On Your Left - January 2013

Official Publication of

JANUARY 20 1 3

Beginners, We Have Your Resolution Solution Go from New Year’s Hangover to Couch to 5K to Half Marathon!

Look Who Gets the Rebound

NBA All-Star Fit Walk, Run & Dribble Names USO as Beneficiary

Turn Those Buns into a Buttress of Steel

The Form Follows Fitness 5K is a Running Tour of Dallas

Run Drenched

The Coolest Run You’ll Have this Summer

Doc in the Box

By Holly Johnson, M.D. Find a PCP: Make a Resolution and Use the Force

Letter from the Editor Chief Running Officer, Eric Lindberg

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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efore we jump into our 2013 stuff, a word of thanks to all of you for making DFWRUNS an important part of your 2012. We certainly wouldn’t be here without you.

Of course, we are very excited about supporting your active lifestyle in 2013! As a new year is born, we, like everyone else, have decided upon a few resolutions of our own; improvements not just to our business, but our lives.

As I look back at 2012 and ahead to 2013, what amazes me the most might just be the business we have outside of the DFW Metroplex. Many of you know the story of how DFWRUNS began; how we started was focused primarily on the marketing and promotional aspects of running events in the DFW area. Hence, the name DFWRUNS. But like any small business and its long-term plan for success, things have begun to change.

Since 2008 DFWRUNS has quickly grown in two directions. The first is geographic, and this was especially evident when Jack Black Skin Care Products took us to Knoxville for their first activation around the Rev3 Triathlon series. Suddenly, the “DFW” in our name didn’t make sense, nor did “Runs” as we were at a triathlon.

Our second change came when we served as race director for the Arbor Day Run, prompting us to add event management to our list of service offerings. We were no longer simply a marketing and promotional agency, but an event management company as well.

Over the past four years we have often found ourselves explaining this story to potential customers. Heck, you have probably heard it a bunch of times too. We like to say that the “DFW” in our name is like

LIKE US!

Let’s celebrate the rebranding of YOUR business or event this year! Hop on the party horn and call us today! 214-339-7867

“On Your Left!”?

the airport code — we can be anywhere in a matter of hours. As well, look at the word “RUNS” in our name, you’ll find the baseline for any active lifestyle event.

And like all healthy New Year’s resolutions, we believe that taking small steps and setting achievable goals is the most effective way to make changes that stand the test of time Having said all that, in 2013 you will slowly see the DFWRUNS brand transition to On Your Left! Marketing & Events. If you were really paying attention (like many of you did counting 12’s last month) you might have noticed that this change started in 2012 when we trademarked the name for this publication.

What does this change mean for you? As a DFWRUNS customer, very little. You will still receive amazing service and creative promotion around your active lifestyle event or brand. The only changes you may encounter are further penetration into markets that you are trying to reach (hint, hint), new email addresses and voicemail messages.

If you’re a participant in one of our customers’ amazing events you might not notice any changes at all, as we always put our customers’ brand first.

For both our customers and participants I invite you to “like” our new facebook at www. facebook.com/OYLMarketing. As well, please bookmark the URL at www.OYLMarketing.com.

Slowly we will develop content for these pages and transition the company brand, but this resolution will take some time to complete.

Best wishes to everyone in 2013 and I hope you have a happy, healthy and prosperous new year. Before you know it 2014 will be On Your Left!

– Eric Lindberg

OWNERS & EDITORS IN CHIEF Eric Lindberg – elindberg@dfwruns.com Sharon Lindberg – slindberg@dfwruns.com

DESIGN Cathy Hutzler – cat@dfwruns.com

WRITING & EDITING Cherilyn Wilson – cwilson@dfwruns.com Seth Gonzales – sgonzales@dfwruns.com

CONTRIBUTORS Lindsay Musielak – lmusielak@dfwruns.com Paul Hutzler – phutzler@dfwruns.com Gabriella McCord – gmccord@dfwruns.com Maggie McCarthy – mmccarthy@dfwruns.com

CATCH US! (IF YOU CAN)

MARKETING // PUBLICITY // SPONSORSHIP

WHO’S SHOUTING

Beginners, We Have Your Resolution Solution Go from New Year’s Hangover to Couch to 5K to Half Marathon!

