I’m Swagtastic and I’ve Got the Swag to Prove It!

October 14, 2015 by Meridith

I don’t know if you’ve noticed but races these days are all about going paperless. The expos are about getting your shirt, your bib, and that’s about it. Gone are the days of race bags, filled with goodies to try and freebies. And while I’m all for being environmentally friendly, I really LOVE trying things before I buy a case, or at the very least, a box!

So I was pretty stoked when the Swagtastic Race benefitting Medals4Mettle reached out to see if we wanted to check out their virtual race. Yes and please! The race took place this past weekend and I was thrilled when I found the (heavy) box of swag on the doorstep.

My swag partner in running, Gemma.

I decided that the swag would wait until after our 5k. After all, I needed to work for my prizes! On Friday, while the kiddos were in school, Gemma and I took to the streets in our neighborhood and accomplished our 5k. It was a gorgeous day and we actually held a pretty good pace, going off my Fitbit calculations. (You know, when she wasn’t trying to trip me.)

Racer number 22 and her trusty sidekick!

After a busy weekend, I finally got the chance to check out the SWAG and I was NOT disappointed. Stalking the Swagtastic Races website gave me a pretty good indication of what was awaiting in the box but still, there’s something about opening a box of goodies that makes you feel like a kid on your birthday!

To give you an idea of just a FEW things in here that I’m super duper excited for… on with the pictures.

Using these right now – stupid cough! Good Ricola!

A few of these are tried and true, but most are new to me! And a few things I can even share with my running partner (okay, maybe a kernel or two of popcorn).

I have the Hershey Half coming up this weekend and the 5k at “race pace” definitely gave me some recently lacking confidence!

Did you do the Swagtastic Race or any other virtual races recently? I want to hear about it! Link me to a blog post in the comments or just talk at me. 😉

Thank you to Swagtastic Races for the awesome opportunity.

Thanks for the Journey, Friends!

October 1, 2015 by Jennifer

Somehow, September is over, which means that the 2015 #Journey2aMillion is over. We’re always sad to see the event end because it means our united hearts and legs won’t be working for this great cause until next September. That said, we’re always so proud of our team and all the hard work they do fundraising and logging miles!

Aren’t these totals unbelievable? Every dollar of that money will go to fund childhood cancer research, helping little warriors fight a fight that no adult should have to face. Every mile we clocked helped contributed to the larger Million Mile community, and every time we wore yellow, we hopefully brought some awareness into our sphere. Everyone worked so hard, and one even nea nea’d her heart out for donations at the eleventh hour! We are so very grateful to have a team with you guys. It’s pretty much impossible to find words to show our appreciation for our team, so we give out prizes in a sincere thanks for your participation and generosity.

First off, we have Jenney, aka IrishRedSox77, racked up the most miles with an astounding 158.36! She won a Fitbit One, a anti-microbial workout towel, an a package of yummy Hemp Hearts!

Megan, aka @ritternation, takes home the prize for most funds raised with a whopping $1060.00! Megan, wow! Just WOW! You’ve done it again this year and we THANK YOU. Your epic nae nae moves are now legendary! Megan will receive a copy of Another Mother Runner signed by Dimity McDowell, a Boulder Running Company t-shirt, and a BAMRbands headband!

It was a great event this year, folks! We’ll be back next year with a new team and new yellow outfits to sport on Wednesdays. Best of all, we’ll (and by we I mean us and you) join up to do some good while feeling good together. Because together is always better!

Last Call On Our #Journey2aMillion

September 30, 2015 by Jennifer

We’ve reached the end of September, Team, and you’ve been FANTASTIC. You’ve logged over 1600 miles and raised almost $1400. How awesome are you?!

If I could, I’d buy each of you this shirt.

Best. Shirt. Ever.

But we’ve still got a few hours left to get in a run or raise a few more bucks. Get creative! You can even register your kid’s sports team by adding a “participant without an email address” and log their miles for them. Or log our dog’s miles. If they run with you just double you miles! We won’t tell. Don’t forget to sport your yellow on Instagram today! We may dish out more prizes if you tag your photo #onwednesdayswewearyellow.

donations can be made right up to the very last second, so please pass this link around: www.alexslemonade.org/mypage/1156489

Tomorrow we’ll announce winners of our prizes for the event. Some of the prizes are shown below. Some are not. Some we’ve already given away. All are awesome. You know how we roll.

A peek at the giveaway treasure chest!

