I just wanted to reach out and say thanks to everyone who made our first year a rousing success! It really was an unbelievable year and we owe it all to you. I really appreciate all the warmth and hospitality the community of Ypsilanti has shown our little store. I want to thank each person who has stopped in to shop, to ask questions, or to just look around. Without each of you, we wouldn’t have made it to our first anniversary.  It’s been a great ride in a great town, and we look forward to our next year as our great community continues to set itself apart from other cities.

I’m looking forward to our next year in Ypsilanti as we look to spread our wings a little more. As I’ve said before, our shop is more than just running shoes and apparel. We want to be an asset to this awesome community. To that end, I am really excited about getting involved in EMU’s Bright Futures program at Estabrook Elementary and Ypsilanti High, with a weekly exercise group culminating in a 5K near the end of the school year. We are also excited about continuing work at Frog Island as we look to improve the surface of the track so that it may be a viable site for future races, as true quarter mile tracks are increasingly hard to find. Group runs, Donut Dashes, and training runs are events that we look forward continuing into our second year. We hope you’ll come out and join us sometime, if you haven’t already. We’d love to have you. 

Thanks from the bottom of our hearts; the store is an extension of our family and you are all a part of it! 

May is upon us and that means summer is almost here. I look forward to a busy summer at YRC in 2015.  On Wednesday May 13th, we’ll host our first Ypsilanti Running Co. Athletic Club “Workout Wednesday” at Frog Island Park. Workouts are $5 drop-in or you can pay $60 for the whole summer. The track workouts will be rain or shine (in the event of rain, alternate road workouts will be planned as the track can get a bit mushy). Check out the store calendar on our website www.ypsirunning.com/calendar.html  or stop by the shop for details. I hope you’ll join us for some fun workouts this summer!

As a way to compensate for our use of the track on Wednesday nights, we recently “adopted” Frog Island Park in Ypsilanti. The shop has taken on the responsibility of helping with the basic upkeep of the park by meeting once a month for cleanup days. The primary goal of adopting the park is to not only help keep it clean but to improve the surface of the track by removing some of the weeds that have overtaken the track so that the entire surface of the track is usable. Maybe I’m biting off a little more than I can chew here, but as a home to one of the few remaining cinder 440yd tracks in Michigan, Frog Island Park was a natural extension of our shop and I feel like it deserves a little extra attention. I know there are some of you out there that might feel the same way and are willing to help! I hope you’ll consider joining us on those clean-up days. The days will fall on the last Sunday morning of each month throughout September. As sort of a kickoff to our park adoption, I hope you’ll join us on Saturday May 17th for Ypsi P.R.I.D.E. day (http://business.a2ychamber.org/events/details/a2y-chamber-event-ypsilanti-p-r-i-d-e-day-2015-6153) as we get the summer started by pitching in to help clean up Ypsi’s parks. Let me know if you are interested in joining us!

We also have some other events planned for a great summer-the Donut Dash the first Sunday of every month at 10:30am if you’re feeling squirrelly (and hungry), the group runs will remain constant on Tuesday nights and Saturday mornings, and in June we’ll be hosting a fun kick-off party on Thursday, June 25th in preparation for the Color Run. More details to follow including a new summer YRC logo. Anyway, I hope you consider including us in your plans to stay healthy this summer, and I look forward to seeing you out on the roads!

Stay fit!

It was April 9, 2010 when I signed up for a "Beginner Run Class'. A tall, slim, ginger haired guy named Mike Nix would be my instructor for the next few months, every Thursday night, along with many others that signed up for the class. I had started a weight loss journey a few months prior and took this class upon a recommendation of a friend.      

On the first day of class he gave us some paperwork and instruction of what we were about to embark on. Shortly after that we hit the streets of Ann Arbor with a 1 minute run and then walk break. The minute seemed like forever until we would hear the loud voice say "Shut it down" which meant we could stop running and walk. He had to yell loudly because our group was all at different paces so everyone was scattered about. And believe me you did not want to miss that command which meant you could walk, thank goodness. A few weeks went on and two of us in class decided we were going to run a 5K exactly one month after we began this class. That went well so on the last week of class I remember asking Mike "Hey do you think I could ever run a half marathon?  His response "Yes you could if you didn't worry about your time and focus on finishing"  Great advice! 

After getting a few half marathons under my belt I called Mike and asked him if he would consider being my trainer. He said yes and soon I would be introduced to places the locals go like Gallup Park, Argo, the Hospital Stairs, The Arb, Broadway, and yes even Harvard Hill! Let's see - I would learn what 400's, 800's, Mile Repeats, and Hill workouts meant and how much, cough, cough, fun they are!  

Now 50 pounds lighter and glancing at 32 medals hanging on my wall one of which says 26.2 I call myself a "Runner".  I would be remiss to say running came easy to me because it did not. I have runs I struggle to complete, compare myself to other runners too much, and doubt my ability a lot. But I am lucky enough to have met my run coach named Mike. He has stuck with me every step of the way. Guiding, directing, developing training plans, and most important encouraging me to keep aiming higher on my goals but never put too much pressure on myself that I  forget all the enjoyment running brings. Because at the end of the day that is what it's all about for me - the love of the sport - something I honestly never thought I would be so passionate about and love. Learning to run at 44 was certainly one of the best things that has happened to me and I encourage anyone to give it a try. I certainly would not have wanted to miss out on this experience and all it has added to my life.