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UPCOMING EVENTS

f you’ve never done a 5K before, now is the time. We’re not kidding. The champagne bottle is empty, the party horns are quiet, and now it’s just you and 2013 alone on the couch.

Well, how would you like to move from the couch to the finish line of your very first 5K? Here’s where it gets good for you: we can help.

We have implemented plenty of successful 101 Walk/ Run training plans through our DFWRUNS Corporate Recess programs to know that you can complete this distance by alternating between walking and running.

Mind you, we wouldn’t advise jumping off the ““A handy tip for and firing all race day — write your couch cylinders for 5 kilometers first 5K finish time on straight. We advocate baby the back of your hand steps. So, baby step one: show up. with a sharpie. Above On February 23 (that’s it, write you new 5K just a few weeks away!) you’ll get a chance to do just that! time goal. Lastly, The Form Follows Fitness BELIEVE IT.” 5K will attract experienced speedsters as well as hundreds of first-time joggers and walkers just like you.

When you get there, look around and take in everything you see and hear. Check out the gear worn throughout

Electric Run - Dallas Saturday, January 19, 2013 RACE WEBSITE

The Grafitti Run - San Antonio Saturday, January 27, 2013 RACE WEBSITE

the crowd. Feel the adrenaline and shake the “but I’ve never done a 5K before” jitters. Step up to the starting line and walk as much as you want to. Enjoy the scenery, as you move past some of Dallas’ most iconic buildings and landmarks. Then, when you hit the finish line, we promise you’ll be flying high all day long!

Having already gotten a taste of your first 5K, the second will come a little easier — and you’ll have some more time to get used to your new routine, turn your workout schedule into a calendar of days you look most forward to, and properly, safely build up your fitness level.

On April 21, the Central Market Thrill of the Grill 5K will fire up the starting line for it’s fourth year. This time, you’ll be the one firing up the finish line!

The Grafitti Run - Fort Worth Saturday, February 2, 2013 RACE WEBSITE

NBA All-Star FIT Saturday, February 16, 2013 RACE WEBSITE

Enjoy your new vigor by jumping into something new and different. We don’t want you to forget you’re supposed to be having fun! So after the April showers have brought May mud, jump head-first into the Gladiator Rock’N Run – DFW, where you’ll be moving from one insane obstacle to the next. Then be prepared because DFWRUNS always throws down something crazy on National Running Day – coming Wednesday, June 5, 2013.

But like any great New Year’s Eve party, all good things must end before we get too wild. At the end of June, you will begin the 12 week countdown to your half marathon — the Plano Balloon Festival Half Marathon on September 22, 2013.

Again, Hal Higdon offers two different novice half marathon programs as well as an intermediate, advanced or walk version to choose from. There are also a lot of very helpful smartphone apps out there, so spend some time exploring until you settle on the plan that fits you as well as that pair of jeans you’re going to rock this year!

We’re already making preparations for the big race… shouldn’t you be too?

On your mark! 214-DFWRUNS (339-7867)

Form Follows Fitness 5K Saturday, February 23, 2013 RACE WEBSITE

Hero Rush – Central Texas Saturday, March 2, 2013 RACE WEBSITE

Hero Rush – North Texas Saturday, April 6, 2013 RACE WEBSITE

Central Market Thrill of the Grill Saturday, April 20, 2013 RACE WEBSITE

MARKETING // PUBLICITY // SPONSORSHIP

If you’re looking for a variety of 5K training plans, check out Hal Higdon’s website at www.halhigdon.com. You can either start with walking or jogging depending on your current level of health and fitness.

Most importantly, make sure you commit to keeping your new year’s resolution right now by registering for both races.

A handy tip for race day — write your first 5K finish time on the back of your hand with a sharpie. Above it, write you new 5K time goal. Lastly, BELIEVE IT! Once you hit your goal, it’ll be time to celebrate!

