This morning at 7AM was the first of many Saturday long run meet ups that will take place. Today we had a small group, but that happens until folks get their schedules in check. We had 3 peeps show up and put in between 5-10 miles for the day. 

At 7AM the Saturday squad met at the Big Lots parking lot near the Watt Ave. access point for the American River. With the route today being around the Jed Smith loop getting in 5 miles was easy in regards to minimal turns and nothing to really obstruct your run.  

If you are running CIM or Urban Cow, I would highly recommend getting out on Saturday mornings with us. Running with a group can have it’s benefits starting with accountability to show up and even can keep you honest on your pages for that day. 

The morning crew gathered with the regular times of 5:30, 6:00 and 6:25AM. With the 6:25AM gathering of the crew at the West Steps before heading to the other side of the Capitol, at the International Peace Garden.

Today’s workout was a partner workout, where one another helped each other through the workout with a lot of assisting, high-fives and using one another as an obstacles. The workout was a 20 minute AMRAP workout (As Many Rounds As Possible). Each set of exercises included a run between. The exercises for today were; hoisties (think squat jumps while holding your partner’s hands), partner push-ups (high-five at each up position), lead frog, and sit-ups (high-ten slap at the top of each rep). The photos below will show you what kind of went down this morning …

We always get the I’m going to try to be there tomorrow for the run part or the workout at 6:25AM. We will be honest, if you aren’t used to getting up early for a workout it is tough to get out there. It was tough for all of us at the beginning, but once it becomes part of the routine then the ability to get out there because easier and easier.

I’ll be honest, we all miss a workout every now and then because of life and the fatigue we get from it, but most people would agree that there is no greater feeling then running some miles and being challenged with a crazy but fun ass workout with some friends.

We aren’t asking you to commit to us for the first workout, but commit to yourself! Then after that and once you make some friends we become your accountabiliBUDDY (a word taken from Bojan, co-founder of November Project).

So when you decide you want to join us for your first workout, set your alarm(s). Yes, sometimes it takes multiple to make sure that you do get up. #JustBeThere for the workout and let us do the rest to help get you through a workout, after showing up it is on us to keep you and help you make the workouts part of your routine. We aren’t even saying you have to make every workout during the week. Start with one workout and make it routine for a few weeks, then add another, or even challenge yourself in your own way of setting goals. We have had members set goals like, “Making 12 workouts in 6 weeks”. With 4 meet-ups during the week you have plenty off opportunities to allow us to help you reach your goal. Remember, call us crazy, but we want everyone to make it!

For those who attend on a regular basis or those have been to at least 2, share how your first one was a challenge and how you keep yourself going to more workouts as they become part of your routine in the comments section below, then share this post with all of your friends.

The crew came out strong like a ninja this morning, some new faces, some old faces, and some who frequent us on occasion. Let’s start off by welcoming Emily and Hiro to the group! Welcome to the cult … jokingly, but serious at the same time.

During the workout we came 16 people deep at one point, slowly growing and getting closer to the goal of 30 then eventually 100 peeps sweating it out together. Come on people let’s get 100 people together … think about how awesome that would be!

Once the posse gathered at the West Steps today, we did another partner based workout. It is amazing the strides people are making as we visit these same workouts pretty regularly. When we first saw the workout, it was known as the DNF workout … groups are getting closer and closer to making this workout owned! Most groups fell just one rep short of shutting it down before the 7AM end time. The workout included some tree sits, burpees, lunges, push ups, jump squats, planks, jumping jacks, and leg lifts, while mixing in some running in between.

The squad will gather again on Friday … WILL YOU BE THERE?

So back to growing the crowd … back in 2014 when the first meet up started on a dark Wednesday morning at McKinley Park, sometimes only 3 people would show up, now we have 12 pretty regular faces, with the hopes to continually grow in numbers. The more people, the more fun, laughs and chatter to be had not to mention the motivation and inspiration from one another through the workouts and in life.

Some of the people in the crew have become the closest of my friends because let’s face it when a person continues to come back, there is more time to hear one each person’s unique story. The more you hear about someones failures and successes puts us closer to one another. Eventually, we want to help one another succeed.

I mean call us crazy but we want everyone to make it. There is no competition with 9RUN6 only motivation. Each person is unique in their own way, and the rest of the crew is willing to help one another do what they do and do that thing at the best of their ability in both athletic and in life.

My challenge to everyone that LOVES 9RUN6 is to invite their friends and share with them how 9RUN6 has helped them! In fact, share your story below in the comments section. We joke that it is a cult, but we are more than just a workout group, the members who are willing to express themselves become family!

Have a great day everyone!

