Hello,

Kristen Walker started working at Striders a couple of months ago, before that I knew her as the tough as nails trail runner who would show up to long training runs with all these guys training for the Wasatch 100.  She was usually there for fun, not really training for anything and certainly didn't have the "eye of the tiger" scowl on her face most of the guys had on (me included).  She looked relaxed and ready to have fun.  It's the quiet happy runners you need to watch out for; Kristen would scramble up and down those mountains effortlessly while having the time of her life; or so it seemed.  She certainly didn't look like she was suffering much as she passed all those guys at the end of the run.  She ran her first ultra-marathon last June at Logan Peak finishing in 7:13.  In October she ran the Ogden Valley 50 in 10:02 and placed 2^nd in the women's division.  This past July, completely under the radar and on a whim, she ran the Deseret News Marathon and placed 10^th in the women's division with a 3:31 finishing time.  We were impressed and now she's our Runner Spotlight for August.  We're lucky to have her on our team at Striders.  You can read her profile at www.stridersrunning.com, or better yet, you can visit with her live and in person at Striders. 

This is the final call for the BAIRGUTSMAN.  There are spots left but online registration will end on Thursday, August 5^th at 7:00pm.  Depending on our mood, we may or may not take registrations on Friday.  I wouldn't risk gambling on my mood specifically, register today if you want to run (well, it's more like a four legged scramble than a run). 

Packet pick-up for the BAIRGUTSMAN will be Saturday morning before the race.  The race starts at 6:00am, so be there (LDS church on Mountain Road in Fruit Heights) no later than 5:00am to get your stuff. Remember, the race ends halfway up (or down, depending on how you look at it) Farmington Canyon, so you'll need to find a way down the canyon on your own.  2010 will be the biggest GUTSMAN EVER!  We can't wait; we'll see you there a little broken, scarred but not beaten.  CONQUER THYSELF!

Okay, before we go I gotta tell you about our neighbors (Striders neighbors, not home neighbors cuz we live next to some wild and crazy people and those stories are classified).  Anyway, Lifelong Fitness next to Striders has been there for some time.  They were here before Striders was Striders and it was a music store.  If you really pay attention to who's coming and going in and out of Lifelong Fitness, you'll notice that there's a lot of fit people coming out of that place.  They don't always go in looking fit, but after a while they all come out looking like middle weight champions (guys) or like feather weight champions (gals).  We had to check it out.  What we found is a 24-hour accessible gym where members perform specific workouts from college educated trainers -- I'm talking at least 4 year college degrees, not just online personal trainer certifications.  These people are the pros. They write your meal plans and workouts and tell you how to make life style changes to be a fitter and happier person.  It really is pretty awesome.  They don't brag about their success, they simply just do their thing and people keep coming to them.  We thought you all should know though.  They have two locations, one next to us in Layton and another in Kaysville.  If you mention this e-mail they'll knock off $100 on a 36 visit plan.  You can get all the details and set-up a free consultation by calling 801-776-4440 or 801-444-2796. You can also check them out online at http://www.llfit.com/   

Thanks,
John & Kristin