Although it is not clearly stated on many training programs, there is certainly a block on the schedule somewhere calling for another celebratory toast! So... make sure you pop another bottle of champagne or at least an Ugly Pug and celebrate! Come share your victory with others at our monthly Rahr Social Runs (Dates to be released soon! Stay tuned by liking the Rahr Oktoberfest 5K Facebook page)!

Look Who Gets the Rebound

NBA All-Star Fit Walk, Run & Dribble Names USO as Beneficiary

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n February 16, the NBA All-Star FIT Run, Walk & Dribble will be on the fastbreak to the finish line, bringing NBA and WNBA Legends and mascots with it to Discovery Green park in Houston!

The race will also include an NBA/WNBA FIT Warm Up, a kids fun run & dribble, an incredible 5K course, live music and interactive games. Fans and rivals can all come together and lift the ball over their shoulders at our finisher’s area all while lifting the spirits of our US Troops and their families.

For every person that registers for the 1K walk or 5K run, $5 goes directly to the United Service Organization Houston (USO). The USO is a private, non-profit, non-governmental organization, which has provided support to thousands upon thousands of service men, women and their family members since 1941.

The support and services they give range from send-off and welcome home events to their United Through Reading® program, an opportunity for deployed service members to record and send their children bedtime stories on DVDs. Just imagine what we can make possible by rallying our kids and grandparents to come out for this healthy event. To learn more about who your registration fee helps, visit the www.uso.org If you are one of the first 2,000 people to sign up, your 1K or 5K registration just might get you a free ticket to the NBA All-Star Jam Session! Additionally, everyone who registers is entered to win two tickets to the 2013 NBA All-Star Game! Visit the website for contest rules.

The shot clock is ticking! Visit www.nbarunwalkdribble.com

UPCOMING EVENTS

– Cherilyn Wilson

Jeremy Paster GPCC Saturday, May 11, 2013 RACE WEBSITE

Run Drenched - Phoenix Saturday, May 18, 2013 RACE WEBSITE

Run Drenched - Dallas Saturday, May 25, 2013 RACE WEBSITE

BENEFITTING

HOUSTON

Patriot Half Marathon Monday, May 27, 2013 RACE WEBSITE

with us!

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BENEFITTING

Turn Those Buns into a Buttress of Steel The Form Follows Fitness 5K is a Running Tour of Dallas

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ach new year brings new adventures, exciting changes, and new challenges. It is a time when many resolve to take on a new form. You are nearly two weeks in. Are you even on course?

How about following our course? We’ve designed a 3.1 mile one sure to form your good tness habits for 2013.

The Form Follows Fitness 5K will take place on February 23 and will benefit the Dallas Center For Architecture. The DCFA helps to enrich our city through their exhibitions, monthly film series and other special programs. They also support architecture students at the high school and university level with more than $10,000 in scholarships and traveling fellowships annually. We love working with the DCFA for all these reasons PLUS the fact they too love to get moving!

DID YOU KNOW?

The first or third Saturday of each month you can go for a 90-minute walking tour led by a trained tour guide. They will get you out and active while learning about buildings from the 1890’s to the present day right here in your city. Explore the architectural detail of the Art’s District as well as the institutions, individuals and visionaries who are a part of this fascinating story.

Or choose the Main Street Walking Tour on the second or fourth Saturday of each month which includes the Adolphus Hotel, the Magnolia Building, the Statler Hilton, and the Wilson

Building. Along the way, you’ll take a look at examples of Beaux Art, Art Deco, Post-Modernist, Renaissance Revival and Victorian design…and how they were adapted specifically for a rapidly-growing metropolis.

Tours begin at 10am but you must first reserve your spot at www.dallasdcfa.com THEN, join us on our running tour of Dallas and aid in the education of the power of design.

Last year, DFWRUNS and Dallas Center For Architecture constructed a 5K course which showcased some of the city’s most impressive structural landmarks.