 

It’s time for a 9RUN6 field trip! Here is one that we are promoting to help one of our out of town 9RUN6 members in Walnut Creek. Meet Eric Miller, who competed for 9RUN6 at the National Beer Mile here in Sacramento. He also rocks the 9RUN6 gear pretty frequently. Check out the photos below …

At the Walnut Creek Run for Education, participants can expect a well-organized family fun event that offers a flat and fast 5K/10K racecourse. There are tons of AGE awards, as well as the coveted FASTEST 15 shirts, awarded to the first 15 male and first 15 female in both the 5K/10K courses. For participants who want to enjoy a more casual Sunday, the event offers the 5K walk, which allows strollers, and dogs on short leashes. There is also a free kids run for those under 7yrs old. Miller says they refer to these young runners as, “our Future Marathoners.”

The Walnut Run was originally known as The Walnut Festival Run because it preceded the annual Walnut Festival, held every September in Walnut Creek, CA. The event went dormant for 10 years, due to not having anyone to put on the event. That was until a local resident, Jason Cooke, who decided to bring back the event in 2010, with financial support from the Festival Association. Jason asked Miler to partner with him in 2011 to help in the race production. From 2010-2013, The Walnut Festival Run raised nearly $35,000 to donate back to the local schools of Walnut Creek.

In 2014, the event lost the backing from the Festival, so Miller formed Monumental Racing LLC, a race production and fundraiser-consulting firm, which now produces the race with the new name The Walnut Run. The net proceeds from the event are donated to local schools by a level of participation. The more participants and affiliates from a school or education foundation, the more of the net proceeds will be donated to that individual school.

When asked if 9RUN6 members could save some bucks since we are traveling to the event, Miller said, “Yes, I have created a discount code 9RUN6 that offers 10% off registration.”

Eric was posed the question “you have been around some of the 9run6 folks as you raced at the Beer Mile under the 9RUN6 team and you even rocked the shirt during the event, what are your impressions of 9RUN6?” He responded with, “I’m all about building community. 9RUN6 has shown to share this same passion. The runners I’ve met have been great. They, too, believe in bringing people together to share a love for community and fitness. I’m a Sacramento native who moved to the Bay Area over 10 years ago, and I love how 9RUN6 has welcomed me into their crew with open arms.”

Miller feels that people in Sacramento will really enjoy The Walnut Run for what the race has to offer, and it’d be a fun road trip for the family and race crew. Many times we focus on convenience. He understands distance can be an inconvenience, but that is only if you choose to look at it that way.  The Walnut Run will offer you family fun event that truly brings a community together for a good cause.

So here are the details …

When: Sunday September 11, 2016 8AM start time.

Where: 1231 S. Main Street in front of the Giants Dugout Store.

Cost: 5k -$30 10k – $40, use code 9RUN6 to save 10%

Registration: http://www.thewalnutrun.com/registration/

If you are going to join us, please leave a comment below so we know who is in and we can organize a carpool for the field trip down there.

This morning, was not the only first Monday workout of the new schedule, but it is also a familiar place to a very few members of the 9RUN6 community. Meeting at the McKinley Park Library sign is where it all started back in January of 2014.

The environment was also very similar to that of the first few months of 9RUN6, when I would show up not knowing who all would be there at each of the start times. Not doubting the 9RUN6 folks, but just uncertainty of a new / change / adding of location.

I mean if you follow Kristin on Strava … you saw that our regular folks even forgot where the Monday workouts are … I speculate it will take a few meetings before people get to regularly start showing up to the #MondayMcKinley meet ups.

Today we came 3 people strong! No matter the size of the crew it is still fun and full of chatter. Expect Monday’s to be more chatter influenced because it is about getting in some easy, miles then spending 15 minutes or so stretching as a group. I mean let’s be honest people don’t stretch enough, and by doing as part of our workout then we are forced to do it.

Wondering what today’s workout looked like? This will be very similar for most Mondays …

5:30AM start – 3ish miles

6:00AM start – 2+ish miles

6:25AM start – 2 miles followed by a routine of stretches

So who is with us for Next Monday? wait … we still have Wednesday, Friday and Saturday meet up workouts this week! See you at the corner of 10th & N Street / West Steps on Wednesday.

Tomorrow for many, starts official marathon training for those running the California International Marathon in December. With that being said, I think it is time we start thinking goals, now goals can always be adjusted, I mean let’s be honest, life happens … But what better way to help keep you moving along than to share your goals with your friends… The Beatles might sum it best on what the power of your friends can do for you … “Oh I get by with a little help from my friends” …

So why share goals and announce them to people who read our blog or to people who you surround myself with. Well to be honest, I think goals need to be shared for a couple of reasons, the first it creates for social accountability, the second you never know who else might have those same goals and can help you in your journey and three it’s fun … I mean let’s be honest everyone likes to have a little bit of fun and maybe it creates for a little healthy competition on the side.

