How often do we plan to get up to go for a morning run, sign up for a race, go for a hike or a bike ride, but then we change our mind because the app says rain, the sky looks questionable, the kids have to go to the… We can always make a no show happen when we are on our own, but are we being fair? Sorry ladies and gents, the answer is NO! It’s never too cold, there is always enough time, we can always walk the park while the kids are at practice. We have to stay on our game. This goes for all areas of self care. We have to eat properly to feel great. We must exercise to feel and look our best. We have to care for our natural hair in a loving manor. We have to take our selves a bit more seriously. We deserve to feel great after that mid day run, walk, bike ride, healthy meal, or what gets a lot of us, that health snack. We deserve the best, lets be kinder to ourselves and love ourselves healthy.

I dare you to go for a walk during your lunch break. I dare you to take a healthy snack bag to work/school with you. Let’s up the game, I dare you to invite a friend!

It is once again, nearly hot enough to pull out the seersucker and get on your bike for Atlanta’s 2nd Seersucker Social. Last year we rolled about town in our best vintage inspired seersucker, bow ties, hats, dresses, and argyle socks on our stylish bikes. We made new acquaintances. We laughed. We picnicked.  This year we have a new route, with lots of great things to see along the way. We will meet at Woodruff Park near the fountains at 4 p.m. and end up at Oakland Cemetery. Did you know the corner where all of the cycling events usually start is known as the four corners? At one time during Atlanta’s history, there were 4 bike shops, one on each corner. The spirit lives on. For more information check out our Facebook Seersucker Social Atlanta page.

So now let’s figure out the plan for a fresh new bike if you need one, and a few other options to spruce up your great bike that just needs a little TLC.

One of my favorite bike sites is Public Bikes. These guys are located in San Francisco. This company ships your new assembled bike to you leaving you with the most difficult decision of where to ride first. Every time i look at their great bikes i feel the urge to plop down a few extra dollars and go for the vintage inspired 8 speed with an internal hub, sweet rack on the back, and a color i can never decide on. Check out this great video that will give you a perfect explanation of how this all came about. PUBLIC Bikes: Design Matters from PUBLIC Bikes on Vimeo.

If you are more of a fixed gear lover there is another great company that carries nicely priced fixed, free wheel, and three speeds.  These guys rock because you can design o your own bike. you have total creative control. Repliblic Bikes makes you feel like you built your own bike, with out the frustration of jackin’ somthin’ up because you don’t really know how to build bikes. These bikes are built in 24 hours of the order being placed, and shipped for about a week turnaround.

Now enough of the new bike talk, lets get to some options for fixin’ up the bike you already have. The following local shops are her for fixing and finding new to you bikes.

Now for my local favorites. FIXI gallery is the great shop that gave my lifeless bike a new face for last years SSA ride. They are located in Old Forth Ward Atlanta. Located at 415 Edgewood Ave Atlanta, Ga 30312. Their specialty is recycling old frames and parts and making them look better than new. Your add on’s add up, make sure you keep a running tally for your revamp work, otherwise you may feel like you could have bought a new bike. You will love their work.

Just around the corner from Historic Oakland Cemetery you can find No Breaks, another really great local bike shop. This shop has a great selection of bikes, frames, and tools. You can also now pop by 7 days a week to have work done on your bike or shop.  586 Woodward Ave SE, Atlanta, GA 30312.

Atlanta Bicycle Co-elition, 213 Mitchell Street Atlanta, GA 30303 is more than just “Your Voice For Better Biking”. This amazing non-profit supports all that is biking. Their advocacy efforts have changed bike laws in GA. This is another favorite in the cycling community. You can become a member, take classes, join in on their rides they sponsor, and volunteer for any of their events. Check them out and support a strong biking community resource center.

Sopo Bikes is located in East Atlanta at 465-c Flat Shoals Ave. This is  the best walk in and get to work bike shop in town. This is also a non-profit bike shop. If you ever have a chance to attend any of their events you can see how strong their influence is with the kids from the neighborhood. This is another great community shop where you learn how to build and maintain your own bike.