This year’s new route will be unique as the Dallas skyline. This is your chance to walk, jog, or win the first of many races on your list this year. There are no rules against moving too slow or speeding too fast, just as long as your buttress is moving! (But please, no running with protractors.)

This February, while you gaze out at that romantic skyline and fanaticize about the new, fit form you or your sweetheart are working toward, consider giving “His and Hers” registrations for Valentine’s Day. Show him or her how you are proactively planning to do more together as a couple this year!

Run Drenched

The Coolest Run You’ll Have this Summer

By Cherilyn Wilson

D

id you freeze your tookus off on your run this morning? Well, remove that reflective fleece headband and lend us your ears. We want to remind you of the humid 75 degree race you just did in Dallas a mere month ago and that sweltering 90 degree training run you returned home from before the sun was even up—your shorts and tank just drenched with sweat.

It may only be January, but some cities like Dallas, Phoenix and L.A., don’t gracefully change seasons, so shouldn’t you mentally prepare now for the months you’ll soon run drenched?

Doesn’t sound fun? Well we’re going to change that! Grab your friends, choose your water weapon, and get ready for a 5k water adventure! Our newest client splashes down in 9 cities this summer!

WHAT IS DRENCHED?

Whether you are young, old, slow or fast, everyone has found memories of hot summers where the best way to cool off was a friendly spray of the hose, a ice cold bucket of water strategically poured over a friends head, water balloons being frantically filled and thrown, and water guns being brought out to battle.

Drenched is all about bringing everything you loved about those lazy summers back, an event where you can have fun with your friends and get healthy in the process! This 3.1 mile stretch of coolness allows your friends and family to participate even if they’re not running. These so-called loved ones may be the cool dudes spraying you with water guns or bombing you with balloons while you dive for the slip n’ slide on the

course! (Visit RunDrenched.com for more details on how they can be part of your experience.)

After the race, we won’t throw a post-race party with only granola bars and port-o-johns. We call it a Post Race Festival! There’s no better way to finish your 2013 Run Drenched 5k then to jump from a 3 story freefall tower! We are excited to announce our partnership with US Airbag who’ll be at there with a massive 50X50 stunt inflatable landing zone! series. So what’s it like to freefall 30 feet? WATCH HERE. If watching that video doesn’t make you start sweating then be sure to LIKE Drenched on Facebook and warm up to the idea by following the outrageous posts sure to convince you this will be the best summer of your life. Don’t be left out to dry!

REGISTER NOW!

JOHNSON PHOTO BY: SPENCER FREEMAN

Doc in the Box

By Holly Johnson, M.D.

FIND A PCP: MAKE A RESOLUTION AND USE THE FORCE

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eady to race into the new year? I think one of my six-year-old patients is ready. As he scrambled up on the exam table so I could look in his ears, I asked him if he was making any New Year’s resolutions.

He asked me, “What’s a res-lootion?”

I told him it was a commitment or a promise to do something to make the world a better or healthier place.

“For example, some people commit to eating healthier, helping others, or sharing more special times together,” I explained.

He replied, “Oh, I get it! It’ll be my res-lootion to teach my baby brother how to play Star Wars!”

Reenacting the destruction of the Death Star may not be on top of our adult list of resolutions, but what should be? How about resolving to get in shape, run a marathon, destroy evil with good, and to finally find a family doctor who understands that you don’t have to be sick to get better? How do you choose a family doctor, and why do you need one?

Having a primary care physician (PCP), is important for many reasons. Family physicians, pediatricians, and internal medicine physicians (or internists) are all considered PCPs. The main functions of a PCP are to provide preventative healthcare, to diagnose and treat common medical illnesses, and to teach healthy lifestyles so you can live your best and longest life–hopefully to a healthy 100! A PCP will also make referrals for specialty care when necessary.

Now that you know a short list of things your new doc can do, how do you choose a PCP? You can either allow your insurance company to randomly choose for you, or you can choose your own from a list your insurance carrier provides. Recommendations from friends and family can also be helpful. The first question to ask a physician’s office is: “Is the doc is taking appointments for new patients.” The second question is, “Do you (still) take my insurance?” If you get two “Yeses,” the Force is with you so far!

