lives, and to be honest without it, none of what I experienced those pas two days would have happened.
I was able to stay over at Kelly because she saw my post on Facebook asking if anyone had a spare room I could use for to weeks.
I caught up with those other running friends, Sam and Caitlin because they saw on foursquare that I was in San Francisco, had landed in SFO more precisely.
And during that run, we chatted about a lot of things including the past ultra trail races and athletes we knew of through their blogs and twitter accounts.
Peter, another good running friend, said hello to me with a simple hand shake. We hadn’t seen each other in almost a year, but were able to keep up with each other’s lives through Instagram. He knew all about my past activities and we were able to bring up some topics to discuss them in detail.
Whether we like it or not, social media has become part of our lives, erasing distances and time across the world . We can either embrace it or try to fight it. But by the look at what the newspaper industry experienced, fighting against your time may not be the best idea.
This is what GoodPeopleRun.com is all about. Using the latest online services to help runners find local runners, groups or events in a heartbeat to run together and motivate each other. Running gathers people, period. So when those people have a common point, take being a Mom for example, the strength of the relationship between those people is stronger than ever.
Benefit of group runs were once again shown this morning, as we were coming back from our 14 miles run, Caitlin said “I’m glad you guys were out with me otherwise I’d just have gone for 8 miles”.
Now it’s just a matter of getting the word out and get people involved to grow the GoodPeopleRun.com community, and we need you for that. So please spread the word and get your fellow runners join us on GoodPeopleRun.com, we’re family after all.
— Martin
American Trail Running Association Launches Labeling Program
March 23, 2012
Contact: Nancy Hobbs, (719) 573-4133
email: trlrunner@aol.com
American Trail Running Association Launches Labeling Program
Colorado Springs, CO —- The American Trail Running Association (ATRA) Board of Directors is pleased to introduce a new labeling program for events. After much discussion and many revisions, the ATRA Board of Directors zeroed in on 15 standards to address safety, course design and marking, terrain, results, awards, logistics, entry limits, entry brochure, delivery, environmental awareness, time limits, financial accountability, impacts, rules/fairness, dogs and music players that are intended to guide race directors through the planning and execution of their events.
Should an event meet at least 12 of the 15 listed standards, an ATRA “label” can be included on entry materials and on the race website. Both the standards and label are available at ATRA’s website, www.trailrunner.com.
“It is our hope at ATRA that both race directors and race participants use the standards as an educational tool,” said Adam W. Chase, president of ATRA. “Participants, especially newcomers to our sport, will learn about the features they should expect from a well-organized trail race. Race directors can incorporate the standards into their new or existing events. When a participant sees an ATRA label on an entry form they will know that they can expect a quality experience that is worth their investment of training, effort, travel, and entry fee.”
Prior to rolling out this program, ATRA conducted a survey to get input from race directors and participants and learned that both groups felt that a program of this type would be beneficial. Through the survey, and after months of planning, the 15 standards were developed all of which the ATRA Board felt should be included in a well-organized event.
To assist ATRA with its roll-out of the program, ATRA’s corporate partner, GoodPeopleRun.com, will offer a forum for race participants to evaluate an event’s adherence to the standards via their online tools. Visit www.goodpeoplerun.com.
The event standards will serve as a good complement to ATRA’s Rules on the Run publication which covers trail etiquette. The Rules on the Run document was released in 2008. Details are available at www.trailrunner.com.
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ATRA is a non-profit 501 (c ) 3 corporation founded in 1996 whose mission is to represent and promote trail and mountain running. It is a membership-driven association with corporate, race, club, and individual memberships available. Some of its programs include a comprehensive online calendar, a quarterly newsletter – Trail Times, and monthly e-blasts with current information about the sport. ATRA is a member of USA Track & Field, Road Runners Club of America, International Skyrunning Federation, and Running USA. ATRA is managed by a board of directors and welcomes feedback. Contact www.trailrunner.com.
GoodPeopleRun.com Announces Partnership with American Trail Running Association
Annecy, Rhône Alpes, France —— GoodPeopleRun.com (GPR) is pleased to announce a corporate partnership with the American Trail Running Association (ATRA).
ATRA is a non-profit 501 (c ) 3 corporation founded in 1996 whose mission is to represent and promote trail and mountain running. It is a membership-driven association with corporate, race, club, and individual memberships available. Some of its programs include a comprehensive online calendar, a quarterly newsletter – Trail Times, and monthly e-blasts with current information about the sport. ATRA is a member of USA Track & Field, Road Runners Club of America, International Skyrunning Federation, and Running USA.
