About a month after I launched Running With the Locals (as a YouTube channel and as a Facebook page) I uploaded the April Edition. It was shot in downtown Jeffersonville (my hometown!) at Fast Freddie's Shamrock 2-miler. Lincoln had agreed to shoot the video, and having him there was a big help. He's done this all before, AND he knows so many people in Jeff. Having him behind the camera allowed me to focus on delivering the script (as it was). It also allowed him to work his magic, which, for this occasion, was getting people to appear in the video. It opened my eyes to how interact with someone on the spot, which would spill over to online interaction, and also a bigger audience.
Two weeks later, with a little help from Lincoln, I appeared on "Live From 725" as the guest announcer. A little banter with John Ramsey, a plug for RWtL, and a bad case of nerves (which, thankfully, were off-camera), and the audience grew a little more. Two weeks after my appearance on the show, Swag's posted a link to RWtL on their Facebook page, and the audience doubled!
In late April/early May, I attended the Kentucky Derby Festival mini-marathon expo (and ran the mini, as well). At the expo, I met Ryan Althaus (from Sweaty Sheep) and one of the Running Elvii (who run and raise $$ for Team In Training). After the Mini, I met Fleet Feet Louisville owner Jeff Wells. I was very impressed by all of them, and I've shot video with Ryan (at this year's Hangover Classic) and Jeff (about a half-dozen times so far! He's a natural!). Working with them inspired me to reach out to other local running stores and race organizers, mainly through their Facebook pages. I've since shot video with just about all of the local stores, and I've also shown a lot of love to them through the Facebook page.
In late June, I witnessed my first Beer Mile. It was a bizarre scene. The rules are, basically, you drink a beer and follow it with a quarter-mile run. Repeat four times and you've got a beer mile. This particular beer mile was organized by John King.
I first heard of John from his now-defunct running blog while I was searching online for info about the now-defunct Underground 5k. We struck up a cyber-friendship over our enjoyment of both running and beer. I met John in person at a local beer-fest, where he and his wife Ashley were slinging beer for NABC. The Kings are a really nice couple, and, as it turns out, a couple of insanely good runners. I hope to do a video profile of the couple sometime this year (hint, hint John).
By the way, at the Beer Mile, I saw a guy run a sub-7-minute-mile AND drink four beers before each lap. INSANE! Of course, as soon as he crossed the finish he spewed like a fountain. The whole event was surreal.
In August, I watched some of the Ironman Louisville runners along the course and at the finish line. So impressed by the commitment and effort that goes along with completing one of those events.
Labor Day arrived, signaling the end of summer. For me, though, it ended up being the start of something else-my first group run with the running group at Fleet Feet. I had done a few fun runs over the Spring and Summer, but this time I stuck around. The run itself was pretty uneventful (a few miles through Cherokee Park), but afterward, almost everyone had breakfast at Panera and hung out. This is more than a running group, it's a community, and I'm glad to be a part of it.
October's highlights were a doughnut run and the Tap 'N Run. Oh, and don't forget the BlueMile Brew Miles! Lots of eating and drinking to go with the running. Since I've pretty well documented my exploits at those events, I will just say that it is a heckuva lot easier to run and drink beer than it is to run and eat doughnuts!
In November, I had the pleasure of staking out a spot at the finish line of the Louisville Sports Commission's inaugural Half-Marathon, where I saw Ryan Althaus cartwheel across the finish line to win it. I was very impressed by the event and the runners.
Also in November, I got to check out the Muddy Fanatic course during a trial run. Holy Crap, that is going to be a fun event! Oh, and the video I shot was a big hit! To date, it is my most-viewed video.
December didn't end up being very eventful, but by then I was ready for a bit of a break.
I can't wait for whatever 2012 has in store for me!
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