Notes From The Foot Whisperer - Go The Distance

For the past few years, I’ve been reading and hearing about these long distance team challenges throughout the country. Known as the Ragnar, they are, for the most part 200 mile races, with each team having a 12-runner roster (The Sixpack teams are insane!). My son and his college buddies have run the “Reach the Beach” Ragnar in New Hampshire the last three years, taking first place every year. So yours truly was more than intrigued when a member of our Saturday morning group run (And also a member of a loosely tied beverage/running organization running out of our store) asked me to join his Ragnar team. The challenge? Our twelve person team had to run from Cumberland Maryland to Washington DC. The time period was roughly two days for each team to finish.

After 30 hours of living out of a van, using porta-potties, running insane mountainous legs, night-time running, driving and running dusty back mountain roads, and sleep depravation, you’d think we’d all swear “no more!” To the contrary, the camaraderie, challenges to record a “kill” (when you pass someone from another team), elation after the hand-off, van “decoration”, meeting and joking with others at the exchange zones, running through beautiful areas of Maryland, and overall satisfaction with the finish, blew away any negative thoughts about the Ragnar!

Am I ready to sign up for next year? Give me a couple of months to think about it. But seriously, check out the website, www.ragnarrelay.com to start your Ragnar team. And we’ll see you at the finish line!

~Ed

Notes From The Foot Whisperer - Gearing Up (and Drinking Up) for the Marathon

Are you ready for the Pittsburgh Marathon? Yours Truly has been running and I will be doing the Half for my favorite charity, The Alzheimer’s Association (We call ourselves the AlzStars). It’s easy to be a part of the marathon; either as a runner in the Full, Half, Relay, or 5K. Or you can participate as a observer and cheering fan. Believe me, I couldn’t have made it without the support of all of the people along the course!

And as if I don’t have enough challenges, my daughter gave me a new challenge; I have to drink 97 ounces of water a day this week to hydrate properly for the race! If it were coffee, that’d be easy! But in all seriousness, hydrating is so important as every organ in the body requires water. And when you stress your body in one of these races, the outcomes could be bad if not properly hydrated. My own experience in my second marathon was great!. The reason? Because one of my associates at the expo that year insisted (Nagged!!!) that I drink plenty of fluids days prior to the marathon. And she brought a huge bag of bottled water. At the time, I was annoyed, but cooperated. A big Thank You to Wendy!!! I had absolutely no problems running the marathon. And to the contrary, it was the most enjoyable race I had ever done!

Come pay us a visit at the Expo this year! We are offering some of our new L.A.B. apparel. And I think you’ll love the themes! And if you can’t make it to the expo, stop by the store for great Expo Weekend discounts! Friday and Saturday, take advantage of expo discounts. Anything at the store will be 20% off!!!

Happy Running!!!

~Ed

Notes From The Foot Whisperer - One of the Gifts that Running Gives

I went for a run the other day. It was a beautiful, sunny morning around 50 degrees, with little wind. And I found out it was just the prescription for yours truly! It seems I had a lot on my mind. Some good. And others quite tragic. But I’ve found, through my running, peace, solace, and direction. What a great way to clear the clutter that periodically builds up in one’s head! While out there with the road under my feet, and the blue sky overhead, I was not annoyed by phone calls, the Morning News, or the thought of the day’s responsibilities. Instead I concentrated on the rhythm of my breathing and foot strikes. And I focused on the task at hand: how to say good bye to my sister. Denise was tragically taken from us in an auto-related accident while on vacation. And I had the unenviable task of providing a post-funeral eulogy to friends and family. How do I put into words, the feelings about a person I have known literally my entire life?

I decided to go for a run. It all came together! What a tremendous gift we all share as runners! I will always cherish the time I spent with my siblings. And I will likewise take pleasure in every one of my runs. Both solitary and with others!

Thank you all for that gift!

~Ed

Notes From The Foot Whisperer - Wow! Tens Years!!!

As many of you may know, and if you’ve heard me bellyaching enough about it, I am not a fan of the winter. Something about the cold, and the darkness, and the gray skies, and…..did I mention the cold? So how is it that ten years ago, in the middle of February, I had this crazy idea to open a specialty running store????

Ever since my days running track and cross country for Penn Hills, I had an affinity toward running. And mind you, I am a protégé of John “The Penguin” Bingham – SLOW is my middle name. The interest in running was always there, sparked by those incomparable contemporaries; Bill Rogers, Frank Shorter, Don Kardong, and of course, Steve Prefontaine. So imagine my surprise and elation to see many of my own children growing up with a talent for running. I’ve always wanted to see the local kids (including my own) do well in their track and field endeavors. But my real true interest was helping my contemporaries now. You know those in their 40’s, 50’s, 60’s and up! The Baby Boomers. It is refreshing and exciting to see a relatively new, just retired runner cutting seconds off his or her time. I feel privileged to be able to help them, in some way , achieve their goals.