When creating your goals it is important to think where you are at currently and use SMART goals (most commonly defined as Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound). Once your create your SMART goal, we want you to share it in the comments section below … For Time-bound … think day of the race …. and let us know which race is your target race … you can have multiple targets one, as part of the process for the next race …

We want everyone in our community to be able to lean on one another to reach their goals in fitness. That is part of the reason we will have 4 official meet-ups each week, starting TOMORROW! If you haven’t seen the schedule yet here it is …

Mondays – 5:30, 6 and 6:25AM at McKinley Park … the group will always meet in front of the McKinley Public Library located at 601 Alhambra Blvd, Sacramento. This will be a mostly running group … Think easy group running with a lot of conversation. At the end of each workout we will be doing a runners specific workout that will help with strength and flexibility. A little history regarding 9RUN6, McKinley Park is where it all started back in 2014!

Wednesdays – 5:30, 6 and 6:25AM at 10th & N Street / West Steps of the Capitol. 5:30 and 6:00 AM are the running groups. 6:25AM at the West Steps for the workout.

Fridays – 5:30, 6 and 6:25AM at 10th & N Street / West Steps of the Capitol. 5:30 and 6:00 AM are the running groups. 6:25AM at the West Steps to meet up before we depart for the destination set announced on our Facebook and Twitter pages on Thursday.

Saturdays – 7AM at locations to be announced each week. With most people in the group training for either Urban Cow and / or the California International Marathon, we will be doing long runs. Individuals can decide their paces and distance, but this gives us a little more motivation to stick to a training plan when there is a specific meet up time and place. This can also be a way to meet some new people who cannot make the week day workouts.

 

What’s up party people? It’s Friday! We love Friday … not because it is the gateway to the weekend, but because we get to hangout with awesome people while getting our fitness on starting at 5:30AM, then picking up another crew at 6AM and rolling into the workout at 6:25AM.

The morning run groups did the typical routes of out and back along the waterfront then off to pick up McRunner at the Tower Bridge before wrapping around Old Sacramento before heading to the West Steps for the 6:25 group. Once at the West Steps our Destination Friday took us down to Roosevelt Park where we did our dice workout.

Getting a solid pouring of liquid awesome (sweating) is a must before the weekend comes about. For many people trying to get a workout in is a bit tough especially with the heatwave that has recently hit Sacramento, with temperatures hitting 100+ degrees.

For our peeps, the easiest way to make sure we get our miles and workouts in is to get our asses up before the sun comes up and start sweating before most people even start making their way to work. For you Fitbit step counters, think about getting 10-12 thousand steps in during the morning! Yup, your friends will be in awe. You can ask your fellow co-workers and friends things like … “How many steps do you have already?” … “Oh that’s cool, I have 12k steps”.

Making your fitness a priority is key to having the start of a great day. Yes, at times we think, what the F@#K am I doing up so early, but when the workout is done, no one regrets throwing down that sweat with us.

We will have some awesome news about the start of next week’s Monday workout! So check out the blog and Facebook later today. Just a reminder that you can get more 9RUN6 in your life as we start meeting 4 (four) times a week starting next week.

Mondays – 5:30, 6 and 6:25AM at McKinley Park … the group will always meet in front of the McKinley Public Library located at 601 Alhambra Blvd, Sacramento. This will be a mostly running group … Think easy group running with a lot of conversation. At the end of each workout we will be doing a runners specific workout that will help with strength and flexibility. A little history regarding 9RUN6, McKinley Park is where it all started back in 2014!

Wednesdays – 5:30, 6 and 6:25AM at 10th & N Street / West Steps of the Capitol. 5:30 and 6:00 AM are the running groups. 6:25AM at the West Steps for the workout.

Fridays – 5:30, 6 and 6:25AM at 10th & N Street / West Steps of the Capitol. 5:30 and 6:00 AM are the running groups. 6:25AM at the West Steps to meet up before we depart for the destination set announced on our Facebook and Twitter pages on Thursday.

Saturdays – 7AM at locations to be announced each week. With most people in the group training for either Urban Cow and / or the California International Marathon, we will be doing long runs. Individuals can decide their paces and distance, but this gives us a little more motivation to stick to a training plan when there is a specific meet up time and place. This can also be a way to meet some new people who cannot make the week day workouts.

It’s Wednesday so you know what that means … it means another gathering of some awesome freaking people for their dose of 9RUN6, where laughs are shared, people sweat and fun is had by all.

The morning started off with a text from one of our regular Wednesday faces, Katie. She sent a text to me before 5:30AM saying that she wasn’t going to make it. She just wasn’t feeling okay. With a little insight that some of her best friends in the 9RUN6 community where going to be there, she decided to make her way to the corner of 10th & N Street for the 6AM run group.