So now that you have multiple options for bike resources, lets get back to the Seersucker Social situation. Last year a few folks did not attend because they had a hard time finding seersucker and thought they would be under dressed. Not the case this year. Looking around on line we came across Betabrand.com. The thing with these guys based on the west coast in San Francisco, they make wears for riding. Finally nice looking biking cloths that you can ride to work in and run straight into your first meeting after wiping your brow, no changing needed. They have beautiful pants for men and women that have the neatest extras, like reflective linings on the hem and pockets that flap out as reflectors as well.

Betabrand Ride To Work Pants

Now let’s get ready to roll!

It is so amazing to go outside daily to watch the dry lifeless branches and  brown grass slowly sprout new life. Bright blooming flowers, tiny tinny buds that become lovely green leaves. Our daily walks and runs briefly interrupted by freezing cold days and rainy stormy nights and no motivation to get outside to play are finally over. Well, let’s get our dusty shoes and short shorts out and get back on track.

On the Topic of Track…
Join us on April 12th for our 3rd annual joint run with Atlanta Track Club. This is one of our best events of the spring. Last year we had a great turn out. Bring your friends, family, and co-workers. We meet at 7pm, and take off at 7.30 sharp. No one will be left behind.

For those who come out the Urban Run Club often you must have noticed by now how excited we are about the Atlanta Beltline. Saturday April 30th, is this year’s first Beltline Race Series, 5K race. The race is now open to runners for registration (Atlanta BeltLine Northside 5K) Also, if you know you most likely will not run the race but you still want to be a part of the event there are plenty of volunteer opportunities, or you can make a donation. Here is a great link for more information.

Hope to start seeing more of our familar warm weather runners and walkers soon.

From time to time we like to suggest cool things to do around the Atlanta area. Yes this is a info source for outdoor activities, but in an effort to live well rounded healthy lives we have to look for other great stuff to fill our spare time.

Here is our list to you adventurous souls:

Be The Match invites us all to join them for a one night only event. A night of laughter to save lives. Yes, it’s that serious. Be The Match Registry Support the life-saving work of the National Bone Marrow Donor Program, which provides marrow matches to patients who have leukemia, sickle-cell, and other life threatening blood diseases. This one off show will be at the beautiful Woodruff Arts Center. (Couples who laugh together stay together. Bringing a date is encouraged but not mandatory.)  Get your tickets right here.

Visit U*SPACE GALLERY to experience one of the best/most amazing  collections of Brown American print works. Books, papers, comics, posters, and everything else. This collection is BEAUTIFUL! You will find it easy to spend a good couple of hours just going back in time. Check their site for hours.

Of course you know we gotta give you something active to do. Check out Atlanta Activewear located at 996 Virginia Avenue NE. This boutique active wear store offers free yoga or pilates classes on Saturdays at 9am. check their website or Facebook page for details. WE only know this because a couple of us URC founders already tested the truth of the “free” class situation. It was great. We happened to go the week one of our favorite yoga teachers was the guest instructor.

Get your buns off the sofa and do something great this weekend, YES, it is Monday, but you have to have something to look forward to.

*Thanks to TALKS/TEDX

RTR 2011

Many of us find it hard to commit to running during the colder days and nights of winter. Some of us just plow on through and keep running all year around.
Last November just one week after Ragnar Relay the 2011 Red Top Rumble registration opened, (produced by GUTS, this is one of the best trail races that takes place just north of downtown Atlanta) …only to close in less than 24 hours. My entire crew was out done! A few had secured their race numbers first thing opening day, but the rest of us were very disappointed that we didn’t “get in”.
Well, as things always end up, a couple of us were lucky enough to get last minute numbers thanks to great communication and pure LUCK. This also meant that the  few of us were only doing our regular amount of winter running not trail running to get ready for this race. Thank god I have been out regularly running 5 to 6 days a week, but it has all been road running, no trail. I can tell you I still feel the burn a couple of days later.