We know we have a wonderful community of folks who support us and our philanthropic efforts. Each year, we are amazed anew at your generosity, commitment, and support. We thank you so very much! <3

#Journey2Million Round-Up (Hint, We Still Rock)

September 22, 2015 by Jennifer

We know it’s not news, but Team Scootadoot continues to be amazing! We’ve logged over a thousand miles for Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation’s #Journey2aMillion event, and the month is not over yet!

You guys own us. It’s true. To show our love, we’re handing out a few tokens of appreciation!

The event wraps up next week, but we’ve still got 8 days to knock it out of the park. And we will, because we’re awesome like that! If you’d like to join us, it’s not too late to help us make an impact. We’re doing great things together here, folks.

Susan G. Komen’s Race for the Cure – Team Jodi

September 18, 2015 by Meridith

I graduated high school 20 years ago, which feels like a lifetime at this point. I’ve changed a lot since then (who hasn’t) but something that remained steadfast are my friends.

Even prior to Facebook and the convenience of emailing every day, my friends and I write letters, met for breakfast on Thanksgiving morning, and generally made it a point to stay in each other’s lives.

Before too long there were college graduation parties, bridal showers, weddings, baby showers. We walked together through every step of life.

We were cruising through life, with the occasional bump in the road here and there but otherwise, I’d sum it up as pretty damn good.

My graduate school graduation party in 2001.

And I think that’s why it was such a shock when we received the news that our Jodi had an aggressive form of breast cancer at the very young age of 35. Our vibrant, thoughtful, smart redhead who has married to her college sweetheart, Brett, and had two young children was diagnosed right around the birth of her second child.

Six months later she’d passed.

Jodi was a pediatric cardiologist in Washington, DC and she was just good. She was a good person who played by the rules and did everything right.

It didn’t make sense, it wasn’t fair, and we were heartbroken.

That was two years ago.

We are still heartbroken. It still isn’t fair. And it still doesn’t make sense.

We decided that we wanted to do something about it. After months and months of preparations, group emails, t-shirt design decisions, travel plans, and FUNDRAISING (remember, professional philanthropist right here) some of Jodi’s high school and college buddies converged in New York City’s Central Park for the Susan G. Komen Race for a Cure 5k.

Lindsay, Libbi, Cornelia, me, Amanda, Mel, Carolyn, Dahlia, and Brett (Jodi’s husband)

I expected possible tears from myself as I’m a bit of an emotional being and also, I’m an empathetic crier. In fact, my eyes did well up a little when we started walking but I told myself to pull it together or I might take everyone down the crying rabbit hole with me, if they too are empathetic criers. (I know a few who are, just from past experiences.) (Not mentioning any names.) (Tall girl in the middle.)

After taking a few hundred selfies, which I’ll spare you from mostly, we crossed the start line. Our unspoken goal? To get everyone with a microphone to give us a shout out by acknowledging Team Jodi. After we manically wave flagged down the announcer at the start and waved to Hoda, we were off on our 3.1 mile walk around Central Park. (No worries, we didn’t start with the runners.)

It’s odd because most of the 5ks I’ve done recently, I’m always trying to get faster. But this one? I wanted this one to last forever. The only reason why it didn’t was because we had brunch reservations. However we took our time, chatting about our lives now and our memories of then.

We raised over $4,000 for breast cancer research and honored our friend. We discussed plans for future walks together and who would join us the for upcoming events that weren’t able to make it this time around. Even though there were people missing, they were there with us because we talked about them incessantly.

All too soon we came upon the finish line, however we wouldn’t cross until we got our shout out for Team Jodi! Naturally!

And then it was finish line selfie time!

Totally need longer arms.

And it was find a firefighter in a tutu and take a picture time!

And then it was find a relative of Jodi’s time, which was a perfect and lovely way to finish our time in Central Park.

Now a word to cancer. Cancer, I’ve got to say, you suck. You’ve messed with my friends, my mom, my dad, my friend’s families, children… and I’m sick on your shit. I will gladly walk, run, and shout from rooftops if it will bring awareness and funds for research to finally find a cure.

Won’t it be an amazing day when we kick your ass to the curb for good?

It truly will.

500 Down, 2000 To Go On Our #Journey2aMillion

September 10, 2015 by Jennifer

YOU GUYYYYS. I cannot even. I seriously Can.Not Even. We are barely 9 days into September and we’ve reached 20% of our #Journey2aMillion mileage AND fundraising goals. So yeah, I cannot even begin to tell you how amazingly, wonderfully, fantastically, stupendous you all are!

