We recently featured the Blooms to Brews Marathon, Half Marathon, & 4-Person Relay. Today, we’d like to give you an event preview in pictures and announce Blooms to Brews is generously giving out another two free entries! Click to win a free registration!
Are you interested in a flat, fast that features scenic views along the Columbia River, majestic country farmland, and acres of beautifully-colored tulips that lead to the final two miles of a crowd-cheering race finish? So are we! We had an opportunity to interview Elba Benzler of Get Bold Events about the Blooms to Brews Marathon, Four-Person Marathon Relay, Half Marathon, & 10K. Read more about this picturesque Boston Marathon qualifier and be sure to put your name in for a free entry when our drawing is announced soon!
Update (7/2/13): Lonnie continues to come a long way in inspiring others to make healthy choices since the publishing of this article. Here is an article about Lonnie’s running journey in Runner’s World!
This is the second post of our weekly blog feature…
This week, we had a chance to chat with Lonnie St. John, a Pacific Northwest runner (via Troutdale, OR to be exact) and blogger at Healthy Four Life 2012. Lonnie’s running story first began with weight loss. At some point, he decided “enough is enough” and took it upon him to change his body. 100 pounds and well over 1,000 miles later, running has truly changed his life and he hopes to be an inspiration for others like him.
Read more about Lonnie’s blog and what running means to him.
Tell us about yourself. How did you get into blogging about running? The simple answer is that I was an overweight couch potato who finally decided to do something about it. I spent last year working my butt off and lost 100 pounds. Running became my go-to form of exercise. Once I started racing, I was hooked for good. I originally was just posting my progress on my personal Facebook page. Late in 2012, I created another page for all my running, weight loss, and fitness related items.
What do you consider to be the main focus of your blog (i.e. why should we check it out)? Since I’ve pretty much reached the end of my weight loss journey, my blog will be about me moving forward with my training. This year specifically will be about my training for the Portland Rock ‘n’ Rock Half Marathon in May and the Portland Marathon in October. I want to be the “guy next door” who is doing what most people only think about: going from couch potato to marathoner in a year and a half.
What have you run in the past? I’ve run a handful of 5Ks, two 10Ks and the North County Wine Run Half Marathon in September 2012.
What races do you have coming up? As noted before, my main races for 2013 are the Portland Rock ‘n’ Rock Half Marathon and the Portland Marathon. The course for the half is pretty flat and fast, so it will give me a chance to see just how fast I can go over a long distance. The marathon will be my first. Finishing will be the first priority. As part of my training, I’m also running Portland Shamrock Run (15K) and the inaugural running of the Blooms to Brews Half Marathon in Longview, WA. I’m also looking at running the Starlight Run (5K) and the Prefontaine Memorial (10K) in Coos Bay, OR, which is my hometown.
Do you have any future running goals? If so, what are they? My goal for this year is to run 1500 miles. I finished up the last quarter of 2012 with that kind of pace and it felt good. For 2014, I’m planning a couple destination races. The Flying Pig Half Marathon in Cincinnati, OH in May. Then, I would really like to do the Runner’s World Half & Festival in October. My goal is to run all three legs of that event.
Anything else you’d like to share with the Gametiime community? I’m really trying to reach people who are struggling to get active, healthy, and lose weight. I’m currently in the process of working with a couple other gentlemen, one in Texas and the other in Pennsylvania, who share a similar story to me. Together, we have lost over 350 pounds by following the simple formula of eating healthy and exercising, primarily running. We want to be proof that it can be done.
Want to meet Lonnie? Feel free to connect with him via Twitter, Facebook, or his Blog.
Have an interesting blogger you would like us to highlight in the Gametiime Weekly Blog Feature? Send an email to info@gametiime.com and we’ll get back to you shortly.
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