14Apr

Brooks 10K - Big Spring Memorial Ruck - HNL Pickleball

4/14/2023 - Happy Friday! Got some events coming up so get your calendars out. 

First, the Big Spring Ruck on 4/22 will start at 3:00 pm. We'll meet at LCB on Huddleston Drive. The ruck will start and end at Line Creek Brewery in memory of Josh Felicijan. We'll be collecting dog food and donations for some great organizations. Come out and join us! 

Second, HNL Pickleball is a thing. We'll have a pickleball 101 clinic on 4/23. It's limited to 10 so please let us know if you'll be there. If you're interested in the pickleballs, this is a great way to start. 

Tomorrow's run is the Brooks 10K course in Brooks, Ga. Meet at 119 Price Road Books, Ga for a 7 am start. See you in the morning! 

 

17Mar

Double loops again! 

3/17/2023 - Felt like last week worked out. Let's do two loops again. Drake is the spot. 

6:30 - 40 min

7:15 - 40 min

10Mar

two loop saturday location change

3/10/2023 - Come and challenge yourself tomorrow with two loops! Two forty-minute loops with a small break in the middle. Oak Grove Elementary is the spot. Crosstown Drive. See you in the am! 

6:30 - 40 min

7:15 - 40 min

03Mar

Watch out for hurricanadoes today

3/3/2023 - Yall be careful out there! It looks like weather could be roughish near the end of the day. Morning running weather looks great. Back to normal running temps for the season. We're at Drake. Be there! 

Big Spring Ruck update. Date is going to be 4/22. Rusk said it's set in stone so put the date on your calendar now.

Drake is the spot tomorrow

6:30 - 60 min AND 30 min

 

24Feb

Big Spring Ruck - Trail option tomorrow

2/24/2023 - Happy Friday! Mark your calendars for Saturday, April 22 at Noon when we'll host the Ruck HNL Big Spring Ruck. We'll ruck a 5K route from Line Creek Brewery in memory of Josh Felicijan and raise some money for a cause he loved. Do not miss this event! 

Tomorrow will start and end in a different location. Meet at the Line Creek Nature Area (2950 Highway 54, PTC) for the first loop of normal road running. The second loop will be a 30 min trail run. Both are great ways to start your weekend. 

Line Creek Nature Area

6:30 - 60 min road run

7:30 - 30 min trail run

17Feb

Winter is back! 

2/17/2023 - Come and soak up the cold temps tomorrow. We'll be at Drake for both loops. Don't forget to bring your gloves. It's not smart to forget gloves. Gonna have lots of people out for winter break trips so tomorrow is perfect for newbies! Be brave! Be there! 

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min

03Feb

Perfect winter running - LOCATION CHANGE!!

2/3/2023 - Tomorrow will be the perfect winter running day. Clear and cold so there is no ambiguity about what to wear. We'll be meeting at the old KMart on Crosstown for the Stinky Trail Loop then a 30 min loop if you like. 

The Stinky Trail loop is not quite six miles so it should take between 50 and 60 mins to complete. 

Stinky Trail Loop - 6:30 

30 min loop - 7:20ish start.

See you in the morning! 

20Jan

Shakespeare, as promised. 

1/20/2023 - Drake is the spot:

Act 1, Scene 1 (Enter Chorus)

Chorus: Beware the Ides of March, all ye who rise before the break of day for on this fateful morn, a task doth lay a task of health and strength, a task of mind and heart a task that sets the tone for all the days that start.

(Enter Caesar)

Caesar: What means this warning, Chorus, of the Ides ahead? I trust in fate, and in my actions, I have led

Chorus: Great Caesar, hear my words, for they are true this morn, a run doth wait for thee, a task anew

(Exit Caesar)

Act 2, Scene 1 (Enter Caesar, sweating and panting)

Caesar: By Jove, this running in the morn, a task most fair it clears the mind, the body, and the air a preemptive strike, against the day's demands a boost to strength, a boost to health, a boost to hands

(Enter Brutus)

Brutus: Great Caesar, what doth make thee rise so early? What task doth make thee sweat and pant so surely?

Caesar: My dear Brutus, 'tis a task of health and might a task that sets the tone for all the days in sight

(Exit Caesar and Brutus)

Act 3, Scene 1 (Enter Chorus)

Chorus: And so, my friends, let this be a lesson learned For health and strength, the morn doth hold a certain worth let not thyself, like Caesar, "jump the shark" but rise each day and run, before the dawn

(Exit Chorus)

The end.

630 -60 min (more if you like in the second loop)

730 -60 min or more as you like it

13Jan

Saturday Loop Poem

1/13/2023 - 

Aye, ye landlubbers, gather round, For I, Captain Josh, have found, A treasure of a different kind, a run, ye see, that'll blow yer mind.

Tomorrow morn, at Drake Field, we'll set sail and yield, our legs to the wind and the cold, for a run that'll leave ye bold.

With friends by our side, and a friendly pace, we'll run this town with a smile on our face, through the streets, we'll make our way, and chase the winter blues away.

So join me, me hearties, on this quest, for a run that'll put the rest, to shame, and leave ye feeling grand, with a tale to tell, and a story to brand.

So mark the time, 6:30 am, and come ready, with yer legs and yer stamina, for a run that'll make ye feel alive, like a true pirate, with the wind and the sky.

So weigh anchor and hoist the sail, tomorrow's run will not fail, to be an adventure that ye'll not regret, so join us, and let's make this a run to remember yet!

All paces and distance welcome, me hearties.

06Jan

Saturday loops

1/6/2023 - We're finally getting the kind of winter weather perfect for running. Let's meet at Oak Grove Elementary tomorrow for the 10, 30, and 60 min options. Remember, the back of the school is where we meet. It used to be the front but now it's the back. Kinda like your mom. 

No clue what that means. It just felt right.

6:30 - all the loops. Any distance you want. It's out and back unless you want that 60 min loop which will include the stinky trail path. 

30Dec

2022 Recap - January Challenge - Resolution run

12/30/2022 - Last post of 2022! Thank you all for an awesome year! Instead of the normal photo collage, I thought that a recap of our non-profit work might be an appropriate way to close out the year. Since we started, HNL's focus has always been on giving real help to those who need it. 2022 was a great year for that. We started 2022 with some plumbing help to get water service restored for a family who'd been delt a massive blow. When the plumbers arrived, they found a serous mold problem. It took a bit of time but the remediation and service restoration was a perfect use case for the kind of work we want to be involved in....being in the spot to help when help is needed. We love to show appreciation for the professionals doing the important work in our community. We showed love to the teachers at Maggie Brown Middle and rented the Refugee Coffee Co. truck to serve each of the Fayette County School's Nutrition Team. Shoutout to our partners at DFCS who know we have the flexibility to act quickly when needed. We teamed up with them a couple times this year. From back to school clothes to a local mom's car needing repair, DFCS keeps us at the top of the list when they have those special requests. We also love our partners at I58 mission! We've loved going there to deliver back to school supplies, snacks, and keeping our Dignity Store well stocked. Speaking of The Dignity Store, I cannot even count the number of deodorant, toothpaste, lotion, shampoo, and soap units we've moved across all five of our locations. These small products are offering real help to kids and adults who need them. Our newest location at The Pioneer Center in Hogansville has been another partnership we're glad to have. In addition to the Dignity Store, The Pioneer Center needed some help with a Christmas tree and a family whose kids were sleeping on the floor. Thanks to Verlo for helping us get them into five brand new beds and a bunk bed. Verlo has been so nice to us for many years. Please support them if you need a mattress! We love to answer the call when we can and sometimes the requests are a bit unorthodox. Totally in our wheelhouse. One teacher sent us an email asking if we could help with transportation costs for her class. They wanted to go to Fernbank but there were too few kids who could afford the transportation cost. We handled it. The Scholastic Book Fairy project was similar. We hated the idea of kids sitting in their classroom while their peers went to the book fair. Shoutout to Huddleston Elementary for identifying the kids who needed help and getting them in the library that day. Thanks to everyone who showed up to the It's not about you Christmas event and the countless bags stuffed, snacks created, and care cards signed. Some of those cards went into our Southland Nursing Home bags and the residents there got to feel the love. Finally, earlier in the year an HNLien let us know about a young man who was kicked out of his house and had to go to a homeless shelter in Atlanta. We don't know the circumstances which led to this, but it really didn't change how we behaved. In his last days of high school, he used his FCBOE Chromebook and applied to the only college he could find which didn't require an application fee. After we learned about that, we picked up a laptop for him to use. He needed a cell phone to communicate as well. After a short time at the shelter, he learned that he could stay in the college dorm over the summer if we helped with the rent. He's kept in touch throughout his first semester and really glad to report he got straight As and is starting college with a 4.0. This is due to the work he did and his commitment to taking advantage of this opportunity. His story is a great example of something we encounter quite a bit. Uncertainty. It feels like we're always seeking the perfect story of need to help out. It never seems to work out like that. People find themselves in messy situations or the circumstances are not fully understood. We should still help because it's the right thing to do. I'm not suggesting we offer ourselves to be taken advantage of. We should help when we can because if we wait for the perfect situation to come along, we'll be waiting forever. It's not always pretty but as long as we're doing it for the right reasons, it's always good. 

If you're interested the January challenge is a thing. You pay $25, name your own goals for the month, post periodic proof, then finish strong. You then determine if you completed your goals or not. Completed your goals, get your $25 (or more) back. Didn't complete your goals? Surrender the $25 to the rest that did. It's a great way to stay accountable! If you want to join, Venmo $25 to @Joshua-Shelton-36 and I'll get you on the list!

Looks like rain on NYE so the Resolution Run is on MONDAY at 7. Come with your resolutions for 2023. Bring some big plans for the year and I'll copy them down and at the end of the year, we'll see how each of us did. This is a great way to start the year off right. If you've been neglecting running and want to start a habit, this is the run! We will have 1 mile, 3 mile, and 6 mile options. All start at 7 am. Nobody left behind! 

   

16Dec

The most magical night of the year

12/16/2022 - So you can get your minds right, here are the particulars for the HNL Caroling Run tonight. The start and the finish is the Log House on Log House Road in Peachtree City. Be there at 6:30 and BYOB. There is a refrigerator, so coolers are cool but not critical. There will be food at the stops but ordering pizza is an option for sure. Drive your car/golfcart/horse but DO NOT drive it home if you're drinking. Get your sober kids to pick you up or take Uber. Make that walk of shame in the morning and avoid eye contact if you see me. I WILL TOTALLY ACT LIKE I DON'T KNOW YOU.

Like I've written before, you do not have to run the route if you don't wanna. Feel free to hang out at the Log House until we return. Not exactly sure when that will be, but I don't anticipate a terribly long wait. Here is the route:

Log House start to stop 1 at Scott and Lisa Munn's house: 0.6 miles 
Stop 1 to stop 2 at Shelly and Justin Collins' house: 1 mile
Stop 2 to Log House finish: 1 mile

Total distance is 2.58 miles. You can do this! 

Please dress up if you've got the gear. Please bring music sheets if you need to remember the words. Definity bring tequila for en route shots. Not sure how that works but we'll figure it out.

Shocker Claws drawing will happen at the Log House finish. We collected a bit over $1000!! Whoever wins the drawing will get to be the donor. Can't wait to see how that turns out. 

That's it. Keeping it simple. Please let me know if you've got questions. 

Is there a run on Saturday morning? That's up to you. Show at Drake at 6:30 but I doubt many carolers will make it. 

See you tonight!  

09Dec

Caroling run next week - shocker claws - southland help - saturday stuff

12/9/2022 - Happy muggy December 9th! The caroling run is next Friday at the Log House on Log House Road. Please respond "going" to the FB event if you're gonna show. If you don't use social media, let me know ASAP so we can plan for you. Scott Munn and Shelly Collins will be hosting stops. If you don't want to run, feel free to hang out while we're gone. We'll be back soon enough.

Shocker Claws donations are under $1K. Since we're drawing for Shocker Claws next Friday, I need your donations ASAP. These donations will go directly to service workers in cash form. The winners of the drawing on Friday get to choose where to donate the $$$. I've got a list of donors. You've got to be on the list to get the chance to win. Venmo any amount you want to @run-HNL Thanks! 

A message from the beautiful Matt Tuff: Hey there fellow HNLiens! The entire world knows that you are the most loving, giving and foul-mouthed running group in Peachtree City. Commonly referred to as a great bunch of "do-gooders". Some of you know that I may or may not have a soft spot for old folks. Probably because I may or may not already identify as one. Pre-covid I volunteered at Southland Elderly Rehab center on Wisdom Rd. hosting Bingo and Happy Hour which consisted of getting the residents all jacked up on trail mix, cupcakes, soda, singing Elvis songs and sharing selfies on our Jitterbugs. Most of the residents are elderly and suffer from various physical and mental issues. For several of them this is their last residence before they pass. Some have family that visit, but many do not. Covid definitely didnt help.

Would love to spread some HNL Christmas cheer again this year. Here is a gift list from the residents. If you feel it in your heart and budget to sponsor one or two of these folks, it would be a blessing and bring a smile to their heart. Just pick 1 or 2 ID numbers. Let us know who you select. Purchase the item or items on their list, have the kids (or you) include a nice card or a note, maybe a sweet or 2 and put em in a gift bag with the ID number on it. Get as creative as you would like. HNL will be buying all of the "bath and body" stuff so please pick one that is not bath and body. Josh has the BUDDAH STATUE covered. Please pay attention to the sex and the size of the individual. Everything will need to be in by SATURDAY DECEMBER 17TH. You can contact me directly with questions and to pick up your bag. Our goal would be to have all 13 individuals (with specific items) sponsored!! Thank you in advance for your love and generosity! Ya'll are amazing!
Run location tomorrow is Drake!
6:30 - 60 min
7:30 -30 min
02Dec

Caroling Run - Nursing home love - fosters in flight

12/2/2022 Happy Friday! We've got some great stuff coming up so don't miss out! 

Make sure you're ready for the caroling run on 12/16 at 6:30 pm. We'll meet at the Log House on Log House Road for the start and finish. We'll make a few caroling stops but you can stay put if you want and keep the party going while we sing. Gonna be one hell of an event and we'll be choosing the Shocker Claws donors that night too. If you haven't yet, donate whatever $$$ you like via Venmo @run-HNL so we can collect lots of money for 2022 Shocker Claws.

Matt Tuff has a project for Southland nursing home in the works. If you've got love for the old folks, this is your chance to shine. Let Matt know if you can help.

Fosters in Flight gear is coming in. We'll be packing bags soon so stay tuned for volunteer opportunities! 

Both loops are at Drake tomorrow:

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min

 

17Nov

thanksgiving - caroling run - saturday

11/17/2022 - Early posting cause I gotta get up early tomorrow. Don't miss the options for Thanksgiving. The bestest option is the ATL Thanksgiving Half but if you're not ready for all that, the PTCRC is hosting a Battery Way run on Thanksgiving at 7 am. Always a good time, don't miss the opportunity to earn your turkey.

Mark your calendars for the HNL Caroling Run. We've already got a venue and some host homes so all you need to do is show up! We'll be at the PTC Log House on Log House Road for the start and finish. It's on 12/16/2022 and the time is TBD but likely 630 pm. DO NOT MISS THIS EVENT. It's always a riot and we're choosing the winner for Shocker Claws that night. Too much good stuff. Since we're starting and ending in the same spot, you do not have to be a runner to come out and drink, er, sing. Plan on being there! 

Saturday loops are back at Drake. 

630 - 60 min

730 - 30 min

11Nov

Veterans Day - Saturday help day - run location

11/11/2022 - Thanks to all our vets! HNL appreciates your service!!

We need help tomorrow. HNL has approved $5500 for the Fosters in Flight project, and we need your help to choose the items. Emily has all the bags and the items for the bags but we need you to join us and sort through the items and help us choose what stays and what goes. Also, gonna order some bunk beds and bedding tomorrow and could use your input. Just show up to the run and you'll be in the right spot. Not running? Be there at 8 am.

Tomorrow's run starts and ends at HNL HQ. 6000 Shakerag Hill, Suite 104. Be there for both loops. Coffee will be served! In addition to the bag item selection, we'll be giving away extra race packets and shirts. Come out and join us! 

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min

8:00 - Fosters in Flight Meeting

04Nov

Caroling news - fosters in flight - location change saturday

11/4/2022 - Happy Friday! We've got a date AND venue for caroling this year. The date is 12/16/2022 and the venue is the log house cabin on the corner of Log House Road and Crosstown Drive. It's gonna be great! Thanks to Matt Tuff for making this happen. More details to come but put that on your calendars now! Though we will be in one place, there will still be running and singing...if that's your thing. We'll also draw names for the shocker claws contest. You don't want to miss this! 

Now that Runtoberfest is over, we're going to count all the $$$ and start working on Fosters in Flight. Thanks to Emily Wall and the work she's put in on this already. We've got the basics of the items we're gonna put in the bag. We are trying a few new bags so once they get here, we'll have a meeting to discuss next steps and packing parties. 

Saturday loops start from Oak Grove Elementary tomorrow. There is a SUPER early option if you're interested! See you tomorrow! 

5:30 - 60 min 

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min - This loop needs a lead! 

 

28Oct

Halloweekend - Shocker claws - caroling run

10/28/2022 - Thank you to all our Runtoberfest sponsors and volunteers! Nothing like Runtoberfest weekend and getting to see everyone. Join us for an event or two before the end of the year! 

This Saturday's run is a little different than normal. We're gonna start at 6:30 am from Blue Smoke Park. The route is 5 miles long and each mile earns you a playing card. Best poker hand at the end of the run gets a fantabulous gift card. No entry fee required; costumes encouraged. There will be a 50 min PRE-RUN loop if you need more mileage, but it starts early. 

Shocker claws is already off to a great start. Venmo @run-HNL if you want to get on the donor list and a chance to be the tipper. Gonna be a great year! 

HNL Caroling Run is going to be on 12/16/2022. It's a Friday. We have a potential change in venue this year so get your minds right! Could be the best year yet! 

Here's the breakdown for tomorrow. Blue Smoke Park is the location:

5:30 - 50 min PREGAME RUN

6:30 - 5 mile poker run - ALL PACES WELCOME. We're gonna stick together and be prepared for potentially spooky stops along the way. 

21Oct

runtoberfest weekend - shocker claws season 

10/21/2022 - Thanks to our awesome sponsors and volunteers for making the magic happen. All the info you need for this weekend is here. If you'd like to help, show up and we'll find something for you to do. 

We'll be meeting at HNL today at 3 to start bringing stuff to LCB. Swag bag pickup starts at 4 and goes to 7. We've already got the shirts in the bag and the numbers are limited so no shirt size switching at pickup, please! You'll have an opportunity to swap sizes tomorrow after the race if we have any left. 

When you arrive to get your bib and swag bag, check in by letting us search for your name and we'll assign you a regular bib or an OG bib. OG bibs are you those who have been with us for each of the other three Runtoberfest 5Ks. After you get your stuff, hang out and buy a beer! Eat food truck food! All the fine details are in the email I sent last night and again at 1 today.

For the hardcore, we'll need to get these mile markers out. If you'd like to join the tradition of running the course before the race, show up at LCB for a 6:30 start. National anthem starts at 845ish then we walk behind the building for a 9 am start. The race is chip timed and we'll have some really cool awards for overall male and female 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. 

Every race entry for runners over 21 get a free race day beer. Don't miss out on the best 930 am beer of the year. See you soon! 

Shocker Claws season is upon us. Stick around after Runtoberfest for the first Shocker Claws committee meeting. Who's on the committee? Everynody who shows up. This year, we're going to attempt three tippers. Everyone who donates via Venmo @run-HNL is in the running to be tipper one or two. Everyone who volunteers time in October, November, and December is on the list to be tipper three. We'll draw the names at the HNL Caroling Event (date TBD) in December. Should be fun! 

RUNTOBERFEST RUNNING OPTIONS 

6:30 - 30 mins 

9:00 - 30 mins 

 

07Oct

Runtoberfest meetings - volunteers - shirts - Saturday location

10/7/2022 - It’s a great day! Thanks to Amy Watkiss, we’ve got a Runtoberfest volunteer sign up. Click here to let us know you’ll be there to help! Thank you!

Race entries are nearly gone and size XXL and small race shirts are all taken. If you’ve not registered yet, better get on it!

There will be two final race meetings. Next Wednesday, 10/12 and race packet stuffing day, Wednesday, 10/19. Probably gonna need some bodies on the evening of 10/19 so put it in your calendars. Thanks to all the folks making Runtoberfest work! Can’t wait to get out there on the 22nd and celebrate!

Tomorrow, we meet at Oak Grove Elementary on Crosstown for the loops.

630 - 60 min

730 - 30 min

30Sep

Runtoberfest - Shocker Claws - Saturday

9/30/2022 - Working with Rob and PRS on the OG bibs has been fun. Hope to have something to reveal soon. Shirts have been ordered! If you've not registered yet, price increases tonight! If you're a business with anything you'd like to put in the race bags, now is the time to tell us. Same goes for political candidates. $100 gets you whatever you wanna put in the race bags. It's a great way to reach 300+ people. Get your stuff in the coolest swag bag around! 

Got something in the works for Shocker Claws 2022. This will be our third year of collecting $$$ and making someone's day. In case you don't know, it started out as Shock and Claus but somehow we bastardized it to "Shocker Claws" and it just works. We'll start collecting at events after Runtoberfest and draw the lucky gifter or gifters at the annual caroling event. Start thinking now about how to raise dollars and where you might like to gift them. Love this time of year! 

Tomorrow's temps should be nearly perfect. Drake is the spot. See you in the morning! 

630 - 60 min

730 - 30 min

23Sep

Scholastic Book Fairy - Runtoberfest Update - Saturday location change

9/23/2022 - Remember the Scholastic Book Fair? Those cases of books and the smell of fresh newness? Remember your kids bugging you for money so they could go to the book fair and buy anything BUT books? Thanks to Steph Swanson and the Huddleston Elementary Counselor, HNL got to send some kids to the book fair who wouldn't otherwise have the chance to go. Wanted to share the list of what your $$$ bought. Love seeing the mix of books and junk kids got. That's what it's all about! Holographic Kittycorn Diary, Dinosaur Bites Dinosaur Tooth Necklace Included, Minecraft Ghast in the Machine, Meet 5 Marvel Super Heroes, Red Titan and the Runaway Robot, Red Titan and the Floor of Hot Lava with Metallic Slime, Megalodon and other Underwater Beasts, Jour Daisy with Puff, Diary Rainbow Marble with Rhinestone Necklace…and 20+ more items. Shoutout to Huddleston for spreading the experience across all grade levels. Let’s do this one again!

Runtoberfest needs you! If you're an HNLien and haven't signed up, please do this today. We're about to order shirts and to get the best count, we need you on the list. Seriously, click here and knock this out before the shirts are ordered and BEFORE the October price increase. Do it! 

The temps are going to be so great tomorrow! We'll start both loops from the old K-Mart on Crosstown. See you in the morning! 

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min 

 

09Sep

Runtoberfest update - finish her run 8.2

9/9/2022 - Got some exciting news this week when I saw our Runtoberfest registrations had surpassed 2021 AND 2019. If you've not signed up, better get on it! Click the Runtoberfest tab above and get registered. We're starting to get some of the swag in and the shirts should be ordered in the very near future. Really excited about the shirt this year! The bags, too. The bags are great!

Tomorrow's run will be a bit different. We're running the 8.2 miles Eliza Fletcher set out on before she was abducted last week. The route is going to be ONE WAY 8.2 miles and all manner of paces are welcome to include walkers. Here is how it works: Everybody shows up at Publix, some of the cars will need to take runners/walkers to the start in Kedron, after we're done, people with cars at Publix help the folks who need to get their cars. 

We'll meet up at Publix Wilshire at 6:30. Please be on time! We'll group up into cars and ride to the start at 6:35. Please group up with people of a similar pace as there will not be front to backs. Start is at Blue Smoke Park. We should be running by 6:45. If you don't know your way, use these waypoints from Blue Smoke Park to Publix:

Blue Smoke Park
City Hall
Battery Way boat docks
Taco Bell
Wendy's
Stinky Trail
Holly Grove Road
Publix finish

The distance might not be easy for some but that's part of the purpose. Getting outside our comfort zone to move in solidarity with each other is why we're taking this on. We should be able to run in our respective communities without fear of being attacked. Let's get out there and keep doing what we do and finish her run.  




02Sep

Registration discount - Labor Day Run - Saturday Morning

9/2/2022 - Registration is going really well for Runtoberfest! We've surpassed 2021 numbers and might even pass up 2019 soon. If you missed the lowest rate of the year, we got you. Use code LATE at checkout and get the August rate. This code will work today and tonight ONLY. Thanks to all the nice folks who have got us to this point. It's going to be a great year and we've got some cool stuff coming your way in the coolest race bags we've ever had. Don't miss it! 

Labor Day should come with some labor, right? Let's labor at 7 am for about 5 miles then coffee to follow. Walkers welcome! Meet at Huddleston Pond.

We're back at Drake for the Saturday morning loops. See you in the morning! 

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 20 min 

26Aug

Shirt Logo - Saturday location change 

8/26/2022 - Thanks to all who came out to the Runtoberfest meeting last night. We settled on all the good stuff. Shirt design, candy goods, koozies, all the good stuff. Here is the shirt design we settled on:

IF you've not signed up, get it done! Pretty please?

Location change for tomorrow! New Michael will be leading! Old Kmart is the spot!

630 - 60 min

730 - 20 min if Stacy shows! 

 

19Aug

Dignity Store - Brunch Slow Ride - Runtoberfest Meeting - Saturday 

8/19/2022 - Thanks you your support, the Flat Rock Middle and Pioneer Youth Dignity Store locations were restocked this week. It's so great to see the impact these items have on our customers. We love to get feedback from our partners about what kinds of products are popular with the students and how they are using them. In case you didn't know, HNL has five different Dignity Store locations where kids can get hygiene items for free. All of our stores are stocked with brand name items kids can be proud to own. It's a labor of love and we appreciate all the work our volunteers put into this project. Leslie is the boss and she runs a tight ship. She keeps those places looking great and we love her for it! 

Don't forget the Brunch Slow Ride tomorrow at Drake. Meet at Drake at 10:30 on bikes, skateboards, unicycles, golf carts, gliders, or horseback. We'll have one stop prior to brunch at Curious Pig. Bring $20 cash if your food only, $40 if you want to do the bottomless mimosa. It's gonna be real. Be there! 

Runtoberfest meeting Thursday at 7 pm. Lots of important stuff to discuss so do not miss it.

Tomorrow we'll meet at Drake for two loops. See you in the morning! 

630 - 60 min

730 - 20 min 

12Aug

Runtoberfest meeting - brunch slow ride - new location saturday

8/12/2022 - Don't miss the Runtoberfest meeting on 8/25. We'll meet at HNL HQ at 7. Got some important decisions to be made so be there! 

Psyched about the brunch slow ride NEXT Saturday. I've talked to the Curious Pig folks so they know we'll have a group of 10-20. I'll post info with the menu soon so be prepared to bring cash to make it easy. If you've already responded to the FB event, cool. Not on FB and want to go? Let me know ASAP so we can count you in! 

The sprint tri is at Drake this weekend so we're meeting at Oak Grove Elementary to keep out of the way! Matt Tuff is giving out foot rubs so prepare those feet, I know I am! 

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min

29Jul

Thank you - Drake Saturday

7/29/2022 - Thanks to all the HNLiens for your help this week. Y'all have stepped up in a big way and your donations will be appreciated. Between the terrible news this week and the event on Wednesday, I'm so thankful for your willingness to step up and help. More information on social media if this feels cryptic (which it's supposed to).

We'll meet at Drake for both loops tomorrow.

630 - 60 min

730 - 20 min

 

22Jul

Monday stadium - Thursday MacDuff - PTC Classic Registration - Saturday location change

7/22/2022 - Happy Friday! HNL had a great week! We were able to answer two calls for help from Fayette DFCS. We got some gift cards to a family needing clothing and now we're working on some automotive help for a mom who was (until recently) homeless. She's working but her car will not pass emissions. We're working with a local garage to keep her on the road and able to get to work. Thanks to all of the HNLiens who donate to make this kind of stuff happen! Thanks to DFCS for keeping us on the list of groups to call when they need help! 

Monday track/stadium was great! Let's do it again. 630 at McIntosh High School if you're not scared to be sore for five days! 

MacDuff was a sweaty slog....just the way we like it. Join us on Thursday at 6 in the parking lot of Home Depot. Maybe we can get another morning of hot fog for the next trip up the hill.

The PTCRC Classic registration is open! Register here for one of the best local events of the year! They've got a new shirt designer this year and it looks to be another great year for your favorite 15K.

We're meeting at McIntosh High School tomorrow for a route we haven't taken in awhile. Two loops! 

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 20 min 

15Jul

Runtoberfest Meeting - weekly events - Saturday run

7/15/2022 - Thanks to all who showed for the Runtoberfest meeting this week. Thanks to County Fried Creative for the work they've done on our art for the race. We voted on this being our favorite for the 2022 poster. 

Now we just need to fill in those sponsorships! Lemme know if you got ideas. I'm headed to Gerresheimer on Friday to make the pitch. Anybody got any lederhosen I can borrow?

Let's do stadium stairs! Monday morning, 6:30. McIntosh High School. It'll be sweaty! Thursday MacDuff at 6 has been fun! Meet at Home Depot Thursday morning for that.

We're back at Drake tomorrow! Two loops. 

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 20 min

08Jul

Runtoberfest Meeting - Beltline Ride - Thursday MacDuff - LOCATION CHANGE SATURDAY

7/8/2022 - Got some exciting stuff to share at our Runtoberfest meeting next week! We'll meet on 7/13 at 6:30 pm. HNL HQ is the spot. If you've got a Runtoberfest job, come and add to the mix. Don't have a Runtoberfest job? Come and bring a check/sponsor/snack foods. We have a few decisions to make so come vote if you want your opinions to be known. 

Don't forget the beltline ride tomorrow. I need to know if you're joining BEFORE we meet so lemme know. We leave from Drake at 9. If you've got a way to transport bikes, that would help! 

The Thursday MacDuff run was a sweaty adventure! We'll meet this Thursday at 6 am for the 6 mile out and back. Meet in the Home Depot parking lot! 

Saturday loops are starting and ending at the old KMart on Crosstown. Two loops tomorrow! 

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 20 min 

01Jul

Fourth of july - beltline slow ride - saturday location 

7/1/2022 - July is here and I'm fired up for that fresh newness. Got some cool things happening in July so keep up and join us for at least one event outside your comfort zone. Should be lots of options in the coming weeks. Thanks to the nice folks that showed up to the Covenant House dinner service. HNL cooked the hell out of some tacos and the response was positive. Can't wait to go back.

The best Peachtree Road Race alternative is the HNL 4th run. We'll start at Oak Grove at 630 am. Be there. Remember to park in the back. The back used to be the front but now its the back. Easy, right?

July 9th Beltline Brunch Slow Ride is a thing you should know about. We need some trucks involved! AFTER the run on the 9th, we'll travel to the ATL beltline where we'll ride slow until it's time to stop for mimosas and other healthy hydration options. This is one of those things where you're gonna be all, "I wish I would have done that!" if you skip. Don't miss this! 

We're meeting at Drake tomorrow for the TWO loop options. Some of us have committed to get the base mileage for Saturday runs back up so we're starting that process tomorrow. Drake is the spot. See you in the morning! 

630 - 60 min

730 - 10 min

24Jun

Runtoberfest Sponsors - Covenant House - Saturday

6/24/2022 - Happy Friday! I need sponsors for Runtoberfest. We finally got in touch with someone from Gerresheimer and we're meeting with them in July to make the pitch. Anybody got ideas on others? Last year, our big corporate sponsor came from a conversation about HNL. Need more like that. Get out there and talk it up! Lemme know your ideas so we can sling these things ASAP! 

Lots of you know the story of Andrew, the kid we've been helping for a few weeks. He's staying at the Covenant House in Atlanta until he can get to college. I asked if we could volunteer and there was a last minute opportunity tonight. We're meeting at the shelter at 4:30 tonight to cook and serve. Volunteers need to be over 21. If you're gonna show, please let me know. So far, we've got four. Tracy, Amanda, Matt Tuff, and I. I'm about to do the shopping and we could use some help for serving. This will not be the last time we serve at this place. They've been great so far! 

Tomorrow we're at Drake for a 6:30 am start. Shannon, Stacy, and Matt all had a great idea to start re-building the mileage we lost in the past month. There WILL BE A SECOND LOOP starting next weekend. Come out and get your base mileage built. We're going 70 mins next weekend so if you're new, this is the perfect Saturday to start with HNL!  

See you in the morning unless you're cool as hell and we'll see you this afternoon to serve tacos to some hungry kids! 

 

17Jun

Runtoberfest 2022 Sponsorship - Saturday Beltline Slow Ride - Saturday Hotness

6/17/2022 - Happy hot Friday! The Runtoberfest Sponsorship sheet is ready. Please sling these sponsorships far and wide. The 2022 race is going to benefit foster kids entering care in emergency situations. This means we're donating really great bags filled with basic survival stuff which they'll get at intake (sometimes in the middle of the night). We'll deliver our bags to social workers in DFCS offices all over the place. We need a name for this program so think on it and lemme know. In order to help the kids, we need the $$$ so let's get these sponsorships sold. Let me know if you've got any unique ideas for partnerships, we'll take the show on the road to make these sales! 

Let's ride bikes on the beltline! Looking at July 9th after the run. We'll leave PTC around 9. Couple pickup trucks, bikes, humans. That's all we need. Put it on your calendar now! We'll ride until the brunch law says stop for refreshments. 

Yes, it's hot. That's what makes it Saturday hotness. Drake is the spot. Be there for a 630 start! 60 mins.

 

27May

summer is here! - memorial day ride and other weekly options - saturday race meeting - ptc marathon relay - dignity store win - saturday location change

5/27/2022 - Summer has arrived! We'll have lots of options for exercise and fun this summer. Start a good habit by joining us for a group walk, ride, or run this week. I've still got some shirts and hats you ordered so if you've not got yours, come see me! 

We'll have a Memorial Day bike ride on Monday morning at 7. It'll be 60 mins of path riding goodness. Meet at Drake. Thursday at MacDuff starts at 630. Meet at Home Depot for the 6 mile out and back. Bring your kids, bring your dog, bring your dogs kids.  

After the run tomorrow we'll have a Runtoberfest meeting. We've got a logo for the race and we'll discuss some of the other details. Still got two spots open for anyone that wants to volunteer on the race committee. It's the best way to earn your race volunteer swag! Meeting starts at 7:30ish at HNL HQ. Might be a little later than 730 cause I gotta get the coffee for the meeting! 

The PTC Marathon Relay is next week and we still need some runners to register! It's a free race and Izzy will be coordinating for HNL. Register for the race at PTC relay.com 

Thought I would pass on a message we got this week about something that happened at one of our Dignity Store locations. We'd love to have help on this little project of ours that has spread to five different locations. We would love to have you help us make this kind of magic happen: In passing I asked one of our pre teen girls if she needed deodorant not expecting her to open up much about a "weird" topic for her age. She said "actually I really do." So I took her upstairs to the dignity store and let her pick out whatever she liked/needed. She told me her mom needed some stuff too so we got to pack it all up together. Made me want to cry being able to provide such quality items that will maybe help her feel a little more "girly." She was telling me she really needed a brush and right there, she got to pick out a cute one she loved. We also just found out this same girl has been cutting herself. I'm just praying that even through something small like giving her basic items- she will know she's loved. Thanks for doing this and providing these items for our kids. You have no idea the impact it's making. 

Run is starting and ending at HNL HQ tomorrow, 6000 Shakerag Hill, PTC. 630 for 60 mins. Be there!  

20May

Friday fun day - monday, thursday, friday options - Saturday loops

5/20/2022 - One of my favorite weeks of the year! Love seeing all the graduating kids and the optimism that goes with this awesome milestone. Congrats to all the HNL grads and parents of grads out there. We had a great hill repeat run this morning. Hope to see YOU at the next one! 

