Monthly Archives: December 2014

Spreading Holiday Cheer

Children's Miracle Network Hospitals

I hope you are enjoying a happy holiday season and getting ready to celebrate the New Year with family and friends. Before 2014 gets away, I want to give you five reasons to spread the holiday cheer by supporting Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals through the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run!  (Click Here To Donate!)

Support CMNH (1)

1. You did not get picked in the lottery, so you have decided to be a Charity Race Entry Participant. If Santa put a little cash in your stocking, why not put some of it towards your $500 fundraising goal? (Find out how to register as a Charity Race Entry Participant here).

2. You did get picked in the lottery, but your BRF (best running friend) didn’t. Spread your Cherry Blossom joy by donating to their fundraising page so you can run together in April! (You can look up your friend’s donation page here.)

3. There is a child in your life who is healthy and you want to express your gratitude for that blessing by supporting Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, which treat over 10 million children annually across the U.S., providing state-of-the-art care‚ cutting edge research and preventative health education. (You can make a general donation here.)

4. There is a child in your life who has been treated at a CMN Hospital, and you want to pay it forward so others can receive that same level of care. It’s never a good time to have a sick child, but it can seem even harder around the holidays, which should be filled with joy and wonder, not illness and worry. But when your child does need medical attention, it is comforting to know that you can get the best available care for every disease and injury imaginable at a nearby CMN Hospital. (You can make a donation to your CMN Hospital here.)

5. You don’t know anything about the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run, but you could use another tax deduction for 2014. (You can donate through my donations page here.) 🙂

Here’s to a happy, healthy 2015!

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Coco
Running With Perseverance                                                           
 

P.S. If your New Year’s resolutions include getting back in shape, the New Balance/PR Training program is a great way to get the motivation, encouragement and accountability you need to reach your goals. (You can find out more about the training programs here.)

Making Lemonade From Lemons

Children's Miracle Network Hospitals, Race Info, Volunteering

LemonadeSo, you didn’t get selected for the 2015 Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run or 5k. You might have really had your heart set on it, but it’s time to come up with a contingency plan.

I have a couple of suggestions that might help soothe the sting of lottery loss, depending on your running schedule and interests.

Volunteer Entries

If you have a back up race, but want to run the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run someday, we would love to have you join us in 2015 as a race day volunteer! Volunteers get a cotton long sleeve tee with this year’s winning race design, a guaranteed race entry for 2016 (at prevailing entry fees), and great running karma!

I missed out on the lottery for the 2010 race so I volunteered as a course marshal for a guaranteed 2011 entry. My job was to protect the giant, expensive clock at Mile 9, and make sure runners weren’t getting too far off course. My role let me see every single person who finished the race – starting with being awestruck by the elite athletes, clapping and shouting for the age groupers, cheering for the middle of the pack, and shouting encouragement for the folks beating the sweeper bus. I’ll never forget how fast the elite athletes seemed when they were zooming right past me, and how great it felt to push the runners who needed a boost at the end of Hains Point.

There are tons of other race day volunteer roles, too, you can visit the volunteer sign-up page to choose one you think you’d like. Bring friends to keep you company – all of the guaranteed entries are transferable so non-runners can get good karma on race day too!

Charity Entries

If you really want to run the 2015 race, we also offer charity race bibs to runners who fundraise for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. You can register as a charity runner and earn a bib for the 2015 race by raising $500 no later than February 28, 2015. You could be training for something bigger than your next PR – your fundraising efforts help treat children regardless of ability to pay. You can even get a whole fundraising team involved to support each other’s efforts! Remember to read through all of the registration instructions – you have to register as a race entry fundraiser to be eligible, and after you raise the $500 there will still be a registration process for the race that you will receive via email.

Bib Transfers

Finally, if you can’t wait until 2016 but you don’t really have a knack for fundraising, we offer a bib transfer process during the month of February. You post what you’re looking for on our forum and hope that someone with a bib they can no longer use is willing to make the transfer. Note: this is the only sanctioned way for one runner to get another runner’s bib. It’s very important that we have accurate information about who is running the race, and the only way to update that information is to use the bib transfer process in February. You can transfer your bib to someone you know and skip the forum arrangements, but for everyone’s safety we do need to be strict about updating bib and runner info through the official process.

I hope to see you at the finish line this year or next – I know you’ll enjoy the race whichever year you join us!