The group got their run in towards the Tower Bridge, on a mission to find McRunner, but he wasn’t there. We didn’t know how to push the cross walk button at the corner of Front Street and Capitol, so we ran over the Tower Bridge and entered into the West Sacramento territory before heading back to the West Steps for the 6:25AM workout.

Our West Steps workout was a buddy workout this morning, where one partner did one movement incorporating a run while the other person did a body weight exercise. One of our new faces, Cole who was introduced to the group by Ethan, said “Thanks for the workout, I am going to need a nap”. We love it when new faces get out and enjoy themselves at our workouts. We hope to see him at another workout, soon.

So to the title of the workout … What’s your excuse? Today was one of those perfect examples, when someone in our group wasn’t feeling okay but with a little help from her friends, she got out and crushed the fucking workout!

We always have an excuse to not do something, but at the end of the day we also have choices. Today, Katie made the choice to still show up, we hope that pouring some liquid awesome with her friends helped her through the day.

Everyone has busy lives to live with work and everything else that comes up, however, when will YOU have YOU time. The importance of health is such a key thing in life. There isn’t anyone in this world who can make you healthier but YOU! For those of you who have not attended a 9RUN6 workout, but want to we want to know why? For those of you who are regular attendees to 9RUN6, what are some of the reasons (excuses) people give you for not coming to a workout?

List them in the comments section below.

Hope everyone has a good Wednesday! See you on Friday.

 

9RUN6 goes beyond doing our thing. We like to support outside events that do things for the community as well. This is why we are showcasing a special upcoming event that is put together by one of our very own members, Katie. If you are friends with her on Facebook or follow her on Twitter, you have probably seen her post about an upcoming run she is hosting in August … here is a little bit more info about what it is all about …

Runners that partake in the August 21st 5k run can expect the unsupported and unofficial run to have a lot of fun with some super awesome people. This event is limited to 30 people who preregister,  will earn an awesome medal at the end of the run.

Originally the event was promoted as a virtual run, but because there are extra medals Katie thought hosting this event would create for some further support for the California Speech and Hearing Association – District 2 (CSHA) Foundation, which is a 501(c)3 Charity.

Katie shared with us that, “The run benefits Better Speech and Hearing Night for children and adults with communication disorders and their families to enjoy a free game with either the Sacramento River Cats or the Sacramento Republic FC. CHSA also provides public education on communication disorders as well as various local agencies where individuals can receive speech and language disorders”. Approximately 40 million people in America have some sort of a communication disorder, chances are you know someone who either had or currently has a communication disorder. Over the past 4 years more than 2,000 individuals and their families have enjoyed Better Speech and Hearing Night! Katie hopes that through these types of events to “get 2,000 more!”.

Schedule of Events:

7:30 AM: Sign in and sign waiver

8:00 AM: Fun 5K begins

What: Running to Better Speed and Hearing

When: Sunday, August 21, 2016 from 8:00 AM to 11:00 AM

Where: William B. Pond – Carmichael, CA 95608

Cost: $35.00

Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/running-to-better-speech-and-hearing-tickets-26716504785

Get out and support this awesome event!

 

You’ve seen the Facebook post, the Twitter feed and the Instagram photo. We need your help to make us #1 in the Sacramento A-List Best Boot Camp voting. We are currently in third (3rd) place in the voting.

Why is it that your vote is important? Well first of all, let’s use the cliche, “Every vote counts”. Another reason that your vote counts, is that we need to help share the message that fitness doesn’t have to cost us anything. A healthy lifestyle is a choice and shouldn’t cost extra to just get out and enjoy fitness.

9RUN6 is the only FREE fitness group in the running. All of the other groups, which are awesome as well do cost some bucks. We understand you get what you pay for, however this is something different because the free fitness movement is about helping others get motivated without costing you anything but your time to wake up and get out and enjoy the outdoors.

Inspired and once part of the November Project, and continually influenced by the Brogan and Bojan (co-founders of November Project), 9RUN6 is on a mission to help Sacramento be a better place to Live, Work and PLAY! We like to influence the Live and Play portions of that statement. We take pride in Sacramento with our word play of the group name derived from the NINE ONE SIX area code. We just replaced the ONE with RUN. We don’t only run but we involve various forms of fitness in the groups and we have fun doing it!

9RUN6 has brought together so many strangers together, making them the closest of friends. We have over 300 likes on Facebook, over 600 followers on Twitter and the same on Instagram. All we are asking for is for people who support the FREE FITNESS movement to give us a vote in the Sacramento A-List voting which goes until the end of August.

Please take a moment of your time and CLICK HERE to vote for 9RUN6 in the Best Boot Camp category.