This week we'll have a Monday 6:30 60 min bike ride from Huddleston Pond. Show up ready to work! This is not your mamas slow ride. Thursday we're back at MacDuff for that hilly goodness at 6:30. Make MacDuff a weekly habit and you'll get healthier, guaranteed! Friday will be the hill repeats at 6:30 and walk at 7:10 event from Kale to the Chef again. Lots of options for everybody! 

I've still got lots of shirts and hats for delivery. Show up tomorrow and get yours! 

Drake Loops! 

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min 

13May

Shirts and hats - big spring ruck - hotlanta water station - Friday walking group - Saturday loops

5/13/2022 - Shirts and hats are in! Show up tomorrow and pick yours up! 

The Big Spring Ruck is tomorrow at Line Creek Bus Barn at 10 am. Show up with a pack and be ready to walk then drink beer! Register here! 

Hotlanta Water Station happens June 12 but we need you to sign up for planning purposes! Sign up here and use password Volunteer2. Need your help! Breakfast to follow.

Bridgett has agreed to lead the new HNL walk group meeting Friday. Join us for a 60 min walk at 7 am in front of Kale to the Chef in PTC. Times might change when school gets out. Rob is leading hill repeats at 6:30 so come do both and get that sweet sweet calorie burn out of the way.

Saturday loops are Drake. Running is better with friends, come check it out! 

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min

 

06May

Spring line almost ready - monday walk - hotlanta water station - big spring ruck - saturday miles

5/6/2022 - Our shirts are ready and the hats are close. Thanks to Farmhouse Printing for getting on it! I'll collect all the items next week and try to have them NEXT Saturday. 

We're trying something new! Morning walk Monday. 7:15 am 60 min walk (or less if you need it) from Kale to the Chef/Perc Coffee in PTC (behind McDonalds and Chic fil a). Come out and get your week started off with an hour of exercise and socializing. Buy coffee at Perc after and support this awesome local business! 

The Hotlanta Half is coming up on June 12. We're gonna be back to serve as the bestest water station of the race. It's a great experience. We need your help! Looks like there will be volunteer swag this year so sign up here so we know you'll be there. Breakfast to follow! Password for the registration is Volunteer2

Big Spring Ruck is close! Don't miss it! Register here to claim your ruck swag.

We're back at Drake tomorrow. Come for some or all! See you in the am! 

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min

29Apr

Runtoberfest Meeting - Big Spring Ruck - $25 May Challenge - Saturday location change

4/29/2022 - Thanks to everyone who showed up last night! The boxed wine and chili cheese Frito charcuterie were sublime. We've still got a few jobs open so HMU if you wanna participate. Thanks to our (mostly complete) race committee of Amanda, Izzy, Amy, Melissa, Michael, Matt, Rob and Emily. We've decided the race will be the day AFTER Matt's and the day BEFORE Rob's birthdays on 10/22/2022 (one week after the classic). As always, the focus is on quality and cause. We've not decided on the specific cause so we need some help. Loving the idea of each race entry going toward some goodness. You know we love to put bags together, maybe each race entry buys a bag of X for Y? Bikes for kids are cool, so are shoes. Think on it and send me your ideas! It's gotta make an impact so our runners can feel the love! 

Do not forget to register for the Big Spring Ruck! Do it here. It's in Fayetteville at Line Creek Bus Barn. It comes with a super cool ruck patch! 

May 2022 Challenge is back. Here's how it works: You Venmo $25 to me @Joshua-Shelton-36 then post your goals here for the group to see. You need to have AT LEAST ONE goal which is verifiable (fitness tracker, meals logged, classes completed) to post on Sundays. If you meet your goals, you get your $$$ back. Don't meet your goals and your $$$ go to those that did. You're the judge, not the group. This is a great way to keep motivated. If you've not done one yet, you'll be shocked at how the risk of losing $25 will get you moving. Challenge runs 5/1 to 5/31. 

All the loops are starting and ending at Publix south on Wilshire. Take 74 south till you get there. If you drive out of PTC, you've gone too far. 

6:30 - 60 mins

7:30 - 30 mins

22Apr

Shirts and hats - marathon relay - Runtoberfest meeting - big spring ruck -Saturday 

4/22/2022 - We've got lots of orders on the shirts and hats! Don't miss out! If you don't order this week, you'll have regerts: https://forms.gle/uXkSwT3ZJ43qoHzX8

Hey, it's Emily's birthday! Happy Birthday! 

Have you signed up for the marathon relay yet? We need you to! Do it now! www.ptcrelay.com It's free! 

Runtoberfest 2022 is a thing. We're having an initial meeting on Thursday at 7:00 pm. HNL HQ is the spot. Come ready to discuss very preliminary things like date, sleeve length, swag ideas, route changes. If there is something you think this race needs, email me. All suggestions/criticisms welcome: josh@hnlinc.org

You do not want to miss The Big Spring Ruck on May 14. Check the FB event page and be there. It's gonna be a blast!!

 Saturday weather should be better than last week. Drake is the spot.

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min

15Apr

scotts mom - spring swag order form - Saturday loops

4/15/2022 - As many know, Scott's mom passed away last week. Thanks to all who have shown him love during this difficult time. Really appreciate the donations for flowers. Her memorial service will be held next weekend.

Here is the link to order the spring swag. Due to the seemingly infinite variability in shirt options, you'll need to do a form for each shirt. To see more colors for the shirts, click the link under the first question and you'll see LOTS of color options. Just choose the color you want and plug that into the OTHER box. Venmo @Run-HNL your total. I'll have this link live for a short time so get in on the FRESH SPRING SWAG!!! https://forms.gle/uXkSwT3ZJ43qoHzX8

Saturday loops are at Drake tomorrow. Come out and enjoy the Spring air! I'll have shirts to try on if you'd like.

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min

08Apr

Runtoberfest - Spring Swag - Saturday Loops

4/8/2022 - Runtoberfest planning is coming! If you'd like to help, please let me know. Our goal is to keep the jobs small so nobody has to take on a bunch of stuff. We need creative people ready to deliver quality! You know how we do, quality swag is the top priority. If you've got ideas on what needs to be in the bag, now is your chance. Start thinking about sponsors as well. We need to get the big one taken care of this summer! 

I'm headed to pick up some swag for the HNL Spring line. Hope to have it for you to see in the morning. 

We're gonna give the coffee shop another go. They were nice to us last weekend, let's see if I can get the times right tomorrow! 

Loops start and end in the parking lot behind McDonalds and Chic Fil A at Peachtree Parkway and Highway 54.

60 mins FIRST tomorrow! 

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min

01Apr

Spring Break run 

4/1/2022 - Lots of folks on vacation this weekend! If you're one of those left behind and you'd like to meet up with some like-minded people to get those miles in, tomorrow is the day! We're meeting in the parking lot of the newest PTC coffee shop at Kale to the Chef in Crossings East (behind McDonalds and Chick Fil A 54/Peachtree Pkwy). Two loops and coffee to follow. This place opens at 7:30 so they'll be ready for us when we finish. 

6:30 - 30 min

7:30 - 60 min

25Mar

spring running - upcoming events - the dignity store - saturday run

3/25/2022 - Y'all. It's gorgeous outside. I know somebody reading this is wanting to get back to running but just needs a little push. This is it. We've got such a great blend of running paces right now. It's the perfect time to come back and get into the HABIT of Saturday long runs. This Saturday will feature a special second loop designed for those looking to get back to it. Be brave. Do it. We always stick together and nobody is left behind!!

Lots of stuff coming up. Don't forget to sign up for the things you need to sign up for (all of them):

April 30th - Pioneer Youth 5K. These are our people! Sign up today! 
May 14th - Ruck HNL Big Spring Ruck. Brewery finish! Click here!
June 4th - PTC Marathon Relay. We're 1/3 of this so don't disappoint! REGISTER FREE!! 
June 12th - HOTLANTA Half Water Station. So. Much. Fun. Breakfast after. Let us know you'll be there!

I got a request from one of our awesome donors to write a short bit on each of our current Dignity Store locations. After I wrote it, I felt pumped up. Thanks to all the volunteers and donors who make this possible. We've been going strong for years! Let's keep it up. As you might (or might not) know, Leslie makes this program work. She puts soooo much effort into the relationships with our partners. Our Asa Hilliard connect told Leslie that we've been the most solid partner they've had. Some charities come and go but HNL has kept this going strong for years. This is because of the work and heart Leslie puts into this. Thank you!! I don't share as much as I should on this stuff so I've pasted the email:

Flat Rock Middle School – Tyrone, Ga. This is our oldest and first location. We were given space in an unused storage room and made the most of it with some custom shelving made by our own Rob Thomas. This continues to be our model of what new locations should look like. 

Asa Hilliard Elementary – East Point, Ga. This is our busiest location. We really love our partner teacher here because she keeps our products moving. We’ve teamed up with Communities in Schools and utilize the closet in her classroom. She’s a really great lady and on several occasions we’ve done some extras for them like books and coats.

Maggie Brown Alternative Middle - Newnan, Ga. We met the principal of the school at your event a few years ago. When we found out he was in Newnan we knew we had to connect. He is such a force of nature and wonderful role model for these kids. We’ve done some extras at this location as well like purchased the school a new washer and dryer so that school uniforms could be washed on site. Special thanks to Anna for all the work she does here!I58 Mission - Senoia, Ga. Our friends at I58 Mission are primarily a food pantry and source of clothing. We move quite a lot of product at this location as well. They have provided us with a space on the stage so that during distribution days, people can come by and get hygiene products. We have specialized items we stock at this location like reading glasses and lice treatment for parents who might not otherwise have access to this kind of stuff for their families. This is an organization that would probably love to team up with you if you ever had an opening.

Pioneer Youth - Hogansville, Ga. This is our newest location and probably the best decorated. They gave us some space in their new building which is a church converted to a youth center. You can feel the history in this place and every time we go in there Leslie has to sing in the chapel because it reminds her of her chorus days (these are also her current days). The husband and wife team that started this project are very ambitious and we have been with them since they started as a bicycle charity giving bikes to kids who learned to repair them. We will continue to partner up with these great folks in the future and don’t really know how well the products are moving yet because we just stocked it. The husband is a graphic designer and the wife is a photographer so they put a premium on design. These are seriously great people. It too often that design takes a backseat in nonprofit work and they know how do use the gifts they were given. I really love what they are up to. Shoutout to Rob for all his help! Thanks to Aramark for making the whole thing happen! 

Saturday we're at Drake. Come and soak up this perfect weather. 
6:30 - 60 min
7:30 - 30 min 
11Mar

triple Michael run - HNL HQ Coffee

3/11/2022 - For all you cold weather runner types, tomorrow is your last chance of the year. We're hoping for a forecast of blustery cold in the morning to give winter it's final opportunity to freeze my hands off. We're also hoping for a triple-Michael run. We're looking for old Michael, new Michael, and Mike Wagner. If these three Michael's show, I'll buy everyone coffee tomorrow. The forecast is calling for dudes named Mike, be there! 

Both loops will start and end at HNL HQ tomorrow. Coffee to follow. Address is 6000 Shakerag Hill, Peachtree City. 

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min

04Mar

Slow ride Friday - thank you - drake loops

3/4/2022 - It's been great to see new faces on Saturday! Let's keep it up! Don't forget the Slow Ride tonight at Big Shots Bar and Kitchen. Show up on your bike or golf cart or whatever at 6. We'll decide where to go after that. Come out and see some folks you haven't seen in awhile. Rumor has it that a rare sighting of RBJ will happen. Weather and Matt Tuff will be gorgeous. Be there.

Got this message of thanks from Leslie today: 

My dearest HNL family-

Words are so very hard to come by to express my gratitude towards my HNL family.  To be transparent, i miss my mom, 

Her smile, her hugs, her laughter. 

No one can make this better but time.  However, just knowing that i have an entire extended HNL family that i can call on at ANYTIME fills in the huge void i am currently experiencing.  

My dad “Ray” and I were overwhelmed by the calls, texts, social media message from the HNL family.  The beautiful fresh cut red rose arrangement sent to her memorial was beautiful.  Mom would have been in awe over it.  After enjoying them a few days, in true HNL fashion, we wanted to spread the love.  We took them to the absolutely AMAZING ICU staff at fayette piedmont… they are probably still being watered and sitting at the front desk for so many staff and patient families to enjoy during their journeys.  Oh how this makes me smile. Also, the money collected went towards a gift card to city cafe.  You people know us well…. You gave back to the people who served my mom so well in her final weeks on earth.  The dignity shown towards my mom was EXACTLY what we at HNL want to extend to people whom we are fortunate to come in contact.

Yesterday was my first day back in the “real world”. Your financial contributions towards HNL allowed Josh and I to restock the Dignity Store at the I-58 mission. 

I take this responsibility to steward your money very seriously.  People of HNL… i do not get to tell you face to face often but please know YOU ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE in the lives of so many people you might never meet. In Addition, you have made and continue to make a difference in mine.  Much Love to each of you. I am always here for each of you… if if i do not know you… i would love the opportunity to get to know you. 

Leslie Terek

Tomorrow all the PHENOMINAL WEATHER loops start from Drake. It's gonna be great! 

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min

25Feb

March Goals Challenge - Friday Slow Ride - Saturday Loops 

2/25/2022 - Happy Friday! Who's got goals in March? We're doing a March goals challenge. Here's how it works: You contribute $25 to the challenge. You set your own goals which should be verifiable (close all your Apple watch rings, 10K steps a day, etc.). They should also become progressively more difficult each week. Share your progress as you go and if you meet all of your own goals, you get your $$$ back. If not, the rest of the group splits your cash. If you're not on social and would like to participate, email me at josh@hnlinc.org to play. It's surprising how motivating not losing $25 can be. Challenge covers EVERY DAY of March. 

Friday Slow Ride next week! Meet at Big Shots on your bicycle/golf cart/horse at 6:00. Weather should be great. Second location TBD. Even if you don't ride, come out and hang with us on the patio for a bit. It would be great to see some old friends! 

Two loops from Oak Grove tomorrow! Meet in the back of the school. It's the part that used to be the front. Yea, it's weird.

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min

It feels like spring out there, let's enjoy it together! 

 

18Feb

Winter break - Dignity Store - Spring goals - Drake loops

2/18/2022 - It's still winter break but y'all need to get your minds right for spring! The weather has been giving us clues that this cold nonsense is coming to an end. I'm sure it will snow in March (or April) but we can see the end of winter. If you're home from your cruise/ski/beach/Disney vacation, wake up and get out there tomorrow! 

Our Dignity Store at I58 Mission needs to be re-stocked. If this is something you'd like to help with, lemme know. It usually takes about an hour to do and it's close by. If you've never been to one of our Dignity Store locations, this is a great opportunity to see how it all works! 

I've got some goals this spring. Who wants in? How about we train for The Murph on Memorial Day, host one slow ride, and do an evening hash run all before the 4th of July? Gonna need some help planning these and staying motivated. We used to never miss Memorial Day Murph and now it's been years since I've done a single push up. Let's do it!

We're back at Drake tomorrow for all the loops. Bring a friend! We should have a good sized group in the morning.

6:30 - 60 mins

7:30 - 30 mins

11Feb

Leslie's mom - Southside Church Help - Saturday at The Ridge 5K 

2/11/2022 - As many of you have heard, Leslie's mom passed away this week. We're collecting $$$ for flowers and a donation so if you'd like to donate, Venmo @Run-HNL before the end of Friday. The visitation will be Sunday at Fayetteville Mowell from 12-2 followed by the service at 2. Joyce was such a sweet lady and it's obvious where Leslie gets her kind heart from. Ray has always been such a great help to others in need and doesn't know a stranger. We know they are hurting badly so keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

Anna got this message today regarding the tragic death of a Starr's Mill student: Last night we had a tragedy that hit our Inside Out family. A sophomore at Starr's Mill, Russell Logan passed away unexpectedly yesterday evening. We’re opening up our church tonight at 7:00 pm for a prayer vigil for the community to come together. 

We are expecting a large crowd tonight and need as much help as possible. I’m getting more details of specific assignments as the day progresses; but if you’re interested in helping us with the prayer vigil, please respond to this email. Most opportunities for Greeters, Ushers, and our Parking Team to serve would begin around 6:00 this evening. Email address is southsidechurch@ccbchurch.com if you can help!       

Tomorrows run is the Run the Ridge 5K in Fayetteville. See you all there.  

 

 

21Jan

Allison Elliott - Marathon Relay Planning - Big Spring Ruck - Saturday Loops

1/21/2022 - We lost an awesome member of our community. Allison was such a great person and friend to so many. She was an avid runner and we'll miss seeing her out there. Love and respect to her family and close friends who are hurting right now. I've asked her buddy Emily Wall to consider a way we could help honor Allison's running life. If anyone has ideas, let me know. 

The marathon relay is coming back! If you'd like to help plan or give your opinion, tomorrow is the day to do it. We're meeting at Line Creek Brewing Co. at noon on Saturday to discuss. We'll be planning with the Tri-Club and the PTCRC so come correct. If you've got no interest in helping, maybe come by and drink a noon beer? Bring snacks? 

The Big Spring Ruck is on. No date set yet but Matt Rusk is putting together the details. Stay tuned for more info.

All the loops tomorrow will be at Drake. Come show love and join the crowd. 

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min

14Jan

DAta center move - run the ridge - Pioneer youth - new location Saturday - WINTER WEATHER

1/14/2022 - This message won't be available in the morning so soak it all up. We're going to experience an outage from 0001 to 1201 tomorrow so commit all this to memory. It won't be here to help you tomorrow! 

February 12, 2022 is the date of the 4th annual Run the Ridge. Please register now so the shirts can be ordered in time. There is also a price increase coming up so get that 5K on the books by clicking here. This race will be the run location on 2/12/2022 so plan ahead! 

Thanks to a grant from Aramark, we're stocking the Pioneer Youth Dignity Store on Tuesday. Let me know if you're interested in helping. Time is TBD but it'll likely be in the morning or lunchtime in Hogansville. Could really use your help so lemme know! 

Saturday loops are from Dead K-Mart parking lot. The dead K-Mart is on Crosstown if you didn't know already. I'll have race volunteer swag if you didn't get it last week. Come out and get it!!! 

6:30 - 30 min

7:00 - 60 min

Don't forget to rush to the store after the run so you can stock up on milk and bread. It looks like we'll get a sprinkle of freezing rain Sunday morning. Take advantage of this opportunity to stash your milk sandwich ingredients so you don't have to venture out on Sunday. First one to smash their car on icy roads coming from or going to a liquor store loses.  

07Jan

happy new year - race volunteer swag - drake loops

1/7/2022 - Happy New Year! Now is a great time to come out and meet those resolution goals. I promise nobody bites (unless you're into that kind of thing) or says mean things. The only people we talk bad about are the ones that don't show up so come out and share your thoughts on people like Ryan Janos. If he shows tomorrow, we'll be talking about you so...

Really happy to announce the race volunteer swag is FINALLY HERE. Show up tomorrow to claim yours. If you can't make it, join us at the Highway 54 Publix Starbucks round 8:15 am tomorrow. Still can't make it? HMU and I'll see how I can get you your stuff. Thanks for helping and sorry it took so long.

We're at Drake tomorrow for the first Saturday of the new year. Come for some or all. Show up and walk if you want. Just be there! 

6:30 - 30 min

7:00 - 60 min

30Dec

Resolution Run - Accountability Group - 2021 Slideshow

12/30/2021 - Come out for the last run of the year! Resolution Run tomorrow at Drake. Two options. 7:00 for 30 mins and 7:30 for 60 mins. Not sure what the weather is gonna be like. Doesn't matter. At least it will be cooler! 

If you're interested in joining the January accountability group, HMU. If you're not on FB to hit the like button, email me josh@hnlinc.org and I'll get you connected. $25 gets you all joined up. You make your own goals. Those who meet their own goals get their money back. If you don't, we split your $$$ amongst those who did. DO NOT VENMO $$$ TO THE HNL VENMO. Thx. 

Here's a link to the 2021 slideshow if you're not on social. Thanks to everyone who made 2021 a success. It was less weird than 2020 but still pretty weird. If you've got a plan to come back in 2022, let me know so I can bug you about it. It's going to be a great year! Let's get after it! 

17Dec

Caroling tonight - shocker claws - ugly sweater saturday - christmas eve

12/17/2021 - Happy Friday! Respect to all the teachers out there. I'm sure today sucks for you. Hang on, you're almost there. 

Don't forget the HNL caroling run tonight. We're meeting at Kedron Elementary at 6:00 pm. Carts are welcome if they have a safe and sober driver. While caroling is in the name of the event, I can't promise anyone will actually sing. Thanks to Julie, Penny, Izzy, and Amanda for hosting tonight. If you get a late start or get lost, text 678-618-1266 and we'll get you pointed in the direction of this moving party. 

Shocker Claws is over $700 and we're drawing the name tonight. You don't have to be present to win but you do have to get your $$$ in before 6 if you want to be in the drawing. Venmo $$$ to @Run-HNL to get in the mix. Once we draw the winner, I'll let everyone know. All but two people donated via Venmo so I'll ask Siri to pick a random number to pick the winner from the Venmo list (the two cash donors will be the bottom two numbers). I've heard from lots of you about people getting fired for getting big tips and cautionary tales about wait staff that shares tips. Whoever wins will also be privy to your advice and counsel. This big ass tip will be responsibly distributed! 

Saturday loops are with the PTC Tri-Club tomorrow at Drake! 9 am is the start of the annual Ugly Sweater Run. Be there in all of your ugly sweater gear! 

Christmas Eve run is on again this year! Loop one will be at 6:30 for 30 min from Drake. The second loop will be with the Peachtree City Running Club at 7 from Battery Way. Fellowship for your Christmas sprit! Be there!  

10Dec

Shock and Claus - Caroling event - Saturday loops 

12/10/2021 - Let's have a repeat of last week! Way to show up! 

You might remember the Shock and Claus event last year? No? Let me remind you. We collected about $300 in cash and Amanda DeBuc won the drawing. A lucky Waffle House waiter got the $$$. Here is how it works: You donate cash tomorrow or virtually via Venmo @run-HNL, we'll collect all the dollars and names of donors into a massive pile of money, we'll draw the name of one donor on the 17th (at the event discussed below), winner of the drawing gets to take all the money and gift it as a tip in a local restaurant. It's a great way to make somebody's day. We're still discussing the idea of filming the reaction or not. Might just be a link available to donors, might be a public thing. Haven't decided yet. Don't miss the opportunity to get in on the fun! Donate whatever amount you like! Do it now! 

Caroling event is back and it's gonna be a blast. We meet on Friday, December 17 at Kedron Elementary. We start the meetup at 6:00 and step off shortly thereafter so don't be late. Golf carts are welcome as long as there is a responsible and sober driver. Julie, Izzy, and Amanda are going to feed/hydrate you at stops along the way. Do not miss this event! 

We're at Drake tomorrow. Come ready to run! See you then! 

6:00 - 30 min

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min

 

03Dec

Caroling event - christmas help - new location saturday

12/3/2021 - Have you committed to the caroling event? We're meeting at Kedron Elementary on 12/17/2021 at 6:00 pm. We'll travel from house to house doing some singing and drinking. Feel free to show up in a golf cart if you have a responsibly designated driver. This is gonna be great. If you're on FB, show your intention to join us by responding to the event. If not, lemme know so we can plan accordingly. Thanks to our caroling stop hosts Amanda, Julie, and Izzy.

Need to feel some Christmas cheer? We need your help. Let's buy some stuff for local hospitals, shelters, or clinics. We need volunteers to adopt a spot, send me the link for what they need/want, then deliver it. We've had some success with gaming systems in the past or other fun stuff for patients. If you need some ideas, let me know and I'll put you onto some groups we've donated to in the past. HNL is footing the bill, we need you to do the work. Step out of your comfort zone and lend a hand! 

NEW LOCATION TOMROROW!! Saturday's loops start at Huddleston Elementary. BMX track finish for the 7:30 loop. Come out and see Ryan Janos! 

6:00 - 30 min

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min

26Nov

Happy Friday - you decide distance

11/26/2021 - Hope you're all enjoying your holiday weekend! Let's get together tomorrow for some exercise. Any distance you desire. Walkers and runners alike are welcome! Drake is the meeting spot and we'll get started at 7:00 am. Got a house full of people? Bring some to walk for an hour. Want to escape? Leave those suckers behind and get some YOU time. 

7:00 - 15, 30, or 60 min walk or run. You decide! 

19Nov

Thanksgiving Week - Thanksgiving projects - Saturday loops

11/19/2021 - Thankful for another great week! We've got some ways to serve and connect next week if you're around. Show up and show some love!

Special thanks to Stacy for handing the Bloom shopping trip. Her awesome family handled the entire project from shopping to delivery of five complete dinners. Awesome work! 

Anybody want to help next week? We need to take a trip for some Dignity Store re-stocks and could use some shopping help. HNL handles the payment, you collect the goods. 

We got a call this week from our partners at I58 Mission in Senoia. They had a story that got us into action with your money. Nice lady in Newnan is living alone and on social security. She's also feeling the pressure of a substantial hospital bill. Her washing machine broke and she's been doing laundry at her neighbors house. As the weather is turning colder, the neighbor started seeking out help so our customer didn't have to carry the laundry through the cold. That's where you come in. We're gonna make the washing machine happen with the quickness. No need to donate, we're using Runtoberfest money. It's really nice to have the flexibility to help and meet the moment when people are in need. Thanks to you nice folks! The relief she felt was palpable when we told her that a new washer would be delivered and the old one hauled away. If you'd like to bring any laundry supplies to the run tomorrow or this week, we'll get them delivered after the holiday. Thank you! 

We're at Drake tomorrow for all the loops. Lots of options! 

600 - 630 30 min

630 - 730 60 min

730 - 800 30 min

 

12Nov

Thanksgiving Foster Family Event - Christmas Caroling Run - Saturday NEW LOCATION

11/12/2021 - Good afternoon! Lot's of stuff coming up so pay attention and get your planners ready.

Our annual Bloom Thanksgiving dinner shopping trip is on Tuesday the 16th at Publix on 54. We'll start shopping at 7:30 am and need help to shop for 5 complete meals. HNL will be paying but we need folks to push the carts and collect the goods. We'll be delivering to Bloom right after. 

The caroling run is back! Plan for an evening of fun caroling and running on the evening of Friday, December 17. More info soon but make sure you sign up on the Facebook event page that will be created today. This is always an awesome event and we can't wait to get back at it! 

Tomorrow's loops start and end at the old K-Mart on Crosstown Drive in PTC. Lot's of options! 

5:30 - 30 min

6:00 - 30 min

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min

See you in the morning! 

29Oct

Thank you - leftover bags - Slow Ride - spooky loops 

10/29/2021 - Thanks to all that helped make Runtoberfest a success! We sold out on the day of the race so that makes three officially sold out races in a row! Sorry for not having the volunteer swag ready but the company making them caught me off guard. YOU WILL GET YOUR VOLUNTEER SWAG!! I promise!

If you didn't get your bag and shirt, I'll have it tomorrow. Better get it! I will not hold onto these forever....unless you were a sponsor or volunteer in which case I will hand deliver if necessary.

Don't forget one week from today we'll have a slow ride starting at El Ranchero Crosstown. Be there by 6:30. LCB to follow.

Tomorrow's loops are spooky cemetery loops. Drake. Options for all!

6:00 - 30 min

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min

15Oct

PTC Classic Meetup - bag stuffing - house building - race day

10/15/2021 - It's going to be a great week! Looking forward to stuffing bags, building some clubhouses, and seeing some of y'all we haven't seen in awhile! 

First up, the group run tomorrow is the PTC Classic. The Peachtree City Running Club is hosting on of the best races of the year and it's their 40th anniversary. Congratulations to them! It's quite a milestone and they are great friends of ours. Don't forget the packet pickup for the Classic is today from 4-8 at the PTC amphitheater. If you'd like to run with HNLiens tomorrow, we'll be on the Huddleston Elementary corner of Fishers Luck and McIntosh Trail. Both before the 5K and 15K. Wear HNL gear if you've got it! 

Runtoberfest bag stuffing happens at HNL HQ on Tuesday. We'll be at 6000 Shakerag Hill Suite 104 from 6:30 pm till it's done. We'll have beer and chili cheese Fritos. Be there! 

As you know, the purpose for our race is to raise money for a great cause. On Friday we're building three clubhouses for three really special kids. We learned this week that one of our kids had their last chemo treatment followed by a clean bill of health. It's going to be a great event at Line Creek Brewing Co on Friday from 2 till 5. Each of the houses needs 10 builders and we offered the build spots to our awesome sponsors. We do still need 5 or so builders/backup. This is a great opportunity to put your hands on a great project. Please let me know if you can be there to build and/or support HNL. Need a few more folks! Text me or email me to lemme know josh@hnlinc.org

Next Saturday is the day! Runtoberfest is going to be great! Lot's of stuff has been coming in and I know Scott will be glad to get his office space back. If you've not registered yet, please do it today. Shirts go to print Monday and you simply won't get one if you wait any longer. Lots of work has gone into this race and you won't want to miss it. Thanks to the volunteers who have signed up!

See you all at the Classic tomorrow! 

07Oct

Runtoberfest Clubhouse Build - Swag deadline - volunteers - drake loops

10/8/2021 - Welcome to Friday!!  

Want to share the third clubhouse recipient with you on this magnificent day. Our third clubhouse is going to Kayleigh! 3-year old Kayleigh was diagnosed with kidney cancer in October 2020. When your child is diagnosed with cancer, your whole world turns upside down. The past year has been full of challenges for Kayleigh and her family. At such a young age, Kayleigh does not understand what cancer is or why she must go to the hospital for treatment. Her mom Rachel says the hardest part for Kayleigh is not being able to socialize with kids her age or be able to go play on a playground like other kids. Kayleigh and her family are excited to receive a clubhouse so she has a safe place to play at home. Thank you for registering for Runtoberfest so we can make these three clubhouses happen! 

 

If you want to put swag in the race bag, I need it by 10/19. That's also the evening we'll be stuffing bags at HNL. Mark it on your calendars! Sponsors get to put whatever they want in the bag. Others can make a case! Are you a local non-profit? We'd love to help you spread the word about what you do. Local business? Cool. Get me 320 of something with your logo on it and we'll put it in the bag. We want to help the local folks, lemme know if you want to put something in there! 

We still need a few volunteers! I ordered some really great items for our volunteers. If you'd like to get in on this, sign up here!  

As you know, we're building three clubhouses for some really special kids. Our big sponsors have been invited to help build these clubhouses on the day before the race. The idea is to have the build happen on Friday from 2-5 (partially during packet pickup) and then have the finished buildings on display race day. We'd love to have everyone build but we're limited to ten builders per house. If you think you'd like to help by being a "reserve" builder on 10/22, email me at josh@HNLinc.org. This is not a guarantee you can build but a way for us to build a list of those willing to be there at 2:00 pm on Friday 10/22 and help with the process. 

Saturday loops are Drake loops! Be there! 

6:00 - 30 min

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min

 

01Oct

Pedal Forward Project - Runtoberfest Update - swag bag contributions - Saturday new location

10/1/2021 - Happy October! It's going to be a big month! Hope everyone got to see the awesome work HNLiens did with Pedal Forward and Fleet Feet. Thanks to Rob, Sara, Lyndsey, and Janie for showing up! Nice work! 

Runtoberfest registration had a massive week! We gave one hat away and now we've got one left. To win, just share the Runtoberfest registration link on social media with the hashtag #runtoberfest. I'll count them all up tomorrow morning and number them and let the Amazon Echo pick a random number. I'll deliver the hat this weekend. Share everywhere! Facebook, instagram, twitter, tik tok, all of them. Good luck! The hats have had a great response. After the giveaway, I'll have them for sale. $25 per with different color options! BOLO! 

If you are interested in contributing something to the Runtoberfest 5K swag bag, please get your 310 to 325 items to me before 10/19. If you're a sponsor, you can put whatever you want in the bag. If you're not a sponsor, you can put stuff in the bag but you better have a good story/reason/bribe if it's a piece of paper. This is going to be a badass swag bag, we want to save the paper spots for the paying sponsors. Bag stuffing party is 10/19. More about that soon! 

We still need Runtoberfest volunteers! Sign up here! 

New location Saturday! We're starting and ending at McIntosh High School on Walt Banks Road in PTC. Three loops, come for one or stay for all! 

6:00 - 30 min

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min

24Sep

Pedal Forward Help - Race Update - Seniors project - dragon boats

9/24/2021 - Don't miss the awesome weather tomorrow! NEW LOCATION so pay close attention! 

We need your help on Tuesday in Hogansville. Our friends at Pedal Forward have nearly 500 boxes of shoes that they are going to distribute this week. Tuesday afternoon they will be sorting these boxes and we need people! Please let me or Rob Thomas or Sara Scott know if you can join us Tuesday evening. This is important and we need hands. Kids are welcome to help! 

Our race is 2/3 full! If you've not registered, please do it today! We're giving away a hat to a lucky registrant that completes the task before midnight. I'll choose the random winner tomorrow morning and deliver the goods. Don't forget that we need volunteer help as well. If you'd like to volunteer, SIGN UP HERE!! 

Thanks to Matt Tuff and Leslie Terek for creating these awesome bags for seniors. As you know, Matt has a big heart for seniors and he and Leslie have made sure these bags are getting to some seniors who get to feel the love! 

The dragon boats are at Drake tomorrow so we're at the old K Mart on Crosstown. If you don't know where that is, it's next to the old Bicycles Unlimited near old man Redwine's place. Easy! 

6:00 - 30 min

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min

PS - some people I know have registered for the Atlanta Thanksgiving Half Marathon. If you've never done it, this is a really great way to start your Thanksgiving! 

17Sep

Second Clubhouse Info - volunteers - saturday info

9/17/2021 - Happy Friday! It's an exciting day! We get to announce our second clubhouse build recipient. As you know, we're building clubhouses for kids between 2 and 5 pm the day before Runtoberfest. Each of the three houses will have it's own team of builders and while we'd love to have all of you help, we're limited in the number of builders we can have. We've decided that the vast majority of spots will go to race sponsors but we'll have opportunities in the next few weeks for you (if you're not already a sponsor) to join in the building fun. There will also be non-building opportunities to participate during packet pickup at LCB on 10/22. The kids we're building for will be on site for a ribbon cutting ceremony and we hope to leave the houses in place at LCB so all the runners can see them on race morning. After that, Lowe's will deliver each of the houses to the families. It's going to be great! 

The second house is going to our buddy Lee Gay. At just 9 months old, a tumor was discovered on Lee's left kidney. He underwent a total nephrectomy removing the kidney and started chemotherapy treatment. Lee has completed 11 treatments and only has 2 left; he is scheduled to finish treatment in October 2021! His mom Morgen says the most difficult time for their family was the initial diagnosis which included a two-week hospital stay prior to his nephrectomy and being a way from Lee's 4-year-old brother. When asked what keeps their family moving forward, Lee's parents say, "The kindness and generosity of strangers and organizations who just want to help us because they’ve heard our story and they want to help. Those people keep us going!" We're psyched to see Lee and his family and send them away with a really great clubhouse for Lee and his brother. 

If you were a volunteer in the past, you'll be getting a message about volunteering for this year's race. If you'd like to be a first time volunteer, HMU and we can get you on the list!

All the loops are Drake loops tomorrow. Come out and join the fun!

6:00 - 30 min

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min

 

10Sep

Washer Dryer - Muck and Gut - Plywood Friend - Drake Loops

9/10/2021 - Have you been outside today?! It's really nice. Check it out. Thanks to the helpers this week! We delivered the laundry love stuff and got to see the new washer and dryer that was expertly installed by Clayton Appliance. The family was so grateful and loved having a way to do their own laundry. We're already working on another case so if you'd like to get involved in doing the helping type things, now is a good time! Lemme know if you want to feel the love and we can get you plugged in.

I posted a message this week about traveling to Louisiana for volunteer work. I've registered HNL as a volunteer agency and have already got some messages asking for help. The general consensus among volunteer agencies seems to be that people are waiting until the power returns before the biggest influx of help arrives. Just so you know, we're looking at doing "muck and gut" (<--- risky click) type operations and sleeping on cots. If this sounds appealing to you, tell me so I can get an idea of who is interested. This is not a "for sure" thing yet. Need more info. I'm participating in "Volunteer Agency Training" on Monday so we should have more info next week.