Skip the Lottery with =PR= Training or Charity Entry

Events, Training,

Have you entered the lottery for the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run? Some runners don’t mind rolling the dice for an entry, but others don’t like leaving it up to chance. One way to guarantee your entry to the race is to  register as a charity participant and raise $500 by February 28, 2015.  Or you can register for the Premium plan with PR Training!

PR Training offers excellent options for runners training for the 2015 event. If you don’t live in DC, the Virtual Training program offers email workouts and support at three levels. But runners who live in the DC area can take advantage of In-person coaching.

Here’s what you get!

  • In-person coaching guidance to help you set and meet your race goal(s)
  • A training plan for the 10-week program, customized to your level of experience
  • Twice weekly in-person workouts – one weekend longer run, and one weekday (optional) track workout
  • Guidance on workouts to do on your own during the rest of the week
  • New running friends to share the training journey with you (I made some of my closest friends in last year’s program – seriously!)
  • Motivation to get out the door (even on those cold and snowy days). There are people counting on you to be there!
  • Some fancy new gear from New Balance, the generous partner making this program possible
  • And the “premium” program includes a RACE BIB! (register by December 11th to ensure availability)
cherry blossom ten mile
Super Hero Run with PR Training

We really have fun with the training programs. You will learn a lot, make new friends, and be well-prepared for CUCB on April 12, 2015. During the summer training we kept things fun with theme runs such as a superhero run and a pirate run.

There are two levels of the PR training program, standard and premium. The standard program is $159 and includes:

  • Long-sleeve premium from New Balance. Last year we got a half zip hoodie that I wear all the time.
  • A $50 voucher good towards New Balance footwear or apparel at your local Potomac River Running Store.
  • The customized training program, in-person coaching guidance, and lifelong best running friends, as already mentioned above.

The premium program is $199. It includes everything above plus a  RACE BIB!!! There are a limited number of slots available for the premium program. Registration will be accepted on a first come, first served basis through December 11.

Training programs begin January 31/February 1 in four locations: Ashburn, Reston, Tysons/Vienna, and DC (convenient to Arlington, Alexandria, and Rockville).  Reston participants will be coached by CUCB Race Blog Team member Kim and will have the opportunity to be a featured spotlight runner on the CUCB Race Blog! Sound good? Program and registration info is available here.

Kimberly, @KimberWestrichkimwestrich blog small

Lottery MFAQ

General,

QsToday is the first day of the 2015 CUCB entry lottery! The first year that I managed the CUCB twitter and facebook pages I felt like I was asking the race committee a million questions, all day long, from Fall Kickoff through the day the finish times became official. Going into my third year, I’ve learned the ropes and am starting to predict (with surprising accuracy!) just what the very Most Frequently Asked Questions (MFAQ) will be for each event leading up to the race. I’ve shared my predictions for the lottery MFAQ below. Did I guess yours? If not, we may have it on the full lottery FAQ. If I did, I’d love to know about it in the comments!

Molly’s Prediction for Top Five Lottery Questions:

1. Does my credit card get charged when I enter the lottery or when I am selected?

Answer: your credit card does not get charged when you enter the lottery, only if you are selected to run the 2015 CUCB.

2. What do the tech tee upgrade and medal look like?

Answer: The medal design is top secret until race day, but we can tell you that the tech tee upgrades are going to be white, v-neck New Balance shirts featuring Abby Matousek’s winning design.

3. Are my odds better or worse if I enter as a group instead of an individual?

Answer: They are exactly the same. If you ONLY want to run the race if certain others are selected with you, a group entry is the way to go. If you all would run with or without each other it’s probably better to enter as individuals and try to get a bib transfer in February or sign up as a charity runner with Credit Union Miracle Day for anyone who wasn’t selected.

4. When will I know if I’m selected for the 2015 CUCB?

Answer: The Tuesday after the lottery closes, December 16, we will know who the 2015 CUCB runners are!

5. What can I do if I don’t get selected?

Answer: you could enter the race as a charity runner, you could post a message on our bib transfer forum in February, or you could help us out as a volunteer on race day. We are always in need of more race day volunteers, and to thank you for spending your morning with us you receive a long-sleeve cotton tee featuring Abby’s design, a guaranteed entry at the prevailing entry fee into our 2016 race, and (most importantly) good running karma!

Good luck to all of you who are entering the lottery this week – I look forward to cheering many of you on at the finish line on April 12, 2015!