Runner of the Week: Matt Lawyer

This week's Runner of the Week is my friend Matt Lawyer.  He has been running for seven years now.  His dad runs every morning, and one day he invited Matt to go with him.  Since then, Matt has learned to greatly enjoy running.  He loves the feeling of blood rushing through his body- the feeling of being alive!

Bob Firman Invitational, 2012

Throughout the past seven years, Matt has been mostly consistent with his running.  There have been a couple months on and off when he gets too busy for it, but he always starts back up again later.  He has run about 40 races.  During his junior and senior years in high school, he was on a cross country team.  One day during practice, it was storming outside, so his coach told them to run around the school for 40 minutes.  Matt said that it was a fun experience because students don't usually get to run inside like that!

Murray, 2012

Last year, Matt ran the Bob Firman Invitational of 2012 5K in Idaho with his cross country team.  He won 1st place in Junior Varsity, crossing the finish line with a time of 17:22!  He says that the guy right behind him pushed him to run even harder.  To watch his interview after the race, click here.  

Bob Firman Invitational, 2012

This past April, Matt ran the Miles for Smiles 5K.  The runners pushed people with special needs in wheelchairs.  This was a great way to get them involved in the race, even though they couldn't actually run it.  Matt pushed a woman named Jill and I'm sure she greatly enjoyed it!

Matt and Jill in the Miles for Smiles 5K, 2013

Matt much rather prefers to run outdoors.  He even runs outside in the winter!  While he was running with his dad one day, they had to run through the sleet.  The only way to stay warm in a circumstance like that was to keep running hard.

To other runners out there, Matt would say, "Consistency is the number one thing that will effect your running."  The only way to keep up your endurance is to not quit running. Run even when it hurts!

Grass Relay, 2012

Runner of the Week: Niki Swan

Niki Swan is our Runner of the Week for this week!  She was my Career Explorations teacher in high school.  Niki has been running since 2010.  When she was in 9th grade, her parents ran the Saint George Marathon.  She remembers the feeling of admiration for her parents for being able to achieve this great accomplishment.  Since then, she wanted to start running, but never did until one day she realized that since she has to start sometime, the best time would be now.  She started running with neighborhood friends and training for the Couch to 5K event.  After she ran that, she did the Couch to 10K, Utah Valley Half Marathon, and finished her first marathon, the Santa Barbara Full Marathon about one year after she started training. 

Niki likes to run on the trail through Provo Canyon.
This trail takes her past Bridal Veil Falls.

Within the past three years while Niki has been running, she has completed about 20 races.  Her favorite one was the Santa Barbara Marathon.  That was the first marathon she ever ran, and right after she crossed the finish line, she told herself that she never wanted to run another marathon!  However, she was so happy about accomplishing her goal that she decided to keep on running.  Among the many races she has done, one of them was the Ragnar Relay in Las Vegas two years ago.  Running through the desert was difficult, but it was a fun race. 

Ragnar Relay, Las Vegas 2011

Since 2010, Niki has been pretty consistent with her running.  There have been a couple months where life has been too busy for her to get out there and run, but then she realizes that she misses the great happiness she gets from running and makes time for it in her busy schedule. 

In September of 2011, Niki ran the Top of Utah Marathon.

One thing Niki suggests is to find a running partner or two, or a small group of people to go running with.  That way a person is more likely to not miss their runs for that week.  It is also a lot more fun to go running with other people than just by yourself.  Some people Niki runs with are some neighborhood friends, her brother, and her daughter Tauna.  She and Tauna ran the Utah Valley Half Marathon together in the spring of 2012.  

Niki and her daughter Tauna ran the Utah Valley Half Marathon in spring, 2012.

Niki definitely prefers to run outside more than inside on a treadmill.  Even in the winter when there's snow on the ground!  One day while she was running with a friend through the snow, they looked back at the tracks they had made in the snow.  Her friend's tracks went in a straight line, but Niki's tracks were in a zigzag pattern.  She laughs at herself for running like this, but I know how she feels!  Sometimes I start weave too after I've been running for a while.

Ragnar Relay Wasatch Back, 2013

Another exciting experience Niki had while running was when she went to do a 13 mile run on the Bonneville trail.  She was running by herself and took a wrong turn on the trail, taking her into a game of paintball!  As she turned the corner, a man with a mask and a gun turned around and pointed the gun at her.  In that moment, she didn't know that the man was participating in a game of paintball and she got really nervous!  Once she realized it, however, she quickly left the game area and made her way back to the trail.  I'm glad she made it out of that situation unharmed and unpainted!

One thing Niki suggests is if you're going to run a lot or participate in races or other activities frequently, getting good shoes that fit is very important.  She suggests Brooke's PureFlow shoes or Sauconey running shoes.  It is very important to be comfortable while running, so having good shoes makes the world a difference!

Brooke's PureFlow Running Shoes

Saucony Running Shoes

Even though Niki is a mother of several young children and teaches high school classes, she still finds time to go running every morning.  I admire her very much and she has inspired me to continue with my running as well!

Color Me Rad 5K 2013

This past Saturday was such a blast! Blast of Color, that is!  I ran the Color Me Rad 5K and it was probably my favorite race I've done so far.  This event is held all over the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada.  If you've never heard of it, it's a race in which the runners get covered in colorful powder!  It's a great exciting and adventurous way to get your exercise in for the day. :)

One thing I really liked about this race was the enthusiasm the staff had.  They were all so excited about this event, and they wanted to make sure we were excited about it too!  Especially as we were all gathered at the starting line, they were cheering for us and throwing out free stuff, like socks, fanny packs, shirts, hats, and various other items.  They were sincerely glad we were there and willing to participate in the fun with them.  They definitely made my whole experience of this race absolutely fantastic!

Eager runners at the starting line! So many people.

Everyone gathered around the stage after the race.

Throughout the course of the race, we ran through several color blast stations.  These were the parts of the race that everyone was looking forward to!  There were three dry color stations and one wet.  For the wet one, I thought the staff was just hosing the runners off with water.  However, I soon found out that they weren't using regular water! It was a liquid dyed yellow!  Some people didn't run through it, but most people did, making their clothes even more bright and colorful!

Approaching another color blast during the race!

After the race, we all gathered around the stage for more excitement.  We had several more awesome color throws to add to the excitement.  They also had a couple competitions.  One of them was for the kids, so they picked out several kids from the audience to see who could drink a bottle of chocolate milk the fastest. The young boy in the middle with the white stripe on his shorts was up for the challenge and won this competition!

Chocolate milk drinking contest

 For another competition, they picked people from the audience and paired them up in teams of two.  Each team got one fruit roll up, and the objective was to see which team could be the first to eat their way to the middle. 

Fruit roll up competition

Not only is this colorful race fun for teens and adults, it is also a family friendly activity.  There were several families that ran all together, including the Erickson family.  What a fun time to make more memories together!

Color Me Rad is family friendly!
Erickson Family

At the same time, it's also fun to run it by yourself like I did.  My mom and sister came to cheer me on.

After the race!