Of course numbers are great. Goals are great. Meeting goals is even better. But the best part about our 425 miles and $500 is that we’re doing it together. Nothing is better than that. That’s why we’re giving out a few pretty prizes this week just (and every week this month) for being a part of the team!

Every year, we ask you to join our team and donate your miles to support Alex’s Lemonade Stand. Every year, we are awed and inspired by your generosity and commitment. All the kiddos fighting the good fight are grateful for you, and so are we.

There’s always time to join the team (if you haven’t already).

Thanks to Racedots and KatieK Active for their kickin’ prize donations!

Swagtastic Virtual Races for Medals4Mettle

September 9, 2015 by Meridith

Man, I love the running community.

As many of you know already, I’m a latecomer to the idea of running (Ah, Adult Onset Running), however in the past few years I’ve been fortunate enough to pick up the addictive habit that I just can’t quit.

I’ve traveled much of the country to participate in a variety of events.

I’ve woken up to run when some people are just coming home from a night out (I think I might have been one of those people, once upon a time).

I’ve worn adorable costumes (that other people have made for me) (because they’re awesome).

I’ve run a 10k and a half the following day. On purpose! With a smile on my face!

I logged miles with Team Scoot a Doot for our #journey2amillion team.

And I’ve followed along as many of my friends have done the same, cheering the entire way. I’ve volunteered at races and handed out medals. I’ve texted my friends during their legs at Ragnar and I’ve woken up far earlier than I’ve had to, to cheer virtually. Because as you and I both know, the community that comes along with running isn’t mutually exclusive to proximity.

Surprisingly, one of the things that I haven’t done is participate in a virtual race. But when Swagtastic Races contacted us and asked if we’d like to jump aboard, I raised my hand with no hesitation. This virtual race benefits Medals4Mettle and that’s a cause that I can get behind!

I first learned about Medals4Mettle when Scoot a Doot was only a few months old and the unthinkable happened at the Boston Marathon. While searching for a way to make a difference and give back, I learned more about the Medals4Mettle program.

Medals4Mettle is a non-profit organization that delivers endurance athlete’s medals to raise people up who are fighting life-threatening illnesses. While the medals are donated, it costs approximately $60 to deliver the medal.

Each registration with Swagtastic Virtual Races assists in offsetting the cost of the Medals4Mettle ribbons that are placed on each of the donated medals. Good stuff, right?

And what do you get in return, besides the satisfaction in knowing that you’ve done good in the world?

SWAG, my friends. S-W-A-G. Check out the race sponsors that have contributed to the boxes:

Ricola
Trading Phrases
Manitoba Harvest
Vous Vitamins
BiPro
Shave Secret
Road ID
Bondi Band
Nordic Naturals
Mariani
EVL Nutrition
alternaVites
Dream Water
Acli-Mate Natural Sports Drink
Wholesome!
Volovitamins
Sqwincher
Celsius
Simple Squares
Cosmos Creations
Evo Hemp
SoyJoy

Additionally, Health Your Way is the online media sponsor and I’m a big fan of their Monday Twitter chats. Plus, there are raffle prizes that will randomly be selected and go out with the swag boxes; much like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get. Thanks for that, Forrest Gump.

Yeah, I’m pretty stoked! Given that my foot has been less of a pain and more reasonable lately, my plan is to run my 5k but the option to walk is also available.

You can register for anything from a 5k to a full marathon. The sky’s the limit, or at least the marathon’s the limit. But if you want to run more, you go ahead. BE FREE!

October 9th to the 12th we’ll all get out there (or stay inside on the treadmill – your choice) and get it done. There’s about 4 and a half weeks until the virtual event, so don’t delay! I’m not really sure what happened to 2015 but it’s on super warped speed and it’s not slowing down. Hopefully our times will reflect the super warped speed effect too – you submit those once you’ve completed your race through the website.

So hey, sign up and let’s get PUMPED together for the Swagtastic Virtual Race benefitting Medals4Mettle. You can save $5 with the code SCOOTADOOT on the $35 registration.

Thank you to Swagtastic Virtual Race for including me in this awesome event. I’ll be following up after my 5k in October and once the swag box arrives.

Talk to me! Have you ever participated in a virtual race? What are some of the draws for you?

Let’s ROCK Our #Journey2aMillion, Team Scootadoot!