When choosing a PCP, make sure he/she graduated from an accredited medical school and residency and that he/she is board certified. (Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of board-eligible providers out there who are excellent, caring, and compassionate, but some others are not board certified for a reason...Catch my drift?)

Not to get all Zen on you, but next you need to know what you want out of your doctor. Do you prefer a male or female doc? Do they need to be a Baylor grad or will any accredited medical school be okay with you? Do you want a young physician who might be on the cutting edge of technology and fast with hand-held digital media or do you prefer an older generation who will have more experience? Is it important to you to have a PCP who has a certain specialty area of interest such as sports medicine, women’s health, or alternative medicine? Would you like a provider who focuses on disease treatment or on disease prevention?

When choosing a PCP, consider the office hours and location, the friendliness of the office staff, and how long it takes for someone to give you a call back if you have to leave a message. How easy is it to get your questions answered and to communicate with your doctor–will you get a call back from the staff or do they have email? If you get admitted to the hospital, which hospital is your doctor affiliated with and who will care for you if, heaven forbid, you are admitted? Find out what other patients or staff members have to say about the doctor too.

Please Note: The info in this article is not a substitute for medical advice from your own PCP; you should always discuss any health decisions and blood test results with your own doc. Dr. Johnson and DFWRUNS are not liable for temptations toward the Dark Side or helping you find your way out of a droid factory.

REACH OUT!

Learn how DFWRUNS can help grow your brand or event. Contact us today!

SOMETHING OLD & SOMETHING NEW Birthday Bandits Running Into 2013

December & January Birthdays will Bandit the popular Wednesday night Social Run with Run On! on January 16. Anyone and everyone is welcome to come run with us and the Run On! staff so bring your friends! If you have signed up as one of our DFWRUNS Birthday Bandits and are celebrating your December or January birthday, we have a gift for you! Don’t be late! The run departs at 6:30pm so arrive by 6:15pm to check in with us. We have a limited number of free race entries to the Form Follows Fitness 5K (in Dallas on February 24) to give our December and January babies. Come out and party with us at 5400 Mockingbird Lane!

SIGN UP FOR BIRTHDAY BANDITS

PHONE: 214-DFWRUNS EMAIL: info@dfwruns.com WEB: www.dfwruns.com

MARKETING // PUBLICITY // SPONSORSHIP

You can often set up a “meet and greet” appointment to meet your physician (without even having a problem or concern). Bring in your list of questions to your first visit. You want to make sure you and your new PCP are a good match. Ask your questions and see how the doc responds. If the doc seems uncomfortable or makes you feel uncomfortable, is answering his cell phone in the middle of your visit, seems distracted, or doesn’t even sit down during your visit, it may not be the doc for you. Look for nonverbal clues to gauge the doc’s interest in you. Is there good eye contact? Does he introduce himself, shake your hand, and call you by your name? Does she lean forward and engage in the visit? Find out how involved you will be in making decisions for your care. A good doc will perform a thorough physical, then tell you what she sees as she is looking and listening. A good physician will also explain any tests he wants to do and then explain all of the results as well.

Your family physician should not be intimidating or defensive and should enjoy his/her patients. We took an oath to help you, to teach you, and to encourage you to make the best decisions for your well-being. We are part of your personal Jedi Council and use the Force for good!

There is a family doctor out there for everyone. Give yourself a gift of health in 2013. Find a personal PCP, and learn how to prevent illness and injury to live to a healthy 100! Make some other New Year res-lootions and keep some of the old. And as always, put on your stormtrooper boots and sign up for some galactic races this Happy New Year!

JAUNT JUNKIE

By Seth Gonzales

T

hanksgiving is always an occasion for food, family and friends. It was no different this past year, as my wife Lisa and I shuttled down to San Antonio for a feast of epic proportions with her family!