During this race I was reminded of the many reasons why people race. Some race to set and break personal records, not me. Some race so they can eat anything they want, kinda sorta me but not exactly. Some race to enjoy nature, finish something started, spend time with friends, the great give aways, good food, time in the sunshine…ME ME ME ME MEEEE. With a smile I am out at every race for the regular runners who just love it for any reason besides competition.

I ran my first race in a t-shirt our two person team made up. The green short sleeve tee with “TEAM BEER” on the front and “STOUT 08″ on the back. We received cheers and high fives all the way to the finish line. Now I most likely sport a URBAN RUN CLUB shirt or tons of sweaters, a vest, hat, gloves, and anything else to keep warm during my winter races. One of the best parts of “race day” for me is the time after the race where you wait at the finish line for your buds (unless they are already waiting for you), gather around picnic style and chat about the race, up coming races, or life in general. This is where you really get to share and bond with your crew.

Finally the conversation goes off course and you get to the nitty gritty of race ins and outs…this is where you learn key tools like; just don’t look down, be graceful with your diet pre-race, and at all cost avoid the Honey Buckets!

*THIS ONLY FOR THE GROWN UPS, SORRY LITTLES, I LOVE U BUT…

What are you waiting for? Get out your calender. Choose some race(s), sign up, finish and do your best, for yourself. Feel great about slow trotting, fast-o-matic, or however you choose to race. Just get your buns out there.

WOW. 5 snow days and we are all out of sorts. Many of us had a great time last week until Thursday night when the 5th snow day was called. Most of my friends and I had bruises and sore stiff bodies from all of the days of playing outside like children. By then, for those of us living in Atlanta, were all played out and the dangerous conditions of ice skating around town was no longer fun.

So let’s try this again. Don’t forget Monday, Wednesday and Friday at noon we have a 30 minute lunch run. Starting tomorrow, Wednesday January 19th, 12pm sharp we will have our first weekday lunch time run. This group meets at Woodruff Park (on the fountain side of the park). These runs will be a quick 30 minute run so everyone can make it back to work in a timely manor. This is so exciting. For those who work in downtown Atlanta, join us.

For those of you who missed our Dali Till Dawn 3 a.m. run to the High Museum, you missed a great time. The High was full of late night art worshipers. There were people who waited for 4 hours in the cold night air. 19 degrees, with 19 runners was a great turn out considering the conditions for the evening. Check out this short video that captured the spirit of the night.
URC Runs to Dali Till Dawn

Dali Till Dawn

Do you feel like all of your weekends look the same. Just thought I would share a list of a few fun things to do in Atlanta this weekend. (These are free or close to free events)

1. Open house Alliance Française d’Atlanta Colony Square, Friday January 6th at  6:30pm. If you have wanted to learn french and live french the French Cultural and Language Center is a great place to start your journey.

2. Boot Camp at Piedmont Park by Fitness Battalion, Saturdays 8.15-9.15. (This is supposed to be free) Check their site for more information about where they meet. This could be a great start to your Saturday morning.

3. Dalí Till Dawn! The High Museum. To close out the Dalí exhibit at the High, the museum will stay open 31 hours straight. From midnight to 9 a.m. Sunday, admission will be reduced to $5, and parking in the Woodruff Art Center’s lot will be free from midnight to 6 a.m. (this info was gathered from the ajc access Atlanta site check with the High if this all seems too good to be true for you.)

So as a Urban Run Club runner, walker, or fan, find something different to do this weekend. Have a great weekend.

Judi Knight Is An Urban Run Club Supporter

Last year a friend asked me if I knew this lady named Judi Knight, when I answered no, my friend nearly fell off of his chair and told me I have to get to know her. A few days later while sitting in my then favorite  neighborhood coffee shop, in walks this lady. Yes, I knew her face and I knew she is friends with all ton of “my” friends. Finally we meet. I never thought from that one meeting she and I would walk so many miles together.