September 1, 2015 by Jennifer

Today is the BIG DAY, Team Scootadoot! What’s the occasion, you ask? We’re so glad you asked! Today kicks off our #journey2aMillion miles together! Starting today, we’re pooling our miles and our fundraising efforts to tell cancer to SUCK IT. Our team has certainly grown over the last week, and we’re SO HAPPY to have all of you join us on this journey! We’re doing good things here, folks.

For the last two years, our team has come together to support Alex’s Lemonade Stand, and it’s not too late to join this year’s team! You can join us anytime this month, but everyone who joins the team by midnight tonight will be entered to win a pack of Racedots!

Today at 3:00 pm eastern (noon Pacific), we will take our first steps in our journey together in the First Mile kick-off event. Let’s go out there and get in our first miles knowing that we’re united in our intention to do good, feel good, and make an impact.

Gooooooooo, Team Scootadoot!

The First Mile is the Sweetest (On Our #Journey2aMillion )

August 28, 2015 by Jennifer

Every year since our blog started we have hosted a team for the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation Million Mile month. During the month of September we get together, all over the country, and log miles to raise awareness while telling pediatric cancer to SUCK IT. Over the last two years, our team has logged a total of 3,413 miles and raised over $4,100.00 for pediatric cancer research. Not too shabby at all, we thinks!

We would love for you to join us! You can join the team now, or anytime in September. There’s no fundraising required (unless you would LIKE to) and it’s a great way to join in a community driven campaign! We have A LOT of fun supporting this important cause, it’s super easy to log your miles, and we’ll be giving away some fun prizes! This year, we’re mixing it up by giving away prizes randomly throughout the month, and everyone will have an equal chance of winning any of the prizes! After all, we’re a team!

A peek at some of the treasures in the #Journey2aMillion Giveaway Kitty

Once you join the team, you can log your miles using your FitBit, the MapMyFitness App, or you can track your miles manually like always. You can read more about that here. We love that we can use our FitBit to track our mileage, it means every step we take will count toward the Million Mile goal!

The month long event kicks off on Tuesday with the First Mile. Imagine people all over the country (and the world), raising awareness and fighting cancer by walking, running, or biking their first mile at the same time. YES. We’re talking POWERFUL, people! At 3:00 PM ET we’re walking together in spirit and in cause, our hearts untied and our legs in unison! You’ll need to register for the First Mile, but it’s a snap! And we’re a fun bunch, we promise!

No #lemonfacechallenge is required of course, but there *might* be a giveaway for anyone who does it. Maybe. Possibly. Probably. Yes.

The Lemon-Face Challenge; Cancer Can Suck It!

August 12, 2015 by Jennifer

If you’ve been following us for a while, you are well aware of the fact that we hate cancer, pediatric cancer, in particular. You also know that we are big supporters of Alex’s Lemonade Stand, a foundation dedicated to raising funds for research to eradicate childhood cancers. Because seriously, who doesn’t hate cancer?

September kicks off their annual Alex’s Million Mile (#AMM) Event where we run, walk, and bike while raising money for cancer research.

We LOVE this event because we get to raise money and awareness while running. It makes running fun.

No, that’s a lie.Running will never be FUN.

But #AMM does make routine runs more meaningful. Us Chicks are eager to get started, so we’re launching our team today by telling cancer to go suck the big fat (yellow) one.

Everyone is doing it! Jenn’s mileage goal is 80 miles in September.

Kyle hopes her miles hit 70 for #AMM

Bec’s mileage goal is a firm 50.

Cam going for 25 and her daughter, Sophie, is shooting for 10!

Jess is down for 30. Go Jess, go Jess, go, go, go, Jess!

Jess is down for a firm 30. Go Jess, go Jess, go, go, go, Jess!

Meri’s looking to log 40 miles!

Vic’s shooting for the triple digits at 100!

If you hate cancer too and like to win cool stuff, take the Lemon-face Challenge and Join Team Scootadoot!

After you join the Team, Facebook, Tweet or Instagram a photo or video of your best lemon-sucking face, let us know your mileage goal, and tag it with #Journey2aMillion and #lemonfacechallenge , we’ll enter you in a drawing for a great prize!

We’ve got goodies from FitBit, iTunes, Another Mother Runner, SkirtSports, and RaceDots (to name a few), and we’ll be giving out prizes to Team Members throughout September!

Recruit your friends to join the team with this QR code which links to our team fundraising page. How slick is that?

Let’s show cancer what us running folk can accomplish. Go suck a lemon and help us fight back!

Scootadoot

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