But as is custom with such scrumptious, delicious occasions, I was left feeling as though I had eaten half the state of Texas! I know, I know, I’m a skinny, lanky dude, so I don’t have any room to talk. Still, I poked, prodded, cajoled and bribed convinced my wife, her sister and her brother George to join me for a brisk run down the worldfamous San Antonio RiverWalk and Mission Trails.

For those of you who haven’t visited either, suffice to say that San Antonio has done a first-class job accommodating both to runners, walkers and cyclists.

The Mission Trails take you on a sixteen-mile tour of 18th century Spanish-Colonial Texas. Along the way, there are five mission churches you can visit. Each church was established and settled by Spanish colonists — specifically Franciscan monks — during the 18th century. The trail begins at Mision Espada, and ends at a place many of you know as the Alamo, originally Mision San Antonio de Valero.

The RiverWalk is a small, but beautiful five-mile strip of walkway that follows the San Antonio River through downtown. You’ve got shops, hotels, restaurants, bars, nightclubs – you name it, they’ve got it!

Friday, the four of us were treated to a gorgeous day and much needed exercise after stuffing ourselves with stuffing and somehow overcoming the lingering food coma effects. I ran while George followed on his bike.

My wife and her sister carved their own running/walking path, as well.

The experience was so good we had to have another. So George and I went again on Saturday. With George biking and me running, we set out and visited two missions – Concepcion and San Jose.

In all, we logged about 12 miles round trip for both days. Just enough to make room in the tummy for dessert!

Holiday Shoppers Can Be Mean But Runners Always Have Something Nice to Say

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n Christmas Eve I fought a lady for the last two bundles of asparagus.

How’s that for Christmas spirit? My promise to arrive at my mother-in-laws house with a green vegetable contribution to her Christmas feast had me in the grocery store just hours before closing. A mere polite gesture which ultimately forced New Year’s resolution number one: Stop Procrastinating.

By 11:40am on Christmas Eve, every single green bean was already stuffed in someone else’s drippy casserole, sprinkled with French’s onions and tucked neatly under its foil blankie for the night. But not mine. I shuffled through the third grocery store, past the last produce shelf minus all green beans before finally spotting a bin labeled, “Asparagus.”

Two bundles of green stalks stood alone just below the gaze of the approaching contender. Her petite little frame moved toward them and her scrawny arm

stretched out with unnatural length as she opened her claws. All my speedwork at the track paid off in one mad dart as I scooped up the baby spears and met her stunned gape just 3 inches from my nose. She looked down at the glorious acquisition in my hands but I kept my eyes fixed on hers. I could hear her little plastic produce baggie rustling. She looked at me and held the empty sac up to my face and that’s when her will appeared much larger than her build.

She not-so-politely said, “Excuse me” before telling me these were her asparagus. I not-so-politely used the words, “I’m sorry” as I made it quite obvious that they were not. I tried to walk away but our confrontation apparently caught the attention of the store manager who very politely asked if there was anything he could do to help.

Soon, the entire reason this other woman’s family would be without B-vitamins at her dinner table and why mine would be deprived of the allAmerican traditional Campbell’s mushroom soup concoction was because that store manager had failed to efficiently stocked his inventory.

What does all this have to do with running? The point here is more than being awesome enough to sprint to the asparagus and clutch it like a relay baton. The true matter I was inspired to address is the increased number of complaints filed by consumers during those last busy holiday weeks each year. After I calmed down and was able to think clearly, (post apple pie and red wine the following night), I reflected on my last-minute grocery incident. It got me thinking about the stress of shoppers who waited in long lines which

VISIT OUR COMPLIMENTS DEPARTMENT benefits for charities, and to improving the quality of life for all citizens through the active lifestyle. We know that as an active person, you understand all the positives but the cities are not always willing to listen. This is why we are asking your help in 2013. If you recall, we shut down the COMPLAINTS DEPARTMENT last year! We invite you to visit our COMPLIMENTS DEPARTMENT and help us be proactive by filling out this form after every race, even it if it is not one DFWRUNS markets or manages! This year, let’s make things bigger and badder than your mamma’s worn-out green-bean casserole!

Visit dfwruns.com/compliments so we can design your 2013 event complete with bragging rights.

REACH OUT!

Learn how DFWRUNS can help grow your brand or event. Contact us today!

PHONE: 214-DFWRUNS EMAIL: info@dfwruns.com WEB: www.dfwruns.com

MARKETING // PUBLICITY // SPONSORSHIP

spread over to the store clerks frustrated over multiple complaints throughout elongated shifts. The post office was blamed for late packages, airline stewards were blamed for the weather, and my landscaper even had a customer demand the change out of a holiday bulb on their rooftop because there were one too many green ones.

By the end of each year, when we resolve in various ways “to become a better person”, have our complaints overruneth our bucket of warm fuzzies? Have the nasty things we’ve said to the single-mom working the phones in the customer service department really improved our way of life? (Personally, I found that when I am kind to the person on the phone, they go even further to give me extra little bonuses and credits causing me to do business with them repeatedly.) I know I can prevent future stress by making procrastination a thing of 2012, but I also plan to file more compliments and less complaints in 2013.

As it pertains to running and other active lifestyle events, this effects YOU! As you know, on race day, streets may need to be blocked or closed, finish line music may be loud, the smell of sweat may pollute the air or endorphins may flood an entire community park. DFWRUNS manages events around the country so we frequently work with numerous city officials.

Unfortunately, agreeing on the optimal race experience can be difficult due to the enormous amount of complaints they receive from citizens and businesses about such alterations in the vicinity of the event site. DFWRUNS is committed to designing new and interesting courses, as well as engaging with local businesses, to generating

ABBY ROAD

GET TO KNOW ABBY WERNER

By Cherilyn Wilson

While us old folks know that Abbey Road was the incredible 1969 album by the Beatles, some of the younger generation may wish we’d shed some light on our own column title. Well, Here Comes the Sun! We’ve Come Together with this incredible 12 year old aspiring writer and runner named, Abigail Werner and have had the fun privilege of following her on her journey as she grows and travels both these avenues. And yes, she always stays safe out on the roads by crossing in the crosswalks. (You older folks get it.)

Abby is currently a sixth grader whose interest in writing started back in the first grade. Until 2012, most of her time outside of school was spent swimming competitively at Mansfield Aquatic Club. At age 12, Abby decided to better prepare for Track & Field by moving her training over to the asphalt. She ran her own column in On Your Left! throughout the year and we hope our readers enjoyed following her progress as she detailed her personal running experiences and highlighted many of our 2012 races.

This year, she’s still on fire! Watch for her reviews this year as she participates in events including the Central Market Thrill of the Grill 5K. Other races in Abby’s sights are the Electric Run, Graffiti Run and the Form Follows Fitness 5K. She’s really planning to cover some ground in 2013!

NOW LOOK WHO ELSE IS COVERING ABBY!

Be sure to grab the February Tarrant County issue of Youth Sports Today magazine to read more about Abby and her many talents. Thanks to our friends at YST for partnering with us on our mission to encourage families to be active together and for continuing to sponsor ABBY ROAD. Good, healthy habits are instilled at a young age and that’s why Youth Sports Today magazine has been strengthening our local communities for 16 years by highlighting individual youth athletes, students and their families who encourage healthy lifestyles and strong values. In addition, this free magazine outlines sporting events such as games, tournaments, clinics and camps as well as related venue listings in your area. Find the publication tailored to your community in Coppell, Las Colinas, Valley Ranch, Tarrant County, Southlake, Grapevine, Keller, Collin County, Denton County, N. Irving and Carrollton! And they’ve kicked off the new year with a new website. Be sure to check it out at www.youthsportstoday.com

PLAY LEAD SUCCEED! Keep track of Abby each month as she grows in her running! Watch for her reviews of UPCOMING DFWRUNS EVENTS in forthcoming issues of On Your Left!

PHONE: 214-DFWRUNS EMAIL: info@dfwruns.com WEB: www.dfwruns.com /dfwruns

@dfwruns