Our Mission was a simple one: To help create a running-friendly environment in Western Pennsylvania, while giving back to the community. And in the process, making a living at it. I hope in the first ten years we, at some level, achieved our goals. And I reaffirm our commitment to make the next ten years of Up-N-Running even better for you, the runner.

Please join us on Saturday, February 15, 2014, as we start our next ten years! We will be celebrating our anniversary the entire day, starting with our Saturday morning group run (All ages and running abilities welcome). There will be snacks and goodies all day. And we will have drawings (10 – 1 for each year) throughout the day starting before the group run.

And now for the unabashed profit-making promo (tic): On any purchase of $20.00 or more, take $1.00 off for every year that Up-N-Running has been open ($10.00!). Any current promotions, discounts, or Customer Appreciation coupons included! We are making room for the new Spring apparel, so winter clothing prices will be cut drastically. Adrenaline 13’s, GT-2000’s, GT-1000’s, DS-Trainer 18’s, 860 V3, Inspire 9’s, Ravenna 4’s, Rider 16’s, Prophecy 2’s and many more are 20% off (In Stock only)! And on our anniversary day, you can take an additional $10.00 off those prices! So your final cost for say the Adrenaline 13 will be $78.00!

Lazlo will be at Up-N-Running the entire day to meet and greet everyone. And he will get a chance to show off the latest Lazlo Running Tee! See you there!!

~Ed

Notes From the Foot Whisperer: New Year's Resolutions

Happy 2014! It is the time for resolutions. AND the time for us to evaluate if we met our 2013 running resolutions. For those of you who participated in UNR’s 2013 Running Resolution Challenge, we will be opening your sealed envelopes in the new year. Stop on over anytime to collect your gift certificate (If you kept your resolution.). And while you’re at the store, why not set your 2014 running resolution for our New Year Challenge. As with 2013, it has to be challenging. And running-related. That’s it!

Yours truly has a couple of resolutions, both running-related, and for personal development, And let’s just say every time I break it, the St. Jude’s Children’s Research gets a little richer.

From Up-N-Running, everyone have a safe, happy, and prosperous New Year!

~Ed

Notes From The Foot Whisperer - The Perfect Gifts

The hustle and bustle of holiday shopping always has a tendency to make us all a little tense about the whole shopping experience. I, for one, place a lot of pressure on picking out the right gift for Mrs. Whisperer. And to make it all a bit more on edge, she has a birthday a few days before Santa comes visiting! Then there is the family grab bag. Now, I’m totally stressed.

While on my run this past Saturday, I started trying to think of Christmas gifts for friends and family. It dawned on me that maybe there’s a better way to celebrate such a joyous event. Why not do things like make a donation to my favorite charities, or offer to help out at some charitable event. And Mrs Whisperer had the same idea. So this year, in lieu of giving our grab bag gifts, we are making donations to charities. And it looks like the whole family is on board. Oh, we’ll still make sure there’s something under the tree. But the sense of giving, is so much more fulfilling than one could ever imagine. And all towards a good cause!

Have a wonderful, stress-free Christmas! And try to offer a little something towards a good cause!

~Ed

Notes From The Foot Whisperer - Special VIP Sales!!!

The turkey is thawing out in the fridge. The cranberries and pumpkin pie have been bought. And the potatoes are ready to be mashed! All that is needed are the family members and Thanksgiving football. And lest we forget, it is a time to be thankful. I am thankful for a wonderful family with plenty of grandchildren. I am thankful for good health, and continued prosperity. I am thankful for our fine military who are always on the front lines for our freedom. And I am thankful that I have such wonderful friends and customers!

And during this time of year, we like to show our appreciation to all of our Up-N-Running friends by offering our annual Customer Appreciation Sale. For any of you who haven’t experienced the UNR Customer Appreciation Sale, you get some great deals on just about everything. The way we do it is to provide you with UNR dollars with every purchase you make between Black Friday and Christmas Eve (See the promotion). And you can redeem those dollars after Christmas. Suppose you bought a $100 pair of shoes between November 29 and December 24. You automatically get a $20.00 gift certificate from Up-N-Running redeemable between December 26, and February 15. Additionally, if you make your purchase with an American Express card on Small Business Saturday (November 30), and are registered with AMEX at Shopsmall.com between now and November 30, you get a $10.00 credit off your AMEX bill (Minimum $10.00 purchase)! That’s a $30.00 discount! And if it is a sale item, you save even more!!!

Check out the promotion. Stop by to say hi. And take advantage of our great Seasonal offer!

And everyone, have a peaceful and safe Thanksgiving holiday!

~Ed