July Runner of the Month: Eugene Hainer

Do you have a running goal? Like qualifying for Boston or to set a new PR?? Well, about 5 years ago, Eugene Hainer, set a running goal for himself – to run 100 half marathons. At that point he already had a few half marathons under his belt including his first, the now defunct Easy Street Wheat Half Marathon. Since then, Eugene has been running one or two half marathons per month, both in and out of state.

What race did he select for his 100^th half? The Choice City Running Event’s Human Race Half Marathon! Eugene started his half marathon journey in Fort Collins and wanted to finish in Fort Collins as a bookend to this chapter of his life.

Now that Eugene has completed his lofty goal, he’s ready to settle down, right? Absolutely not! Eugene is now retired from being the State Librarian for Colorado and has even more time to dedicate to his ambitions. Now, his sights are set on running a half in each of the Canadian provinces/territories.

When Eugene isn’t running (which doesn’t seem to be too often), he works out twice a week with a strength trainer, works with stained and fused glass, and has recently started volunteering as a music director of a local community choir.

Eugene, what a fun bucket list you must have! Thank you for sharing your story with us and thank you for choosing the Human Race Half Marathon as your 100^th half marathon!

Volunteer of the Month: Kyle Presnell

Kyle doesn’t volunteer so much as he is voluntold. As the husband of Green Events’ Event Coordinator, Kathryn, Kyle doesn’t have much of a choice in the matter. However, he rocks whatever assignment comes his way. He first got a taste for the voluntold life at the 2021 Fall Equinox when he worked parking. Kyle directed cars, took payment, and kept the traffic flowing, all the while impressively managing special parking areas for handicap, emergency vehicles, sponsors, vendors, staff, and volunteers. No matter what event it is, you can always find Kyle working somewhere, like the beer tent, setting up, tearing down, sorting awards, course marshaling, or being a good sport about going anywhere needed.

Outside of his mandated voluntold hours, Kyle is working on his architecture license. He’s completed one of the five necessary tests. He also enjoys Legos, particularly the Lego architecture sets, and has competed in Old Town Fort Collins’ Lego Build Competition the past two years.

Kyle, you are a fabulous addition to the Green Events volunteer team! We can not thank you enough for your dedication, time, and overall positive attitude!

Ambassador of the Month: Ayla Kuchta

How does the lead runner of a race know where to run? The answer isn’t as crazy as you may think. They follow the lead cyclist. In many cases, that lead cycles may just be Green Event’s Ambassador, Ayla Kuchta! Not only is she almost always one of the lead cyclists for an event, she also recruits and organizes all the other volunteer cyclists for every Green Events race. Each race distance usually has 2 lead cyclists who arrive early to pre-ride the course and make sure everything is set and safe for the runners, then they lead the race escorting the front runners through the correct route to the finish line, and then they circle back to the last runners to check on everyone and make sure the last participants get to the finish safely.

For over twenty years, Ayla has been a part of the cycling community in Fort Collins, even taking her passion abroad on cycle-cations (like a vacation but instead of relaxing on a beach, you’re cycling). Her favorite cycle-cation is Mallorca, Spain, which she describes as a haven for road cyclists where cars respect the riders and treat them as another vehicle on the road. It’s important to note that even when Ayla is out of town, she has organized the lead cycling team in advance for our race!

Where can you find Ayla when she’s not cycling the roads of the world? Competing in triathlons or alpine skiing! She regularly attends the Green Events Tri Training series with friends, her husband, or her young adult children.

Thank you so much for all you do, Ayla! You are an amazing addition to the Green Events team!

Green Teammate of the Month: Meggie Fowler

Is there nothing that Meggie can’t do? Not only is she Green Events’ graphic designer, but she also wears multiple hats that include tech-support, website design, social media, and photography!  Now, that’s impressive! The Polar Bear Plunge shirt you’re wearing? Meggie designed that. The Fall Equinox hat your sporting? Yep, that’s all Meggie.

What’s Meggie’s favorite task? Of course, as a designer she loves creating the art for all the shirts and swag for each event. Meggie admits that coming up with new ideas is sometimes a challenge, but she always gets excited when she’s out driving or at the grocery store and she sees someone wearing one of her designs. Over the years it’s become a tradition for her friends and family members to take pictures of people wearing Green Events gear that she designed and send them to her. She still gets embarrassed when they do, but it makes her smile!

How did Green Events get so lucky as to have Meggie on board? Green Events founder, Lisa Sinclair, worked with Meggie back in the early 2000s at Miramont Gym. When Green Events was created, Lisa knew she had to get Meggie and the rest is history.

Meggie, thank you for being the macaroni to our cheese and the peanut butter to our jelly!