Runner of the Month: Jack McGrew

Jack McGrew, age 73, has been a regular participant in local races for the past 30+ years! After moving to Fort Collins in 1976 Jack picked up running again because there was a strong local race community. He ran in high school in Columbus Nebraska competing in cross-country and the 1-mile and ½ mile distances. He says he was not very fast or very good, but that’s probably just modesty since he was part of the 2-mile relay team his junior year that set a state record.

Jack had to quit running 13 years ago when he had a knee replacement but that hasn’t stopped him, he just started walking all the miles instead. He trains 3-days a week, or however many his knee allows, and does it similar to how he used to train for running; including hill work, intervals, and a weekly longer slow distance. He can often be spotted on the Poudre Trail with his favorite training partner, Anni the golden retriever.

Even though he’s not “running” he is still participating at the races.

**Little known fact – you don’t have to run to participate in or enjoy a race. **

Anyway, he says “I just like races. They are colorful, you run into people you know, sometimes the weather is good, sometimes it’s not, but it’s always fun!” Just last year he ended up at a post-race breakfast table with a guy he ran against (looking at results after the race) for 3 decades but had never actually met and of course he’s met many friends along the way.

Even though he’s walking, don’t be fooled, he’s still pushing himself and finishing at quite a clip.  He encourages more people and his peers to get out and walk if they don’t want to or can’t run.  He has great memories of encouraging his kids to run when they were younger and still participates in the Father’s Day 5k team division with them every year. Now that their combined ages are over 100 the race will be adding a new award category!

His favorite Fort Collins race was the old Colorado Run 10k when it started at the CSU Oval and ran down Mountain Ave.  He also likes the new Peach Festival 5k course that tours old town neighborhoods, is shady, ends with a slightly downhill mile and even runs on streets he had never been on.

Jack is an inspiration to us at Green Events for his passion and longevity in the sport. We hope to see him at all our upcoming events for years to come and hope that his story will inspire and encourage more people to be active, know that they can participate, and enjoy the journey.

Volunteer of the Month: Green Events/Lululemon Pace Team

Need some extra support or group motivation during a race? Or maybe you are reaching for that next PR and need a push or pull to get there? Look no further than the Green Events/Lululemon Pace team that will be out on course for all our half marathon races this year!

For the second year in a row Spring Equinox half marathon runners had the opportunity to run with one of our local pacers who volunteer to run the race at specific paces to get runners to their goal finish times. The team launched 7 enthusiastic volunteer pacers out on the course to assist runners, not just in achieving their desired finish time, but also to give motivation, encouragement, and camaraderie throughout the race.

The team is organized by Lululemon Ambassador and experienced runner, Ryan Perrich, who has run more races than we can count and has a personal half marathon best of 1:14. The rest of the team is comprised of Runners Roost Race Team members and Lululemon Ambassadors.

Why would you need a pacer? Everyone has a watch these days and can easily see what pace they are on during a race. The goal of a pacer is to run even splits or about the same pace each mile, adjusting for the course elevation profile, to get you to the finish in your goal time. In many cases it can be a great race strategy: find a pacer with your goal time, follow as best as you can, feed off the group energy, and hang on to the finish! Or stay just ahead of a pacer running with a time you want to beat and do whatever it takes to not let them pass you. Either way, they can help you reach your goals and take home that next PR.

Special thanks to this amazing volunteer team and look for them at our upcoming races:
Human Race Half Marathon on July 27^th and the Fall Equinox Half Marathon on September 22^nd

Follow them on instagram at @the_handsome_pacers

Ambassador of the Month: Jerry Rief

If you don’t know Jerry, you’ve been warned. You should. He has been running since 1979, not only is he experienced, he is a well traveled runner, and has a wealth of knowledge in the running space.

Jerry, on his 50th birthday, completed a life long goal of running a marathon in all 50 states under 3:00 hours by the time he was 50. Wow, we are privileged to have this incredible man on our team.

His favorite Green Events race is the Spring Equinox which he completed last weekend, he was never short on compliments and always willing to lend a hand. We could go on for days about Jerry but we’ll leave it up to you to find him on social media and catch his great race reports.