656 Miles Together for #Journey2aMillion

Way to go, team! This year, we blew our mileage goal away. After adding in some numbers from some folks who are having site difficulties, we ended up with 656!! We were aiming for 625, so this is fabulous! WAY TO ROCK, EVERYONE! <3

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If you haven’t added your miles yet, please do so. Prizes for most mileage will be announced next Monday. You can click here to sync or add your miles  manually. We’ve got great stuff from Oiselle, Skirt Sports, and Momentum Jewelry to give out to the top 3 miles moved! Good luck!

Alex’s Million Mile Team Kick-Off!

You know that us Chicks love to do good to feel good, and every September, we join super forces to help kids with with cancer keep fighting. Participating in Alex’s Million Mile event has become a tradition for us, and we’ve been ROCKSTARS in that we’ve raised almost $6000 for Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation.

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The great thing about Alex’s #Journey2aMilion event is that there are lost of ways to participate. We’ll be tracking all the miles we run, walk, and bike to count toward the worldwide goal of 1 million miles.  You should totally do it with us and join Team Scootadoot! It’s easy, free, and you’re already training for a race anyway, right? Why not “donate” those miles to a great cause? And bonus, donations are tax deductible!

SuperChicksAMMOn September 1st, we’ll be social media-ing our 1st Mile along with other participants around the world to kick off this years event. You’ll see us tweeting and Facebooking throughout the month, and there will be  prizes and giveaways at the end of the month, so

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Thanks for the Journey, Friends!

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!

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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!

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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!

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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!

Recipe Box: Lemon Chicken Soup

When life gives you lemons, make soup.

Wait, that doesn’t sound right. Actually, it sounds exactly right. Carry on.

Before...

Where I live, lemonade weather is fading fast, and soup weather is upon us. So, when I was thinking of a lemon-y recipe post for September, an annual tradition during the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Million Mile Run-Walk-Ride month, this soup immediately sprang to mind.

I first found this recipe in one of my favorite cookbooks, Ellie Krieger’s The Food You Crave. And I really do crave this soup. It’s absolutely perfect anytime, but with the addition of the lemon (and thus Vitamin C), this truly does help me get over a cold. Just in case you want to tuck this one away for the coming season of a certain f-word that we don’t need to talk about.

Lemon Chicken Soup with Orzo from elliekrieger.com

4 teaspoons olive oil
8 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into small chunks
Pinch of salt, plus more to taste
1 medium onion, diced (about 1 ½ cups)
2 stalks celery, diced (about ½ cup)
1 medium carrot, diced (about ½ cup)
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup orzo, preferably whole-wheat
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Heat 2 teaspoons of the oil in a soup pot over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with the salt, add it to the pot, and cook, stirring, a few times, until just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a dish and set aside.

Add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil to the pot. Add the onion, celery, carrot, and thyme and cook, stirring, over medium-high heat until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add 5 cups of the broth and bring to a boil. Add the orzo and let simmer until tender, about 8 minutes. Turn the heat down to low to keep the soup hot but not boiling.

Warm the remaining 1 cup broth in a small saucepan until it is hot but not boiling. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs. Gradually whisk the lemon juice into the eggs. Then gradually add the hot broth to the egg-lemon mixture, whisking all the while. Add the mixture to the soup, stirring well until the soup is thickened. Do not let the soup come to a boil. Add the cooked chicken to the soup. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Serves 4
Serving size: 1 ½ cups

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The broth is incredibly creamy and flavorful, and I love the whole wheat orzo instead of traditional rice or pasta. Go for the fresh thyme, too, it really makes a difference.

Yay soup! And yay for this month of kicking pediatric cancer in the butt! The month is almost over, but there are still a few days to log miles and make donations. We truly appreciate all of you joining us on this #journey2amillion.

P.S. I can’t take pictures while I cook, it completely messes with my flow. Plus, my 100 year old farmhouse kitchen has terrible lighting, hence the ‘before’ and ‘after’ shots.

500 Down, 2000 To Go On Our #Journey2aMillion

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!

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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!

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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!

 

Let’s ROCK Our #Journey2aMillion, Team Scootadoot!

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.

2015_CCA_FB_bannerFor 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!

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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 )

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!

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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!

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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!

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.

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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.

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Kyle hopes her miles hit 70 for #AMM

Bec's mileage goal is a firm 50.

Bec’s mileage goal is a firm 50.

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

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

Meri’s looking to log 40 miles!

Vic's shooting for the triple digits at 100!

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?

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

 

 

Did Good, Feeling Really Good: Alex’s Million Mile Wrap-Up

What a month! We walked, we ran, we rode. We made lemon food and wore yellow clothes. We talked about it here, there and everywhere. All with one goal- to raise awareness and funds for childhood cancer and Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation.