Today, Judi and I have walked nearly every morning since we met. Unless the rain or freezing weather kept us in, we have walked nearly every Monday through Friday. We have even gone on a few weekend adventures. You wouldn’t be reading this if Judi had not sat me down to corral me. With my creativity, tons of ideas, bundle of energy, near hyper active self, I didn’t know where to start. Judi is the owner of  New Tricks Academy. Without looking at her information you could guess a good number of times about what New Tricks Academy is exactly. New Tricks takes regular ol’ people and teaches us (yes me included) new ways of using the internet to grow our business, no mater how large or small. One cool thing Judi does is this weekly email with easy tips and tricks to clue us in on simple things to check out in media. Just a Digital Minute is free.  You can even subscribe and share it with friends or co-workers.

I am so happy my friend made sure that his two friends met. Judi says I have inspired her to get up and get moving. She also says she wouldn’t have been so diligent if I hadn’t met her to walk every morning. Well, I have to thank Judi for getting me on line and keeping me up to speed with Twitter, WordPress, and all sorts of other great social media tools. Thanks Judi Knight and the crew at New Tricks.

Urban Run Club inspires people to look at living a more active life from a different perspective. New Tricks helps people look at their web presence from a different perspective. Be inspired and inspire someone else.

Good Luck Grub

Here we are, fresh start, fresh new year, fresh list of goals, ready to change everything about all that we did or didn’t do last year. Well before you go beating yourself up for all the things you did not do last year, make a list of the great things you did. (Pause, write, come back.) See you did a ton of great things last year. Now you are ready to look at this year with a clean fresh lens. Let’s get started…

1.1.11 Urban Run Club held our 3rd annual Resolution Run. We had a great turn out of 13 runners and walkers. Yes walkers, we have grown to include walkers as well as fast runners who love to support the rear. So now those of you who will only run if your life depends on it have a URC option, you can walk. We ran a nicely paced 3.26 hangover friendly mile loop from our base camp over to Centennial Olympic Park to catch the last day of the beautiful holiday lights. It’s not often you can run through the popular fountain and run past a Christmas tree and ice skating rink all on the same winter run. The temperature was a nice 61°. The rain stopped before we took off and started again just as we finished. Yes we have it like that with ol’ mother nature.

Urban Run Club has a few things we are adding to our schedule. The biggest and best is The Old Forth Ward evening walks. Daily at 7pm until. These are self guided walks of your own choice of distance and start time. Of course, for those who do not live in the O4W Atlanta, we want more than just our neighborhood to get out daily for a nice after dinner walk. Put this on your daily to do list, wherever you live. After dinner, grab the kids, your partner, the pets, a neighbor, a date, whoever you choose and go for a nice walk. This doesn’t have to be a long walk, 10-15 minute around the block is great. One of my favorite couples sets out every evening after a late dinner, with their fluffy dog, holding hands walking and talking. This is healthy on so many levels. This quality time outside creates a great time and space to talk about meaningful things with no distractions plus you get to stretch your legs a bit. Step outside and meet a new neighbor.

The second big thing is starting Monday January 10th we will have a lunch time run every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. We will meet at Woodruff Park on the fountain side at the information booth. We will take off at 12 sharp and do a quick 30 minute run around downtown. This is perfect for those who work in the area. Hope to see you soon.

So on this first Monday of 2011 take a moment to write down a few of your personal fitness goals for this year. Keep this list close by for the next 12 months. Put a note in your calendar with a monthly reminder to serve as a check in to stay on task for this year. Happy Running, hiking, swimming, kayaking, rock climbing, playing outside new year to you!

*Side note, all photo’s were taken using an iphone 3G or iphone 4. The app Plastic bullet was used to make the artsy photos so fresh. We also use the app GPS MotionX for gps to track our runs.