“By partnering with GoodPeopleRun.com, ATRA members can link up with like-minded athletes through a user-friendly social network. We’re excited about this partnership and look forward to a long-term involvement with Martin and his staff,” said ATRA President Adam W. Chase.
As part of the partnership, GPR will be working with ATRA to introduce and support a 15-point document which ATRA has developed for race directors entitled “event standards”. The event standards will serve as a guide for race directors – new as well as experienced – to help organize their events. In addition, there will be an ATRA event standard label which races can include on their website as well as on their Race Page on GoodPeopleRun.com to communicate their adherence with the standards. For race participants, the document will serve as a guide to learn about certain elements they should be looking for in a quality trail race experience.
Says Chase, “ATRA’s partnership with GPR will allow race participants a forum for evaluating race director’s adherence to event standards. Therefore, the document will not only serve to guide them about what to expect, but also provides them a score sheet for evaluating the trail race experience and sharing those impressions with their ‘Running Mates.’”
GoodPeopleRun.com is the first social network for local running communities. With an innovative location-based News Feed, runners will be able to organize group runs with locals and get each other off the couch. Race directors, running shops owners, coaches and running clubs also benefit from this opportunity to interact with their local running community and become part of the GPR Family.
To know more about GPR please visit www.goodpeoplerun.com and the blog www.goodpeoplestory.com
No UTMB for Kilian Jornet in 2012
As read on the Article from Endurance Trail Magazine, we discovered Kilian’s 2012 racing program and first thing to notice is that UTMB isn’t part of it.
Mai 12th : TRANSVULCANIA (Ultra Sky Marathon Series) - 83km (Canaries)
Mai 20th : XI ZEGAMA AIZKORRI MENDI MARATOIA - 42km (Spain)
June 23rd : WESTERN STATES 100
July 12th and 13th: KILIAN’S KLASSIC (Kilian’s former home town)
July 20th to 22nd: DOLOMITES SKY RACES - (Vertical Kilometer & Sky Race) -2 km et 21km (Dolomites - Italia).
July 28th: SPEEDGOAT - 50 km. (Utah - USA)
August 19th : PIKES PEAK MARATHON (Skyrunner World Series) - 42km (Colorado - USA)
August 26th and 27th : TROFEO KIMA (Ultra Sky Marathon Series) - 50km (Valtellina - Italia)
October 14th : KINABALU CLIMBATHON (Skyrunner World Series) - 21km (Borneo - Malaysia)
October 19th : LA DIAGONALE DES FOUS - 170km (La Réunion - France)
This should be another very interesting year, Good luck to you Kilian!
Source: endurance-mag.com
La levée de Fonds
Compte rendu BA Café du 27.01.2012.
Témoignages d’entrepreneurs sur leurs expériences de levées de fonds, dont celui de GoodPeopleRun.
Etaient présent dans les entrepreneurs Emmanuelle Tilmont, Philippe Lebeau et Richard Phanet moi même, Jacques RONZON représentait Alpes Léman Angels accompagné notamment de Michel Gaillard et enfin Jean-Louis Tardieu ont apporté beaucoup de richesse à table ronde qui fut donc très enrichissante. Je vous recommande de lire le résumé.
- Martin
What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, XC Running makes you mud-proof. Period.
Martin
This should be on everyone’s to do list… everyday.
— Martin
PS: Merci Marie!
Nothing good comes easy”
Yet whatever it is that you want, keep in mind that it’s out there, so why not for you?Do take initiatives and give yourself the means to get to whatever obsesses you. A personal achievement, being able to afford something you’ve always dreamed of, unveil your feelings to someone… it doesn’t matter what it is.
Take risks, expose yourself, and forget about fear, personal barriers that you put between you and what you want. For having been there lately, I can tell that it’s frightening, but the juice is worth the squeeze.
Worst case scenario, you miss it and you don’t get what you were thriving for.
If you haven’t tried to get what you’re after, it means only one thing: you still don’t have it. So technically, you are in the “worst” situation already! What’s to loose then?Go ahead and take your chances, because the journey to get there will remain as a life experience, regardless of the outcome.
So, what’s your next move?
Martin
New Year’s resolutions, whatever…
In 2012, just like the years before and the ones to come,
most will watch while a few will act,
some will judge while others will listen,
believers will pray and non believers will have faith in themselves
dreamers will hope for good while doers will make it happen,
some people will lie to protect and other will tell the truth to hurt
Bottom line is people are people, haters will hate and lovers will love.
One sure thing is that runners are Good People, and in 2012 again, they will run!
So all I know is that like many of you I can already say that in 2012, I am a runner. For the rest, regardless of resolutions, only time will tell us…
All smiles
Martin