This has become my favorite time of year for our little corner of the internet. Running for a cause, and seeing the momentum build among our community of friends is nothing short of amazing. Watching our miles and donations climb every day, exchanging shouty-caps texts with Mer because we’re so excited about our team’s successes, seeing that my own local friends have joined our team or donated, reading Megan’s almost daily Facebook posts just pushing for more donations (Megan really should go into professional fundraising because she’s a rockstar, and not at all pushy about it, either.) And of course, the running. I am actually running regularly again and it feels almost as good as my donation to ALSF did.

I just have to say it again- WHAT A MONTH!

First, I have to thank our team. Together, we logged 1,871.13 miles. We all deserve a refreshing glass of lemonade!

But that’s not all…

Together, we helped raise $2,070 for childhood cancer!

Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation has funded over 450 projects with the goal of curing pediatric cancer, so you know those funds are being used for something GOOD. I’m raising my glass to you, Team Scootadoot:

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Thank you. Thank you, very much.

At the beginning of the month, we told you about a few rewards we had…

For the second year in a row, our top fundraiser is Megan! Her posts to Facebook and Instagram were funny, heartfelt, and obviously very effective. Megan, you’re the BEST! I’m sending you big hugs from Florida.

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Our next award goes to Bonnie, for logging the most miles this month: 193.90! High fives to you, girl!

And finally, the winner of our random draw for our #onwednesdayswewearyellow campaign is Jenn! I like your style, Jenn!

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Thank you, Megan, Bonnie, and Jenn! We’ll be in touch to get your prizes to you. We’re so grateful to have you on our team!

On a personal note, our #journey2amillion was exactly the push I needed to start running regularly again. And it only took two weeks of that for Meridith to convince me to run the Disney World Half Marathon with her in January. Looks like we’ll be having a lot of virtual runs over the next few months.

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This is my last blog post for the foreseeable future. I love my Scootadoot chicks! When I say we all became friends within minutes of meeting, I really do mean it. But life is beautiful and crazy here, and I’m a girl who likes to volunteer for all the things, which leaves very little time for me to share my story on the internet. I’ll still be running and reading though (especially here!)- link your blog for me, please? I’ve enjoyed talking running with all of you, and I thank you for reading. Happy Friday, runner friends!
 

And I will walk (run) 500 (100) miles…

Oh, come on, you know you’re singing The Proclaimers song with me!

Da-da-da dun-diddle un-diddle un-diddle uh da-da

Now that we’ve gotten that out of our systems…

Unless you’ve been living in a cave, you probably know by now that September is Childhood Cancer Awareness month. And unless you’ve been living under a rock in that cave, you probably ARE aware of childhood cancer. So why is there a whole month devoted to bringing awareness to a disease that people already know about?

Well, firstly, cancer sucks and if we can help eradicate it by any means possible, WE WILL DO IT.

Let’s take a peek at some facts.

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Last year, the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation decided to up the ante and invited people to donate miles in hopes of reaching a million. What’s the significance of a million miles?

Drawing from the inspiration of Foundation creator Alexandra “Alex” Scott, who set out to raise $1 million through lemonade stands in 2004, Jay Scott [Alex’s father] feels that through combined efforts, reaching one million miles in just thirty days is attainable. The initiative provides a fun, easy and free way for people across the country to make a difference in the fight against childhood cancer.
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Personally, I’ve pledged to complete 100 miles this September. It’s a higher number than what I usually do within a month but attainable and for the very best cause. Every step I take during a run, every person I connect with during a walk with my dog, and even walking my child home from school – it all counts toward my goal of raising miles and awareness! As such, I feel like I’m part of something that’s bigger than myself and that’s a good feeling!

Speaking of something bigger than myself, our team has been absolutely incredible at logging miles and fundraising. When we first heard about the initiative last year, the thought of fitness bloggers from all across the country coming together and donating their miles just overwhelmed us with emotions. Furthermore, we’ve seen both last year and this year, it has encouraged people who wanted to get moving to join us, get out there, and have the support of others while doing it.

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In the past 21 days alone, our team has raised nearly 1000 miles and over $1700! And, you’ll be happy to know that it’s not too late to join our team! Want to get in on the action? Check out our Team Scoot a Doot Million Mile page.

We’re rewarding our top miles donated, top fundraiser and random #onwednesdaywearyellow social media photo with some fun prizes, including gorgeous Momentum Jewelry motivation wrap bracelets and foot notes.

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Momentum wrap bracelets

Momentum Foot Notes

Momentum Foot Notes

Make sure to swing by some of our team members blogs, like Nicole, Bonnie, Suzanne, and Kristen to cheer them on as they #Journey2aMillion!

Nine days until the end of the month… LET’S DO THIS!

Many thanks to Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation for the facts and figures in this blog post. And thank you, thank you, thank you to Amy of Momentum Jewelry!