Nike+ Human Race Quick Links

My running journey is probably similar to most other runners' experiences. I recently blogged on one aspect of it at my website, MrCrowder.com, and I'm usually very energetic and passionate when trying to convince others that running should be a regular part of their life.

Most importantly, I consider myself to be a "real person's runner." Like most runners, I played some sports growing up and considered myself marginally athletic. At some point in college or after, I stopped most real athletic pursuits and settled for the occasional round of disc golf or hour on the racquetball court. Because I had been in good shape in high school and most of college, I knew that I was slowly losing my health. I remember being vaguely competitive, so the fact the running initially kicked my butt wasn't what I was looking for. But after sticking with, I found the rewards were well worth it.

A few years after college, I found myself considerably overweight for my body type (5'11", 235 lbs) and eating like there was no tomorrow. On a grad school trip to Portland, my friend Andy spent several nights trying to convince me to run with him. This was only enticing because it meant getting out in the fresh Oregon air, close to the river in downtown, and I had moved from Oregon earlier that year and sorely missed the beautiful scenery. Over two nights in late October of last year, 2008, I ran/walked about 2 miles. I was severely winded and unimpressed.

When I got home to Texas, I was leaning towards giving in to Andy's pleas for me to run. On our trip, he had been using a Nike+ SportBand to track our runs. I remembered that a year earlier, my wife had gotten me the Nike+ Sportkit to work with my iPod and shoes. Pathetically, I used it twice in an altogether lackluster attempt at running. Now, over a year later and somewhat intrigued by the thought of being active and losing weight, I started to use Nike+ again. A mile here, two miles there, and then I felt the need to challenge Andy on Nike+. Nothing like accountability, right?

So I created a challenge that was Most Miles over a month and invited him. It was on.

I named it “Run Fatboy Run.” Check it out here.

Are you impressed? Andy had been running for about 10 years. Finished marathons, half marathons. Me? Just getting kickin. He beat me by less than a mile.



(The above picture is my daughter and I after my first half marathon...run in 1:50).

Since that first challenge, November 1, 2008, I’ve dropped 50 pounds. And you can too.

In January, Andy and I renewed the challenge. Check out the results here. And that was actually "first one to 100 miles." Sorry Andy....

I continue to run because of the health benefits of it. Even after a tough run, I love the feeling of having accomplished a few miles. I care far more about being healthy and enjoying a community of runners than I care about personal records, keeping a pace, or qualifying for Boston. In fact, a half marathon is the furthest run I've done and I'm not concerned about going any further.

Whenever I'm having a slump during running or working with people I'm just introducing to running, I always think about how gracious Andy was with me on those first couple of runs in Portland. A veteran runner with a good pace, I'm sure it wasn't delightful for him to walk/run 2 miles at a +10:00 pace. But he didn't seem to mind at all; he was just thrilled I was running. That's how I want to be with others. I don't mind pushing people to run faster and harder, but I care more that people are enjoying it.

Until recently I tracked my runs using a Sportkit and iPod Nano, but recently I started using the new version of the SportBand. I love for my run to not be tied to my iPod, so I can still listen while I've paused my run. I have a few PowerSongs that I play to get me fired up, but mostly when I run I listen to podcasts of either the Dan Patrick Show or sermons by Rob Bell. It really helps me zone out and listen well—sometimes music just makes my mind go in a million places.

I’m a 2009 Human Race Ambassador because I believe in the power of running and the power of accountability. Nike+ just happened to help me with both. And on October 24th, I hope to put all that hard work to use and finish with my best 10K time ever (sub 43 minutes). But if I don't make it, I'll be satisfied to celebrate with a bunch of runners & friends afterwards. That's the only thing really worth celebrating.

To train with my team this fall, join the Electric Highway. To follow what’s going on and get a bunch of chances to win good stuff, connect with my Twitter & Facebook fan page.