The Rhode Hazard

Blog Consolidation

2015-06-16T16:17:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone!

With the release of my book Serial Racing, my writing for RunHaven, and other ventures, I've decided to move all new posts to the Serial Racing blog. Please follow me over there. Thanks!

Recycle Your Gu, Gel and Energy Block Packaging for Medals4Mettle

2015-04-07T15:12:00.005-07:00

Hello everyone! Many of you know I have volunteered as the Rhode Island Chapter Coordinator, and as the director of social media, for Medals4Mettle since 2011. We are an all-volunteer-run non-profit organization, and we fundraise to cover the cost the ribbons we use to present your donated medals.

I have a great way you can help us raise funds for our program without making a financial donation! It helps Medals4Mettle and helps the environment too!

My chapter is now a partner with the TerraCycle Energy Bar/Gu Package/Blox Package/Nutrition Bar Package recycling program. This is a free recycling program for energy bar wrappers, and plastic wrappers from certain energy products.

We can take any of the following for this recycling program:

Foil-lined energy bar wrappers
Foil-lined granola bar wrappers
Foil-lined meal replacement bar wrappers
Foil-lined protein bar wrappers
Foil-lined diet bar wrappers
Clif Bar & Co. wrappers from Clif Bars, Luna Bars, MOJO, Builders, Crunch, Clif Kid Z-Bar, Kits Organic, Clif Kid Z-Fruit, Shot Blocks, Shot Gels, and Shot Drinks

The products do not have to be exclusively Clif or Luna products. They accept these type of wrappers from bars, gels, gus, and shot drinks from other vendors too.

Do you train and race with these? Save them and send them in. Do you run a race with a gu stop? Collect all the used gu wrappers and send them in. Do you have a running or gear store where you can set up a collection box and then mail it in to us? That would be a huge help. Or, have your racing club collect them at a training, group run, or club meeting.

You do not need to clean the wrappers or packaging before sending them in. Please remove as much of the remaining product as possible before shipping, and if the wrappers are wet, wait until they are dry before shipping them.

You can mail these wrappers to my chapter at:

Medals4Mettle (Wrapper Recycling)
PO Box 16382
Rumford, RI 02916

We have to prepare them and shipping them in to a specific address with a minimum weight to get credit. The wrappers you recycle are made into plastic products like furniture, park benches, and much more.

Please only mail wrappers to the address above and not to your local M4M chapter. Right now my chapter is the test for this program.

If you have any questions let me know. Thank you!

2014 Races and a Missed Goal

2015-03-07T10:24:00.001-08:00

I had planned my 2014 race schedule with a goal of 1,000 race miles.

I got to October 2014, and decided that the goal could not be achieved.

What happened? On the plus side, I was not stopped by an illness or an injury.

I moved. Selling a house and moving definitely throws off a race schedule.

I also ran out of time. Races were canceled due to weather. Race dates changed, and there were multiple times that two events were held on the same day. In May, there were even two half marathons in Rhode Island on the same day, a whopping 10 miles from each other.

Do I want to try to this goal again? Yes. I'm thinking 2016.

Do I regret not hitting it at first? Yes, but I then I think of all the amazing experiences I had. I finally got the chance to complete the New York City Marathon. I did my first 12 hour race in two years. I repeated the 10 Moons/the Sun level of the Half Fanatics. My chapter of Medals4Mettle collected and distributed a record number of medals. I extended my streak of most half marathons in consecutive days to five. I met amazing people everywhere I went; went to new destinations; and had an amazing time.

I also just finished writing a book I started the first time I did 50+ races in year. That book is called "Serial Racing: Planning for and Affording a Lifetime of Endurance Events" and it is now available online at Amazon.com and Smashwords.com.

2015 is a planned rest year for me, and I'm thankful for it. I'm scoping out what I want to do in 2016, including going to new race destinations. I'm grateful 2015 was a rest year due to the incredible number of race cancellations in New England because of the bad weather. This year is focused more on quality than quantity. I have a good schedule that should give me around 20 half marathons this year, including new events.

See you all out there!