Not sure why I felt compelled to share this but you never know where people are when they read this or what they are going through. Got a message from Plywood People this morning. They are an ATL non-profit support/training/motivating agency that help professionalize non-profits in Atlanta. They have a program called Path which focuses non-profits on their mission. I went through it last year and it was great. As Plywood Path alumni, HNL gets a message from Plywood People every week. Fellow Path alumni Madison Darling is an Artist who created something unique. She recently launched her project This Might Be How You Feel, an anthology on chronic and serious illness full of resources for those experiencing chronic and/or serious illness and those caring for such individuals.  This incredible resource is completely free. Click here to view the content. 

Tomorrow we're running from Drake. Be there! 

6:00 30 min

6:30 60 min

7:30 30 min

03Sep

Laundry Love - 5K Training - Phenomenal Weather - LOCATION CHANGE

9/3/2021 - Long weekend is here! We need your help.

Last week we purchased a washer and dryer for a PTC family that experienced a tragedy. It was a bit of a task because the plumbing needed to be repaired before the appliances could be installed. When I asked if anyone knew a plumber, Tracy stepped up and made it happen. Meanwhile, Leslie let our buddies over at Clayton Appliance know what was going on and they gave us a great deal on the set. Now we're all set to deliver and install Wednesday. That's where you come in. Need some detergent/laundry gear. What detergent do you love? Any special laundry stuff make your life easier? Got a "must have" item for the laundry room? Bring one. I'd love to collect this stuff and get it delivered with the appliances this Wednesday. If everybody brings one thing we could get a solid collection by Tuesday. Tomorrow would be the best day to bring it! Seriously. Don't forget! 

Who's ready for the couch to 5K program? We're going to try something different this year and give some options other than Saturday morning. If you've signed up for the race and checked the couch to 5K box, look for an email later today with options. Respond to the poll and let us know what works for you. Haven't signed up? Click the link up top and register quick so you'll get the poll link later today. 

How bout this weather?! Saturday morning is going to be great. Don't miss out! We're starting at Oak Grove Elementary so don't forget to leave your house at the right time. 

BRING YOUR LAUNDRY STUFF!!!!!

6:00 - 30 min

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min 

27Aug

Good stuff - runtoberfest price increase - shirts - Drake

8/27/2021 - What a great week it's been! HNL is up to lots of good things. We've teamed up with the Edify Teens Life Center on a stroller/car seat combo, some washer and dryer love for some local kids in need, and just started working on some mattresses for two kids currently sleeping on the floor. We also re-stocked the Flat Rock Dignity Store yesterday! We always need help with these projects so if you've got some time, HMU so we can get you plugged in.

Don't forget the Runtoberfest price increases next week! Click the Runtoberfest tab up top to register. I'll have the shirt sample with me tomorrow. If you'd like to see it, just come out and take a gander. 

Can't wait to see your mugs at Drake tomorrow. Be there for all the hazy morning running!

6:00 - 30 min

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min

 

20Aug

Clubhouse Info - Race posters - drake loops

*** Update!! ***

Tomorrow is my birthday.  Celebrate me! I love fresh flowers.  Shower me with sweaty hugs and bottom pats. And flowers.  Fresh flowers.  

8/20/21 - Happy Friday y'all! Wanted to take this opportunity to introduce our first clubhouse customer! One of the clubhouses we're building for Runtoberfest is going to our friend Rosie Comprosky. Many of you already know her and her awesome family. Rosie was diagnosed with Pfeiffer Syndrome which means the bones of her skull closed before her brain was fully developed. We met with her mom this week and learned we have lots in common! Rosie's mom, Chelsie, works for Southside Support. They support families with special needs and help connect them to the community. They are having a symposium today in Newnan and HNL will be in attendance! Here's some great info on Rosie and her family:

How much fun will this be?!? So psyched. We're hoping to build a total of three houses so BOLO for more info on the others.

Hey! We can't run this race without runners. Sign up today. Click that Runtoberfest link at the top of the page and GET REGISTERED!! 

I've got race posters! Let me know where you can use some! I've got big ones and small ones and ones in between. Anybody needing that Goldilocks size, igotchu. 

All the loops are Drake tomorrow. Might have to park up top but you know how to meet up. Need some leaders! I'm out cause it's my birthday tomorrow and I'll be gone. SHOW UP!

6:00 - 30 min

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min

 

13Aug

Andrew's Angels - Runtoberfest - Saturday location switch

8/13/21 - Today is the day! Get those cards out in the world! Spread kindness and honor the memory of Andrew by doing something nice for another human. Be sure to report back to the Andrew's Angels FB page! Shoutout to Anna for getting out there and helping at New Hope today. This is what it's all about! 

Runtoberfest registration is going great! We're ahead of where we were in 2019 and behind 2018. Let's change that and make sure you're registered, please! Click the Runtoberfest link at the top of this page to make it happen. If you see an ad on FB or Insta, lemme know. Those cost $$$ and I'd like to know they're getting out there. BOLO next week for the announcement of our first clubhouse customer! As you know, we're building clubhouses for kids on packet pickup day. The building crew size is limited and we're going to hand most of those spots to our awesome sponsors like DK Engine Parts, The Law Offices of Lee Mason, and our DIAMOND SPONSOR Grayshift! There will be opportunities for HNLiens and we'll need lots of volunteer help so stay tuned! 

Good luck to the Tri Club and all the participants this weekend. Since they'll be the headliners this weekend, we're taking the run to the old KMart on Crosstown. Be there! Michael Hyman is shooting for a big goal tomorrow and we need your support. For a new runner, the dude is killing it. He's attempting his first ever DOUBLE DIGIT run. What an accomplishment. Come out for the second loop to see it happen! 

6:00 - 30 min

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min

06Aug

great week - back to school - Saturday options  

8/6/2021 - It was a hell of a week! We had the I58 Mission back to school event and the Pedal Forward event as well. We were lucky enough to be asked to participate in both and we handed lots of hygiene items to students. Thanks to Carly and Matt for the ordering, Leslie for ALL THE SETUP, Sara for making the trip, and Stacy and Rob for their willingness to help! It was a good week for HNL! 

Now that the kids are back in school, you need to get back into the habit of running on Saturday. This is a great week to get back to it! Come out to the 30 min option tomorrow, it'll be beginner friendly. We're starting the couch to 5K program soon. Let me know if this is something you would like to participate in or lead a run. 

It's been a great week for Runtoberfest registrations. If you've not signed up yet, what are you waiting for?! There is a price increase coming so don't miss out on the deal. Click the Runtoberfest link above and make it happen! 

All the loops are at Drake tomorrow. Come out and join us for some or all the running! 

6:00 - 30 min

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min

30Jul

Runtoberfest Registration Test - Pedal Forward Help - LOCATION CHANGE FOR SATURDAY

7/30/2021 - Race registration for Runtoberfest is going live on Sunday! We're happy to be back for our third 5K race at Line Creek Brewing Co. on October 23. You're going to love the event and you're really going to love the cause. We need to get this race sold out ASAP so we can do good things with the $$$. This year, we're building clubhouses for some special local kids with a tough diagnosis. The clubhouses are going to be constructed the day before the race so we can see them at our big event. The kids who we're building for will be there and then Lowe's will deliver the clubhouses to their home. This is going to be huge. While we can't fit everyone in the build process, we will find a way to get everyone involved if they want to. We're going to spread the word about the kids we're building for throughout the month (with their parents consent of course). To get an idea of what this is going to be like check this out (*tissue warning*):

(1131) The Clubhouse Challenge - YouTube

Before the we start spending money on ads for the race, I need your help with some quality control. Click the Runtoberfest tab at the top of this page and register for the race. This will help us know the registration is working properly and get some eyes on it before everyone starts using it. Sign up, let me know if you see anything that needs fixing! Thank you! 

Next Wednesday and Thursday we'll be with Pedal Forward and Fleet Feet in Hogansville. Still need some volunteers to come and serve. We'll be assembling a pop up Dignity Store on Wednesday afternoon and then slinging hygiene items (for free) from noon to 6. You don't have to stay the whole time. Let me know if you can make it either day. 

Saturday loops are starting at McIntosh High School on Walt Banks Road. Three loops and we're ending on the track with some stairs so come ready to work!

600 - 30 min

630 - 60 min

730 - 30 min bleachers and track intervals    

23Jul

Volunteer opportunities - Runtoberfest Registration - Saturday Loops *NEW LOCATION*

7/23/2021 - I regained access to the website! Thanks to Scott for helping! 

We've been working with The I-58 Mission for over a year now. It's been awesome. We recently donated some swag and snacks for kids going back to school. We need just two people to help the distribution on July 31 from 10-2. Let me or Leslie know if you can help. We're also in the process of helping with a bigger back to school event with Pedal Forward in Hogansville. Their event will be on August 5th during meet the teacher. Let me or Rob know if you can be there.  

The Runtoberfest registration is about to be open. Get your minds right. Our goal is to fill this race up fast as possible. We're finalizing some things for packet pickup and getting all the swagalicious items sorted. If you've got a desire to help, we've got a spot just for you. 

We're at a new spot for Saturday. Meet in the parking lot of Books a Million at the Avenue. Three options! 

600 - 30 min

630 - 60 min

730 - 30 min 

09Jul

Saturday Loops - Next week - Runtoberfest Update

7/9/2021 - We're finally back at Drake for two loops led by the one and only Rob Thomas. Don't disappoint the man! Show up!

Need to keep running during the week? We got you! Monday 5K at 7:00 am from Huddleston Pond, 10 Mile Tuesday for the hardcore, Wednesday and Thursday options if you want! We need to get back to the track! Who's down for a Thursday track thing?

Race stuff is happening! We need to meet. BOLO for the race registration to open soon. We've got the shirts picked. Amanda got them and the choice was pretty obvious. Mizuno was the winner and I'm psyched to see the next steps. Meeting soon!

Drake Saturday Loops

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min

02Jul

Merica Day Run - Monday special edition

7/2/2021 - You know what tomorrow is? It's the 3rd of July. It's just like Independence Day but earlier. I'm not certain but I'd imagine Benji Franklin would be completely comfortable with observing the holiday early in the interest of convenience. So, just like Tom Jefferson we're falling right in line with the mandate of the crown and doing as we're told. The traditional parade route run is on! We're meeting at Oak Grove Elementary for three different loops so you have choices.   

6:00
6:30
7:00

Each is a 30 min loop. Choose one or do them all. Just be there. Parade route on loop two and three.

Monday 5K is special next week. Meet in the parking lot of Blume Organics for a 7:30 start. We'll finish the 5K with coffee at Blume Organics. Show up at 7:30 to run or just show up at 8 to hang out. 

Happy convenient 3rd of July!!!

25Jun

Saturday Meeting - Saturday Loops NEW LOCATION

6/25/2021 - Quick post alert! NEW LOCATION TOMORROW

Don't forget the meeting after the run tomorrow. Coffee will be served! We need help stuffing bags for the I58 Mission snack donation. I'll also need some computer help ordering items from Amazon. Show up at 8:30 am if you can. We will not be having the Runtoberfest meeting tomorrow so it's just packing bags. HNL HQ is 6000 Shakerag Hill #104 in PTC. Be there!

Three running loops tomorrow from Oak Grove Elementary on Crosstown Drive.

6:00 - 30 min

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min

 

18Jun

Runtoberfest Meeting - Packing/ordering of the things - Saturday Loops

6/18/2021 - Amanda has shirt samples so we'll meet one week from tomorrow. That's right, a Saturday morning meeting. Instead of beer, we'll drink coffee. It'll be a 9 am meeting on 6/26 so bring checks from sponsors and all the other great ideas you have. 

Since we're all together next Saturday 6/26 at 9 am), we'll be taking advantage of your labor. We've agreed to help I-58 Mission and Pedal Forward with some back to school projects. Leslie has worked hard to stock HNLHQ with tons of snacks. These snacks need to be stuffed into individual bags for students. At the same time, we need some computer help to order items from Amazon. Y'all had some great suggestions for items. Instead of collecting them from you, HNL will do the buying. We'll need two Amazon experts to go down this list and order the stuffs needed. Bring your kids unless they're annoying.

Saturday loops at Drake! You know how we do.

6:30 - 30 min

7:00 - 60 min

11Jun

Gratitude - Runtoberfest Sponsorships - Saturday Run

6/11/2021 - My man Greg is one enlightened cat, and i dig that about him. As we ran together on Monday (Monday 5K at 700 Huddleston Pond), we discussed the idea that gratitude might be the best attitude to have. I love it. I was reminded of this again later in the week when we were collecting for Ernie and the flowers for his son's memorial service. I know we've been collecting a lot lately and it's sad to see such a good folks that we love enduring heartache. I am so grateful for the outpouring of love and support from you all. On behalf of Izzy, Geoff, and Ernie, thank you. It's comforting to know that you've got a group of supporters when you experience that kind of pain. Respect to you all for showing love and support for your friends. Gratitude is the result. Thank you.

Need you picking up sponsorship checks and logos this week. For really. This week. We're opening up the registration soon so we need those sponsorships. FOR REALLY. 

Saturday loops are from Drake

6:30 30 min

6:30 60 min

7:30 30 min 

04Jun

Saturday Trail Run!! New Location

6/4/2021 - We're meeting at a new location tomorrow. Both loops start from the Alta parking lot, 403 Dividend Drive in PTC. The first loop is the missionary route, second loop is for the freaks. The real heroes are down for both.

6:30 - 30 min

7:00 - 50 min OFF ROAD

21May

Coffee Saturday - 5K Monday - Meeting Tuesday - Hotlanta 2022 hydro homies

5/21/2021 Happy Friday! Hope to see your faces soon!

Tomorrow morning we’re meeting for coffee at the Drake pavilion. City spent a bunch of money on building it so we might as well use it. Looks like tomorrow could be the last morning in the 50s for awhile so bring your kids and your dogs and your dogs kids to the park! Be there at 8 am! We’ll have a box of Starbucks coffee. If you like that other stuff, bring it. If you want to bring something else to share, do it!  

Monday 5K is still at Huddleston Pond. Got those bodyweight machines involved to really get the week started off right! 7 am meetup. 5K loop then 100 reps on both machines. Come out and try it. You will not regret starting your day this way. I guarantee it.  

Tuesday is going to be great. Don’t miss it. It’s our second Runtoberfest meeting at HNL HQ. It's also my wedding anniversary which I'm realizing in real time as I type this. We’ve got some good info to share and we need your help! Be there at 6:30 pm. Low quality beer will be provided. If you like that fancy stuff, bring it!

Multiple options for Saturday loops. We’re at Drake of course cause the coffee thing. 6:00 am start for any of you Hotlanta Half virtual runners. HNL will once again be hosting the coolest water stop for the Hotlanta Half next year. Mark your calendars now. Breakfast at Ria’s Bluebird to follow as per tradition.  

6:00 – 30 min

6:30 – 60 min

7:30 – 30 min   

 

 

14May

Volunteers needed - Runtoberfest excitement - Saturday

5/14/2021 - It's going to be a great weekend! Get out there and take advantage of this weather!

Anybody available to volunteer at the Bloom Gala on June 4? Need some folks to volunteer to help between noon and 5 or 5 and 8 pm. Lemme know! 

Got some really exciting Runtoberfest updates to share at our next meeting. Remember, it's the day after Memorial Day...a Tuesday. In the meantime, we need to sling some of these sponsorships. We'd love to have some sponsors that we know and can support. Anybody got any ideas on a local business we can team up with? Use this sheet to get the word out. Should be a great year for this race! You do not want to miss the next meeting! So fun.

Drake loops tomorrow. Weather should be perfect. Be there! Long loop first. If you haven't been here in awhile, sleep in and come to the 7:30 loop. We'd love to see you!

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min

07May

Mothers day - two option monday - new location tomorrow

5/7/2021 - If you can, show love to your mom this weekend. I'm always inspired by the moms in our group. Respect to y'all. Raising up kids, holding down a household, focused on a career, training for something big, finishing your degree, having the uncanny ability to FIND ANYTHING, then making time to take care of yourselves. Your kids see the example you set and the work you put in. Thanks for being awesome humans and giving the world the best of what you are!

Monday has two running options, one with shiggy. The Monday 5K is changing it up a bit. We'll meet at Huddleston Pond for the 5K at 7 am. Later that day, we'll meet at 6:00 pm for a hash run. The hash run is in Atlanta. Looks to be a Cabbagetown route. More info here.  Georgia Shrimp at 6 for group up into a few vehicles as possible. Read this part: You do not want to miss this. We've been joining the Atlanta Moonlite H4 every once in awhile for nearly a decade. It's ALWAYS a good time. Does it seem like a pain in the ass to drive outside our comfort zone and meet up with a new group of people? Yes. Does that make it more enjoyable? Maybe. Is this line of questioning effective? Not sure yet. Just come out and try it. The worst thing that could happen is you miss out on Dr. Oz hosting Jeopardy. That dude sucks anyway. The best thing that could happen is you run a muddy hash with cool folks then take your clothes off in the bathroom of the bar we finish at and forget them only to have some other strange hasher bring them out to the crowd and ask, "who's bra is this?" True story. Just be there.

In case you didn't know, tomorrow is Brooks Day. Used to be the coolest 10K of the year until it wasn't. We'll meet at Liberty Tech - 119 Price Road Brooks, GA. for the start. Two loops. The weather is going to be freaking phenomenal. Don't miss out on this tradition! 30 min first this time.

6:30 - 30 min

7:00 - 60 min   

30Apr

Cinco de slow ride – ATL hash run -  runtoberfest meeting #2 – NEW LOCATION loops

4/30/2021 - Don’t forget the premier event next week! It’s the Cinco de Slow Ride Mayo and we’re meeting up at Big Shots on 5/5 at 6:30. Come on bike, golf cart, or take MARTA for a big time. We’ll hang out and act silly for a while. If we feel up to it, we might ride over to LCB if time allows. Wear a helmet! Don’t drink and drive!

I’m reluctant to place this here because I don’t want to cause confusion but….don’t forget the ATL hash run on 5/10 (NOT THIS MONDAY BUT NEXT). We need someone(s) with high vehicle capacity to drive. Looks like we might have a really great crew!

The second Runtoberfest meeting is on a TUESDAY! Mark your calendars for May 25 at 6:30 pm. HNL HQ will be the spot. Really need some folks to help out between now and then. Let’s get the sponsorships sold! No, I don’t have a cool breakdown flyer yet but we’re working on it. 5K, 2.5K, 1K, and $500 options are all available. Come out and help make important decisions! Also, we’ll have chili cheese Fritos and really high quality beer.

The tri folks are at Drake tomorrow so we’re going to meet at the old Kmart parking lot. Two loops!

6:30 – 60 min Stinky Trail Loop

7:30 – 30 min

16Apr

Runtoberfest 2021 Meeting – Weekday Events - Saturday 13.1

4/16/2021 - Thanks to the folks that showed up last night. We made some decisions and got off to a great start. Looks like Runtoberfest 2021 is going to be on October 23, 2021. We’re back at Line Creek Brewery and we’ll keep the focus on having a phenomenal event with the best race swag around. We’re hoping that this year’s shirts and race bag will be even better than the last. We’re going to need lots of help so please come out to the next meeting where more important decisions will be made. The most important decision we made last night was on the logo. Thanks to Joe and the team at County Fried Creative for taking us on and giving us options. Janine did some sold work and gave us lots of strong work to look at. We went with the Bavarian themed phoenix. So freaking cool. More soon!

Monday is still a thing at the BMX track. Be there to start your week off right with a 7 am 5K. Thursday track at 6:15 am if y’all can handle it. Come out for the sweaty goodness. Some of y’all are looking for an excuse to get back to it. Consider this a personal invitation. Monday and Thursday are great opportunities to join up and get back at it.

The 13.1 one way run is on tomorrow. Follow directions and you’ll be fine. We will meet at the Wilshire Publix (74 south in PTC) at 6:20 am tomorrow. DO NOT BE LATE. We’ll group up and depart Publix at 6:30 am SHARP. We’ll travel the scenic Highway of 74 all the way to the northern hills of Kedron where we’ll park in the old World Airways parking lot (101 World Drive). If you are looking  to run with the group but not all 13.1, come out to the start and go out and back. We’d love the company! This is not complicated even though it looks like a lot of words. It’s essentially the same route we have done before with two changes, a shift away from the 10K course to Huddleston Elementary then cross over the parkway and once you pass balmoral, we’ll run on the parkway path all the way to Robinson then Holly Grove. Anyway, here are the waypoints you need to remember to get from start to finish and complete 13.1 miles:

Word Drive
Target
Kedron Fieldhouse
Kedron Drive
Blue Smoke Park
Flat Creek Trail
Partners Pizza 54 bridge
Drake
Battery Way Boat Docks
Huddleston Elementary
Braelinn Ponds
Balmoral Village
Braelinn Road
Peachtree Parkway
Robinson Road
Holy Grove Road
Publix (running in parking lot circles if you didn’t get all 13.1 on the way)

There will be no front to backs so please take just a minute to think about the route in your head. It’s not difficult if you plan ahead! The halfway point is Huddleston Elementary.

See you in the morning!   

09Apr

HNL Runtoberfest - Sunday Funday - 4/17 Half Marathon - Drake Loops

4/9/2021 - Don't miss out on the first Runtoberfest meeting this Thursday (4/15) at HNL HQ! We'll firm up some important details like venue, date, swag, logo ideas. Beer and gifts to kick off the fun. We'll start at 6:30. Chili cheese Fritos will be served for Amy.

Congratulations to Matt and Carly Rusk! They got married today and would love to see you at their PTC reception on Sunday at The Curious Pig. Come by anytime between 2 and 6.

The totally unsanctioned and unaffiliated half marathon run happens on the 17th. It's a one way run so be at Publix south ON TIME so we can group up and leave for the start by 6:30 am. Think about your keys now. Don't leave them in the car you take to the start. Leave your keys with your car or keep them on your person.

Loops are Drake loops tomorrow. In preparation of the 13.1, we'll have two 60 minute loops. Don't be afraid if you only want 30. Show up at either start and we'll get you taken care of. If you're at the beach, good for you. Don't rub it in with your photos of emerald green waters, hot dog legs, and Whataburger wrappers.  

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 60 min

26Mar

Newnan Help - April Fools Slow Ride - Snickers Half Marathon - Saturday Loops

3/26/2021 - Thanks to all the folks that have reached out to help in Newnan. There is a fine line between helping and getting in the way and we don't want to be the latter. It looks like there will be lots of help needed for some time in Newnan and we'll be coordinating groups for the effort. In the meantime, stay ready for the call. I've been updating an event on Facebook titled "Newnan Help" and info on our first trip out will be posted there. If you're not on Facebook, text me and I'll add you to a group text.

Let's start with Saturday morning. We'll collect non perishable food, water, and toiletries at the run tomorrow. After we collect, it'll be delivered to the Newnan Police Department. Thanks!

April Fools Day Slow Ride. It's the first one of the season. Meet at El Ranchero Westpark around 530. After they get tired of us, we'll ride to Line Creek Brewery. Thursday on your bike, what's better than that?!

HNL is hosting a half marathon which happens to match perfectly with THIS EVENT. Our event will not be an official race as much as a group run for folks that want to do a one way 13.1 mile run. No shirts or medals unless you happen to have signed up for the Albany virtual half. This goes down on 4/17. One. Way.

Saturday loops are at Drake. Don't be like me and forget the loops are switched. Long loop first. Hope to see the walkers again! If you're training for the half marathon, you'll need at least 10 tomorrow. 

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min

Bring stuff to donate tomorrow! Thank you!

19Mar

Back to Drake with new times - Saturday spring ruck - weekday activities - Runtoberfest 2021

3/19/2021 - Back to Drake tomorrow for the double loop goodness. The times are switched so if you're looking to run 30 min but hated to wake up early, we've removed the excuse for you. We're flipping the two runs so the longer loop is first. Details below. This is also an attempt to get the walkers out there for a 30 min event. Anybody?

Spring ruck is in Newnan tomorrow at Veterans Memorial Park. We start at 11 so be there a bit early. Bring a pack with weight and some $$$ for Bridging the Gap. We will be rucking by Maggie Brown Middle so come show some love for the ruck!

Monday 5K is on again at the BMX track Monday morning at 7. The track on Thursday was awesome and we might do another evening event if the weather is right. Loving this weather when it's not dangerous!

Runtoberfest 2021 is on. Need your help! We discussed the event a bit at the Shamrock 10K but a more formal discussion is coming. Start getting your minds right to help. This year is going to be bigger and swaggier than 2019. BOLO for a meeting in April.

Drake loops for Saturday. Normal loop starts are switched! The new times:

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min

Be there!

12Mar

Shamrock 10K - Half Marathon - Running During the Week - Big spring ruck

3/12/2021 - We're about to be plunged back into the darkness for a few weeks. With the weekend spring forward, the sun will rise a bit later than we've been enjoying but it'll be back. Spring is here so that means you have to get off your ass and get outside. We've got just the opportunities for you!

Tomorrow is the 52nd annual HNL Shamrock 10K. Gonna be a bit smaller this year and that's cool. It's a rebuilding year. We're not bringing food to share so no excuses on getting out there. The race isn't sanctioned, insured, endorsed, funded, or even recommended. It will be fun. Don't expect a well marked route or any water stops. The course isn't closed so you'll have to watch out for cars and other hazards. What's the benefit? A prize. It's a prize anyone can win. The route is a simple out and back from Georgia Shrimp to Centennial Subdivision and back. It goes like this: Georgia Shrimp, Flat Creek Trail, Wisdom Road, Preston Chase Court, Pedestrian Bridge over 74, turn right to Centennial entrance, and back. I might go and mark the course tonight if I get too many complaints about the route being confusing. First place wins a badass handmade pottery item from a dude I'm trying to commission to make HNL coffee mugs, first participant to find a four leaf clover AFTER the start also wins a custom piece. It's great stuff! Race starts at 7 am so be there a bit early to enjoy the last early sunrise for a while. Walkers welcome! We'd love to see some of you!

Looks like lots of people are signing up for the virtual Albany Half Marathon We're going to host a half marathon distance run on 4/17 for the racers and non racers alike. You DO NOT have to register for the virtual race to join us. It is a cool shirt and medal tho. If you're not ready for the half distance, train up to it with us! Starting tomorrow, we'll have a half training group starting with 8 miles and building to 13 on race day. Be at Georgia Shrimp at 6:30 am tomorrow if you want in on the half marathon training group.

Lots of great things happening during the week! Temps are so great for running right now. Monday 5K is still a thing and it's magnificent. Greg is finishing his 75 day plan this next week. It would be really great if we could get a nice group on Monday for the 7 am 5K. BMX Track. Thursday track was great last week. Show up and see what it's all about!

Don't miss the Ruck HNL Big Spring Ruck on 3/20 at 11 am. Bring a backpack with some weight and be ready to ruck at Veterans Memorial Park in Newnan. Bring the kids! Bring your dog. Bring your dogs kids!

05Mar

Kmart tomorrow - albany half - monday 5K

3/5/2021 - Happy Friday! Tomorrow's run will start at the old Kmart in PTC. Crosstown Drive is the place to be for both loops.

Anybody interested in the virtual Albany Half? How about a badass PTC version that we could all do together? Lot's of people are already signed up. Who wants to do this thing? April 3 -17. https://albanymarathon.com/

As always, Monday will be 5K day from the BMX track on McIntosh Trail. This is a great way to start your week. Be there!

Kmart tomorrow:

630 - 30 min

700 - 60 min WHERE THE WALKERS AT?!

12Feb

Laptop success – drake loops – week ahead        

2/12/2021 - Thanks to all you nice folks who donated to the laptop fund last week. It’s pretty rare that we get to present the good stuff to the recipient, so this week was really cool. On Sunday, I took all your dollars to Best Buy so they could ignore me for 90 minutes. Once we finally got the little yellow shirted fella to come around, he had to go get another yellow clad compatriot to climb the ladder and retrieve the laptop. Not sure why I included that part but I had to suffer the retail Donkey Kong purchase in real life so now you’re forced to read it. Deal with it. Now the good stuff. On Monday, Leslie and I met our recipient at her place of work. Weird? Yep. Couldn’t think of another way to make it less weird so there we were. We stood in line like friendly customers and when it was our turn, we let her know who we were and about you nice folks that donated to get her a laptop. Like I wrote, we don’t get to do this very often, but I have done this before. It can we weird and I’m totally ok with it. Sometimes people don’t know how to react and might feel embarrassed or might give an over the top reaction because they think that’s what you want. All good. I always just hope that the love comes through. Anyway, she was immediately emotional, and Leslie had to step in to save the day because I was about to turn into a mess. This kid was so grateful for what you did! This will make a real difference for her. We learned that she’d been accepted but couldn’t start because she didn’t have the $$$ for tuition or a laptop…yet. Our donation freed up some of her savings so it could go to tuition and books. She’s working hard to save money and you helped clear some of the obstacles in her path. Y’all did a good thing. Y’all sure are nice ladies.

Drake is the spot for the loops tomorrow. Is it going to rain? Probably. Is it going to be chilly? Yep. SUCK IT UP. Get your tail out there and burn some calories. Remember, the most difficult part is getting there. Once you’re out of the car, it’s all gravy. Times are the normal ones:

6:30 – 30 min

7:00 – 60 min

Next week we’ve got things!

Monday is 5K morning at the BXM track on McIntosh Trail. Fun starts at 7:00

Thursday is track day at Riley. 6:30 am start.

      

05Feb

2/5/2021 - I 58 Mission - Laptop Help - NEW LOCATION LOOPS

The HNL and I 58 Mission partnership is a thing of beauty. Thanks to Leslie and Matt Rusk for stocking The Dignity Store location we have there. Matt has been passionate about a bed building project for some time and we might have the opportunity to make it a reality. We learned that bed making charities make really high quality wooden beds...they can also be heavy and cumbersome to move into smaller homes or mobile homes. The challenge we face is one of design. Can we design a bed that might be collapsible or light enough to be carried by one person? How about easy to put together with minimal or no tools? This is a great opportunity to see what we can do. If you are design minded or want to help on this, let us know. Could be a big thing for HNL if we get this right.

This week we learned of a really special young person who needs some help. She's living in some tough circumstances and working to save for college. We learned about her from a former teacher who reached out to see if we might help with a laptop to help. We could also use some mentoring assistance if applying for financial aid is your thing. Please bring some cash tomorrow to help with the laptop and I can tell you more about her story. She's a tough kid and did not ask for help. She's got serious potential and we can help! $$$ please.

Tomorrows run and walk loops will meet at Huddleston Elementary.

6:30 - 30 min

7:00 - 60 min WALKERS WELCOME!! 

29Jan

1/29/2021 - CAse of the mondays - walking group - drake loops

It's a new year with upgraded new features. Fresh HNL postings, now with date in the subject for all the folks viewing on their 2-way pagers! Pretty fancy.

Options galore this week! Monday morning is a thing again. Meet at the BMX track on McIntosh Trail for a 7:00 am 5K. We keep growing the group by two so lets make it happen again this Monday

How about we get back to the track? Thursday mornings might work if we get folks to commit. Let's argue about it this week and make a decision. Running fast is fun!

Walkers need to come back out tomorrow. Show up at 7 and walk then we can all hang out after. Be there!

Tomorrow the loops are Drake ones. Normal loops less hilly than last week. Come see us!

6:30 - 30 min

7:00 - 60 min

 

15Jan

Walkers wanted!

We miss you! Come and join us! We're meeting in a bit of a different spot tomorrow. Don't forget! We'll be at Oak Grove Elementary (the back, which used to be the front) for the start. We need walkers to join the walking group! There are two options for runners and one for walkers tomorrow. Show up and see folks you've been missing (or have to act like you've been missing). Got a new years resolution to lose some weight or get healthier? Guess you gotta get off that ass and get your mind right. Tomorrow is the perfect day to start. Be there!

6:30 - 30 min run

7:00 - 60 min run AND 60 min walk

24Dec

Christmas in Hollis - Christmas with HNL - Survey help - Saturday loops location change

First things first. CLICK HERE and play this in the background to set the proper state of mind.

Ok, while Rev. Run and Jam Master Jay set the tone, wanted to say thank you to all the nice folks who helped us this Christmas. Thanks to your donations, we set several families up for an awesome Christmas. We did receive a last minute request this week that was unique. Here's part of the message we got: "We have a family in our community who has received devastating information about their one of their children. Their *-year-old son has been diagnosed with a very rare cancer that is not curable. He has been given a short period of time to live, however, with chemo the doctors are hoping to extend his life. He is hospitalized at ****** and is often in ICU. There is a **** (sibling) also in the home..." Now, you know how we do and because of the work HNLiens have already put in, we were able to help in a big way. Our original goal was a PS5 but you can imagine how difficult that was to pull off right now. Happy to report we took care of the big requests that we could (for both kids) and helped with some other things the family needed. Shoutout to Keller Williams Kares 4 Kids (Text any Keller Williams realtors you know and thank them, especially Tracy Kirkland!) who teamed up with us on this and got some additional help to the family. I'm so proud to work with a group as responsive as this one is. Thanks again to all the folks who donate dollars and time to make this happen. Special thanks to our HNL board members for the quick work on approving big expenses like rent help (twice this month) and Christmas shopping trips. Also, thanks to all of our partners at Fayette County BOE who have trusted us more and more in 2020 to handle these kinds of requests. 

This week I'm going to attempt to finish the 2020 HNL year in review video. I need your help. Please take the final survey of 2020 HERE and be sure to upload a photo you'd like to see in the video. Love for the photo to be HNL related but if not, we need to see your face. We have a serious lack of photos from the spring and summer so please make an effort to add to the mix at the end of the survey. Thank you! Some of the questions are repeats on purpose so we can compare results from the spring.

Saturday is on! We're meeting at the old KMart parking lot for 630 and 700 am loops. The 700 loop will be on the stinky trail so we can check out the newly finished connection to the main path.

630 - 30 min

700 - 60 min 

PS: DONT FORGET TO TAKE THE SURVEY AND ADD A PHOTO!!

 

18Dec

Gift cards – Christmas Love – Tip Story – Christmas Eve Run - Drake Loops

Matt Tuff is working with a nice lady who needs our help. She’s in the process of moving and she needs a few gift cards to get on track. Her mom passed away earlier this year and she's struggling to manage her own affairs because she is disabled. Losing a parent is tough for anyone but losing your sole source of support is even worse. The contents of the single bedroom they were renting needs to be moved out of state but she has to get moving supplies and some other items from Wal Mart. If you’ve got the opportunity, a Wal Mart/Kroger/Publix gift card can go a long way. Any cards donated will be matched by Matt Tuff! Thanks for your help!

Thanks to the folks who donated to the Christmas Love project. We were able to make Christmas happen for four families and made a big contribution to the nursing home. Thanks to Stacy and Leslie for heading the project up and bringing a superior level of organization! Really great to see the magic happening. From Stacy: Christmas Love was a success! Wednesday of this week, we brought all items everyone donated to help 3 plus families at a local Fayette county elementary school. I personally was blown away at your kindness and your generosity! It was unselfish and fueled by love. Even though we all can not watch those kids open their Christmas presents Christmas morning, we can all know that happiness and love were shared. Y’all are the best!! Thank you everyone!

Copied from Amanda’s story about her trip to deliver the tips from the sale of our visors (still have some if you’re interested): Yesterday morning, we were able to make the day of one of the most hard working people many of us have had the pleasure of being served by at our local Waffle House.

Scene: This individual was already slammed in his section and while we were more than willing to wait to properly sit in his section, we were asked to sit in another and he would wait on us from there. A very unpopular decision by some others, but we offered to wait. He is always hustling and has always had the best attitude from what many of us have seen, including yesterday.

As always, got our food quickly, it was right, very attentive to the refills and other needs (that comes with kid requests), all with a smile and still hustling for his other guests as well.

Once we paid the ticket, we discretely presented him with a tip of $305!! 💵💵 He was so busy and we had the money folded over, so he saw only one large bill. Immediately he was thankful and appreciative, nearly in tears. His thankfulness and reaction made the whole thing worth the week long wait to be sure we gave this tip to him specifically. He told David, you have no idea what this means to me. We all know many deserving people that work for tips and while we always try to look out for them this was an awesome experience to pay it back in a big way. Because of all the giving hearts in our HNL group we made the day of this particular person this Christmas season.

Per tradition, we will run on the morning of Christmas Eve. It will NOT be super early. The sun will be up before we start. Don’t miss this traditional event! 8:00 am? Evergreen Church parking lot? Need input on this tomorrow.

Tomorrow the loops are Drake loops. Wear something Christmas related. We need the shoe bells!

6:30 – 30 min

7:00 – 60 min

PS – The caroling run isn’t happening tonight. Take it up with Izzy.  

11Dec

Christmas help needed! - Cash tip project - caroling event - Drake Loops

HNL has another easy opportunity for all of us to join in helping others. Some families at a local elementary school need some Christmas love. If you would like to be apart of giving gifts and spreading joy to those who need, please sign up HERE. It's easy. Sign up for what you would like to buy/gift to kids and families in our community, and then follow the directions on when and where to drop it off. Unfortunately our time is short- the deadline is this Tuesday 6pm. So no online shopping available. We are all thankful for a group that wants to help. Shoutout to Leslie and Stacy for all the work on this!

The cash tip ended up being about $300! Story soon. I've still got winter hats and visors left. If you owe money for one you have or perhaps a $65 Adidas track jacket you have, I'll be glad to take your money and clear your conscience. IF you are interested in a more expensive item like a jacket or winter coat, hit me up and let's discuss. I can make an order of stuff but it needs to meet a minimum. Check out ThreadFellows and tell me what you like!

The caroling thing is still a thing. Izzy is the boss. She's gonna get info to you soon.

Meet at Drake tomorrow and get in on all the good times!

6:30 - 30 min

7:00 - 60 min

04Dec

HNL Christmas projects - Giving Tuesday success - visors $$$ - Drake Loops

Does it feel like Christmas yet? We can help. Leslie and Stacy are working on a Christmas project with Burch Elementary to get some help to a few families who could use it. In the near future, you'll have the opportunity to help as well. We'd like to get a list of some items that need to be donated from the school then we'll pass that along and name the drop off location. This is will be an easy way for you to get in the Christmas spirit and help your fellow human.

Giving Tuesday was a success. Thanks to the people that took the time to look for grant opportunities at work. If you've not done this, please take a few minutes today to do a search and see what you can come up with. I'll do all the writing, you just find the application. Thanks in advance for making the magic happen.

Let's drop a badass tip in the hands of a service worker next week. All the cash that we've collected for the visors is going in the hands of one service worker (or group if they pool tips) selected randomly from a list you created and given by an HNLien (also randomly selected). I've got plenty of visors left so please bring $15 tomorrow so the tip will be even bigger (twss) and the impact greater. There will not be a big production made of this. We're not going in 10 deep and taking photos. The selected HNLien will simply enter the selected business and make some simple order and when the time comes, tip the cash. It will likely be a $150 or more tip so expect there to be a bit of confusion. It will also be a good day for them. CLICK HERE to name a spot that we'll add to the list and add your email address if you're willing to help by making the delivery. 

Drake tomorrow. Temps are perfect and the people even better. Be there!

6:30 - 30 min

7:00 - 60 min 

27Nov

Thanksgiving – visors - Giving Tuesday – Drake Loops

It's been a great week of running! Thanks to the great group that showed up yesterday. So nice to see lots of new faces in the crowd. Hope y’all keep coming back!

Thanks to Amy for all the work she put into the new visors. I’ll have them with me at the run tomorrow so bring $15 and get one. Venmo is an option as well. These visors have been on the wish list for years and years so shout out to Amy for making it happen.  Come get your very own HNL BOCO visor swag!

This Tuesday is Giving Tuesday. Giving Tuesday is a global generosity movement where people are encouraged to do something good for the world. It’s a big day for nonprofits. It’s been a great year for HNL but you could probably guess we need $$$ to make the magic happen. For the past few years we’ve had real success with corporate grants. That’s where you come in. If you work for a corporation, we need to you to see if there is an opportunity to apply for a grant. Our biggest grants last year and this year have been from companies HNLiens work for. This is not an accident. These corporate grants are a massive help for us! Please take the opportunity on Tuesday to look around and ask about grants available! Thank you!

Tomorrows run has lots of options Hope to see everybody in the morning! Drake is the starting location.

6:00 – 30 min

6:30 – 30 min

7:00 – 60 min

20Nov

Busy week – caroling run – Thanksgiving day – drake loops

It’s been an awesome week. Thanks to everyone who helped out! We opened our newest Dignity Store location at The I-58 Mission and are psyched about partnering with them to help people get these high quality hygiene products. We delivered turkey dinners to Bloom and Maggie Brown Middle so that some folks we love can have an awesome Thanksgiving meal. We also delivered LOTS of Go Bags to domestic violence agencies all over the metro area. Thanks to Leslie who was there for EVERY SINGLE EVENT this week. We could not do this HNL thing without her. She doesn’t typically read this so if you can, send her a note of thanks and tell her how awesome she is!

The caroling event looks like it’s gonna be on 12/18. This date was chosen personally by Emily so if you’ve got a problem with it, she’s challenged you to a cage fight. The event will be available on pay-per-view for the rest of us.

We need to run on Thanksgiving Day. We did a thing last year and don’t have anything planned for this year. I really miss running in ATL on turkey day. Let’s discuss tomorrow and see if we can’t come up with something different than the norm.

Tomorrow’s loops are at Drake.

6:30 – 30 min

7:00 – 60 min

 

PS I've got a couple of winter hats left. Bring $20 if you want one. If you've got a hat and didn't pay, now is a great time to do so. Thanks!

13Nov

New run location – Ruck HNL – Thanksgiving project – Bed project – Need your input – DV Bags – run info

Good afternoon, everybody! We’re going to be back at the stinky trail tomorrow morning. Meetup and run info below. Don’t show up at Drake unless you want to be alone.

Saturday is our Ruck HNL Veterans Day event. We’ll meet at Line Creek around 1:30 for a 2:00 o’clock start. Bring a weighted backpack and be ready to walk and exercise. Route is three miles and should take between 60 and 90 minutes to complete. Don’t forget to let us know you’re coming by indicating as much on the FB event page. Charity is Coco’s Cupboard so bring donations for the dogs! They have specific needs so check the FB event page for the details. Thanks to Matt Rusk for organizing!

Speaking of great folks, Anna has taken on our Thanksgiving project with Bloom. We’ll need a little help shopping then delivering food to Bloom. Meet at Publix on 54 east, Thursday morning at 8:00 am. This will not take long! Once we get the food, we’ll need a few folks to carry it into Bloom. Thanks Anna!

Check out this message we got from a local elementary school:  “We have a student at school that is in desperate need of a new bed.  Her current bed has a box spring that is broken in the middle so it folds down when she gets in it.  Her mattress has a spring that pokes her at night and the bed frame has screws that have to be re tightened often.  Any help you are able to provide would be greatly appreciated.” Happy to report new bed, mattress, pillow, bed clothing, and a few extras should be delivered this weekend. Thanks to all the awesome HNL donors who make it possible for us to do this kind of stuff. Thanks to the HNL board for being super responsive and ready to make a decision!

The bed we bought was the fourth furniture purchase we made this year. Could be kinda cool to put something together for the four families for Thanksgiving. Anyone got any ideas? Let me know! We could do a gift card type thing or basket full of something or whatever you people come up with. This is a great one to get involved in. If you’ve got the time, we could use some help delivering to these four families.  

We’ve delivered Go Bags to three DV agencies so far. Want to deliver some? We could use your help here too!

The meetup spot for the run is Kmart. The stinky trail loop starts at 7 and we’re doing it backward so anyone who shows at 7 can go as far as they like on the trail then turn around. Show up and be seen tomorrow!

6:30 – 30 min

7:00 – 60 min Stinky Trail Loop

30Oct

Suuuper spooky Halloween cemetery run - veterans day ruck - Veterans virtual race - visors and winter hats

Did you know the tradition of trick or treating on Halloween originated with running? The ancient Celtic harvest festival of Allhallowe'en or "All Hallows Eve" was born of being chased by evil spirits the night before the specters rose from their graves in a physical form. Puritans wouldn't tolerate the idea that kids could be victimized by evil spirits this way so they removed the spirits and added sweet treats and tricks as payment. The running went away and all the kids got fat and lazy because they weren't scared out of their minds anymore. The nations childhood obesity epidemic can be traced to these boring zealots who didn't know how to have fun. None of that is true except for the Puritans being boring. What IS true is the fun you'll have at our suuuuper spooky cemetery loops tomorrow. There will be two options and both start from Drake. First runner to find one of their own names on a headstone wins! Bring a light. Bring glowing stuff. Even thought the moon will be nearly full, the paths are full of the garbage left behind by Zeta, the hurricane. You've been warned.

Don't forget the Veteran's Day Ruck on 11/14. This is going to be another great opportunity to get out and bring your family along for some exercise. The Burden will be there. If you've not had the opportunity to give it a try....this is the event to give it a go. Signal your intentions to attend here.

Matt Tuff is running the Virtual Veteran Tribute on 11/11 at 6 am. The 10K race supports a great cause so sign up here

Amy was nice enough to design and order visors. YES! We're finally getting a badass BOCO visor. More info on them soon. I've still got some winter hats available so if you've got $20, put it in my hand tomorrow and get a winter hat.

Both spooky loops from Drake.

6:30 - 30 min

7:00 - 60 min

16Oct

PTC Classic - SWAG alert - Bag stuffing - Runtoberfest

Tomorrow we're running the PTC Classic 15K route. We're not running on the Parkway so the route will start at Huddleston and CROSS Peachtree Parkway then south on paths to Balmoral Village then pick up the route on Braelinn Road. Meet at Huddleston Elementary for a 7:00 am start. Still time to register for the virtual event and get a shirt! No registration is required for the run tomorrow but if you want to support the nice folks over at PTCRC, register here.

SWAG everywhere! Come out to the bag stuffing event after the run tomorrow and get an authentic HNL acrylic pin. These are the same pins we're putting on the bags. Have any interest in an HNL winter hat? I'll have a few (like 5) Columbia hats tomorrow for $20. Bring cash and get one. If they sell quick, I'll order more. Also, lookout for some badass track jacket options coming up. Yes, a visor is coming....I just need someone to design it. Any volunteers?

We need a little help right after the run tomorrow! Be at HNL HQ (6000 Shakerag Hill #104) at 8:45 am to stuff the remaining domestic violence go bags. Loyalty Patch got our bag tags in and they should be on display tomorrow as well. Come out and help your fellow human and get some HNL swag as payment! Hope to see you all tomorrow!

Runtoberfest 2020 is a club run this year. We'll meet at LCB way before they're open and run the 5K route. Haven't decided on a time yet. Get your minds right for that hill!

See you all in the morning! Weather is going to be soooooo great!

09Oct

Friday info and stuffs

Happy Friday! It's gonna be a great weekend! Thanks to all who came out to help this week. It's going to be a busy week ahead. Please help if you can! Details below.

We had two cool opportunities to help this week and we're so grateful to have the means to take action when it's needed. It's because of the awesome job you people do and the positivity you bring to the game. There are not many groups like ours out there. Let's keep it up!

We got another call from the BOE about a family in need of a table for kids to do schoolwork on. Leslie headed up the effort and we had some help from Lauren Wise as well. Thanks so much to these ladies for pitching in and doing the work. Happy to report a brand new table and chairs are on the way to a grateful family. Next, we got to team up with one of our favorite partners, Promise Place, and perform some electrical work to get their dryers back online and working. Love those folks and the work they do. Shoutout to Electrical & Lighting Solutions of Peachtree City for doing the work! Y'all are the best! 

Happy to report we got the Panasonic grant for the Go Bags! Thanks for the help Panasonic! These $$$ are coming at the perfect time! 

Speaking of bags. We had to change the date and location for the bag stuffing event. Thanks to Amanda for going to all the trouble of booking the venue just to have the event cancelled. This is my fault and I'm sorry. The good news is that we're doubling her pay. Bonus!

The bag stuffing event is now the bag stuffing events. We're splitting the event into two parts and we're doing it at HNL HQ (6000 Shakerag Hill #104 PTC, GA) on Thursday evening 10/15 at 6:00 pm and Saturday morning 10/17 at 8:45 am. Choose one and respond to the event on FB if you can! Thank you!

Don't forget, PTC Classic route next weekend (10/17), and Runtoberfest on 10/24.

Tomorrow we're at Drake for a 7:00 start. 60 min loop! Be there!

 

02Oct

Thursday sucks - Rubtoberfest 15K - go bags event - Runtoberfest - new location

Happy Friday! It's going to be a phenomenal fall weekend! Don't miss out on the low temps for the run tomorrow. October is going to be a great month for HNL. Come out and be part of the fun!

This Thursday evening we're going to meet up for a vacuum bag sucking event. We'll start at HNL HQ around 6 and go till the bags are all sucked. We need people, beer, and vacuums. Check out the Facebook event for more details and a video of Leslie demonstrating how to suck the bags.

On the morning of 10/17 we're running the PTC Classic 15K route. Start studying now if you don't know it. There will not be front to backs. David Monsour will be at the finish giving free back rubs to the sweaty lady runners. Matt Tuff has agreed to massage any and all glutes during the warmup. This event will be referred to as Rubtoberfest. <---RISKY CLICK

We will be stuffing the Cummins and Panasonic grant domestic violence go bags on 10/19. Amanda has secured the location at the Tyrone Depot between 6 and 8. There will be a Facebook event for this as well. Click that going button when it appears!

Runtoberfest 5K happens 10/24. Don't forget. We'll meet at LCB and run the route whilst streaming tears of grief. Hope we can get lots of folks to come out. Clay Murfet will be there to defend his title and talk funny. 

Tomorrow we're back at KMart for the stinky trail path loop. We step off at 7 with Starbucks to follow. Should be about a 60 min route.

   

25Sep

PTCRC Virtual Race – Inventory Help – Busy weeks - NEW LOCATION tomorrow

It's a great day if you want it to be! Psyched about the weekend, can't wait to see if we can get a group like last week!

Don't forget to register for the PTCRC virtual race here: https://ptcrc.com/ptcrc-virtual-race/ and remember to use the discount code HNLVC2020 for $5 off. If you sign up before 10/2, you'll be one of the first to get the shirt. Sign up and let's all do it together on 10/17! *Don't forget Runtoberfest is the weekend after.

Gonna need some help tomorrow after the run. We've got LOTS of stuff for the DV bags and we need help counting whats been received. We're almost to the end of the ordering phase and this is a big job that will need at least 5-10 people. I think we can get it done in about an hour if we can get that many to help. We'll count the stuff in the boxes in the HNL office conference room then bring the boxes of counted stuff to the office in the back. We'll start around 8:15 at HNL HQ (6000 Shakerag Hill #104, Peachtree City, GA 30269). Let me know if you can bring a box of Joe for the people! Thank you in advance!

It's been a busy time for HNL. Shoutout to you special folks doing all the things! We keep getting the call for help at the right time. I really appreciate your quick responses and stepping up to make the magic happen. It looks like the next few weeks will be equally busy. I will keep asking for help so this is a great time to step up and get involved if you've been thinking about it! Come out and put your hands on some work that will help others. I promise you won't regret it!

We're going to conveniently start and end the run at HNL HQ tomorrow. I'm selfishly hoping this will allow some to stay and help count before they leave for sports. Let's get the run going at 7:00 am and go for about an hour. Front to backs and love for the lurkers coming out for the first time! Let me know if it's your first time and receive a free gift! Choose between an expired Hanuta chocolate bar or ALMOST expired Combos (pizza flavor) snack bag.

18Sep

hats and other swag - ptc classic discount - runtoberfest 3 - Sally Volunteering - running adventure new location

BOLO for hats and other swag! We're in the process of ordering some winter style gear. If you've got an opinion on what you'd like to see, let me know. I'll get you plugged into a group to make it happen.

The Peachtree City Running Club has offered us a discount on their 2020 virtual race. Learn more about it here: https://ptcrc.com/ptcrc-virtual-race/ and remember to use the discount code HNLVC2020 for some $$$ off. If you sign up before 10/2, you'll be one of the first to get the shirt. Show some love, HNL and sign up today!

I've had lots of questions about doing Runtoberfest 3 virtual. No. We're not. There will be a Runtoberfest 3 for HNLiens tho. 10/24 is the day. No fee, no shirt, beer after. Think Shamrock 10K style. Gonna be a rare event and all the folks who want to maintain their legacy status will need to show. More on this later.

If you've got any interest in traveling to South Alabama, Florida Panhandle for some manual labor next weekend, HMU. Seeking an opportunity to help now.  

Tomorrow we're meeting at the old K Mart parking lot for a 5ish mile loop at 7 am. We'll be trying the new path behind Wendy's that goes south through the swamp. It's supposed to be a great route but we've never been so come ready for an adventure. THIS IS NOT A TRAIL RUN. It's paved. All paces welcome! This is a great opportunity for a first timer! Once we finish, everyone can decide how much more they need. 

11Sep

Thank you!! - Veterans Day Ruck - NEW LOCATION TOMORROW

Thanks to all who've helped choose items for our domestic violence bags. A few of you still need to get me some links! Hope to get everything ordered this weekend. We were able to help two families this week! Thanks to the nice ladies who stepped up to donate, deliver, and make calls. I'm convinced y'all are the nicest folks around. As long as we keep getting the calls to help, we'll keep making it happen! THANK YOU!!!

We're in the beginning stages of planning our Veterans Day ruck. IF you'd like to help, HMU. Rusk is already got the wheels spinning. If you've never been to a ruck, make this one your first. What is a ruck? Rucking is cardio for people who think cardio sucks. It's basically walking with a weighted pack. How much weight? Up to you. It's a great way to get exercise and a better way to socialize. We usually have beer (we always have beer) so if that's your thing, show up! More info soon.

Tomorrow we're meeting at MOBA for the run. It's not exactaly MOBA, it's west of MOBA. Look at the photo. See MOBA in the bottom of the map? We're meeting in that parking lot by the arrow. It's on south Highway 74 in PTC. Meet at MOBA Way and MOBA Drive for a 700 start.

 

28Aug

SANE Nurse Project – Go Bags Project Phase 2 – Panasonic Pitch – Run Day

It’s a great Friday! Christina’s SANE nurse project wrapped up this week. We delivered lots of individually packaged and underwear to the Southern Crescent Sexual Assault Center. They were really grateful for your donations. Thanks so much to all the people that donated, sorted, packaged, and labeled, and packed. We got a tour of the facility and got to see the very important work they are doing. Many hospitals aren’t performing sexual assault kit collections anymore and are sending victims to Southern Crescent. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. They currently have 17 SANE nurses on a call rotation and are preparing to add more next month. They service adult and child sexual assault victims in 15 counties around the metro area. All of their buildings are converted historical houses and have a welcoming feel. It was so great to meet these folks doing important work in our community for crime victims. I have no doubt we’ll be teaming up with them in the future. Thanks for the project idea Christina!

 We’re entering the second phase of our domestic violence go bag project. With an awesome grant from Cummins, we’re attempting to create 100 go bags containing items for people escaping domestic violence. In phase one, we reached out to several domestic violence agencies around the state and learned about what they would like to see in the bags. We also wanted to know how many clients arrive with children. If so, how many kids? Do they serve men? We learned that the agencies see about half of their clients show up with 2 to 5 kids. Most of them do serve men but see far fewer numbers of men requesting help. Based on this info, we decided to attempt 45 bags for individual women, 45 bags for women with children, and 10 bags for men. In the initial survey, there were 10 people that said they’d help order. Those 10 people will get an email today with the items they are responsible for researching. We want the highest quality at the lowest price. We’re aiming to evoke feelings of comfort and kindness when our customers open these bags. If we can let them know that someone cares about them while providing actual help, we win. Once we get the exact list nailed down, I’ll order one of everything and we can try it in a few different bags to make sure it all fits! After that, it’ll be time to order all this and stuff it into bags. There will be more updates but if you’ve not signed up to help and would like to, lemme know. Also, if you’ve got a connection that might be able to get us stuff for free, I’m interested. The highest cost items in the bag will likely be food gift cards, pre-paid cell phones, and the bag itself. Getting a deal on any of these three items would be huge. More to come!

Speaking of help, Izzy and I got to make a pitch to Panasonic today. Last year, we pitched to make them a sponsor of our race. This year, we’re trying to get some help for the go bags. Let’s see what they say. Thanks to Jason Weida for the opportunity. Thanks to Izzy for writing the grant proposal and making the pitch. Fingers crossed!

 Saturday run day is gonna be at Drake. Mass start at 7. Be there!

07Aug

Drake run - Andrew's Angels - Geoff Oldham

Gonna lead with the run info. We're back at Drake for a 0700 start. Hope to see some of the OGs back out there with us this weekend.

I'll bring the random acts of kindness cards tomorrow for Andrew's Angels Day on 8/13. These cards are going to help continue Andrew's legacy with random acts of kindness. What a great way to remember Andrew in honor of his 17th birthday this Thursday. HNL is going to help spread his love and show others kindness in his memory. Even if you're not running, come by at 7 or 8 and get some cards. CLICK HERE to show support and let us know you'll help spread some love!!! 

We lost a good man this week. Geoff Oldham was an HNLien from way back in the OBC days. He came to us thanks to Ryan, his next-door neighbor. If you knew Geoff, you loved his easy demeanor and his hilariously dry commentary. You also knew he loved his family and cared deeply for his girls. I was lucky enough to stand by his side during many games that our girls played either with or against each other. If our girls were opposing, he’d always send a trash talking text about betting on the game. After the game, he’d send positive messages about my kid and her performance.  He always paid close attention to what was going on during the games. We’d be speaking and mid-sentence and he’d scream, “SECOND DEFENDER!!” I still don’t have any clue what 70% of what he said means, but I can hear it in my mind very clearly. Half of the time he was directing his sideline coaching at the players, the other half of the time, he was talking to his wife…..the actual coach. He wasn’t just attending those games; he was present and involved. Even when he was sick, he made the games…and was just as positive and encouraging to the kids as he’d always been.

Geoff got a tough diagnosis a few years ago. You probably know that feeling of helplessness that you get when a friend gets that kind of news. You’re not sure how to help or what to say. You didn’t need to say much because Geoff was putting you at ease and making light of it with comments about how his feeding tube was the perfect way to “fight off those pesky holiday pounds.” His attitude was inspirational. He faced cancer with courage. He fought cancer with boldness. He continued to be the same great person he always was.

We got to spend a few hours with him last Thursday. It was an old school Planterra street meet. We all stood around and talked about Netflix shows and drank beer. There was no way we could have known that was the last time we’d get to do that with him. It wasn’t sad or strange. It felt normal, and I’m glad we got to have that experience. I’m a sap and have been looking through old text messages we shared. This one from the end of the year seems to represent Geoff and his personality. He sent it a day after he dropped off gifts he bought for Matt Tuff’s nursing home project.

G: Yo slim. You honk at me near Booth just now?

Me: Nosir. Haven’t left the house.

G: Well, I waved anyway. It’s just how I roll.

That’s how he was. Consistent. Humble. Kind. We’ll miss him.

https://youtu.be/PuNXEUwIQMY

24Jul

SANE Nurse project - Andrew's Angels 2nd Annual Random Act of Kindness Day - Week of stuff to do - Drake loops

Hey everybody! The SANE nurse project is back on. This weekend, my daughters will be sorting all the underwear that I've been carrying around in my trunk for months. Could have been a really awkward situation had I gotten into a wreck. In addition to sorting, we'll order the bags and container as well. We need someone to take on the delivery. If this is something you can assist with, lemme know.

The second annual Andrew's Angels Random Act of Kindness Day is coming up on August 13. Learn more and indicate you're willing to participate here. Starting next weekend, I'll have some of the cards we'll use to spread the love. All you need to do is spread random of kindness and leave the card behind. This is a wonderful way to honor Andrew's memory and remind us to always choose kindness and laughter.  

Next week will have lots of options for exercise. Monday is Kedron Rink hill day. Start at 6:30 am. People will be running Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings. Thursday night slow ride location(s) will be announced Wednesday. Get out and get social this week. Lots of options for whatever distance you want!

Saturday run starts at 7:00 am at Drake. Choose any distance you like! Be there!

17Jul

Runtoberfest 2020 Update - Domestic violence bags message/meeting - Monday stairs workout - Drake Sweaty loops  

Yo. It's pretty hot out there. JUST THE WAY WE LIKE IT!!

Way back in April (feels like a lifetime ago), it felt like the Runtoberfest question would answer itself come summer. Well, it feels like the answer is becoming more clear in July. Most everyone I've talked to seems to think that it's not a smart idea to plan this event as it'll likely have to be cancelled. Also, there is a strong possibility that even if we did host the event, the struggle to get 300 runners might prove difficult. I'm 1000% certain that we all have lots of different opinions on this and I'd like to hear them. If you've got big feelings on this, lets talk. Maybe a free race without swag planned closer to the time of the race (this keeps our streak alive), a virtual race, a smaller event, or some other option. I know this sucks but we've got to be realistic. Looking at all the big races canceling just makes it seem like 2020 isn't a good year for races. It be like that sometimes. It really do.

Thanks to all the awesome people that filled out the survey for the domestic violence bags. Expect a email from me to discuss next steps. I'll outline the framework of a plan and some options for an in person meeting. Since I last wrote about the grant, we learned it's considerably larger than we first thought. This is going to be a great opportunity for us. So exciting! 

The Monday morning workout is going to be stairs. We'll be at Westpark again unless we can get into the McIntosh High School stadium. Stay tuned Sunday night for details on the Monday morning workout.

The run tomorrow is a Drake sweatfest. Show up for a 7:00 start and do all the miles you want. The planned route will be 60 minutes but you can turn early if you only want 30...or less. Some of you reading this are newbies trying to figure out how crazy this crew is. Come find out, we'll be nice. Promise!

 

10Jul

Big news - slow rides continue - beginners welcome - drake loops

Good afternoon! First, big news. That grant I've been writing about for the past few weeks is gonna be a thing. Learned last night that we've been awarded another big grant from Cummins for our domestic violence bags project. This is going to be a big deal. Last year we did two deliveries to Promise Place and they loved them. Our bags are designed to be given to someone escaping domestic violence. We want to provide survival and comfort items to help someone get by for 48 hours. We did 15 last year. This is going to be a much much larger operation. So psyched. This is the kind of work we get to do that really makes a difference for people in need. So, that's where you come in. We're gonna need a lot of help on this. Start with this survey if you want to help. I'd really like to try and get a high quality pack and gear that will be useful. At our first meeting, we can share the results of a survey Promise Place did with our last bags to see what people liked and what they didn't like. Also, a few had answers to what else they would like to see in the bags. Thanks in advance for your help on this! Take the survey here: https://forms.gle/FCUbA197AtfA9U5ZA

Slow rides are still cool. Thanks to all who came out last night. That rainy ride home was pretty awesome. Stay tuned to social media for the location next Thursday.

This is a great time for the lurkers to come out. People are really enjoying the later start time and (dare I say) slower pace. If you've been thinking about coming out, this is a great time to get with this cool ass group.

Mass start at Drake tomorrow 700 am. Be there. All distances and all paces welcome!

 

 

26Jun

Grant opportunity update - Monday stairs - Thursday slow ride - different location tomorrow   

Happy Friday y'all! Got an update on the grant opportunity I wrote about last week. After lots of back and forth, they decided they want to try and focus on the domestic violence first 48 bags we've done twice now. The idea is to create a bag with items for people escaping domestic violence. The items in the bag will sustain a few people for 48 hours and hopefully bring a little comfort to the recipient. If we're awarded the grant, I'll post that news and then be asking for help. The amount of bags we'd be creating this time would be significantly higher than the last two times so standby for work!

The past two Monday events have been really fun. This Monday morning we'll meet at El Ranchero Westpark for a 6:30 am stair workout. This will be a difficult workout that is sure to please. Everyone is welcome to come out and sweat with us. Be there.

Last night was another successful slow ride. If you've not been to one yet, come out and join us next Thursday. We choose local businesses to support, travel there as a really weird biker gang, drink alcohol and eat food, then tip nicely before we leave. As long as people keep showing up, we'll keep doing them. Not sure where we'll be next week so give me suggestions. So far we've been to Partners, Y Knot, Line Creek, El Ranchero, Big Shots, Ga Shrimp, Big Daddy's....Let's do Kroger next and drink in the produce section? Terrible idea.

Don't go to Drake for the run tomorrow. We're meeting Glenloch Recreation Center for some of that east side goodness. Small parking lot will make our group look bigger. You know what I'm talking about.

7:00 am mass start. Any and all distances welcome. Front to backs and all that. See you in the am!

19Jun

Slow ride - monday info - grant opportunity - drake loops

Sorry for the late post. Thanks to everyone who came out to the slow ride last night. It's great to support local businesses and even better to support one of our own! As long as you people keep showing up, we'll keep the Thursday night events going. Next Thursday we're gonna give Y Knot a try and see if they can handle us. More info on Wednesday afternoon.

Monday is a thing. Earlier in the year we had a solid group meeting Monday mornings for a 5K loop. We tried again this week and had a blast on the Kedron Fieldhouse hill. Let's try it again this Monday at the Riley Field track. 630 am start to start your Monday! Be there!

Leslie and I got a message today from a company that has been a partner of ours for years. They've asked us to partner on a COVID related program but they want us to come up with what it would look like. This is a great opportunity to brainstorm and see what ideas are out there. Love to hear some ideas from y'all. Think about populations disproportionately affected, systems that need improvement, needs going unmet, or technology that could help in the current pandemic. Be creative! If we can get some energy here, we could meet soon and develop something awesome.

Tomorrow we're back at Drake for the same 700 mass start. Temp will be 64 so no heat related excuses allowed! All distances and paces welcome! See you all at 7. 

12Jun

Back at it - Runtoberfest - thursday evenings - Drake loop

It's been a long time, HNL! Can't wait to get back together tomorrow! Thanks for being so patient over the past three months. After the Shamrock 10K, we decided to suspend large group runs until the expiration of the Governor's public health emergency. This doesn't mean that the risk is non existent and we're not making any guarantee that you'll be ok. Running as a group has always been a risky activity and this an additional risk you're taking on if you show up. We can probably all agree that it's been difficult to know exactly what to do, who to listen to, how to behave. HNL is no authority on this, we're just trying to navigate through like everyone else. We're following the leadership of Governor Kemp. It's on tomorrow.

Runtoberfest. Should it be a thing this year? Is it a good idea? Need your thoughts. I've talked with a few of you about changing the date to the same day LCB does their Oktoberfest event. This would be sometime in the traditional Oktoberfest season (late September). The date change would also move us out of competition with the PTCRC Classic. We need to hear more thoughts on this. Just wondering...if we build it, will runners run? 

In case you didn't know, Thursday evening running and slow riding is a thing now. We did the PTC Village 5Ks five weeks in a row and had a great showing for the associated slow rides. Check our social media for the information on where to meet. We have been meeting at a local spot for a 5K at 5:30 pm followed by supporting a local restaurant. Hoping for a Big Shots or Ga. Shrimp meetup next week. Stay tuned!

Tomorrow we're meeting at Drake for a massive single out and back. Everyone starts at 7:00 and gets to run as far as they like. One mile, three miles, six miles, all welcome. We'll all start together and turn back depending on the distance you want. Front to backs cause you know how we do. I'll ask about distances right before the start and promise to get you a turnaround warning custom fit to your needs! See you all in the morning!

700 - every damn body.  

01May

Light at the end of the tunnel

It’s been too long! I know we all miss each other so I wanted to share a post that would give an update on what we’ve been doing as well as give some idea on what’s on the horizon for group runs. First, thanks to all the people that pitched in to help in April. We got to be involved in a few fun projects. Thanks to Fleet Feet for donating the socks we stuffed in the care packages delivered to each shift at all the Peachtree City fire and police stations. Thanks to Rob Thomas for moving our massive vinyl sign around to all the fire stations. Thanks to Alaina for putting together a super fun care package delivery for our friends at Piedmont Healthcare. We also got to buy a really cool bunkbed for some kids who were sleeping on the floor (look at the HNL FB post for more info). Really appreciate all of you who donated to make those things happen!

Now to the future. Let me start by stating that there is no way to make everyone happy. Also, please assume positive intent as it applies to your friends and their decisions to come out and participate or not. We all need to be respectful of one another. People are attempting to make the best choices for the health of their families and there is a severe lack of data or other information to make any of these decisions easy. We felt that the best way forward was to follow the lead of our elected officials. PTC parks are open again today. Governor Kemp’s shelter in place order has also expired for most HNLiens. PTC has requested no large gatherings (groups of 10 or more) in the parks until the Governor’s public health emergency declaration expires on June 12. The plan is to run in smaller groups until our first large gathering (depending on who shows) at Drake on June 13. This feels like the most reasonable course of action based on something other than YouTube doctor videos, conventional wisdom, or Facebook epidemiology. Prior to Kemp extending the emergency declaration to June, I consulted with our medical director first then sent this to our board of directors for their approval. They were all supportive of the idea when we discussed it Wednesday evening. Over the next few weeks in smaller groups then once we’re back together big group style, we’ll certainly encounter people on the paths who won’t be happy with us. We’ll try to be as respectful as we can and try to keep the CDC guidelines in mind. I hope to see you all very soon!  

13Mar

Shamrock 10K at Big Shots Info - St. Patrick's Day Hash Run

Yes. It's on. We're going to take the proper precautions. Remember, BIG SHOTS (102 B Guthrie Way, Peachtree City, GA 30269) not Ga Shrimp.

The Shamrock 10K is happening tomorrow. This is an outdoor event and nobody is allowed to get close to each other. No hugs, high fives, butt slaps, fist bumps, monkey humps, handshakes, Eskimo kisses (Scott), cheek kisses, French kisses, Ecuadorian kisses, Polish kisses, or any other kind of damn kisses. Keep your bodily fluids to yourself please. That being said, er, written, please come out and enjoy the awesome weather we're going to have. This event has been rained on for 28 years in a row. Tomorrow is going to be dry of rain and mucus. Be there.

We're collecting new women's underwear for our SANE (sexual assault nurse examiner) project. When victims of sexual assault leave the hospital after an exam, they are frequently left without undergarments. While it's important for law enforcement to collect the proper evidence, we want to focus on the needs of the victim. We're teaming up with a local SANE nurse and providing new underwear which can be given to women after an exam. If you aren't comfortable buying women's underwear (Scott), bring cash and we'll take care of it. Don't have the time to go shopping today? Cash works. Everyone who brings panties or cash is entered in a drawing to win a free bib for the HOTlanta Half and 5K. If you happen to bring the most underwear, you'll get a HOTlanta bib free! Thanks to our buddies at the HOTlanta Half for donating! 

Let's discuss the 10K. This is not a race. It's not even a real 10K if you don't want it to be. Since it's out and back, you could do 3 miles, 2 miles, 1 miles, .5 miles, you get the point. Let's say you can't run at all and just want to come hang out and donate under britches/cash, cool. This is the non race for you! There are no kids sports scheduled since the earth is cancelled, show up and hang out.

There will be alcohol. Bloody Mary bar like last year and mimosa station. Don't drink and drive (Scott). It's dangerous and dumb. Nobody likes people that drink and drive, we checked. Bring something to share. Don't make it. Stuff in packaging is preferred. Remember, we're being responsible so keep your filthy hands out of the food. Buy it already made. Setup starts at 7:30 am and the run starts at 8:00 am sharp. There will be a national anthem (Scott), pre-race safety message, route description, and beer toast. Don't pull up at 8:00 expecting to hear all of it.

Don't forget, Big Shots not Ga Shrimp.

The St. Patrick's Day Hash Run info will come out Monday. Stay tuned. It will be starting at 6:30 pm on Tuesday evening so let your boss know now. If they ask about why you might need to leave early that day, have them call me. I guarantee a positive conversation that will likely end with your immediate promotion. 

Thanks to all who have donated to the Benton family. We're still collecting gift cards so feel free to bring some tomorrow!        

06Mar

Benton Family Update - SwitchYard Grant Meeting - Shamrock 10K - St. Patrick's Day Hash Run

Happy Friday! Shannon shared a message from her husband this week:

First of all - your outpouring of support and prayers for my family and I have been truly overwhelming. I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate it and how much it means to me to be a part of such an embracing community.

So many of you have reached out to understand my recent health condition and I want to provide an update.

Last Wednesday morning, I woke up after having a stroke. I didn't have advanced signs, I simply woke up with a splitting headache and strange darkened eyesight in my left eye.

That day, I thought I had a migraine; Shannon took me to the ER after it didn't clear up or improve, and we still thought I would get a shot or something then go home. The doctors did their due diligence, thank God, and after a CT scan found the blockage at the back of my brain (the stroke). It had cleared but my sight has only partially returned thus far to my left eye.

After a lot of further testing, the stroke was found to have originated from my heart. No infection has been diagnosed yet after days of testing and I'm now having valve replacement heart surgery for both my Aortic and mitral valves this Friday at 8 a,m. at Piedmont Atlanta Hospital. The doctors say I should be home about 5-6 days after. Recovery will be slow at home and I should have follow up visits to help me understand my program, which I know will include lots of walking.

I have enjoyed all the hospital visits from friends and family, and some that have just walked laps around the hospital talking with me. These times keep my energy up, my spirit stimulated and my body in shape. God will get me through this and I ask that you please have Shannon, the kids and I in your prayers.

Thank you all,

Brad

HNL will continue to collect gift cards so bring them tomorrow! Also, there is a meal train set up HERE. Thank you all so much for your help!

After the run tomorrow, we'll have a SwitchYard Grant meeting. This was the grant we gave to a young entrepreneur two years ago. We're going bigger and better this year! We'll meet at HNL HQ following the run tomorrow. Coffee will be provided! Even if you don't end up participating in the program, come learn about it and hang out.

Do not forget the Shamrock 10K next Saturday! There will also be a hash run the following Tuesday evening. We'll be collecting new underwear for our SANE nurse project. Start buying them now so you'll be prepared. Do not come out to the Shamrock 10K without underwear. You read that correctly.

See you all at Drake tomorrow! If you haven't been out with us in awhile (or ever) come try the walk/run option at 7:30. Linda is the best!

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min

7:30 - 30 min walk/run option!

 

28Feb

Important news

We learned this week that Shannon’s husband suffered a stroke. He’s currently being treated at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta. We’re obviously wanting to help Shannon as much as we can right now so please remember Brad and Shannon and the kids in your prayers. She’s asked specifically that we pray for Brad’s vision. Her church group is working on ways to help as well so if we can team up, we will. For now, we need to step up with some comfort and help with the immediate needs. We’ll be collecting gift cards for groceries and basics tomorrow (and the rest of the week). Bring anything you’d like to pass on tomorrow and we'll get it delivered. Looking forward, we’re really wanting to sustain the love and help so BOLO for meal trains and the like. Y’all come out tomorrow and be thinking of innovative ways we can be helpful. We do lots of stuff for others but when it comes to one of our own….let’s show up in a big and helpful way. Drake tomorrow

6:30 – 60 min

7:30 - 30 min

21Feb

run info - Ruck for hope - that's all! NEW LOCATION

Sorry, no time for chit chat.

NEW LOCATION FOR THE RUN LOOPS!

Meet at Oak Grove Elementary for the run.

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min

7:30 - 30 min run/walk option

11:00 - Ruck for Hope at Line Creek Brewing Co. - BE THERE! Do not miss this. Free beer for anyone who does any run loop above and comes to the ruck. Bring a grocery store or wal mart gift card to help this young man's family!

14Feb

happy valentine's day - ruck for hope - project help - drake

Some of y'all were today years old when you learned it's Valentine's Day. Today. Like, right now. Save yourself and get down on some of those cards at Publix. Fight through the crowd of dudes already there. Don't get caught slippin and end up on the couch tonight. At your age, sleeping on the couch will ruin your neck for weeks. Can't say HNL doesn't provide a community service with a solid heads up like this. 

Don't forget the Ruck HNL ruck for hope on 2/22. Grab a grocery store gift card and show up to help the family of a nice young man fighting cancer. We're hoping to help them out with some gift card love. Be there!

Need some help! Last night, we met and constructed ten domestic violence sign prototypes. I will have three with me tomorrow morning. We need three people to each take one and agree to get a local doctor or clinic on board. I'll give you all the help you need to make it happen, just need three tiny little itty bitty commitments. It doesn't have to be complicated, it can be your own doctor. C'mon, step up. This is a small project that could have a big impact for someone! Also, Christina's SANE nurse project is off to a great start. We're in the process of identifying a partner nurse/hospital then we'll collect underwear. BOLO for an opportunity to help with this!

We'll be at Drake tomorrow morning. Hope to get everyone there! We haven't seen some of you in a few weeks. COME OUT AND BE SEEN!

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min

7:30 - 30 min walk/run option

07Feb

last day for pads - Thursday meeting - company sponsored grants - ruck for hope - Drake for loops

Tomorrow will be the last day we'll be collecting pads. For really. Please bring a box or two if you can. I'll take tampons but pads are preferred.

This Thursday we'll have a meeting at 6:30 pm for two different projects. First, our meeting with Promise Place went really well. We collaborated on a design idea and they took it to their board for consideration. They loved it too. At our meeting on Thursday, we'll all take a look and discuss our targets for deployment. If we can get 10 out there before the end of the month, it's a win. Come and see what we've created and learn about how you can help us make this project successful! Second, Christina is having a meeting about the SANE nurse project right after we discuss the Promise Place project. The problem Christina is working on focuses on victims of sexual assaults after a sexual assault examination. Many times, the undergarments are taken as evidence by police and the victim is left with very few dignified options to leave the hospital or clinic. The plan is to see how we might be able to stock a variety of options (perhaps even small bags) for SANE nurses to deliver, post exam. Gonna need some help here, people! Show up Thursday evening at HNL HQ and let's discuss ideas, then plan on how to make this a reality! 6000 Shakerag Hill #104, Peachtree City, GA 30269

I really hope you're reading this at work. We need a favor from you. Could you search your company intranet for community grants or charitable giving? Maybe send an email to your boss asking about the same? Pretty please? Could you do it now? We'll wait.

Thanks. If this is a thing at your work, we need to talk. The good news is you won't have to do any of the writing. We'll take care of all the difficult stuff, I promise. As you know, HNL is an IRS non-profit and has been the recipient of some awesome grants from companies large and small. Please let us know if you get any positive results so we can team up and get some of those $$$ for projects. Thanks!

We just learned that an 8th grader at Whitewater Middle School, Luke, is undergoing chemotherapy treatment for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia at CHOA right now, and the only way we can show our love and support for Luke and his family is by doing a ruck and collecting donations. We're thinking along the lines of restaurant, grocery store, or sporting goods store gift cards. Luke is an only child, loves basketball and hanging with his new friends at WMS, and we want to do what we can to help them out during his treatment. This will be a family-friendly ruck or hike from Line Creek Brewing on February, 22 at 11 am. Distance-3-5 miles. Possibly trail if we make it to the nature area. Bundle up and bring a water bottle. Socialize at the brewery afterwards.

Tomorrows weather looks cold but dry for the HNL loops. Welcome to all the new people! Don't forget the 7:30 am option for the run/walk crowd. Bring the kids and dogs out for that one!

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min

7:30 - 30 walk and run loop

 

 

31Jan

Promise Place update - pads needed tomorrow - SANE nurse project - Switchyard 2020 - hotlanta half - utilities help

We had a great showing last night for our Promise Place project. Thanks to all who came out to brainstorm and collaborate. We're meeting with Promise Place soon for approval then we'll need help again. Stay tuned for ways to help here. This is going to be a good one for us!

Please please please bring some pads tomorrow. I'll take tampons as well but pads were the primary need. The nurse at Fayette County High School is a nice lady and she's in need of help. Let's make it happen. Ladies, send your husbands out to the store and get them involved here. Nothing to be ashamed of. Let's see some photos of dudes not scared to buy pads. No self checkout allowed. Seriously tho. Need some help here!

Christina King has a really great idea on how to help SANE nurses and sexual assault victims. Not going to spoil her plans but we could use some volunteers here. Please let her or I know if you'd like to be on this team. Really cool stuff here for some people very deserving of our help.

Speaking of help, we're going to have a Switchyard 2020 meeting next month. Get in on the ground floor of this! Ryan is leading the charge of soliciting applications then selecting kids for the grant. This will be such a great way to encourage young entrepreneurs but we'll need some others to help spread the word and decide. Get involved! This will be another great project for us in 2020.

I know it's early but HNL has already committed to the mile 4 water station at the Hotlanta Half. This will be our third year and it's always a blast. Sunday, June 7, 2020 is the date. If you're not running, join us at the water station. It's so much fun!

Last week we got an urgent request from a local medical professional who saw a need they thought we could help with. They told us about an older married couple who both had some really unfortunate and untimely medical emergencies which compounded into a total loss of work and income. SS assistance is slow, loan modifications we're requested, state assistance applications were filled out, but those power and water bills kept piling up. It was like they just needed a bridge to get to the other side. Thanks to the really nice people you all are, HNL was able to help close the gap and respond by wiping out those utility bills. Thanks to you nice folks who raise money on Facebook for your birthday or the ones who cut us a check, this is how we use your dollars. Thank you!

It's been awhile so we're back at Drake tomorrow. The run/walk group is going strong and it's never too late to join so come out and join us. No excuses!

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min

7:30 - 30 min run and walk combo

 

24Jan

Pancake breakfast run - domestic violence project - SwitchYard 2020 - Fayette County High donation - Australia Day Run - Saturday loops

We're starting all the loops from McIntosh HS tomorrow. It's the social event of the winter and we need to show love to our Kiwanis friends. Please buy your tickets ahead of time HERE and skip the wait at the door. Which HNLien can eat the most pancakes? I'm pretty sure the record is only 5 so you've got a real shot at taking the title. For planning purposes, have the kids and the rest of the family meet you there at 8:00 am. Pancakes, sausage, OJ, and coffee are included.

On Thursday we'll meet at HNL HQ for a brainstorming session for the domestic violence project we're working on with Promise Place. The idea came from the photo below. We need to discuss the content of the sign and how we'd like to see it distributed. Should we add the National Domestic Violence text line? Ideas on how to make the sign more durable or ascetically pleasing? Is there any technology we could utilize here? We need all types of people and no ideas are too big or too small. Come out and meet our buddy Audry Holliday, the new Chair of the Griffin Judicial Circuit Domestic Violence Task Force. Whatever we come up with will be submitted to Promise Place for their approval. I'd really like to see this branded with their logo but that's one of the items we need to discuss. Be there even if you don't have any thoughts on this yet. We need support here!

Switchyard 2020 is coming! In 2018, we called it a small business grant and we're bringing it back bigger and better! It was so much fun to see the results of our work 2018. We selected a young man who took full advantage of the prize and made us proud. In 2019, his mom let us know how impactful the grant was and how much it helped. That made me regret not doing the grant in 2019. In 2020, our ATL theming continues with our Switchyard grant where we will bring together business coaches (you) and young entrepreneurs. We're going to link them up and develop a plan for success. Should we pick one grant application or multiple? How do we get the application out in the wild? What does the mentoring plan look like (Don't be scared. Parents will always be present as will multiple HNLiens at each meeting)? How much does each winner get? These are questions we need to answer and we need your help. Ryan Janos has graciously agreed to take this project on and finally get to use that MBA he worked so hard for. We need all types of help so please think of this as a great way to jump into an HNL project that is GUARANTEED to make a positive impact in a young persons life. If you've ever been part of a selection committee we've done, you know how great it is to read through the applications. Let Ryan know if you're interested!         

Tomorrow is the first day we'll be accepting donations of feminine hygiene products for Fayette County High School. The school nurse has requested pads over tampons to that's what we'll focus on. Please get them to me tomorrow so we can get this collection started. Not sure how long we'll be collecting so might as well take care of it now! When we dropped off the individualized packs that Anna made, the nurse was so impressed. I just found out today that Anna MADE THEM BY HAND! I had no clue. They were so cool that we're gonna make some more. That's where you come in. We're going to meet at HNL with the materials and your sewing machines to make them. What could go wrong when you bring beer and sewing machines together? So much fun. We'll announce the date of production once we get a good sized donation of pads built up (hopefully soon).

Australia Day Run happens on Sunday! Be at Fleet Feet at 8:00 am for the festivities from down under. Kangaroos get in free. Not sure on the distance yet but I'm certain it will be in meters. Less than 10, more than 2? Come find out and drink a Fosters!

All the loops tomorrow are from McIntosh High School. Park on the student parking side please.

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min (walk run option available)

8:00 - Pancake eating extravaganza

 

 

 

17Jan

board meeting - Beer mile - beltline run - fayette county HS donation

What a great day! Last night we met as a board and did official things. We approved a budget like a real grown up charity. We also discussed things we wanted to accomplis this year. I've heard lots of people say they want to get more involved so here is your chance! I'll be reaching out to some of you individually for help and depending on others to step up. 2020 is going to be outstanding because of the people that make this whole thing work. That's you. Keep being awesome. 

Don't forget the beer mile tonight! Starts at Line Creek at 7:00 pm. Lot's of people are betting on Clay winning. Now that he's pregnant, he can't drink beer. This is an opportunity for one of you fast people to win the title! Register here and pay cash or card at the door: NEVER MIND, SOLD OUT. Cool. Show up anyway and spectate or take a ticket from someone who's changed their mind.

Tomorrow is BeltLine run #1. We'll meet up at Kroger north (the one by Target) at 6:20 am and leave at 6:30. Once we get to Ponce City Market, we'll go north for 30 min and back. Coffee and breakfast at Pancake Social to follow. 30 min option and walking options are available if you bring a friend. If you don't have an excuse, try and make this happen. We don't leave PTC very often and this will be fun, guaranteed. I'm also personally guaranteeing it will not rain on us. Forecast looks solid.

We learned of some help needed at Fayette County High School. The school nurse is asking for help with a collection of feminine hygiene products. She was given some of the individualized packs Anna made and was blown away. She was loving them! Thanks Anna! We'll have a collection for the school in February so start stocking up. She prefers pads to tampons and all sizes and types are welcome. Once we get the collection done, we'll get together and put together 50 or 100 packs like Anna made and deliver them to the school.

The HNL walk/run group is still on at 7:30 at Drake. Tracy and/or Linda will lead! Keep showing up!

   

10Jan

HNL Beltline Circumnavigation - Pancake breakfast - Australia Day Run - Run HNL onramp - tomorrow

Gonna be a few changes to the Saturday run options this month. Be there tomorrow if you have an opinion on any of these events. You can also leave a note in the comment box on your way out.

2020 ATL BeltLine Circumnavigation. We've discussed doing this for ages and January might be the perfect month to start. Most of your kids aren't in sports yet so there is less of a need to rush back home after the run. Teach your kids (or your spouse) how to get their own damn breakfast and join us for an adventure. We're going to attempt to circumnavigate the entire ATL BeltLine Project in 2020. It's only about 30 miles long but there are some highly developed parts and not so developed parts. We need to decide which segment we want to run first. The obvious and easy option is to park at Ponce City Market and go out and back. To me, this seems like a better option for a Springtime evening event but we should discuss. The more adventurous options include point to point runs, Southside BeltLine trail, or the Westside BeltLine art tour. Lot's of options available and we'll likely limit each run to 60 mins so we can have a larger group. Let's be creative when we do these and make a point to patronize small businesses in the neighborhoods we visit. This will not always be comfortable.....on purpose. I vote we start at Monday Night Garage and go north past the 20 or so art installations LIKE THIS ONE then return. Extra adventure option is to continue running north on the BeltLine to the Maddox Park MARTA station and ride the train back to the start. Think about it. Discuss tomorrow.

The Saturday run on 1/18 will start and end at McIntosh High School so we can support our Kiwanis friends. Billed as the social event of the winter, their pancake breakfast never disappoints. Buy your tickets HERE and show love to some nice folks who do good things for others.

Don't forget the Australia Day run on 1/26. This is a SUNDAY event because we're sick of the war on Australia Day. We don't say Happy Aussie Day or Happy Down Under Day, this is apologetically Australia Day. We do it ON Australia Day. Deal with it, Kiwis. Should be lots of fun with Vegemite, boomerangs, dingos and babies. We're donating to a legit relief organization as well. If you have the means, please indicate you're going on the FB event page so we know how many shrimps and/or barbies to bring.      

Looking to start running or get back into it? We'll have an HNL onramp run option tomorrow which will be mostly walking with 7-10 minute long running segments. Show up at 7:30 am if you want to give it a try!

Tomorrow we're at Drake. Weather will hold off until we're done. I guarantee it.    

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min

7:30 - 30 min walk with 7-10 minute long jogging segments

 

27Dec

Beat it, 2019 – 2020 is gonna be great – Saturday loops at Drake – McDuff resolution run – 2020 accountability group

Thanks to everyone for such a great year! 2019 was big for HNL. We did lots of stuff (video link at the bottom) and helped lots of people. Of all the projects we took on and good times we had; our growth is the best evidence of our impact. This is becoming an actual thing, y’all. We added some new people and took on some unique projects this year. HNL works and grows because of your help. If we all pitch in, it’s near effortless! Thanks to all of you for what you do and your individual contributions to our mission. Hope you’ll stick around.

2020. Who’s in?

As you probably know, HNL is all over the place….in a good way. Do y’all help kids? Yep. How about vets? Sure. Dogs? Ok. Random needs as they arise? Hell yes. Years long projects requiring sustaining donations and work? Oh yes. How about new ideas? Yes, please.

If anything, HNL is an incubator for big ideas. You’re empowered to make the world better with them. We want you to feel like HNL is a force multiplier for your project ideas. If we can continue to innovate AND grow at the same time, everyone wins. The worst thing we can do is stagnate. Here are some possible avenues to explore in 2020.  Some of these may seem ambitious but how can we change the world without taking some chances? We’re doing great in the big-ticket item game (2019 was the year of washers and dryers for HNL). Sure would love to see another reliable transportation project or even some housing help. Medical debt, anyone? How can we get involved in this and really take some pressure off a family? It’s big expenses like these that could make a long-lasting difference for people. Education costs? Scholarships? Could be cool. The kid’s business grant is coming back better than ever, BOLO for HNL’s Switchyard 2020. Camp grants too! We just need you to jump in and come up with ideas for how to make this stuff happen! Some of these items might require some thinking outside the box or even doing some unconventional research like sitting through eviction court sessions or working with a local medical provider to sanitize lists of debt. Some of these things might not be easy to take on. Some of your ideas might not work. Let’s do it anyway. Be bold, HNLiens!

We’re at Drake for the last loops of 2019. If you’re a newcomer, now is a great time to join us! Come out for the 7:15 am walk!

6:30 – 60 min

7:30 – 30 min

7:15 – 45 min walk

Don’t miss the Resolution Run on Tuesday morning. It’ll be a Sunrise McDuff run. Meet at Home Depot for a 7:00 am start.

Interested in joining the 8 week accountability group? 3 days a week at Fitness 54, running on Wednesday and Saturday, food log required. Sweat will happen, holiday calories will suffer. Ask Matt Tuff for info.

Here is the link to the 2019 video: https://www.wevideo.com/view/1545819796

20Dec

Southland Nursing Home - Maggie Brown – Project Bean – Caroling – Christmas Eve – Saturday Loops

It’s been awhile! I wanted to share the results of some of the projects we’ve been working on this month. HNL has really been on it lately! Last week, we delivered 40 gift bags to Southland Nursing Home. When Matt Tuff learned of the need, he got the list to us and we planned on trying to get half the list covered by volunteers and HNL could cover the rest. Less than one day after putting the list out there, we had more volunteers than we had gifts to give. Not sure why but the response blew me away. Y’all jumped in so quick we didn’t know what to do with all the love. We had to turn people away! So cool. Awesome HNLiens showed up on Sunday and got the bags packed and made a card for each of the folks receiving gifts. One of the needs that we learned about was a young resident who asked for a PS4. We won’t get into the circumstances, but you can imagine the issues that come with living amongst people three times your age. HNL made the PS4 happen in a big way and went far beyond the request. This is the kind of stuff y’all are getting done for the people who need love. Thank you!

We thought you might like to see how HNL’s efforts look at Maggie Brown Middle in Coweta. 70% of the school’s population is taking home food FOR THE WEEKEND every Friday. Staff at the school was taking uniforms home to wash them. After Leslie and Anna set up the Maggie Brown Dignity Store, Home Depot delivered and installed a brand-new washer and dryer. It’s been a great year for HNL and appliances! This makes 8 (I think) in 2019! Here is what the principal, Coach Tinker, had to say:

“Today is a GREAT Day to be a Maggie Brown MS 🐝 because we had a brand new washer and dryer delivered which is very important for the SUCCESS of our students. The washer and dryer will be used to wash students clothes who may not have the necessary resources at home needed to conduct these basic social needs. Research clearly shows that students who have clean clothes attend school more than students who do not. Also, we will teach students how to properly wash and dry their clothes (life skills). We want to thank HNL for purchasing and donating these life changing items for THE Maggie Brown MS because without your help we could not change students lives daily! #BeeTheChange

Melissa Thomas delivered the Project Bean gift cards today. We saw some awesome success here and a great example of how HNL is willing to think outside the box in ways to help.  As you can imagine, dialysis significantly impacts the quality of life of patients.  Treatments (drive time, appointments, the treatment itself) consume daily life and it’s very difficult to adapt to, not to mention the financial hardship.  Depression is a common complication as most cannot return to work or normal activities and results in patients being non-adherent and missing treatments.  It’s a vicious cycle, especially for people have a financial hardship. We recognized those individuals and incentivized patients to remain complainant during the most important months of the year. These months (as we all know) are tough months to eat right. Multiply the worse diet with low compliance and you get trouble. So far, Project Bean Palmetto has seen a 50% reduction in missed treatments, 10% reduction in hospitalizations, and a slight improvement in bone mineral scores.  Fayette saw 50% reduction in missed treatments, 5% reduction in hospitalizations, and a 1% improvement in bone mineral scores. These are real numbers of health that a small investment has made. This is just the kind of home grown project HNL has the flexibility and willingness to participate in. I know y’all got more ideas like this. Keep it up! Thanks Melissa!

Caroling happens tonight! Kedron Elementary meetup. We start at 7:00 pm sharp. Don’t miss this event. We’ll run about 4 miles (unless you’re on a bike/golf cart/Segway/roller blades) with 4 stops. DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE. Please use a DD or Uber/Lyft. This is an adults only event and our 4 hosts are going to provide some food and merriment. Don’t miss this, y’all. We had to scrap last year after a double rainout. It’s gonna be a good one.

There will be the traditional HNL Christmas Eve run on Tuesday. Leo has already started brewing the Coquito. Short 30 min loop followed by coffee and Puerto Rican Eggnog. Don’t miss it. Run starts at 7:00 am from STARBUCKS not Drake. You better have little bells on your shoes. If you don’t, I’ll have some on Saturday morning. Dori made them and you better use them.

Finally the info you really wanted! Saturday loops from Drake.

6:30 – 60 min

7:30 – 30 min

There will also be a 7:15 walking group led by Linda.

The 30 min at 7:30 should be a big group. I’ve had a few requests for a big group so everyone please show up! No excuses if you’re in town.    

05Dec

St. Jude runners - big week - need leaders on Saturday

Good luck to all our St. Jude runners this weekend. Extra special love to our first timers. Gonna be a great weekend. If you're in Memphis this weekend, check out the .PDF on the FB page with times, addresses, and locations for meetups. Be safe out there!

This has been a big week for HNL! We opened our newest Dignity Store at Maggie Brown Middle School in Coweta County. Thanks to Anna and Leslie for getting this done. Looks so nice! We also purchased a washer and dryer for Maggie Brown Middle so the staff can get some relief. They were taking school uniforms home to wash and now it can be done on site!

Matt Tuff got word about some PTC residents needing help after a house fire. We teamed up with Verlo and they made some magic happen. Thanks to all the folks helping delivering with Matt Tuff this Saturday. We included some gift cards to help the family as well. Y'all. Let me tell you about Verlo Mattresses. This is the second time this year they've done this. They are also donors. Please make an effort to show them some love. This is why we should support local businesses. They care deeply about our community and are such great folks. Seriously. Send them email, FB love, real mail, telegrams, all that. So cool.

We'll have a significant group gone to Memphis for St. Jude so we need everyone else to represent at Drake! Linda is getting the walking group fired up this week too! Need some leaders for the running loops!

6:30 - 60 min loop

7:30 - 30 min loop

In addition to the run options above, there is a walking option at 7:15 at Drake. It'll be a 45 min walk. Come out!

 

 

22Nov

Collections - thanksgiving tunnel run - fedex family house meeting and St. Jude timeline - caroling HNLiens - Bloom and Maggie Brown Middle - race volunteer breakfast

This is the week to drop off new PJs for foster kids (all sizes are needed) and new socks for the homeless. If you've got some items, please get them to me soon! Thank you!

As you know, the Thanksgiving tunnel run is on Thanksgiving morning at 7:00 am. We'll start in the tunnel under Peachtree Parkway near Booth and end at the tunnel under Windgate Road. 7K, 4.5K, and .5K options. Bring friends! Bring new PJs! Bring new socks! If it doesn't suck, we might have a new thing with the tunnel to tunnel routes. If it sucks, it was a terrible idea in the first place. Hedging. Bets.

HNL will shop, prep, cook, serve, and clean a dinner service at the FedEx Family House in Memphis on 12/6 at 6:00 pm. They recommend we get there at 4 to start prepping. That feels a bit early so the proposed timeline for 12/6 is Expo meetup at 1:00, shopping meetup at 3:30, prep starts at 5, dinner service starts at 6. We can discuss more as we see each other this week. It also could be a good idea to meet with anyone interested the week of the race to coordinate precise food list and prep/cook schedule. BOLO for that.

The people have voted! HNL caroling will happen on 12/20 at 7:00 pm. Route TBD. This is an adult event If you can host at stop, please let me know. Hosting involves living close to other hosters and providing beverages to the carolers. In return, the Christmas costumed idiots will sing loudly and really piss off your neighbors. If you are psyched about hosting a stop, lemme know. Also, if you know any inappropriate carols, please bring her along.

On Monday morning Anna is leading a delegation of HNLiens at Publix 54 east. 7:30 am is the meetup time. They're picking up 8 turkeys and all the fixings for Thanksgiving dinner. This food is going to Bloom immediately following shopping. Thanks also to Anna and Leslie who jumped on an opportunity earlier today to score 12 turkeys for students at Maggie Brown Middle in Newnan. The principal only had 8 and was discussing how to choose which of his 20 students he was going to give them to. 20 minutes later, Anna and Leslie had the turkeys delivered with some extras. Thanks ladies! Speaking of Maggie Brown, we're planning a new Dignity Store there and installing a washer and dryer the week after Thanksgiving. This is an awesome project to be involved with so let Leslie, Anna, or Dori know if you want to help out!

If you were a race volunteer or coordinator, come to breakfast tomorrow! It goes down at my house after the run. Pancakes, sausage, mimosas. This is a great time to bring stuff we're collecting! New PJs, new socks, dollar bills. We'll take all you got.

We're a super inclusive group at Drake tomorrow! All together!

6:15 - 60 min

7:15 - 60 min (30 min out and back available)

See you all in the morning!

 

 

15Nov

operation homefront ruck - collections for days - 3d girls inc - thanksgiving tunnel run - volunteer breakfast - next year - bloom help - need a leader tomorrow

Thanks to all who came out for the Ruck HNL event benefiting Operation Homefront. We were fortunate enough to have the chairman of the board from OH join us. The Burden was heavy but it made it all the way. We were able to make a $1000 donation to OH after it was all said and done. If you've never been on a ruck, what's wrong with you? It's literally walking with a pack on. Really easy and the kids are welcome. There is usually beer. Stay tuned for the next Ruck HNL event!

We're collecting for lots of things over the next few weeks. Please make an effort to collect and donate early and often. Canned goods, new socks, and new PJs (all sizes) are the items we're looking for. I have no doubt we're gonna make this big. Thank you!

Look at the nice card we got from 3D Girls Inc. We donated a ton of great baby stuff for their community baby shower in October. Raioni is a nice lady doing great things. Remember 3D Girls Inc. on Georgia Gives Day! www.gagives.org/story/3dgirlsinc  

Did y'all see the video? Thanksgiving morning we'll host a tunnel to tunnel run at 7 am. We'll start in the tunnel by Booth Middle and finish in the Windgate Road tunnel. Should be lots of parking at the schools, churches, and parks nearby. The route is basically the 10K route, the shorter route is the 10K route with a McIntosh Trail shortcut. This is where we'll finish the collection of new socks for the homeless and new PJs for foster kids.

If you were on the race organizing committee or volunteered at the race, you're invited to breakfast! Izzy is out of town one week from tomorrow so that's the day! 11/23 at 8:30 am, my house. The menu will be pancakes and mimosas. Come hungry!

Let's think about next year. Need some help with ideas for a resolution running program or couch to 5K or other incentive for new folks. We're the coolest free running group around. How can we get more people involved? Let's discuss.

Just got this message from Bloom. Anna is heading this up so if you'd like to help, they'll be shopping the morning of the 25th then delivering. Last year was a blast and they almost threw us out of Publix but they've agreed to let us come back. From Bloom: Thank you so much for your interest in supporting our families.  I have you down for your original 5 turkeys that you wanted to donate as well as the 3 baskets that Anna also said your company would like to donate.  This is just a confirmation of that and a reminder that we would love to have those items donated between 9-noon on Monday November, 25th so we can get the items to the families in time for their Holiday preparations.  If this will not work for you please let me know so we can make other arrangements.  Again, we appreciate your generosity and support of our kids and families and wish you a wonderful Holiday season. 

Tomorrow's loops need a leader! It's the last long run for the full and half marathon training. Need a leader for the 6:30 and 7:30 loops! Everybody watch The Devil Next Door on Netflix tonight. Discuss tomorrow.

Full Marathon Group: 5:00 start - two 12 mile loops with a mile walk at the end.

Normal Group (Needs leaders!!):

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min

 

 

08Nov

Long sleeve shirts - st. jude - Fleet feet hiring - limitless - memorial scholarship - two loop saturday

Yo! I've still got some long sleeve shirts in my trunk. Try and come out to the run tomorrow and get yours or get someone to get yours! I'm gonna start wearing them on December 1 if you've not picked it up by then. Should be some opportunities to get them next week as well.

We're one month from St. Jude! We're doing lunch at HNL HQ today at noon and I'm armed with the volunteer roster. Hope to get some organization done for the volunteer event the night before the race so stay tuned for your work assignment.

Check the flyer below! Fleet Feet is hiring. If you are interested or know someone who is, check the email addresses below.

I've got no clue if it's good but everyone try and spend 60 min tonight watching the Limitless documentary on Netflix. Discussion tomorrow morning.

Not sure if any of you have heard but we're planning our next custodian project at Whitewater Middle. We're also planning to do something nice for the para professionals who work with the special needs kids there. This week, one of the teachers who works with the most severely disabled students experienced a terrible loss. His son was killed in a car accident. The coaches at Whitewater are attempting to raise $2500 for a scholarship in his sons name. They are already 25% of the way there. Click here to donate.

Tomorrow will be a two loop day. One 100 min and one 60 min. If you'd like to do 30 min, show up for the 60 min and once we get 15 min in, head back to the start. Great day for any and all who want to come out!

5:30 - 100 min

7:15 - 60 min

Don't forget to watch Limitless tonight! Book report tomorrow!

 

 

01Nov

Runtoberfest - long sleeve shirts - no exceptions, no excuses - shoe collection - project help - run info

Thanks again to all who made Runtoberfest happen. It was a great day for us all! So much fun! Thanks to your help, we pulled it off without any issues. The weather held off and we got to watch Clay win the damn thing and David age group for the senior citizen class. Super fun. BOLO for the post race meeting where we'll discuss the survey and see what the runners thought of our event.

Long sleeve shirts are in. Please get them ASAP. I really don't want to carry them around in my trunk forever. Come to Drake tomorrow and I'll hand them out at 8:30.

CLICK HERE and read before you continue. Dori and I met with Principal Tinker at Maggie Brown Middle this morning. He's a dynamic leader at the helm of a small school with a concentration of poverty and struggle. As you'll read, he doesn't like the "alternative" moniker. He really wants to give his students a chance to do better and he's succeeding by teaching respect and accountability. Due to the small size of the school, they lack the ability to serve a hot lunch. No kitchen. As such, Coach Tinker showed us how the lunch is basically the same every day; delivered in the morning by a local elementary school. He feels like the boring lunch sends a message to the students, this is not where you need to be for the rest of your education. He's focused on getting them back to regular class ASAP. He said that he wants his students to have the best shot at one of the three Es after high school, enrollment, enlistment, or employment. The school requires uniforms which some students can't afford. Like lots of teachers we know, they staff frequently pays for the items kids need but can't get. Sgt. Shepherd is also taking loads of laundry home over the weekend for washing. There are lots of ways we can help here. Hope you can get involved!

We will be collecting used shoes for Got Sneakers? until tomorrow morning at 8:30. Please bring them to Drake before 8:30 and drop them behind a car. This really is your last chance!

We've got some projects we need help with! Need a volunteer for help on a Promise Place project that will take less than two hours of your time. Anna is working with Bloom on our Thanksgiving dinner donation for foster families. She'll need help on the morning of November 25th with shopping and delivering turkeys and other groceries to Bloom. Let me or Anna know if you can help with either of these!

Drake is the spot tomorrow. Two big loops and one small loop. Need a leader for the small loop!

5:00 - 100 minutes

6:45 - 100 minutes

7:30 - 30 minutes (not part of the 100 minute loop)

See you all dark and early!

25Oct

Runtoberfest 2019 - run options sunday - long sleeve shirts - got sneakers? - maggie brown middle school - Super spooky runs

It's on. Tomorrow is the day. Thanks to all the badass volunteers who've worked hard at getting us here. Your efforts are very much appreciated. The packet stuffin event was great. The turnout had the job done in very short order. Hope to see each of you this evening at Line Creek for packet pickup from 4 to 7. If you're interested in helping us mark the course tomorrow, meet at LCB to run the race route starting at 6:00 am sharp. We'll chalk the turns and set the mile signs. Gonna be fun. Thanks again to the sponsors who made it all happen. So many of our sponsors are HNLiens and know just how their donations will be used. Shoutout to the silent donors who wish not to be named. You're all very nice ladies.

Since the race got in the way of our normal run, we'll push it to Sunday morning. Drake is the spot.

6:30 - 70 min

7:40 - 60 min

Long sleeve shirts are in. We'll bag them up at HNL HQ in the next 15 min so get here if you want to help. Bring lunch.

Matt was contacted by the Pantherette Dance Team (he's a technical advisor) yesterday and they are collecting old athletic shoes for an awesome fundraiser called Got Sneakers? They ship usable shoes to impoverished people and grind up unusable ones for playground surfacing. Bring all the shoes to packet pickup tonight and Runtoberfest on Saturday. Look for the box.

Ever wanted to get in on the ground floor of an HNL project? Now is your chance! On November 1, Dori is meeting the principal at Maggie Brown Alternative Middle School to talk business. We met at the Keller Williams event and loved what they've got going on over there. Could be a chance we get involved and contribute to some needs they have. Come out and represent! We'd love to hear what you think. Help direct us. Be part of what we do.

Finally, there are two super spooky runs this week. On Tuesday, Anna and I will have the classic favorite zombie apocalypse training. Guaranteed to scare you. Get chased, chase others, live! So much fun. We'll also do a short 30 mins on Halloween morning. This run will include a cemetery in the dark so it's not for you folks who pee yourself when startled....Stacy.

Have a great day! Look for the last Runtoberfest email in an hour once I get an actual adult to proof it for me.

 

18Oct

Runtoberfest sold out - custodian project - PTCRC classic 15K - shirt order - Weird loops

 

We did it again! All 300 Runtoberfest spots are sold. Thanks to you all for your hard work and commitment to getting the job done. Like last year, we get quite a few people trying to get in at the last minute so we'll leave the registration open until Monday. There is a hard limit so if you get the message saying we can't accept anymore. It's real.  Now let's focus on making the event a great one. We're focused on safety first this year and will have a wider running lane on Dividend to Kelly Green. Peachtree City's finest will be present with an additional officer and the ISO Class 1 Peachtree City Fire and Rescue medics will be on the course. The venue is ready. We'll be at Line Creek net Friday night passing out bibs and bags of swag. We'll send an email to participants this week with all the details. On the topic of swag, there is a FB event set up for the swag bag stuffin event at HNL HQ on Thursday evening. At this point, we've got the help we need. Come out and show love anyway. Bring beer. If you're volunteering or racing next week, please dress up and bring a tuba. Thanks again to the people that help make it happen!

Today is the latest custodian project at Oak Grove Elementary. We'll meet at HNL HQ for lunch (11:30 - 12:30) then travel to Oak Grove Elementary to work. Nugget tray is ordered and Janie dropped off some really great food for our awesome custodians. Come out and say thanks! We'll set up a conference room for them, say thanks, then let them eat. The purpose of the project is to only show love and appreciation. That's easy.

Do not forget tomorrow's PTCRC Classic 5K and 15K. From what I've seen, the Peachtree City Running Club has done a great job hyping this race. It's so nice to see one of my favorite races of the year get the attention it deserves. I don't know this officially but it just looks like Gina Bolen has done one hell of a job. Nice work PTCRC and Gina!

The shirts you ordered are in the mail. They should arrive next week and we'll probably have a working lunch on Friday to sort and bag the shirts. This is just the chaos we need in the mix of Runtoberfest but we can handle it.

The Classic has the loops weird tomorrow. If you'd like, Izzy is doing a 19 mile out and back from her house with a group. Let her know if you want to join and she'll send you the address. Another option is a 10 mile loop at Huddleston Elementary at 7:20. No front to backs as this will end just as the 15K starts. This option will get the 19 miles full marathon runners need. If you're a half marathon trainer, the 15K is perfect.

Thanks to our sponsors!

 

11Oct

Runtoberfest almost sold out - custodian project - St. Jude Volunteer opportunity - less confusing instructions

Thanks to all that came out to the Runtoberfest meeting last night. We've only got about 20 bibs left so if you've not signed up, you better get on it! Extra special thanks to Melissa for dealing with some last minute issues with several vendors. Thank you for your hard work! We all decided to order some extra German swag for the bag so it appears to be the coolest damn race bag ever. https://www.raceentry.com/hnl-runtoberfest-5k/race-information

We're a go for the next custodian love project event. Come out to HNL HQ next Friday and we'll eat then head over to Oak Grove Elementary to honor their custodial staff with lunch, some cards, and a gift. Thanks to everyone who's helped out with theses, it's been fun! If you're interested in joining us, let me know!

St. Jude half and full marathon runners! Need help! The night before the race, HNL is preparing and serving dinner for families at the FedEx Family House (https://www.fedexfamilyhouse.org) in Memphis. This will be an awesome opportunity to serve. We won't know how many we're cooking for until about a week before the event. In addition to the cooking, serving, and cleaning, we're bringing some Christmas ornaments to decorate and leave with the hospital. If you miss this event, you'll have serious regrets. I need to know who is down to volunteer. HNL will handle the expense of the food and ornaments. We don't know specific jobs yet but I need to know who's committed to the event. Please indicate your willingness and abilities here: https://forms.gle/2CWPGfgrz2xQJS146

Finally, tomorrow should not be as confusing as last week. Drake for all the loops. Full people are at 18 and half at 8. It's like this story writes itself. The 80 min loop will can accommodate anyone interested in less distance. Out and back is the name of that game. Come out for 20, 30, or 56.2 with Dina. Need volunteers for water!

5:00 - 100 minutes

6:45 - 80 minutes (any distance option here with an out and back)

 

04Oct

Long sleeve hoodie final call – Runtoberfest Meeting – One way run        

We’ve sold over 50 of the long sleeve hoodies so far! Sunday midnight is the cutoff. If you’ve not ordered yet, get it done. https://next-level-long-sleeve-hoodie.cheddarup.com

There are only two Runtoberfest meetings left. The next one is on 10/10 at 6:30 pm. If you’re part of the race committee, please try to show at both so we know what we need at the end. Male and Female boot glass trophies, decorations, Haribo bears, stickers, hats are all here. If you’ve got any race swag, bring it on 10/10. Izzy is handling packet pickup and Amy needs this list full so please sign up if you see an open spot: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0849aba823a1fc1-2019

Speaking of the race. Please share this link on some social media this week. We got a bit of an extension on shirt ordering so if we could get over 250 this weekend, that would help. Think of creative ways to share and people to invite. We need your help to reach this goal!  https://www.raceentry.com/hnl-runtoberfest-5k/race-information

Tomorrow is a one way run day with several distance options. Pay attention to the details! Since it’s one way, please be flexible on the times, they are not exact. The options are: 12+ miles, 5+ miles, and 7+ miles. Choose your distance then pay attention to the meetup spots. Yes, I know World Airways doesn’t exist anymore, but it’s still called World Drive so there. It’s the massive building on World Drive and Peachtree Parkway North. Across the street from Outback Steakhouse.

12+ mile option runners: Meet at Publix Wilshire (74 south) at 5:40 am. We’ll group up and leave the parking lot at 5:45. Please be on time, we need to be at World Airways and running by 6:00 for this all to work. Need a volunteer to drop water at Drake before meeting at Publix please.

5+ mile option runners: Meet at Drake at 5:45 am. We’ll group up into as few cars as possible and leave the parking lot by 5:50. Please be on time as we’ll be meeting the 12+ mile group folks at World Airways for a 6:00 am start. When we get back to Drake, please don’t forget to return your driver to his/her car at World Airways!!

7+ mile option runners: Meet at Publix Wilshire (74 south) at 6:30. We’ll group up and leave the parking lot by 6:35 for Drake. Please be ready at Drake by 6:45. The group should be arriving there at 6:50……or it could be 7:00. Thank you for your patience! Once the groups meet, we’ll head south where the whole operation will finish with a crescendo of delicious donuts one of you will kindly purchase at Publix.       

If you have any questions please send me an email josh@hnlinc.org if you’ve got any complaints, check out the gear over at www.getlost.com

Here is the schedule for next week:

Monday – Huddleston Pond – 5K run and machines - 5:30 am

Tuesday – ??? – Reboot 19 - 5:30 am

Wednesday – Drake and Battery Way – Mid Week run – 5:30 am and 8:00 am

Thursday – Riley Track – 5:30 am

Friday - ??? – ReBoot 19 – 5:30 am

27Sep

Clothing – long sleeve hoodies – Custodian love project – weekly schedule – Runtoberfest numbers – Operation Homefront Ruck - all the loops

A few weeks ago, we learned about a local student in need of clothing. We put the request out there for someone to get a list of items together so we could order and deliver. Thanks to Emily for doing the work and setting the student up with some really great stuff. We delivered the gear yesterday and the counselor was so excited. Day made. Thanks to the HNLiens involved that took this project from an observation by a bus driver to fresh gear discreetly delivered to school. Keep it up!

Vests didn’t work so we’re trying long sleeve hoodies. Doris has done some solid work here and gave you options! The shirt is a Next Level long sleeve hoodie. This is the same brand of shirts we used for the race. I’m fairly partial to the name, too. They are awesome. Dori had one of these hoodies in her car a few weekends ago and we got to try it on. Kinda gross for Dori cause I was sweaty but the experience was great for me. 10/10 would recommend wearing Dori’s clothing. Anyway, get your very own by clicking the link and ordering! $23. There is a link on the order form if you want to see more info about the shirt. We’re not going keep this open for long so go ahead and just order the damn thing today. I want to be wearing this by the time cold weather gets here in February. https://next-level-long-sleeve-hoodie.cheddarup.com

There is a team of folks working on the custodian love project at HNL HQ today. Bring your lunch for an 11:30 meetup and meal. Heading to Burch Elementary after to show some love to the custodian crew at Birch with a lunch, thank you cards, and some gifts. This is a great way to give back to the phenomenal professionals keeping our schools looking great for our students.  6000 Shakerag Hill #104. Be there or donate to the cause! Oak Grove is going to happen next.

It’s been a few weeks since we got the schedule out to the people so here it is. Anna is in charge of ReBoot 19 programming this month. She’s got such a great idea for the month. Please make an effort to come out and see what she’s working on. Thanks to the much larger than expected crowds we had for Friday Janky Yoga in September. So inappropriate. So fun.

Monday – Huddleston Pond – 5K run and machines - 5:30 am

Tuesday – ??? – Reboot 19 - 5:30 am

Wednesday – Drake and Battery Way – Mid Week run – 5:30 am and 8:00 am

Thursday – McIntosh High School Hills Day – 5:30 am

Friday - ??? – ReBoot 19 – 5:30 am

We are over 200 racers for Runtoberfest! Really need those shirt orders, people! If you haven’t shared our race on social media, please get on it. We’d like to pump these rookie numbers up by Monday! https://www.raceentry.com/races/hnl-runtoberfest-5k/2019/register

Our Ruck for Operation Homefront needs some love. On November 9, 2019 we’ll ruck a 5K for the nice folks at OH seeking to help our military with housing and utility needs. This is a seriously worthy cause and we could use some help. Anybody willing to step up and do some work for those in uniform? Lemme know.

I’ve finally arrived at the part you’re psyched about. There will be a half marathon training loop tomorrow. Shoutout to Dina who requested the loop, then told me she wasn’t going to be there. Hope others take advantage of it! Full marathon training group is at 17, half is at 4. 4? Let’s make it 6.

5:10 – 140 Minutes - Need a water volunteer!!

6:30 – 60 Minutes

7:30 – 30 Minutes

Get out there and make it a great day people!

20Sep

Runtoberfest update – weather tomorrow – Amplio delivery - DRAKE loops

We had a productive Runtoberfest meeting last night! We decided on the hat, race shirts, volunteer shirts, timing options, and other stuff. So much fun. Thanks for coming out. The swag game is strong this year. Thanks to the folks helping us make this happen! Also, if you haven’t signed up for the HNL Runtoberfest, nobody likes you. I checked. Please sign up today!! https://www.raceentry.com/races/hnl-runtoberfest-5k/2019/register

The weather tomorrow is going to be so great! Looking forward to getting out there and getting after it. Full marathon people are at 16. Need a full marathon runner to volunteer to put out water tomorrow. I haven’t thought of the route yet but by the time you text me, I’ll be ready with a location.

Thanks to Joanna for delivering the stuff to Amplio! She got to meet the great people there with a tour of the facility. Thank you all who donated!!

Long run starts early tomorrow! Drake.

5:20 – 130 minutes

7:30 – 30 minutes

Hydrate or diedrate!  

13Sep

Full moon Slow ride tonight – vests order – race meeting – Amplio project – custodian project – project bean – clothing need – Fayette realtors - Saturday run

Psyched for the Georgia Shrimp to Big Shots slow ride tonight! Meet at Georgia Shrimp at 6:30 pm. We’ll hang there for awhile then head to Big Shots. If you’re riding your bike, a helmet is required. It’s possible we’ll be out after dark so have a light as well. If you’re meeting us at either Georgia Shrimp or Big Shots on golf cart or car, bring a designated driver. No drinky drivey. Keep that ass out of jail by behaving yourself.

Vests got three orders. It’s cancelled. Izzy is working on a cheaper option.

Don’t forget the race meeting this Thursday at 6:30 pm. We’ll meet at HNL HQ. If you’re on the committee, be there. If not, cool. You can come too. Ride your bike or golf cart. Bring snacks and drinks to share. Meeting should not take more than 60 min. Socializing after.

We need all brands of tampons, light pads, and heavy pads for Amplio. We’re working on a project to empower women entering the workforce by collecting these items for the next six days. Amplio is a staffing agency connecting refugees with employment in the Metro Atlanta area. Some of their clients need education about feminine hygiene practices and products. This lack of education and access can be a barrier to employment. That's where we come in. They've scheduled an education session on September 20th for 35 clients. They'll educate, and we'll provide the products. We're going to collect all the tampons and pads we can then deliver sometime prior to class. We need someone to take the lead on delivering these items. You will not regret working with these awesome folks. When we did this for Atlanta Mission Day Shelter we almost had to use two cars. Let's repeat that! Read about the people Amplio is working for then let me know if you can help with donations or the delivery! https://ampliorecruiting.com/about-refugees/

The custodian love project is moving right along. We’ve selected two schools, Burch Elementary and Oak Grove Elementary. Each school has four custodians and we’re planning a meal catered to them and some gifts to show love to these awesome people quietly serving our kids. There is still time to get involved so see Matt Rusk (Oak Grove) or Sierra Pyron (Burch) to help out. You can also send me an email and I’ll add you to the email group: josh@hnlinc.org

Melissa has a really great idea for serving dialysis patients who need help. For those of you who know how difficult dialysis is, you also know how important it is. Getting to treatment can be a struggle. For some, realizing the importance of consistent treatment is having a major impact on quality of life which then affects other family members. This is the kind of big idea that could save a life or even help someone get on the transplant list. We’re looking at ways to get people to treatment or make transportation less of a barrier. We’d also like to see how we can improve incentives to get consistent treatment then measure our impact with healthier people during the holiday months. If there is a group of people out there to move the needle on something this important, it’s ours. See Melissa Thomas for more details on how to get involved.

Every once in awhile we get the kind of request we can help with quickly. Local bus driver noticed a student wearing the same clothing for multiple days in a row. We got the call and asked the school to confirm. They did. I’m not much for kids fashion (nor my own) so we need some help getting an Amazon wish list going. I’ve got the sizes and an amount we’re going to spend. Need some kid fashion expertise to commit to an hour of work shopping on Amazon. You’ll send me the list, I’ll place the order, Leslie will church it up and make the anonymous delivery to the school. This one is easy! HMU if you can do it.

Shoutout to any realtor HNLiens! Rob Thomas and I attended the Fayette Realtors Got Talent event earlier this year. They selected us as a beneficiary of the event and we got invited to a lunch and check presentation this week. WOW. Y’all are sweet folks. As you can see, we’re making use of the grants we receive. Thanks to much Fayette Realtors!

Full marathon step back day tomorrow. We’re back at Drake for the double loop goodness. When is this heat gonna go away? Can anybody do something about it?

6:20 – 70 min

7:30 – 30 min

06Sep

The Dignity Store – big shots slow ride – wiener gang – Runtoberfest meeting – Sprint Triathlon – vests - new run location

Dang. The Dignity Store project had a big week. If you follow us on social media, you saw some great updates at our Asa Hilliard and North Clayton Dignity Store locations. Thanks so much to the people that make this project happen. We’re getting hygiene items in the hands of kids who need them. Our free stores are serving students at Flat Rock Middle, Asa Hilliard Elementary, North Clayton Middle, and at Rachel’s Ray of Hope. Thanks to Keller Williams Kares 4 Kids event, we picked up some great products for our stores. We also made some great connections with other non-profits. It’s always so inspiring to see what people are up to and how they get the job done. If any of these ideas move you, lets get a team together and make it happen! We met a group who focuses on new PJs for kids entering foster care. So cool. The group heard from an organization that focuses on children living in mobile home parks. When they learned that kids living in MHPs are more likely to struggle with learning, they set up after school help/tutoring in the park’s community room. Genius! Dori got a little misty when we heard from a principal of a charter school whose kids struggle to get clean clothing and hygiene items. We might be working with some of these groups soon. We need help to make this happen. Don’t sit on the sidelines waiting to get called into the game. There are lots of great ideas out there and we need to hear them. If you’ve got a way to help someone or make someone’s life easier, we’ve got the machine to make that idea work. Let’s do it!

So psyched about the Big Shots Slow Ride on Friday the 13th. We’ll meet at The Georgia Shrimp Company at 6:30 and when we reach a quorum, we’ll ride to Big Shots. Bring your bike. Wear a helmet. Bring a golf cart. Wear a helmet. Do not drink and drive.  I don’t have time to make it spooky so we’re gonna need someone to take that on. Please make it next level spooky. Not fall off your bike spooky but pee your pants a little spooky.

I probably should have started with this but for the third Friday in a row we’re meeting at HNL HQ (6000 Shakerag Hill in PTC) for a working lunch. We’ve got lots of stuff to organize and stuff into bags for domestic violence victims. Bring your lunch, bring your work, come hungry for Haribo gold bears. 1230.

The HNL Runtoberfest 5K planning committee meets on Thursday evening at 6:30. You know who you are. Ryan Janos might be the big hero with his news.

Good luck to the PTC Tri Club tomorrow! Big event for them at Drake. I know some of y’all will be out there representing. Get after it!

Don’t forget to order your vest! One week left to order!

Gray order here

White order here

Since the Tri folks will be at Drake, we’ll be further south. The loops tomorrow will start and end at Braelinn Elementary (975 Robinson Road in PTC). Full marathoner distance is 14 tomorrow and half is 3. Big loop first followed by 30 min. The idea is to keep the 7:30 30 min loop in place when we can. This is the loop of, by, and for the people. It’s literally the loop enumerated in the US Constitution. Let freedom ring….your mom

Braelinn Elementary

5:40 – 110 min

7:30 – 30 min

30Aug

Runtoberfest Price Increase – Vest order – Ruck Saturday – Custodian Project – The Heritage Foundation – Keller Williams Shopping – slow ride - Double loop half marathon  

Don’t forget to register for the HNL Runtoberfest 5K this weekend. Price increase Monday! We’d like to get half sold before the increase so get it done today. Pretty Please? You can help by reposting the info and making sure everybody knows how to register.  There will likely be a race committee meeting on the evening of 9/12.

Izzy has done a great job of putting together some vest options for us. Check out the options below. Gray is fleece and white is soft shell:

CLICK HERE TO ORDER GRAY - $65

CLICK HERE TO ORDER WHITE - $83

Each comes in male and female versions. No pressure to order if you don’t want. Just an option for the fall and winter. Do not drag your feet on this. You’ve got two weeks to get that order in. The word of the day is hustle. Hustle is a good way to demonstrate you’re a great little league baseball player or HNL vest orderer. It’s not the best way to work as a surgeon or bomb tech. #LifeLessons   

McIntosh High School is the venue tomorrow at noon. Ruck HNL hosts the Hustle and Grind – Star Course 12 miler. Inspired by the US Army Expert Infantryman Badge ruck march event. Everyone who completes each of the six two-mile legs in under three hours wins a great prize! Every mother rucker contributes $10 to the pot. Those completing the event under three hours split the pot. Bring water and food for yourself. Ruck must be 35 pounds. Arrive early for the safely briefing. Gonna be a great time!

Some very nice people have agreed to help with our next FCBOE custodian appreciation project. We’re looking to make this happen in the next two weeks. Should take about four or five hours of your time. If you’d like to help out on this, send me an email with the subject Custodian Appreciation Team. If you responded on FB, no need for the email. I got you!

Shoutout to The Heritage Foundation!! They gave us one of those big checks yesterday! Thank you! We couldn’t do the work we do without donations from nice people like you and them! Thanks to Matt Tuff for showing up and looking photo shoot fresh. He made the picture much better. It got a bit weird when the lady taking the picture asked for his autograph afterward, but he seemed so at ease. It was almost like he’d done that many times before.

We’re headed to Kares 4 Kids Costco shopping again next week. This will be HNL’s third year at the event. Leslie and Dori are making it happen all the way up in Duluth. They’ll join several other nonprofits from the metro area on a massive Costco shopping spree. This event is huge for The Dignity Store! Thanks so much to the Keller Williams HNLiens out there who make sure we get on the list each year. So grateful for your help!

Slow ride on 9/13 ending at Big Shots. Pencil it in. Yes, it’s Friday the 13th. Dee said it was cool so now it’s on. Do not miss this event. More soon.

Finally! Run info! It’s gonna be a but weird tomorrow but you know how we do. Two separate groups. Full marathon training people are doing two 10K loops, no front to backs. This is not the way it’ll always be but we’re kicking off the official start to longer long runs with a confidence builder. Bring water and fuel tomorrow morning. We’re gonna train like we work.  Half marathon training people are on a single 10K loop. Come out early or late, you’ve got options. The second group is the normal 30 min loop at 7:30. All the groups/people/loops meet at Drake. We’d love to see some of y’all who have been missing. Come out for the 30 mins and mingle with us!

DRAKE LOOPS!

6:00 – 10K loop no front to backs

7:00 – 10K loop no front to backs

7:30 – 30 min loop with front to backs

23Aug

Classic Signup tomorrow – Hustle and Grind Ruck – 3d Girls donation – Dignity store update - Heritage Foundation Check – Reduced mileage run

Come out and sign up for the Peachtree City Classic tomorrow! No fees and a free visor! Thanks to Gina for coming out in the sun to sign people up!

Don’t forget the Ruck HNL Hustle and Grind 12 miler on August 31 at noon. McIntosh High School is the location. It’s gonna be fun!

Tomorrow is the last day of the 3D Girls baby supply collection. If you’ve got baby stuff from the list (last run post) please bring it tomorrow. LAST DAY OF COLLECTION. Thanks to all who’ve donated so far!

The Dignity Store is having a big week. Thanks to the GuateMamas for stocking the shelves at the Flat Rock Dignity Store. We’re ready to serve! We’ve got a meeting on Tuesday with Liberty Tech Charter School in Brooks for a possible location there. Thanks to Kelly Carney for reaching out and making this happen!

Thanks to The Heritage Community Foundation for helping us! On 8/29 at 3:00 pm they’re gonna present us a big check. This grant will help us do big things in our community. We need a big group to come along for the photo. Please make an effort to be there! Fayetteville Heritage Bank 440 North Jeff Davis.

We’re on our first mileage step down tomorrow. Back to the old school double loops.

Drake Loops

6:30 – 60 min

7:30 – 30 min

16Aug

Panasonic Love – Runtoberfest – 3D girls, inc. – weather help

Thanks to the folks that showed for the Panasonic photo today.  You should have seen the look on the tellers face when I dragged the massive check into the bank. I was all, “I’d like to make a large deposit.”  Thanks to Panasonic for the love and Jason Weida for making it happen!

The Runtoberfest 2019 registration is open. It’s also selling quickly. We’ve only had the registration active for a week and we’ve sold 50 entries. We’ve also seen our runhnl.com web traffic double this week. Please share the FB event, show love on Instagram, email the entry to your grandma. We need to keep the momentum and sell out again! Thanks for all your hard work! Poster below. I’ve also got two larger paper posters. If you can think of a public place that will take one, lemme know.  I’d like to get one at the brewery. Orange? Crossfit? Senior center? Help us out and let’s get it up. TWSS. Also, register please.

We’re collecting for 3D Girls Inc., an Atlanta nonprofit with an awesome mission. I was able to meet Raioni two weeks ago and her cause really resonated with the crowd. For me, her genuine passion for helping moms and babies was inspiring. She hosts a community baby shower each quarter and I told her we’d collect items from her wishlist. It's really great. Each and every item we donate goes to an expectant mom who would not otherwise get this stuff. Please bring what you have tomorrow! The wishlist is below and some nice lady already dropped a bag on my doorstep. THANK YOU! If you can’t make it tomorrow, lemme know and we’ll get it picked up. Wish list:

Any of you have any pull with the weather? If you could make tomorrow morning like this morning… Two loops tomorrow and the long group IS STARTING EARLIER so pay attention!

Finally, here is the schedule for the week. All 5:30 am:

Monday – Huddleston Pond 5K and sweat-a-thon

Tuesday – Drake – ReBoot 19

Wednesday – Drake and Savannah, Ga – Mid week run here and at Forsyth Park in Savannah

Thursday – TBD – Hills till you pass out

Friday – The Avenue – ReBoot 19

Come for all the events!

Saturday’s loops are from Drake!

6:05 – 80 min

7:30 – 30 min

 

 

09Aug

Gratitude – Runtoberfest – routine – Operation Homefront Ruck – 1st st. jude long run

Got this card in the HNL mail yesterday. It contains a handwritten thank you from a young man you all sent to camp this summer. He leveled up (how appropriate) belts and had a great time. His grandmother sent an email and card as well. She wanted to express her gratitude for the experience her grandson had at camp. This is not something we expect but it sure does feel good! Thanks to all of you who helped make this happen.

Race committee met last night and we’re close to making our big announcement. Once we get the registration site ready, we’ll make a splash. When you see it, you’ll love it. Really strong work by all involved. Thanks so much to our sponsors, D&K Engine Parts and Panasonic. Also, if you’ve available next Friday morning, lemme know. We need some people to get behind the big check Panasonic is giving us. Won’t take long, promise.

The first week of the new routine has been freaking awesome. Don’t miss out on these great free workouts! New people are always welcome to join. Come out and see what we’re up to!

Monday – Huddleston Pond 5:30 5K then core work

Tuesday – Drake ReBoot 19 bootcamp workout

Wednesday – Drake and Battery Way mid-week run

Thursday – Speed and Hills alternating

Friday – The Avenue ReBoot 19 bootcamp workout

The Veteran’s Day Operation Homefront Ruck planning is moving along nicely. I think you’ll be very impressed with the swag that comes along with this event. Gonna be a great event for a great cause. Don’t forget the Hustle and Grind ruck on August 31. Cash prizes!

Tomorrow is the first St. Jude long training run. We’ll meet at Drake. The loops are a bit different so pay attention!

6:30 – 70 min

7:40 – 30 min

BE THERE!

02Aug

Back to school – quarters quarterly – the dignity store – st. jude training – Runtoberfest meeting – NEW LOCATION for run

Some of you have enriched the world through breeding. Thank you. Now imagine consolidating the fruits of your respective loins into classrooms. Classrooms filled with angsty-stinky (stangsty) kids. Shoutout to the teachers taking on that challenge next week. A couple of y’all with those badass kids need to send a couple Target gift cards on the FIRST day, not just the last day.  I didn’t forget about the homeschoolers. Just Monday for y’all, I suppose. Anyway, the kids are back in school so it's a great time to get back into a routine. As you’ll see below, the St. Jude training starts next weekend so start getting in the habit now! Set your alarm and get your tail out of bed (I know, I know, I’ll do better this week). Monday’s in August will be 5K days followed by a core exercise workout. This means Huddleston Pond is the new Monday spot. We’ll take advantage of Double Trace and the machines as well. 5K starts every Monday at 5:30, workout starts at 6:00. August weekly schedule looks like this:

Monday – Huddleston Pond - 5:30 5K 6:00 core exercise for 30 min
Tuesday – Drake Field – 5:30 ReBoot 19 bootcamp
Wednesday – Drake Field – 5:00 and 5:30 run
Thursday – Several Spots – 5:30 Hills or speed alternating each week
Friday – The Avenue – 5:30 ReBoot 19 bootcamp
Saturday – LONG RUN DAY

All of these events are free. Be bold and show up. Get back into the swing of things!

I PROMISE TO HAVE THE QUARTERS AT THE RUN TOMORROW – that is all about quarters quarterly. Don't forget to return some stories about your experiences!

As the school year begins again, so does The Dignity Store. This has been an incredible project for us and we will be growing again soon. If you’d like to join the team working on getting high quality hygiene items in the hands of kids who need them, let us know! Now is the best time to join up. We’re doing some shopping next week and could use some help. You will not regret spending a small amount of time on this.

Next week is our first St. Jude Marathon and Half Marathon training run. So exciting. We’ll have some special events throughout so keep up to date here. We might be doing some of the long runs in some cool locations.

Finally, the Runtoberfest race committee will meet on Thursday at 6:30 pm. Come to HNL HQ and see how a crack team of professionals and a few derelicts organize your race. I’ll regale you with stories of how I battled the city and our insurance company. Melissa will show us some swag, Ryan will dazzle us with pricing options for chip timing, April will unveil a badass race logo, and Scott will tamp down our dreams with financial realities. Should be a good time. Don’t drink and drive. Ride your bike, take an uber, bring something to share. Also, there may be an opportunity this coming Friday to accept a big check (size and value) from Panasonic. I will not be attending this photo op alone, FYI. If you have the ability to join us, please get your mind right for the possibility of a Friday photoshoot. I’ll find more out soon.

Welp, that’s all for now. I didn’t even get into the past three days of ATL Ideas. I figure my social media posts have been sufficiently irritating so I’ll spare you here. I will, however, be approaching some of you individually about some ideas YOU might have. To continue to keep the great pace we’ve set, we need more ideas from YOU!

Tomorrow we’ll meet at the PTC Tennis center for the loops. There will be some trail running so come correct on the first loop. The second loop will be the Runtoberfest 5K race route.

6:30 – 60 min

7:30 – 30 min   

26Jul

Drake! - Ruck after run - WEek of sweat - Runtoberfest update

YO! We're back at Drake tomorrow morning! Psyched to be back with the coolest running group around!

Don't forget the ruck tomorrow after the run. Ruck starts at 10:30 am from Drake. This is the perfect event to bring your kids out to. We'll walk and pick up trash, then eat pizza at Partners. Kid who picks up the most trash gets a free beer! Also, since we're talking ruck, don't forget the Ruck HNL Hustle & Grind on 8/31 and the big Veteran's Day ruck on 11/9. We could use some sponsors for the Veterans Day event so if you know a veteran friendly organization looking to make life better for some of our nations most deserving, HMU!

We're continuing the crazy this week with Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday workouts. Monday will be the last Chicken Island Monday, Wednesday morning run, and Huddleston Pond Thursday. Come out for all the fun! It's all free. Tuesday and Friday will be ReBoot 19 workouts as well, also free!

Runtoberfest is moving right along. We've submitted the event application for PTC and meet with them week after next. Melissa has been KILLING IT on the sponsors front. Thanks to her for the hard work! April has some awesome new design ideas for the new shirt and swag. We'll have a full race committee meeting in the next two weeks. If you know of a company who wants to sponsor, please let me know NOW!

Drake tomorrow for the double loop goodness.

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min

See you all in the morning!

 

12Jul

Training plan resize – Rucks for days – Runtoberfest Update - *NEW LOCATION*

I thought about retyping the training plan so it would look nice. Then I got distracted and used up all of my time with actual work. The result is a resized training plan on the site with all the janky properties you’d expect from me. Cut off words, compressed cells, weirdly wrapped words, full jank. Enjoy. At least you can see it all on your phone. If you’d like to complain please submit your well thought out complaint here. I will get this looking right someday. Someday is not today.

We’ve got rucks for days! Please make sure you’re ready for two big events we’ve got coming up. First, August 31 at McIntosh High School we’ll do a 12 mile timed ruck. Everyone puts $10 into the pot and all who finish under 3 hours splits the pot. The next one is the Veterans Day ruck benefitting Operation Homefront on November 9. This one is going to be a big deal. Mark your calendars!

Runtoberfest is moving right along. We’re finishing up the sponsor list so if you know of someone that wants to participate, now is the time to get on board. Permit has been submitted to the city and we’ll meet with the special events team on August 6. After the city meeting we’ll have a race committee meeting to get everyone caught up on what’s new and what’s left to be done. Gonna be another great event! Can’t wait to see you all in your lederhosen.

Tomorrow’s run is starting and ending at Home Depot in Peachtree City. Kids triathlon is going on so we’ll avoid the area by taking our business elsewhere. Got some tennis balls for bouncy fun! Be there for both loops!

6:30 – 60 min

7:30 – 30 min

28Jun

Timeless Ernie South Run

Let me tell you about our friend Ernie South. In April, he committed to running 2.26 miles per day until he completed a full marathon distance. The distance increased after his first self-imposed challenge, then the next, and the one after that. By the time it was all done, he was running six damn miles a day. He’d be at the workouts early and staying late with Dori to get the mileage in. He wanted to complete 420 miles before his birthday and he completed them all yesterday. His birthday is tomorrow and we’re gonna have a special run in his honor. We’ll begin at 6:30 at the GLENLOCH SOCCER FIELDS (not the tennis court parking lot). NO WATCHES ALLOWED. If you like, wear your watch and we’ll cover the face with tape to mask the display so you still log your distance. Everyone will group up and run away from Glenloch and estimate best they can for a 60 minute loop. Runners closest to exactly 60 minutes win free coffee! This is not price is right style so going over is allowed. Should be fun!

If you’d like, we’ll have a 30 min out and back option at 6:00 starting from the same parking lot.

BE THERE! We’ll sing happy birthday to the birthday boy. He’s an inspiration for us all. Thanks for being a badass Ernie!

21Jun

Veterans Day Ruck – The Dignity Store – Laundry Fairies – Drake

This week was a busy one for HNL! We have been working with Operation Homefront and Line Creek Brewery on a Veteran’s Day project. The event will be a 10K ruck (with shorter option available) on 11/9/19 starting and ending at the brewery. LCB was looking for a partner on a project for Operation Homefront and Ruck HNL just seemed like the right fit. We’d love for some of our vets and non-vets alike to get involved with the planning. Bonus: We’re working on a regular ruck day from LCB a la beer and yoga. Stay tuned and hit Matt Rusk up for more info or to get involved!

The Dignity Store had a big day yesterday. We met and planned for the next school year. Great meeting with some enhancements coming for the next school year.  Janie didn’t know it but we signed her up for a really important role. She’ll love it. We always have a need for more help here to please see Leslie Terek to get plugged in. We have a special need for any connections yall might have with Coweta County businesses. We’re making a move this summer and we could use some help in Coweta!

I failed to bring the laundry fairy bags last week. I’m gonna bring them tomorrow! Promise!

All loops are from Drake tomorrow. Be there!

6:00 – 30 min

6:30 – 60 min

7:00 – 30 min

13Jun

Quarters quarterly success – Phoenix murica hat – Saturday slow ride – awesome weather

Thanks to all who came out on Monday! We packed nearly $250 into baggies with notes and dryer sheets. I’ll have some of these laundry fairy bags for you all Saturday morning. Please take a few and distribute them in laundromats around Atlanta. We will be having another event next quarter where the kids can share experiences and stuff more bags. This was a great event. Thanks to Leslie for organizing!

I’m ordering this hat on Sunday. They will get here mid July. If you want one, click this link and drop your email address. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfqpveSG7KIuB-C1KF0S9qh7glrb987Mmb6dsICEp3we-F4sg/viewform?usp=sf_link They are $27 unless we get more than 23 people responding then the price drops a few $$.

This Saturday we’ll have a Partners to Line Creek Brewery slow ride. Bring your bike or your golf cart. Meet at Partners at 6:00 pm. Don’t forget your helmet!

The weather for Friday morning ReBoot 19 and Saturday morning’s run is looking really great. Don’t miss out!

Saturday loops from Drake

6:00 – 30 min

6:30 – 60 min

7:30 – 30 min  

07Jun

Hotlanta weekend – Washing machine success – Domestic violence bags win – Monday meeting

FIRST THINGS FIRST - Have you signed up for St. Jude? No? Get it done now!

This is the Hotlanta Half marathon weekend your mama warned you about.  If you’re not running the Hotlanta, come out and run with us! I’m still on vacation so need some leaders to step up tomorrow! If you’re interested in being a mile 4 water hander outer, meet at the Kroger by Target at 5:00 am on Sunday morning. We’ll group up into cars and head up to the Georgia State Stadium to get ready. Wear HNL gear or some other costume. If anyone has a music box thing, that’d be great. If you’d like, join us for breakfast after the runners pass us. BRING CASH FOR BREAKFAST if you’re staying after the runners pass us.

This week Julie Weida took the lead on a special request we had from FCBOE to provide a local family with a new washer and dryer. They were washing their clothing in the sink so the new set from Home Depot was an awesome start to the summer. Thanks for making this happen!

We got a message from Promise Place this morning. Please take the time to read it below. We delivered some go bags for women escaping an abusive situation. It would seem they loved the small touches. If you helped us research, order, or stuff, thank you!

HNL, touching base with you on the bags that were donated. We gave the last bag out yesterday so I have all 7 surveys completed and attached to this email. You should find some good feedback on the items. In giving these out, there were lots of tears and gratitude. One lady who received a bag has been struggling with depression over her situation and you could literally see the impact this made on her.

Thank you again SO MUCH for your generosity. The fact that your group would take the time to make a stranger's life better says a lot. 

We here at Promise Place appreciate you. 

Per the surveys she attached to the message, the recipients really liked the comfort items and first aid kits. The flippy floppy things were voted the least popular. Requests included hairbrush and pens.

Don’t forget the meeting at HNL HQ on Monday evening at 6:00 pm. BRING THE KIDS!! It’s the quarterly quarters project where kids and adults bring quarters and we’ll stuff them into bags for laundry fairy distribution. This is how we make little HNLiens. Don’t miss it!

Tomorrow all loops are from Drake!

6:30 – 60 min

7:30 – 30 min

 

 

24May

Runtoberfest 5ishK meetings - All American 5 and 10K - Memorial Day Murph - Washing machines galore 

If you’re reading this before lunch on Friday, take a chance and come meet Wiener Gang at Salad Express for a 12:30 lunch!

We had two meetings this week for our October race. Thanks to the folks who showed and shared ideas and updates. Really excited for the swag this year and I think you’ll all enjoy the work our folks are putting into this event.

Don’t forget we’re supporting our local American Legion tomorrow for their All American 5K, 10K, and RuckK. Race starts at 8:00 am. There will be an early option as well.

On Monday we’ll host The Murph at Drake. This has been an HNL tradition for many years. It’s a really great way to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice in service of their country. Meet at Drake for a 7:00 am start. Here is the story and the workout:

“Murph” is a classic CrossFit workout known as a Hero WOD. Hero WOD’s are made by CrossFit to honor the men and women that have fallen in the line of duty. This one is specifically to honor Navy Lieutenant Michael Murphy, who was killed in action in Afghanistan on June 28th, 2005.

Murph

1 mile Run

100 Pull-Ups

200 Push-Ups

300 Air Squats

1 mile Run

*With a 20 lb Vest or Body Armor

**Pull-up variant will be available

This workout itself was Michael’s favorite workout to do, which at the time referred to it as “Body Armor”, hence the 20 lb vest or body armor as part of the workout prescription. So, every year, people around the world pay special tribute to Lieutenant Murphy by joining together and suffering through this workout. Don’t miss it!

This week we received a request from a Fayette County BOE social worker about some students in need. There was some concern that the children’s clothing wasn’t as clean as it could be. We learned that mom was washing the families clothing in the sink because they didn’t have a washer and dryer set. We decided that the funding from the Fayette Celebrity Dancers would be sufficient to help up make this happen. We’re working out the particulars now but this looks like it’s going to happen. These big ticket items are where we make real impact. Psyched to be called on in the first place and glad to help when we can!

Since the race starts at 8:00, we’ll have an early 30 min loop for any interested. Park at the BMX track on McIntosh Trail and meet up at those fancy new picnic tables the city just dropped there.

7:30 – 30 min

8:00 – All American 5K and 10K - https://www.active.com/peachtree-city-ga/running/distance-running-races/10th-annual-all-american-5k-10k-event-2019

17May

Thank you – Chattanooga Half Ironman – quarterly quarters – Runtoberfest meetings – triple loops

First, thank you so much. HNL had one hell of a week and it’s all thanks to you! The washing machines for Promise Place were delivered and installed this week. They are so thankful and amazed at how quickly you made it happen. Also, the refrigerator was delivered and installed the day after the washing machines. Thanks so much for the donations and getting them in so quickly! We’re so excited to be part of these projects and happy to help where we can! In addition to the awesome news with the appliances, Fayette Realtors got talent raised some serious $$$ for us last weekend. The show was fun and getting to share what we’re doing with their money was even more fun. Also, I pitched the sponsorship opportunities to Panasonic this week and they’ve agreed to be a platinum sponsor. This is great news for our race and we’re glad to have them on board. If you know of any other businesses interested in the platinum level sponsorship, hit me up. We’d like to get them on board quick so we can start recognizing them early. There is still an opportunity for a diamond level sponsorship if anyone is interested. There will only be one of these available and it costs a cool $5K. Lots of great benefits to the diamond level! Not only do you get 10 race entries, Rob Thomas will come and wash your car! He’s really good at it. Also, Leslie Terek will sing at your Memorial Day party. Consider it, folks. Let’s get that thing sold with the quickness!

Good luck to the Chattanooga 70.3 triathletes. Let me know when you’re ready to make this happen!

Don’t forget the quarterly quarters project meeting on June 10 at 6:30 pm. This is how we get our kids involved in doing HNLien things. Be there and learn more about our plans to spread laundry love in the world! Saving change to be the change can be fun. Come out and get the kids involved.

We will have two Runtoberfest meetings next week. One Tuesday at 6:30 pm and one Thursday at 6:30 pm. Come to one or come to both; just show up and give us an update on your job. If you can’t make it, send me a message with some update and I’ll share it. I know it’s early but it’s the calls and research now that will make our lives easier in October.

Tomorrow we’re running that TRIPLE loop goodness from Drake. Be there and see people. The 7:30 30 min loop has a walk only option so be there for that if you want to be social but don’t run. Seriously. Can we get some walkers out there please? 5? 10? Anybody?

6:00 -30 min

6:30 – 60 min

7:30 – 30 min (walk option available)

See you tomorrow!

10May

Promise Place and refrigerator campaign – Camp grants – Fayette realtors show – quarterly quarters – weather tomorrow

What a great week! We delivered the go bags to Promise Place this week. SO COOL. We’re loving the mission there. The passion they have for helping victims of domestic violence is inspiring. Vanessa was nice enough to give a tour of the administrative office and let us see how busy they were. It’s sad to say but our bags won’t be gathering any dust. In 2018 they served 112 at the emergency shelter alone. Domestic violence is unfortunately prevalent everywhere in America and the awesome folks at Promise Place are ready to serve 24 hours a day right here at home.  Callers to the hotline can learn how to delete internet cookies to cover their tracks if they’re searching the web for help. Perspective. 

Then it happened. We turned a corner to the laundry room and I came face to face with a washing machine older than me. I’m a forty year old human. If I were a washing machine, I’d be considered immortal, accused of witchcraft. When I asked about the laundry situation I started to get all giddy. Vanessa told me that the machines at the administrative building were all working but they were having a serious problem at the shelter (which is at an undisclosed location for obvious reasons). One of the washing machines broke and it’s causing the other to work overtime and almost constantly. The laundry backup is real and frustration is growing. If the other machine dies, they’ll be without ANY. We told her, “That sucks.” and rolled out.

You know that didn't happen.  

Not this laundry obsessed, basic human dignity possessed, perpetually blessed group from Budapest. Nope. We made a commitment on the spot for the shelter washing machine. And another to replace the immortal witch washer. Promise Place was hyped, yo.

In addition to these two appliances, we need to purchase a third. I’m not going to publish identifying details here out of respect for the person we’d like to help. It’s the kind of purchase I’d like to think any of us would make for someone in need.  Single and no family nearby to help, medical issues can be scary. When finances are tight in a situation like this, a refrigerator is not exactly something you can just pick up on the way home. The apartment sized refrigerator we’re gonna buy is hopefully going to ease some of the pressure.   

That’s where you come in. We need to make this happen. I’ve created a cheddar up campaign for these three appliances. We need to share this far and wide so we can get it done. I know lots of you are ready to donate your own washer, dryer, and fridge but we’re going brand new and delivered on this one. We need warranties in place and longevity is the name of the game. Here is the link: https://triple-appliance-collection.cheddarup.com donate a little, share it wide. Let’s do it!

We met last night for camp grant selection. So much fun. We do need some help with this! If you are willing to spend some time on the phone and internet helping to notify the winners and other coordination duties, HMU!! Need at least two more people!

Saturday is the Fayette Realtors got talent! I have one more free ticket! They are supporters of ours and we need to show love! Saturday night 6 – 10. Be there.

Quarters quarterly. This is an awesome idea by one of my very favorite HNLiens. We’ve had such a great time with our laundry fairy project (bags of quarters and dryer sheets left anonymously in laundromats) we’re expanding it to the kids. We want young HNLiens to get their hands on a service project so this is it. We’ll have a first meeting to show the kids what it means to be a laundry fairy and how easy saving change can be. First meeting at HNL HQ on June 10, 2019 6:30 pm. Get your kids there!

Looks like rain tomorrow but that doesn't matter! Be there even if it looks cloudy. Don’t be scared. All loops from Drake.

6:30 – 60 min

7:30 – 30 min

03May

New location tomorrow – big spring ruck - Camp grant meeting – triathlon tomorrow – May Monday event

Since the tri folk will be using Drake tomorrow we’ll move the run south. Let’s get back over to Braelinn Elementary for both loops. Don’t forget!

Tomorrows long run is just half of all we’ve got going on. The Big Spring Ruck starts at 10:00 am from Line Creek Brewery. Check out the event page for more info on what to bring, the route, and how to donate to the beneficiary Healing 4 Heroes.  The ruck is 10 miles long. There will be an out and back 60-minute option. Gonna be a great day. Event is rain or shine. Thanks to Matt Rusk and Lindsey Hausmann for organizing! https://www.facebook.com/events/341449189780135/

This Thursday we’ll meet at HNL HQ to choose more camp grant recipients. Last event was so much fun and we’ve got a few to go through so come ready to work. Starts at 6:30 pm and goes to 8:00 pm.

Good luck to the PTC tri club tomorrow on their awesome triathlon events. Several of our folks will be there participating and volunteering. Have a great event!!

Mondays in May are going to be off the damn chain. Last month we did the million dollar mile and next month we’re climbing for our lives. Each and every Monday in May will be a stair climbing workout at Mellow Mushroom. Lots of stairs, lots of sweat. All fun. Don’t miss out on these great workouts! 5:30 am start.

Remember tomorrow is Braelinn Elementary!!

6:30 – 60 min

7:30 – 30 min

26Apr

Cool temps hot people - Stuff is coming up - May the 4th be with you 

Temps should be perfect for the run tomorrow! Come out and enjoy the fellowship of friends! If the wifi on this plane worked better, I'd be writing about the exact dates, times, and locations of the upcoming All American 5K, Big Spring Ruck, and shooting thing. Be there for all of them! 

I do happen to remember the ruck is on May 4th at 10:00 am. This will be a big event for HNL and we're hoping to have a great turnout. The 10 mile ruck will happen AFTER next week's run so stock up on broken glass this week and eat some for breakfast next Saturday. Check the FB event for the link to contribute dog food and supplies for Healing 4 Heros, our partner for this event. FUN TIMES!!

Tomorrow all loops will be at Drake.

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min

 

19Apr

Coming events – Runtoberfest - Easter egg hunt

Check out these events coming up!

Run the Ridge – Tomorrow - https://sctlandtrust.org/run-the-ridge-5k/

Big Spring Ruck – 5/4/2019 - https://www.facebook.com/events/341449189780135/

The Barn Group Skeet Shoot – 5/18/2019 - https://www.facebook.com/events/330057001193893/

All American 5K and 10K – 5/25/2019- https://ptcrc.com/all-american-5k-and-10k/

Veteran’s Day Ruck – NEED HELP ORGANIZING

Great stuff you should support! Please sign up for one or all of these events organized by some great HNLiens!

Runtoberfest is gonna be great. That is all. Great meeting with some awesome leaders. If you are interested in volunteering to help get us ready, let me know and I can give you a list of people needing help and how you can fit in. Thanks to all who showed! Thanks to Dori and Leslie who packed the domestic violence go bags while we met about the race. So good. Also, Leslie’s prayer skills are on point.

Got lots of small bottles for tomorrow’s Easter egg hunt.  This is not for children. This is not for responsible adults. This is for crazy runner people who sometimes drink. We’ll be at Drake for the loops and the hunt so come ready to stay a bit later than normal. Here’s how it’ll go down:

6:30 – 60 min loop

7:30 – 30 min Easter egg hunt

8:00 – Easter egg samples

8:05 – 30 min loop

That’s right, samples before the 30 min loop. No whining or complaining, just take your medicine.

12Apr

Runtoberfest Planning – mattress success – marathon training plan – Big spring ruck - ** NEW Run location** - April Challenge

Feeling fresh AF in this spring weather today. Hope to see lots of you this weekend and at some of the stuff we’ve got going on next week. Post spring break is a great time to get back out there and feel the HNL love. Join us, you won’t regret it!

Believe it or not, the first Runtoberfest meeting is upon us. We’ll meet this coming Thursday at HNL HQ (6000 Shakerag Hill #104). Meeting starts at 7:30 pm sharp and will not last more than one hour. If you’re on the committee, be there. If you want to be on the committee, be there. If you just want to see how the sausage is made, be there. Lots of sausage. Um, yea. The first meeting will be about who’s doing what and then we’ll argue about dates for the race. In addition, we’ll stuff the domestic violence go bags to be delivered to Promise Place later. Should be a productive evening.

I know you’ve read about this a million times on social media but I’ve got to mention it here. We delivered a mattress to a Fayette County student yesterday and it was awesome. Leslie and I were at a Dignity Store meeting at Flat Rock Middle when one of the social workers asked if we might be able to help a student who needs a mattress. Social worker doesn’t even have the question out of her mouth and Leslie was all, “yep”. We reached out to Verlo cause we know they’re good people and they made it happen. Felt great to see the student’s reaction when we delivered it. So fun. It was also fun to watch Geoff and Matt lift and carry stuff while I handled the door knocking part. HNLiens getting it done!

Izzy and Emily are developing the training plan we’re gonna use for the St. Jude full. More on that soon. The training plan will conveniently feature a low mileage weekend for Runtoberfest. Choice. Thanks to those ladies for setting that up!

Don't forget the big spring ruck on May the fourth. Need lots of support here! 10:00 am start, pack with 20% of your body weight, 10 miles. This will happen AFTER the run so eat your damn Wheaties that day. Matt Rusk has put some great work into this so lets show love! Line Creek start and finish. 

Hoping for a large crowd tomorrow! I heard Sam was coming from Atlanta, Brooke from Germany, and David from Waterwood Bend. We’ll meet at Kmart on Crosstown for all loops!

All loops from Kmart, all times ante meridiem

6:30 – 60 min

7:30 – 30 min

Here’s a preview of the week ALL OF THESE EVENTS ARE FREE!!!!!:

Monday – Million Dollar Mile at McIntosh High School parking lot – 5:30 am

Tuesday – ReBoot 19 guerilla soccer at Drake – 5:30 am

Wednesday – Run options! - 5:00 am and 8:00 am

Thursday – Murph Training at Huddleston Pond – 5:30 am

Friday – ReBoot 19 Avenue PTC – 5:30 am

Special prize for anyone who can get to ALL FIVE events next week. Awarded at the next Saturday run.

22Mar

NEW RUN LOCATION – 28th meetup – Ragnar Spot – Brooks 10K

I think we missed a year. Driving through Brooks yesterday reminded me that we haven’t run the 10K course in quite some time. I tend to be indulgent when it comes to nostalgia and something about those country hills and kudzu makes me think of you people.  It’s just one of a few personality traits I possess alongside impulsiveness and impatience which make my decision making abilities….no so great. So, after much consideration, I’ve decided to make an impulsive and self-serving decision to meet up at the old Brooks Elementary (116 Price Road Brooks, GA) tomorrow. Don’t miss it!

Don’t forget the HNL meetup at HNL HQ this Thursday evening at 7:00 pm to order the supplies we’ll stuff into the domestic violence bags. These "go bags" will later be packed with love and donated to Promise Place for women escaping domestic violence. Put your hands on this and help people feel the love! This is one of the easiest ways to get involved with what we do.

Looking for females who would like to do the Ragnar Relay on 4/12-4/13. Need two for the overnight relay with an all-female team. Entry is roughly $135ea and then split the RV (shower after each run, sleep in a real bed and have a kitchen and outdoor grill) cost $43ea. Can pay 1/2 now and other 1/2 at race. When this was sent to me it said, “we don’t want to pitch tents.” You’ll be disappointed to learn I did not reply despite that well served softball writing prompt.

Tomorrow we meet in Brooks, Georgia. Do not let your phone send you to Coweta County with this address!!! 116 Price Road Brooks, GA.

6:30 – 30 min out and back

7:00 – Brooks 10K course WITH front to backs

8:ish – Enjoy the goodness from a badass basket of fun stuff

 

15Mar

Publix Meetup Info – HNL Opportunity – March 28th Meeting – wiener gang – tomorrows run

If anybody needs a Publix half or full marathon bib, stick your hand out the window and grab one. So many free race entries out there. If you’d like to meet and ride together on Sunday be at the north Kroger (the one near Target in PTC) at 5:20 for a 5:30 departure. No clue where to park in ATL so if you’ve got a good spot, send that knowledge along. I’m going to get some bibs today so if you need me to pick yours up, text me the info. If you don’t know my cell phone number we’re probably not good enough friends for you to ask such a favor. Send me a FB messenger thingy and ask me for my number. Don't make it weird.

One of our awesome partners is offering a $4,000 grant to a south side charity for the purpose of helping children. Here’s where you come in. We’d like to hear your ideas. Please engage your children in this as well. We can win this thing with the right idea and the right energy. Good ideas are unique. Good ideas are fun. Put your thinking caps on and get us an idea or two within the next week. Once we decide on an idea, we’ll put some effort into shining it up and bringing home the win! Got some good ideas already and hope to get some more before we choose one next week.

On March 28 we’ll meet at HNL HQ for the bag gear ordering session we were supposed to have last week. Camper selection took too long so we had to push the gear ordering to its own meeting. On the 28th we’ll meet at 7:00 pm to order the supplies we’ll stuff into the domestic violence bags. These "go bags" will later be packed with love and donated to Promise Place for women escaping domestic violence. Come out and help! This is a great way to put your mark on some good stuff we’re doing!

Wiener Gang meets for healthy lunch again today! We’re at Vitality Bowl on Crosstown for lunch at 12:30 today. Be there! April Evans will be in attendance to accept all of your gracious praise for her work creating our awesome HNL stuff to include the St. Patrick's Day phoenix guy. She's the best!

Need some leaders to step up tomorrow! All the loops! Need leaders for each.

6:30 – 60 min

7:30 – 30 min

8:00 – 30 min

08Mar

Shamrock 10K/5K – Camp Grants – Memphis Trip – ReBoot week - Publix Race – Ruck HNL Sunday

Happy Women's Day! One of the best things about our group is the brilliance and strength of HNL women. You are all great role models for your children and others who see you. Pushing your boundaries, departing the comfort zone, giving your time and effort for others, supporting each other. Much love and respect, keep it up!

Believe it or not, the weather looks great for the annual Shamrock 10K! Remember a few things:

  1. Race starts at 7:00 am at Georgia Shrimp. Show early for the photo and pre-race beer. I will set the course tonight with poor quality markings and uninterpretable signals. Half race, half puzzle, all fun! Yes, there will be a 5K turnaround option. No, I’m not interested in improving my course marking performance. (Rob, got time to help drive broken stakes into the ground like last year?)
  2. Share something to eat or drink. Dee is always nice enough to provide the space, time, and goodness, bring something for everyone.
  3. Despite the forecast, it will rain. Be ready for that. Why? It ALWAYS RAINS for this race.
  4. Spread the word. While we don’t want EVERYBODY in the community, we do want SOME BODIES.

As I know you’ve all seen, the camp grant meeting went really well last night. Thanks to the folks that showed. The go bag meeting never happened due to the time taken on the camp grants so BOLO for the new go bag shopping meeting. Need help here!

If you’ve got your mind right, better start making accommodations for St. Jude in December. Hotels are already filling fast! Thanks to a great response on the volunteer opportunity, we’re scheduled to cook and serve dinner at the FedEx Family House the night before the race. I’m really excited for this trip and it’s in December. You get to read all about it for the next nine months.

It’s been great to see the turnout we’ve had for the Monday activities. This month we’re at Riley Track each Monday for a 5:30 start. Come out and get your speed fix. It’s going to be a week packed with stuff so don’t forget ReBoot Tuesday, McDuff Wednesday, Murph training Thursday, ReBoot at Avenue on Friday! Get off your tail and come sweat with us! All free!

Next week is the Publix race in Atlanta. I think we’ve got a decent size group running but there will still be a coordinated PTC run….just need someone to step up with the plan most convenient to them before next Friday.

There will be a short ruck on Sunday. If you’ve not liked our Ruck HNL page, please get that done. If you don’t have FB, like us on AOL. If you’ve given up social media for Lent, pray about this. We need Jesus up in here.

Shamrock 10K, sponsored by Georgia Shrimp:

6:30 – Pre-race beers and yoga with Matt Tuff

7:00 – Race start

7:07 – Pre-race beer upset tummy

7:23 – Post-race Bloody Mary dreams

10:15 - Regerts

01Mar

NEW LOCATION - Mondays (and other days) in march - St jude volunteer opportunity - wiener gang Fridays

Happy March! It’s been great seeing the sun on the horizon after the workouts this week. Read below for your opportunity to share an early morning experience with us this month. Don’t miss out!

Tomorrow we’ll meet at Huddleston Elementary for all the loops. It’s on McIntosh Trail in PTC across from the amphitheater (<--That is not an easy word to spell). Come out and do what you can with some nice folks. Temps should be perfect.

There are LOTS of opportunities for you to get off that ass in March. First, ReBoot meets each and every Tuesday and Friday. This is a 100% free bootcamp. No strings attached. Second, HNL will meet each Monday at Riley Track (Wisdom Road) at 530 for hard work. We’ll have lots of options for runs Wednesday mornings and Murph preparation Thursdays. We haven’t had a zombie apocalypse training in a while and McDuff is feeling neglected so get your minds right this month and join us for the fun!

If you don’t know, all the cool kids are going to Memphis in December. The St. Jude Marathon Weekend is going to be epic. We may have a pretty big group going. We will be planning for this event soon so speak up if you want to be part of the fun. We have three full marathon virgins running and we’d love to have more. We’ll travel to Memphis on 12/6 and return 12/8. Race registration opens in June but we need to plan for some things now. Please send me a message if this race will be your first full or half marathon so we can make a big deal out of your accomplishment.

I realize it’s early but we’ve got a great opportunity to volunteer on the evening before the race. The FedEx Family House provides free accommodations to out of town patients of Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis. If we can get 10 people interested, we’ll supply, cook, and serve dinner to families staying at the house on 12/6. We can bring more people if we get more interest but I don’t want to agree unless we get 10. This is an awesome experience to serve in a really cool environment (http://www.fedexfamilyhouse.org). Please let me know if I can count you in. Once we get to 10, I’ll send the application to them and confirm our spot. Let me know ASAP as this date will soon be taken if we don’t confirm. I guarantee you’ll have a better race after serving these kids and their families!

Finally, Friday’s in March = Wiener Gang healthy eating. We’ll start today at Salad Express at 1230 and discuss where next Friday will be. Ryan wanted to change the name to salad squad. This is the same guy who came up with the name Runtoberfest. Full of ideas. Come out on Friday and hang out. You won’t regret it.

All loops from Huddleston Elementary

6:30 – 60 min

7:30 – 30 min

8:00 – 30 min (walk/run friendly)

22Feb

Dates to remember - RUCK FLAG - Monday funday - perfect weather loops

Loving this great weather! Tomorrow should be in the 50s and perfect for running. I’m short on time so here’s some important dates to remember!

March 9 – Shamrock 10K

March 17 – Publix Half

May 4 – Big Spring Ruck

Speaking of the Ruck, please like our new Ruck HNL page on FB! https://www.facebook.com/RuckHNL/ One of our HNLiens Matt Rusk is doing big things getting our ruck project going. He met with Healing 4 Heroes last week about making them the beneficiary of our big spring ruck. This needs to be a big event for us so like the page and start getting ready for the event with us! Check out our badass new flag!

If you've been coming out to the Monday fun, you're gonna love the next one! This will be the last Monday of February and we're going to run several hills in one loop. March Mondays will be at the track! Come out for the last Monday hill roulette!

Tomorrows loops are all from Drake

6:30 – 60 min

7:30 – 30 min

8:00 – 30 min

15Feb

NEW LOCATION - Laundry fairies – rain – case of the Mondays – golf course run - Valentine's Day Pizza Party - Shamrock 10k bring food!

Thanks for showing up at the photo last week!

BOLO for the laundry fairy. HNL put together 38 baggies of quarters and fabric softener sheets for local laundromats. The idea is to help someone with a small gesture of kindness. “This load is on us” laundry fairy bags will be at the run tomorrow. Please grab a few and help us spread them far. Also, no smart ass comments about the note. For some reason, each and every idea sounded dirty and this is the best the group came up with. Thanks to Leslie for this outstanding idea!

Don’t look at the weather, it’s rainy. In fact, it’s rainy for the next week. Suck it up, buttercup. We need to see you at our stuff. Don’t let the rain stop you.

You’ve been skipping the Monday workouts? Stop being a loser. Come out Monday morning for hill brutality like you’ve never experienced. Legs aching, lungs burning, feet screaming….not sure why everyone isn’t there. Maybe it’s the messaging. This Monday will be hill-less. We’ll take turns letting Matt massage your feet. Pay attention to FB Sunday night for the location.

Anticipating rain tomorrow we’ll do the golf course run. Seriously fun route about 6+ miles so we’ll push the next loop back a bit. Should be awesome!

Our pizza party happened yesterday at CHOA! Thanks so much to everyone who donated to feed the entire Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorder Unit. Valentine's Day was a little better thanks to you!

Don't forget about our Shamrock 10K on March 9th at 7:00 am starting in front of Georgia Shrimp! Like usual, you'll need to bring food to share. Plan ahead!

The meet spot is Scott Porters parking spot in front of the dance academy or Fresh Market parking lot. Whoever gets there first picks!

6:30 – 65 to 70 min

7:45 – 30 min

8:15 – 30 min walk/run

08Feb

Children’s Heathcare of Atlanta Pizza Party – Photo with Fayette Chamber – walk/ruck tomorrow - Mercedes Racers - **TIME SHIFT**

Don’t miss tomorrow! We’re collecting cash for the HNL Pizza Party at CHOA. In 2014 we had pizza delivered to the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center for all the patients, their families, and the staff. We’re doing it again! We need to raise about $500 to get it done and that’s been a pretty easy mark for us to hit in the past. Please bring dollars with you when you show up tomorrow or donate online here: https://my.cheddarup.com/c/aflac-cancer-blood-disorder-center-at-children-s-healthcare

We’ve partnered with CHOA on other projects before and will continue to be supporters of theirs in the future. They do great work. Shout out to our own CHOA HNLien Natalie! Here is a photo of some awesome CHOA employees giving out the goods from our last party:

Need everyone to be photo shoot fresh tomorrow! We’ll meet up with the new president of the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce as he visits 100 members in 100 days. The photo happens at 730 am at Drake and we need EVERY available body. Our last loop finishes at 730 tomorrow so we’ll have lots of people dressed as runners. Need some normally clothed people. Maybe David could wear his toga? After the photo we’ll do a 30 min walk (feel free to bring a pack and make it a ruck) so everyone is welcome to join the party. Please make an effort to be there! We need YOU!

Good luck to the Mercedes Half Marathon runners this weekend! Good luck to Emily, Stacy, Izzy, and Jennifer representing HNL in Birmingham! Get after it!

Here are the loop options - note the earlier than normal start!!

6:00 – 60 min

7:00 – 30 min

7:30 – Photo then 30 min walk

 

  

31Jan

Fayette Chamber photo – Camp Grant – Wiener gang – Monday workout

Ok. This is big. We need everyone to participate. Next Saturday (NOT TOMORROW) the Fayette Chamber of Commerce wants to take a picture with HNL for their 100 member businesses in 100 days campaign. On February 9 at 7:30 the Fayette Chamber of Commerce President will be at Drake for a photo of HNL. WE. NEED. YOU. I don’t care if we haven’t seen you in months or years. Need you. We’ll have a walk starting at 7:30 so everyone can participate after the photo. I don’t ask for much (that’s a lie) but we need you now. I want to see Cory, Sam, Brooke, Rodney, John, Tena, Julie (all of them), Amanda (each of those), Shoshana (only one that I know of), each and every C25Ker ever, and Jennifer damn Carney out there. Please mark your calendar. Be there and support our organization.

The 2019 HNL Camp Grant is live! Before we had a venue for the Runtoberfest we had a cause. We want to send kids to camp this year. Please spread the word about our camp grant. If you look up at the top of this page, you’ll see the grant application. Kids can fill it out on their own or an adult can fill it out for them. We need to get this in the hands of kids and coaches and teachers. Spread it far and wide. I will be bugging you about this for months so please get used to sharing it early and often. Post it on all your social media platforms and email it to your kids coaches and teachers. This is gonna be great!

Wiener gang is changing it up tomorrow. We’re meeting for sushi at Sushi Tomi (286 GA 74, Peachtree City, GA 30269) at noon for lunch. Expect more touring for the wiener gang in the coming months. We’re broadening our horizons.

The Monday hill might or might not be the location of the Monday morning workout. There is a FB poll on the HNL run group page which will decide the location of February’s Monday workouts. Vote if you’re on FB.

Tomorrow we’ll be at Drake for three loops.

6:30 – 60 min

7:30 – 30 min

8:00 – 30 min IF and C25K folks show we’ll do a walk run.

25Jan

NEW LOCATION!! - Pancake run - shamrock 10k - camp grant questionnaire

It’s the most popular social event of the winter! The 28th annual Kiwanis pancake breakfast will be held at McIntosh High School tomorrow morning. All of our run loops will start and end there as well. After the loops, we’ll have a pancake eating contest. Tickets are available here:

https://squareup.com/store/kiwanis-club-of-peachtree-city

Purchase tickets before you get there and pick them up before the eating begins!

You don’t need to be a runner to come out and enjoy the pancakes and fellowship.  Eating begins around 8:30.

The Shamrock 10K is happening on March 9 at Georgia Shrimp. The FB event is live. Check this awesome work by April!! Thank you!!

GOLD!

Wiener gang is on today at noon. You don’t want to miss the show Ryan is gonna put on today. He’s developed a genius idea….WeinerCon 2019.  This is guaranteed to be a fantastic event. We’ll be planning this over the next few weeks.

We had a great meeting this week about our camp grant. The grant questionnaire is ready and will be published online in about a week. Once it drops we’ll need help promoting it so be ready to spread the word.

Couch to 5K is on tomorrow. Let’s try 2:00 walk and 2:00 run for 30 min.

Remember the new location tomorrow! McIntosh High School!

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min

8:00 - 30 min C25K     

18Jan

Back at Drake – Camp grants Meeting – St Paddy’s Day 10K – Monday of service - Fayette Chamber of Commerce

Tomorrow all the loops will start and end at Drake.  Plenty of parking for all you lurkers ready to come out and give this group running thing a try. If you’re just getting back into running this is the perfect time to come and try us out. You’ll see that most of us don’t bite and very few are rude. Nobody gets left behind. Be there.

On Monday evening we’ll have our first camp grant committee meeting. If I didn’t send you a message and you’d like to be on the committee, HMU and let me know ASAP. The grant application should be up and available by Feb 1. Once the application is up, we’ll need some help spreading the word so be ready to help get the message out there. This is where our Runtoberfest race proceeds are going and its very exciting!

Mark your calendars for our annual St. Patrick’s Day 10K on March 9th at Georgia Shrimp. More info and a FB event page to follow.

The past three Monday mornings we’ve met at the Kedron Fieldhouse Rink for four hill suicides and one hundred pushups. This has been a great way to start the week and our numbers are increasing each week. Yes, it’s tough. That’s what makes it so great! How much do you really know about yourself until you push the limits of your endurance? Come see what all the fuss is about Monday at 5:30 am. Kids are off that day so bring them too. It’s all done at your own pace and more people participating makes it better. Commit.

We're fancy now. The Fayette Chamber of Commerce accepted our application and just like that HNL, Inc. is a bona fide member.  Not sure they fully grasp who've they've invited into the club but maybe we'll invite them out to a spring hash run for a ribbon cutting ceremony? Perhaps during the spring Ruck during the swamp crossing? Could be epic. More to come. 

Three loops tomorrow and the C25K gets a bit of a reset. If you haven’t been to C25K yet and still want to join or missed last week, come back! We’re gonna walk more tomorrow.

6:30 – 60 min

7:30 – 30 min

8:00 – 30 min C25K (2:00 walk 1:30 run)

11Jan

LOCATION CHANGE - Ruck HNL – Flatness – Wiener Gang – C25K

Before you continue to read any of this nonsense please acknowledge that you understand all the running will start and end in the Kmart parking lot on Crosstown Drive in PTC. It’ll be a lonely morning if you show up at Drake. Please acknowledge this by clicking  here:

󠄀󠄀Օ - I acknowledge the run location is Kmart Crosstown.

If the circle above is not turning red, double click the circle.

If you are still not getting a red circle, attempt a triple click.

Stop. The circle doesn't change color. In fact, it doesn't do anything. If you triple clicked the box, you’re eligible for a free HNLiens magnet. HMU tomorrow and I’ll get it to you.

In case you didn't know, Ruck HNL is a thing. What is rucking? Well, it’s a lot like walking. Walking with a weighted pack. Walking with good friends who are also wearing weighted packs suffering the miles and conversation. Sound fun? Come give it a try this Sunday at 10:00 am starting from the same spot the run is starting from tomorrow. Matt Rusk is the OG who helps us identify the great causes we get involved with and provides the beer at the end….and in the middle. Join the page to keep following: https://www.facebook.com/RuckHNL/

The flatness will be upon you tomorrow. Some of y’all ladies know what’s up but the terrain will be flat tomorrow too. I heard all the love we had for hills last week so expect a break from the tough route tomorrow.

Thought I might mention that Wiener Gang is a thing still. Who knew. What is Wiener Gang? I have no clue. People keep showing up so we keep meeting. We meet in 30 mins at Sams so be there if you can. John will be organizing a Wienerman Class III government furlough support group, Ryan is testing for Boatswain’s Wiener Mate, and April has been nominated for Petty Wiener Officer II. You don’t want to miss out on the swag I've got today. Follow the most ridiculous nonsense you've seen all day at https://www.facebook.com/groups/222080802014334/

Couch to 5K (C25K) folks showing up in great numbers tomorrow! I can feel it. It’s not too late to join so get out to Kmart on Crosstown for 30 minutes of 2:00 run 1:30 walk. Gonna be a great day for it! The C25K group starts at 8:00. Don’t miss out! It’s a great way to burn those hot dogs off!

Here is the list of loops for tomorrow:

6:30 – 60 min

7:30 – 30 min

8:00 – 30 min C25K (1:30 walk 2:00 run)

    

04Jan

New year, new runners! – yard project – C25K

Looking forward to seeing some new faces tomorrow! The biggest obstacle folks must overcome to joining us is the fear of uncertainty. I can hear their thoughts…I don’t know anyone, I’m too slow, I don’t want to hold the group up. I promise you can come out alone and you’re not too slow. This is the running group for all paces! We measure our runs by time so we all know what we’re in for. Be bold and come out and give it a try. What can it hurt? It’s free! Feeling not so bold? Make someone come with you. Tomorrow’s group will be a smaller one since we’ve got lots of folks at another event so tomorrow is the perfect day to be new!

Good luck to all the Red Nose Half runners tomorrow. I know y’all paid a pretty penny to get that registration. Get after it in these awesome temps!

We did the yard cleanup today and it was a massive success. We had over 20 people out there raking, cutting, and cleaning.  We put in a solid three hours of work and Matt Tuff will be back tomorrow if anyone wants to join. Thanks to Matt for coordinating this project for an elderly man who was very appreciative of our efforts. Thanks to all who showed up!

Tomorrow will be the first day of our 2019 couch to 5K (C25K) program. Each week there will be the C25K info posted with the run info below. The intervals will be posted so you’ll know what you’re in for. For example: 2:00 walk 2:00 run means we’ll walk two minutes then run two minutes then walk two minutes…and so on for a total of thirty minutes of exercise. Join up by showing up and commit to finishing the whole thing!

See you all at Drake for the first Saturday run of the year!

6:30 – 60 min

7:30 – 30 min

8:00 – 30 min C25K 2:00 walk – 2:00 run

28Dec

2018 review – Service project Thursday - NEW LOCATION TOMORROW – C25K 2019

It’s been one hell of a year, HNL. 2018 was a year of growth for our organization thanks to the hard work and commitment of the HNLiens donating and getting it done. Much love to the helpers in this world! From the Level Up Community Grant to The Dignity Store to Runtoberfest, our projects are gaining traction and really helping people. In 2018 we put lots of hygiene items in the hands of kids and adults at six different Dignity Store locations around the south metro area. Our newest location is doing really big things at North Clayton Middle School. Look for continued success and growth in this idea. We’ve got some seriously dedicated folks working on this to get it done but we can always use more. The American Legion needed new tables and chairs so HNL stepped up and helped our beloved vets get what they needed. We packed over 2000 meals for kids who didn’t have summer lunch. When school was back in session, we showed our appreciation for the custodial staff at Booth Middle with a fancy lunch served by HNL volunteers. A local mom faced a personal tragedy when her special needs son died in a tragic accident. When she woke up the next day to handle the terrible business of making funeral arrangements, her car’s tire was flat and she didn’t have a spare or the means to get it towed and fixed. Fayette DFCS called to see if HNL might be able to help. HNLiens and Mask Tire in Fayetteville got her on the road with the quickness. We granted a local kid the means to grow his business and he’s making us proud! We collected tons of gift cards for a family burned out of their home and made a miserable experience just a bit less miserable. It’s not about you Christmas constructed 455 care packages for homeless people and 200 back packs for kids who need school supplies. Last week we packed 40 care packages for elderly folks here in PTC then delivered a washing machine to a most deserving lady who was in need. In the past week we delivered a brand new laptop to a special needs student. His mom was blown away by the generosity HNL showed toward her son for Christmas. You also delivered a gift card for clothing to a student who was facing ridicule because she wears the same clothing to school every day. Kids can be so damn mean. In addition to all this awesomeness, we planned and executed our inaugural 5ishK race so that we can send kids to summer camp next year. Wow. So many people helped with all this. Your help is so appreciated. Thank you so much!!!!    

Hope to see everyone and their kids at our service project on Thursday. We’re doing a yard cleanup for a local man who just doesn’t have the ability to get it done himself. We’ll need the help of adults and kids alike. Bring rakes, blowers, and sweat. Details to be on the FB event ready this weekend. If you aren’t on FB, see Matt Tuff tomorrow for more info. This will be an awesome project to get the whole family involved. It’s a big yard, gonna need lots of help!

New location for both loops tomorrow. We’ll be at Shakerag Knoll on McIntosh Trail (across the street from Huddleston Elementary). Two loops, second loop has an out and back option for those wanting less than 60 min.

6:30 – 60 min

7:30 – 60 min

Any love for another C25K program in the new year? How can we get more folks to stick to the whole thing?!

21Dec

OBC – Camp Help – Christmas Eve run - Morning run

As you all probably know, HNL started as the weekend run option for Operation Bootcamp. We had our last OBC workout this morning and it’s been a depressing few weeks as we’ve been coming closer to the end. I am really grateful for the decade of friendship and exercise OBC has brought to us. All of you reading this have some connection to OBC or a bootcamper. Thanks to David for bringing OBC to PTC and being the godfather of HNL. Thank you!!!

With OBC not being a thing, there will be a new exercise group to fill the void. If you’ve never heard of November Project or F3, look it up. David and several others will try out November Project ATL on 12/26 if you’d like to join us on a recon. We’re thinking something like this could do really well in our area. There will also be more regular HNL weekday runs. This will all be free. Working out times, locations, and responsibilities will take a bit of time to settle so try and be flexible. We also need some leaders to step up and get in the mix. Let’s do different morning locations, get back to the track, get on those stadium stairs, flip tires, jeep laps. Taking down the paywall should make the group bigger. Expect intensity and accountability. 2019 has lots of fitness potential and I’m really excited about the new freshness coming to a pair of running shoes near you!

We’re organizing the committee to help select kids for camp. In the next month we’ll create the web based grant application, advertise to schools, and set up a process for making decisions. If you’d like to help, HMU. I will be asking some of you individually so don’t be weird about it. Just say yes.

Per tradition, we’ll have a Christmas Eve run. Starting from Home Depot we’ll see how far down McDuff we can make it. All are welcome and we’ll have an out and back agreement in place for those who’d like to do short distances. Leo has confirmed special Christmas drink will be there!  

There is a run tomorrow starting at Drake. Two loops.

6:30 – 60 min

7:30 – 60 min

Be there!

14Dec

Caroling postponed – choir practice – washing machine – run tomorrow

The rain sucks. Since it’s greater than 50% chance of rain tonight we’ll postpone the caroling till next Thursday night. It’s not a school night so no excuses about getting kids to bed.

There will be choir practice tonight at Georgia Shrimp in Murph’s Bar. We’ll start the warmup at 6:30 and stick around for dinner and more singing. Drop in, stay the whole time, don’t come at all, doesn’t matter to us. Ugly sweaters encouraged.

This week HNL was part of a pretty awesome project headed up by someone who desires not to be named. Her name rhymes with Teslie Lerek. She and some other nice folks like Tob Rhomas and Ray Edmondson made a very special delivery of a washing machine to a woman who was in serious need of one. She was so grateful and if you know the mystery people involved, you know they were happy to help. Sometimes it’s easy for us to take what we have for granted. It’s really great to know there are nice ladies in this world to help those who need it. 

HNL board meets next week and we’ll finalize the bags budget. I’ll be asking for your help. All the nice folks who sent me a message offering to help will be taken up on their offer soon. Be ready!

It’s difficult to believe but the rain might be over before the run tomorrow. We’ve had rain for two straight Saturdays! Come out and enjoy the decent temps and dry air. Should be a great day! Let’s get after it! Drake.

6:30 – 60 min

7:30 – 30 min

30Nov

Rainy morning – caroling – BAGS – Jennifer Carney

Just because rain is in the forecast does not mean you can miss your long run. The temps will be decent so don’t be scared. I saw the public works folks putting up the light tunnel on the path so I know Anna will be pleased with the route from Drake. Seriously. Suck it up and come take your medicine.

The HNL caroling event will happen on the evening of December 14 at 6:45 pm from Fresh Market. We want to have a massive turnout for this event so there have been some changes to the route. We will not run more than 4 miles and there will be a golf cart(s) for the non-runners. This is always a fun event so don’t miss it! If you live in the area and would like us to melt your face with our Christmas medley, HMU. If you are willing to host a drink stop, lemme know. There will be a FB event created soon so please sign up and make baby Jesus happy by declaring your intent to sing about him on 12/14.

We had a really great meeting a few weeks ago about a cool project we’re working on. We’re going to create fifteen bags for three different groups of people who need our help here in our community. So far, we’re planning to send five bags to DFCS for kids entering foster care from a deprivation or abuse case, Promise Place for women escaping domestic violence, and Fayette Senior Services for elderly people in need. The goal of these bags is to help these folks get what they need WHEN they need it. We brainstormed some awesome ideas for each group to include things like a pre-paid cell phone for domestic abuse survivors, journaling materials for foster kids, and pill reminders/cutters for the elderly. As always, we want to focus on really great things (read: high quality) these folks can rely on during some really rough experiences. This is where you come in. We need people to sign up for one of the bag teams to help research and order the stuff we’ll put in each bag. The qualifications for this job are: 1. Be a human 2. Have an opinion on what stuff might be better than other stuff. 3. Meet in person with a small group to discuss and help order then pack. That’s it! Once we get the bags made we’ll deliver to the agencies mentioned and wait. Once we learn which bags get the most mileage we can consider making this a bigger deal. CLICK HERE and let us know you’ve got that discerning taste we need to identify cool stuff for people who need it!

Did you hear Jennifer Carney is moving? Yea, me either. Looks like there was a concerted effort to keep this a secret to avoid a scene. Well, now we’re gonna have an online scene. Jennifer has been an HNLien since the start. As an HNL OG she knows the secret handshake and the original recipe to our brand. In fact, she’s a big part of what makes it so good. Her shy kindness is disarming and welcoming at the same time. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen her angry or grumpy. She’s been a constant presence of calm and steadiness we’ll miss for sure. Thanks to Jennifer for all those hard working miles you put in with your friends!  We’ll miss you! Much love from HNL! Good luck!

All loops from Drake

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 60 min (30 min out and back if you desire)

16Nov

11/17 - Turkey donation - turkey run - turkey turkey

Thanks to all who donated $$$ last week! We’re headed to Publix (PTC 54 East) for an 11:30 Thanksgiving shopping trip. Please come if you can make it. We’ll leave Publix and deliver the goodness to Bloom who will get it to the family we sponsored. Thanks so much for your help!

Good luck to the Soldier Half Marathon runners tomorrow. It’s going to be a hell of a day with the sun being out an all. Soak it up. Don’t go crazy, we got another half on Thanksgiving.

Plans are being made for the annual caroling event. If you live anywhere near Booth Middle School and would consider allowing a group of rapscallion carolers in your yard, HMU. Otherwise, order your inappropriate gear now! This years route will be MUCH shorter and much warmer. I guarantee it.

Here is a friendly reminder about the run on Thanksgiving Day. There will be lots of options. Come out and run whatever distance you like! From one mile to a half marathon, it’s all for the fun of it. We’ll start at Drake at 7:30 on Thursday. We’ll be collecting cash for Bloom and Real Life Center as well. Do not miss this!!

There will be two loops tomorrow. All loops start and end at Drake. If you’re looking for less than 60 min, consider an out and back on either loop. Choices!

6:30 – 60 min

7:30 – 60 min

That’s all! See you in the morning!

09Nov

11/10 - veterans day - runtoberfest meeting - need $$$ for turkey - one way run

Shout out to all the veteran HNLiens out there. We’ll observe Veterans Day on Monday but this is the last chance I’ll get so here it is! We live in the greatest county on earth and our veterans are the best of what America is. We’re honored to have your type around. The selfless sacrifice and dedication of service members is so worthy of our respect and thanks. We couldn't be more proud to show you our love and support. Thank you for your service to our country!

The HNL Runtoberfest race committee had our final meeting last night (insert sad face here). We wanted to have the whole committee together as we read through the runner survey results. I got through seven words of my witty monologue when a voice sprang forth from the crowd. Murmurs of shock and surprise raced through the group as the interrupter squinted one eye and aimed a real crusher at me and my pad of prepared remarks……”Why doesn't this involve alcohol?”

Valid point.

Matt Tuff jumped up and rushed to the store for two twelve packs of the finest Michelob Ultra available. As we settled back in with our refreshing low carbohydrate beverages we were ready to face the truth of what people thought of the race. The remarks made by runners were just about all positive. There were just a few negative comments but that’s to be expected, right? You can’t make everyone happy. Of the ninety responses we got, each of the responses averaged over four out of five points. Since five is the highest score you can get, I’d say we did pretty good. We took 4.5% ABV notes and promise to do even better next year. Thanks again to all the people who helped us make it happen. Love you all.   

HNL has signed up to provide a family with Thanksgiving dinner! Bloom asked for volunteers and we signed up to help. The food is due Friday so we’ll go shopping this week. They need one frozen turkey and non-perishable, non-refrigerated sides for a family of five to six. We need some cash to make this happen. Bring it tomorrow and we’ll shop on Friday morning and deliver to Bloom same day. Gonna need some help shopping and delivering in addition to the $$$. If you've got cash, bring it tomorrow. If you can shop and deliver the goods, tell me! Gotta get this done this week so don’t forget those dollar bills tomorrow. You know how we do. None of that generic bull; only the finest turkey, dressing, and veggies our dollars can buy. Show love HNL! Let’s make it awesome for our sponsor family!

We’re going big tomorrow. ONE DAMN WAY. You heard/read that right, one damn way day. There are lots of options for everyone tomorrow if you don’t want to do one damn way day. Whatever time you need to get done, divide it in half and get ready to turn back at that time. The rest of us will continue on the one damn way day. The whole thing kicks off at 6:30 am. That means EVERYONE has to be at Drake at 6:30. There will not be any other options for start times tomorrow. EVERYBODY will start running at Drake at 6:30 no matter the distance you want. Get out of bed and join us!

This is where you have to make a choice.

Only those participating in the eleven mile one damn way day will meet at Publix on south 74 at 6:15. DO NOT BE LATE. We will leave Publix at 6:20 and be at Drake for the 6:30 start. If you’re doing less than eleven miles tomorrow just meet at Drake for the 6:30 start with an idea in your mind about when you need to turn around. Once it’s all over, the people at Publix who ran the entire one damn way day will remain and can take care of the people who drove us to Drake.

Publix 74 South in PTC

6:15 SHARP – 110 Minutes (ONE WAY RUNNERS ONLY meet at Publix on 74 south)

Drake

6:30 – 90 minutes

6:30 – 60 minutes

6:30 – 30 minutes

6:30 – 15 minutes

6:30 – 7.5 minutes

02Nov

11/3 Marathon Ladies – Pancake Run – Take off your pants for a good cause – New location!!!         

Good luck to all the HNL marathoners and half marathoners running this weekend! The NYC and Savannah races are lucky enough to have HNLiens running. Y’all did a hell of a job training, get after it this weekend!

We’re gonna run for pancakes tomorrow. There will be two loops then we’ll walk to my house for pancakes. If you bring anything tomorrow, please cook it before you bring it. This does not apply to plates, cups, forks, OJ, butter, pancakes or champagne. If you haven’t signed up for any of it, check the FB event page for more details.

Remember all that noise I made about jeans for Rachel’s Ray of Hope? Well, lots of them never made it to the store. Let’s change that. I need you to bring me your Jeans. All of them. If you have any jeans you can donate, please bring them to the run tomorrow and we’ll get them over to Rachel’s Ray of Hope. There are some kids out there who need jeans for the fall and winter and you can help. All ages and all sizes are needed. Seriously, don’t show up empty handed. Put them in your car TONIGHT. I’ll report back on the number we donate so please help.

We’ve been at Drake for waaaaaayyyy too long. Couch to 5K and race prep made Drake the easy spot. We’re going to meet in a new location tomorrow for the two loops. Meet at St. Andrews Episcopal 316 N Peachtree Pkwy, Peachtree City, GA 30269 for all the goodness.

6:30 – 60 min

7:30 – 30 min

26Oct

RACE day tomorrow! run too!

Tomorrow is the day! Thanks to all who have helped make the HNL Runtoberfest 5K a reality. The swag bag is phenomenal, the shirts are out of this world, the venue is ready, the course is brutal. What more could you ask for?! We’ve been planning this for so long I’m gonna miss it once it’s over. Be on the lookout for a prost race survey! We need to learn from this experience so be honest! Even if you’re not running the race tomorrow please come hang out with us tonight from 4 to 7 at Line Creek Brewery or tomorrow morning!

If you are an HNLien or volunteer coming tomorrow, please park in the back of the building.

Please take photos and video of the event and party. If you’ve got a GoPro, bring it! We need footage and photos for next year’s event marketing.

There is a run option for those brave enough. We’ll start our weekly run from Line Creek Brewery tomorrow! Be there!

5:20 – 70 min two loops

6:00 – 30 min one loop

The 6:00 am loop will be the race course so if you’re registered to race but can’t here is your chance to earn that shirt.

See you dark and early!

19Oct

Peachtree City Classic - Early options - runtoberfest

Good luck to the runners of the PTC Classic tomorrow! The PTCRC does an awesome job of hosting this great race every year and I have no doubt tomorrow will be phenomenal. This is the first time I'll miss this race in many years but kids sports is pulling me away. If you're running tomorrow please represent HNL by wearing your finest gear.

For those few not running the classic tomorrow we have an early option if you're interested. See below.

The Runtoberfest planning is done and the only thing left is to execute. Thanks so much to the volunteers who've put in countless hours to get this thing going. I know its going to go smoothly. Thanks for all your help!

Here are the two loops offered tomorrow from Drake:

6:00 - 30 min

6:30 - 60 min

Hope to see some photos from the Classic!

12Oct

10/13 - get out the pumpkin spice fleece - HNL Runtoberfest is sold out! - double help - run info

How bout this weather! Gonna be a great day for running and coffee tomorrow. The pancake thing is postponed since lots of people have stuff going on tomorrow. It’ll be on 11/3. 

Great job on selling out our first official race! Thanks so much to the people who've been involved so far and the ones who are about to be. This will be a super high quality event and a perfect example of how we can get things done when we team up and spread the work out. Next level stuff, y'all. Nice work.

Still need you to click here and sign up: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0849aba823a1fc1-hnlruntoberfest

We’ll have an awesome volunteer shirt for you and if you do a really good job, we’ll say nice things about you when you aren’t around. Seriously, help us out. The sold out race is happening on 10/27 and we need just a few more spots.

If you’re on this list we need you at the next race meeting on 10/18 at 6:30 pm. We’ll meet at the official HNL headquarters now located at 6000 Shakerag Hill #104, Peachtree City, GA 30269.

Linda, Capt. Tuff, Marc, Amy, Izzy, Lindsey, Melissa, Shannon, Julie, Lindsey, All Scotts. PLEASE make an effort to be there!

Here is a look at the schedule for the week of the race:

Thursday 10/18
7:00 PM – Volunteer meeting

Thursday 10/25
6:30 PM – Bag stuffing/LAST RACE MEETING at HNL, Inc.

Friday 10/26
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM Course marking
2:00 PM – Porta Potty delivery
4:00 PM – 8:00 PM Packet pickup LCB

This is going to be a great event for all involved. Can’t wait to see the stories of the kids we will be sending to camp with all this effort. Thanks to all involved for your help!

The loops tomorrow are Drake loops in the cool morning goodness. Be there!

6:30 – 60 min

7:30 – 30 min

8:00 – C25K (5:00 run :30 walk)

05Oct

10/6 - HELP!

 

We need help! There are a few things we still need before the race (which is six runners from being sold out) on the 27th. Here is what we need:

1. Click this link and sign up for something https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0849aba823a1fc1-hnlruntoberfest

2. We need to borrow your six seat golf cart. Seriously. We'll bring it back.

3. I need some GoPro and drone footage help. If you have a GoPro, bring it. If you have a camera on a drone, fly it. If you take photos, get them to me.

That's not so bad, right? Please help us with this so it all goes smoothly. We'll have the packet stuffing party on 10/25, packet pickup at Line Creek on 10/26, race on 10/27. Anna is looking for traffic cones (30 to 50), Izzy is looking for a clock and inflatable arch, Capt. Matt Tuff is looking for traffic vests. If you have a line on any of these things, reach out to them and help make their lives easier.

The race bags are ordered and they look pretty awesome, race and volunteer shirts are on the way, race prizes are delicate and German AF, Hoo-rags been here waiting, temporary tattoos which read, "I don't give a schnitzel" are here. So much great stuff. Psyched.

Did anybody see our shoutout in the Fayette Community Source magazine story on "The local running scene"? Thanks to Joe for showing us some love:

RUN HNL: This is the fastest growing local running group,and it takes running to a "Hole Nother Level (HNL)" with lots of themed running activities, many of which support local charities. This group is fun and active, albeit non-traditional.

Love it! Hope to keep living up to the non-traditional part.

Let's run!

All loops from Drake. I'll be deep in the Ozarks and Capt. Tuff is fishing so we need some loop leaders tomorrow.

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min

8:00 - C25K (4:30 run :30 walk)

See you next week for the post run pancake goodness. Sign up here: https://www.facebook.com/events/304723203663583/

28Sep

9/29 - judge kavanaugh confirmation run - race getting close - sunrise 30 min - gift cards - Sunday ruck

The Senate Judiciary Committee will join us tomorrow for our opinions on their vote today. Come ready to discuss.

We're less than a month from our race. Things are really coming along! Thanks to the race committee for all your hard work, we're going to have such a great time. If you've not signed up for the race, do it now! There are less than 50 spots left. The volunteer signup is here for those who would like to help: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0849aba823a1fc1-hnlruntoberfest

We had the Booth custodian lunch today and it was awesome. Thanks to all who came out. They refuse to be named so I won't but the lunch was greatly appreciated. Thanks again!

Don't miss the 30 min run tomorrow starting right when the sun rises! We'll run east into the brightness. Expecting to see some HNL OGs for this portion tomorrow. Come out of your comfort zone and make this happen. Exercise is a great stress relief. Relieve yourself.

Tomorrow we'll be collecting gift cards for flooding victims in North Carolina. There are lots of people up there struggling to make ends meet and we'd like to help with some of those needs for the babies and kids. Any gift cards are great but ones they can use to buy diapers, formula, and the like are greatly appreciated.

This Sunday at 1:00 PM we're rucking. That's right, rucking. Come out and join us for a miles long ruck starting at PTC K-Mart. If you live in PTC and want us to come by and pick you up to say hi, lemme know.

Here is the Drake info for the run tomorrow:

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min

8:00 - 30 min C25K (4:00 run :30 walk)

PS check our badass race bib!

21Sep

9/22 - New times - booth middle school help!

Look out for a few changes in the morning. We'll start a bit early for those who's like to and we need some leadership at 7:30 and 8:00.

The Booth Middle School Custodian lunch is on. We'll serve the entire custodial staff lunch in the front office conference room at 1:30 on Friday. We still need two more volunteers between 1:00 and 2:30. This is a great way to serve some awesome people and I guarantee you'll have a good time. Let me know if you can help!

Our race numbers are getting close to maximum. We're over 230 and the stream of registrants is still steadily growing. It's getting pretty exciting. If you're on the race committee get ready to meet every Thursday in October. I'm working on the top finisher prizes (there are only six, top three males and females) and really like a beer stein as trophy. If you've got any really great ideas about what you think they should be please reach out. I'm not saying that we'll use it but I'd love to hear about any other creative ideas you might have.

Ok, tomorrow the temps are good but the humidity is high. Suck it up and get your tail out there. We need a group lead for both the 30 min loop and the C25K. For really. All loops Drake.

6:00 - NEW TIME - 30 min

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min

8:00 - C25K (3:30 run 0:30 walk)

14Sep

9/15 - Runtoberfest and Booth help - shark stuff - c25k up to 3:00!

I feel like the baby shark song really helps us deal with stress. Everyone’s got the little and easy to deal with baby shark problems, right?  What happens when they get bigger? You know, grandma shark problems. Good news. Just swim faster. Swim faster and bye bye sharks. If you’re dealing with grandma shark problems, come work some of it out with HNL and this uplifting song. Seriously, check the lyrics below and think about the meaning of them. Don’t miss the end! *Spoiler alert* the fish makes it.   

Baby shark, doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo.
Baby shark, doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo.
Baby shark, doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo.
Baby shark.

Mama shark, doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo.
Mama shark, doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo.
Mama shark, doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo.
Mama shark.

Papa shark, doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo.
Papa shark, doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo.
Papa shark, doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo.
Papa shark.

Grandma shark, doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo.
Grandma shark, doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo.
Grandma shark, doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo.
Grandma shark.

Grandpa shark, doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo.
Grandpa shark, doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo.
Grandpa shark, doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo.
Grandpa shark.

Hungry sharks, doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo.
Hungry sharks, doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo.
Hungry sharks, doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo.
Hungry sharks.

Little fish, doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo.
Little fish, doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo.
Little fish, doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo.
Little fish.

Swim away, doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo.
Swim away, doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo.
Swim away, doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo.
Swim away.

Swim faster, doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo.
Swim faster, doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo.
Swim faster, doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo.
Swim faster.

Swim faster, doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo.
Swim faster, doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo.
Swim faster, doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo.
Swim faster.

Swim faster, doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo.
Swim faster, doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo.
Swim faster, doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo.
Swim faster.

Safe at last, doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo.
Safe at last, doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo.
Safe at last, doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo.
Safe at last.

Bye bye sharks, doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo.
Bye bye sharks, doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo.
Bye bye sharks, doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo.
Bye bye sharks.

It’s such a good song. You’ve gotta listen to it 17 million times before it gets old.

Good news this week for HNL! We’ve got almost 200 people signed up for the race. We met last night and put together a list of things we need for the day of the race. We need your help! Amy is going to have the volunteer signup soon where you can volunteer your time at the race and get a sweet shirt for your efforts! If you visit Line Creek Brewery anytime soon, tell them how much you love the race signs they’ve got on the tables. Special thanks to Melissa for the hours of work she’s put into this race so far. We’ve got lots of great help for this event and she’s always there to contribute.

The Dignity Store has all the shelves stocked and a volunteer committed to every location. Anna, Christina, Julie, Carrie, Amanda, Leslie and Mandy are going to keep up with our inventory and our partnerships with the schools. This idea keeps growing and we’re lucky to have such awesome help. Thank you!

The Booth custodian service is on! We’ve got menus going out to the Booth Middle Custodial staff for the lunch we’ll serve on 9/28. We still need some help here so if you could spare an hour or so, we’d appreciate it. Please let me know tomorrow if you can!

The laundry machine project got a boost this week with some help from a local elementary school counselor who knows of a local family of five who is in desperate need of a washer and dryer. We’re in the process of learning more about them and will keep you updated about what we learn. The idea for this came to us from the bleak environment that is a laundromat.  There are lots of people right here in our community who are having to carry their laundry (sometimes on foot) to a nearby laundromat where they spend lots of money on doing their wash. We want to reduce the time and cost for these people by purchasing and installing a washer and dryer in their home. Laundry sucks. Having to haul it to a public place, pay too much to do it, then drag it home really sucks. If we find the right people, we’ll make life a bit easier for them.

It’s not too late to jump into the couch to 5K program! Come out tomorrow! 3:00 run, 1:00 walk. Be there!

All loops Drake tomorrow:

6:30 – 60 min

7:30 – 30 min

8:00 – C25K (3:00 run 1:00 walk)  

07Sep

9/8 7 run - Runtoberfest update - Dignity Store news

Dear HNL,

I thought about you all day. Can't even help it. Seems like the years are rushing by and we're still searching for the meaning of all this. It's almost like it was meant to be, right? Remember that time way back in the day we went to the hash run in Atlanta and got shoved into the sewer? How about the time when Emily was pregnant and she couldn't be bothered to even barely wade into the woods before dropping her pants to pee. How about that one time at David's house we stayed so late he went to bed without even saying goodnight? Yea. Those were the days. Here is why I can't stop thinking about you. The best days are ahead of us. Big things are happening and we're making a difference for people and having fun along the way. Pretty cool. I don't want to come off too strong but.....I'm pretty sure you're my favorite running group. There. I said it. Well, I hope you feel the same and I can't wait until Emily gets pregnant so we can all be together while she sprays her bodily fluids all over the cart path again.

All my love,

Josh

Now that we've got the sentimental stuff out of the way...Tomorrow is 9/8 so the first loop will start 10 minuets early so we can get 7 miles in. Get it? 9/8 7? There will be a 30 min run at 7:30 and the couch to 5K group meets at 8:00. All at Drake.

Runtoberfest numbers are over the halfway point and we need your help to get us the rest of the way. Share, advertise, influence! Let's get to 300 this month! Race committee people met this week and we have a badass shirt design picked out. It's seriously cool. We met with the brewery and worked out some details there too. If you are on the race committee and haven't read the freedcamp post on the LCB meeting, please do. Julie and Marc have some important info there.

The Dignity Store opened the new location at North Clayton Middle thanks to Amanda and Cummins. It was an awesome event and we really appreciate Amanda's hard work on getting this done. It would be totally awesome if she and her sister Maggie came back to run with us. Maybe one day. Keller Williams' non-profit Kares 4 Kids took The Dignity Store shopping this week and we picked up $1400 worth of hygiene items for kids in need! Thanks to Matt Tuff's awesome company for doing this and our very own Tracy Kirkland for taking us along. I've got to apologize for my terrible error, however. During the start of the event, they let the charities introduce themselves and I failed to mention Leslie as I told them what The Dignity Store was. Truth is, she is the largest part of it. You cannot imagine the time and love she puts into all of our locations and we're truly grateful for her efforts. Thank you Leslie! She's gonna be mad I wrote this cause she didn't notice my omission but I felt terrible.

That's all for now. Be on the lookout for an opportunity to help in the next few weeks. We're serving the janitorial staff at Booth Middle a fancy lunch. These awesome folks work really hard for the kids and we're going to honor them with a lunch from Longhorn. If you'd be available to help set up or serve, let me know tomorrow and we'l get you in there like swimwear. This will most likely be the last Friday of the month at about 1:30 for a staff of 8.

Here are the details on the run

6:20 - 70 min

7:30 - 30 min

8:00 - C25K (run 2:30 walk 1:00)

 

31Aug

Rabbit rabbit! - fresh duration, location, and times - Runtoberfest Price increase

It's the first day of September and superstition requires you to say rabbit rabbit on the first day of the month so the rabbit will run away with your problems. This is nonsense but some of y'all got bills that need a third rabbit in there so give it a try. Speaking of Tri, our own Scott Porter is competing at the Ironman 70.3 World Championship this weekend. I was gonna let him know that there are races in this hemisphere but he was already underway; steaming toward a swim in the Indian Ocean and hard ass work in the African sun. There is no doubt Mr. Porter has his mind right. Good luck, buddy! 

If you are planning on running the normal 60 or 30 min loop tomorrow please pay attention to the location and time changes tomorrow. The 90 min loop will run with the 30 min loop. The C25K is in the normal spot at Drake just a few minutes later.

The HNL Runtoberfest 5K registration is going really well. The price increases tomorrow so please take care of your registration today! See the Runtoberfest link at the top of your screen? Click it. Register. Feel good about saving yourself money.

Ok here is the info for tomorrow. Please be flexible! Be on time but ready to wait a few minutes. There are some variables in the pace so we can't be EXACT but we'll try!

6:30 - 90 minutes - Drake

7:00 - 30 minutes - K-Mart Crosstown

8:05 - C25K - Drake (2:00 run 1:30 walk)

Have a great day and do something nice for someone!

24Aug

8/25/2018 - Decent temps - HNL swag - C25K moving along

The temps at the start tomorrow should be under 70! Some of you people are already planing for mittens and pumpkin spice gels. Calm your beans. This is Georgia and we expect second summer to start any day now. While we wait, we'll graciously accept 45 minutes of sub 70 degree weather. Also, it's Disco Dave's birthday this weekend! He'll be the dude in the sweat soaked gray shirt after the first loop. Wish the godfather of HNL a happy day and ask him about how you can celebrate Oreo's for breakfast day this Sunday.

Saw lots of cars last weekend in need of a Run HNL magnet. I'll be giving some away tomorrow so show up and get yours!

Our C25K group was on point last Saturday and we expect some more new folks to show up over the next few weeks. It's a great way for the first two loopers to keep extending that mileage. Stick around and see what it's all about!

Drake for all the miles tomorrow.

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min

8:00 - 30 min C25K (Run 2:00 walk 1:30)

17Aug

8/18 - C25K DAY 1! - Race news - The Dignity Store News - other stuff

Super psyched about how things are going for HNL right now. We're going to have quite a few first timers in the next few weeks so everyone be nice and don't be weird. We don't want to scare the new people away. Here are a few Run HNL rules you should remember:

The weekly run info is here on Friday

The Run HNL Facebook group has all the straight dope on impromptu events (hash runs, slow rides, hüsker düs, hüsker don'ts)

We're usually at Drake but there's always a chance of location change - ALWAYS CHECK ONLINE

The moon landing was not a hoax

We always stay together with front to backs

There are no membership fees or requirements to joining

Yes, some of us wear pleasant fragrance for the runs. You're welcome

Ok, now that we've got that out of the way you should know a few things about what HNL is all about. Please take some time to look at the giving tab. HNL is the umbrella all of our projects fall under. Run HNL, The Dignity Store, Level Up Community Grant, and smaller projects are all part of HNL, Inc. We've been a thing for many years and a non-profit since last year. No project is too big or small. We really like the quick shots like you read about but the really good stuff are the things that make a really big difference. We had a big transportation project win last year and we're currently working on a washer/dryer project. Ever been in a laundromat? Pretty bleak, dude. We're gonna find someone with the right story out of there and help them improve their life by making things a little easier, cheaper, and shorter. This was made possible by a grant from Delta Pilots Charitable Association. HNL is going to make them proud by helping someone deserving in a profound and lasting way. More on that in the Fall. Anyway, this is a group of action. You don't have to be here long before you see the magnificent kindness and range of abilities these people bring to the table. We're motivated, flexible, unorthodox, and set on a mission to help fellow humans.

The Dignity Store had a big week thanks to Amanda and Leslie! We're opening our SIXTH location at North Clayton Middle School. Thanks to Amanda and her employer Cummins Diesel for sponsoring this location. The school is really excited to have us there and gave us a great space. Photos soon! More info about The Dignity Store HERE.

We had a really great race meeting at Line Creek Brewery this week. I'm pretty sure I have permanent hearing damage but the important issues were discussed. We need your help for the big push over the next two weeks. If you've not signed up for the race......c'mon. Really need you to step up here. Get your mind right and fire up that Apple II to get Netscape directed HERE. The race sponsorship list is looking great but we need your help here too. Please get out there and sling these gold level sponsorships. Get the $500 check to me and email the logo to runhnlptc@gmail.com Special thanks to Matt Tuff for working hard on this really important part of our race planning. We talked shirt talk and we should have some options soon. We're really lucky to have April working on this and helping us out. Thanks to her, all this stuff looks great and I think that's a really important part of getting people to love HNL. 

My fingers are going to seize up.

We'll be at Drake tomorrow for your sweaty fix

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min

8:00 - C25K - Run 2:00 Walk 2:00 for 30 min

Everyone stick around for a group photo at 8:00!

10Aug

8/11/2018 - Get back to it - Runtoberfest HELP - DRAKE!!

Ok. School is back in. Routine is the name of the game. Get your fine self out to Drake and move your body! We'll have an option tomorrow for walkers only! As we ramp up to the C25K program for Runtoberfest, let's start with walking. Hope to see some previous loop runners hanging around for the walk as well. This is a great opportunity to see what HNL is about and meet some of the people. Call a friend, register for the HNL 5K Runtoberfest, commit to making all the couch to 5K training runs. It's going to be fun!

Speaking of HNL's Runtoberfest....need some of you to register ASAP. There is a price increase at the end of the month and we'd love for you to get the best deal possible. We're at 42 registrants and we need about 458 more! There are over 500 members of the HNL run group site on FB and we need more OGs like yall to sign up! See that sexy link up top "Runtoberfest"? Click it and we can all feel better about ourselves.

I expect to see a great crowd tomorrow! Should be back in the saddle! I'm really excited to be back at it after missing two weeks in a row. There are options for everyone! COMMIT!

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min

8:00 - 30 min walk

03Aug

8/4/2018 – EXCITING DAY – HNL Runtoberfest – Drake Loops

It’s a great day! Isn’t our new website badass? Many thanks to April, Scott, and Melissa for their hard work on making this so great. This is the spot where we’ll publish all our run info and HNL related news. It’s really cool!

This is also a great time to announce that the registration for the HNL Runtoberfest 5K is live! The registration link to share is www.runhnl.com then navigate to Runtoberfest. Please help us out by registering yourself today. We need to make sure the site and registration link are good to go so please take some time TODAY and get yourself registered and your place secured. Yes, I know some of you will be volunteers but register anyway and ensure yourself a shirt and sweet swag bag. We will need your help in the coming weeks as we promote this event so this weekend is really important in getting set for the big push. REGISTER NOW!!! Also, let us know if you encounter any issues (that’s the most important part).

The HNL Runtoberfest couch to 5K training program will start in a few weeks. It’s totally free and we need to push this info along with any messaging you have on social media about the race. Please include the fact that it’s completely free with registration and info on the runs will be published here.

I’m STILL on vacation so I won’t be at the run. We need some leaders for the following loops:

6:30 – 60 min

7:30 – 30 min

8:00 – C25K 15:00 run 15:00 walk

Much love HNL! See you for a massive group as school gets back underway. Thanks for your commitment to our organization. We’re doing big things and it’s pretty exciting to see!

21Jul

7/21 - Three Loops! NEED LEADERS NEXT TWO WEEKS - HNL 5K Runtoberfest Update

We'll have the humid goodness ready for consumption tomorrow morning at Drake. The C25K group is transitioning to a full on run and the lurkers I tagged on FB are finally coming out of the shadows! I'll be in the mountains next Saturday so we need a long group leader and the weekend after that I'm at out again so be ready to step up twice.

April, Scott, and Melissa have been working hard on the runhnl.com website and we should be seeing the fruits of their labor very soon. I think you're gonna love the new spot for all the run info and race registration. