Monday through Wednesday this week, I attended Race Management Program, an annual conference for race organizers to learn from one another and hear what they should be prioritizing in the years to come.

A few months ago, the COO for Chicago Event Management (which puts on the Bank of America Chicago Marathon), Mike Nishi, emailed me, asking if I was going to attend. To which I said, no. A few weeks later, he invited me to lead a "warmup session," a workshop the day before the event began.

I love these opportunities to get to hear what event organizers are hesitant about, and to answer the questions they have. Workshops are great for coming up with ideas and problem solving.

I did lead that warmup session on Monday, but there was another reason Mike (and others) wanted me there.

On Tuesday morning, I had been sitting with friends about 2/3 of the way back, enjoying the presentations. On Tuesday afternoon, we went back into the auditorium for the "Break the Tape" Award that was soon to be presented. My best friend, Michael, said to me, "Let's sit front row; I think it's going to be Chris," a mutual friend who helps races with their emergency responses.

I thought that was a weird choice. Chris is a good friend, but good enough to sit front row? I wasn't so sure.

A few minutes later, the emcee began to set up for the award: "Can Michael Clemons come to the stage, please?"

The thought wandered through my mind....

Why is Michael the one presenting? Why didn't he tell me?!

Oh.....I think I know what this means....

A few minutes later, after some really kind and thoughtful words by Michael, I was called to the stage as the 2025 Break the Tape Award Winner, presented to someone in the running industry who is pushing the industry forward in a needed way and having a real impact.

The next thing I know, I was handed a mic.

As someone who speaks publicly a lot, and a lot of the time makes up what I am going to say in the moment, I felt completely at a loss for what to say.

I had never received a surprise award before; what do people say in these moments?

I stumbled around with surprise, looking out at faces I admire, at people I love and care about, at people who have been working hard in the industry for decades longer than I have.

It was hard to push the imposter syndrome away, but I also wanted to take the moment to give myself some respect. I do work hard, I do push organizers to consider sustainability, and I do try to do it in a way that is not shaming, but out of curiosity.

It was nice to have that recognized, and to know that this was a moment of validation that might nudge race organizers in the room (or watching on social media) to do their part to make their events, brands, companies, more environmentally conscious.

I did remember to thank Mike Nishi and the Chicago Event Managment team, as the ones who took a leap of faith in bringing me up to Chicago for the 2022 Bank of America Chicago Marathon. It is hard to believe that in some ways that was the beginning of this career in sustainability in running. Mike reached out to me on the eighth day of of my self-set challenge of 100 days of sustainability (you can still join here!), and going to the race that year really launched my career.

Three years later, I received an award for my efforts, and while there are so many people who I believe deserve to be celebrated for their environmental efforts in running more than I do (especially Cat Morris, Aly Criscuolo, Kate Chapman, Haley Price, and Jen Cerullo), it was a really cool moment to look at how far I have come.

Also to remind you to take that leap of faith yourself to follow your heart.

You need amazing people around you, and ideally, mentors like Mike Nishi to help you achieve your dreams, but those people will be drawn to you when they see you speaking your truth and from your heart.

Go leap; you never know where you could be in three years...

Next weekend, on June 28th, I will be pacing my other best friend, Ryan Montgomery at Western States 100 Mile from miles 80-94 (ha, yes, that is such an insane thing to say or type!). To keep up with Ryan for those 14 miles could well be race effort for me, as Ryan is going for top 5 and could even make the podium.

I am nervous for it, but also excited. I know I can execute when I need to, and my training has been coming back together. You can see on my Strava, I am back to pre-surgery mileage, yay!

There is a lot of scary stuff going on right now. Too much for me to mention in one newsletter, and as we all know deep down, they are ALL interconnected. All of the negative, all of the fear, all of the hatred and cruelty, it is all connected.

Here are a few things I want to highlight:

A new bill in the Senate would force the sale of at least 2 million acres of our national public lands over the next 5 years. Take a read of this post from my friend, Jessica. Yes, this is real, and yes, there is a simple thing you can do. Go do it.

Yesterday, the Supreme Court made a decision that is so devastating and horrific for the trans community. It will have ripple effects on other states making similar choices, and this one hits hard as it is Tennessee (more on that next newsletter). I will leave it to my friend Chris Mosier to explain what it means; take a watch.

Go watch this. The movie is extremely problematic...but this is one of my all-time favorite sections of a movie. I listen to this song ALL.THE.TIME.

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For the record, Grandmother Willow ties with Gramma Tala as my favorite Disney character of all time.

Thanks to our partner, AG1

Life is changing fast (watch my social media for updates in the next few days, and I'll share here next week), so I have been heavily relying on AG1 to keep me on top of taking care of my body when my life hasn't allowed for it.

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Be kind to one another, yourself, and this beautiful planet of ours.

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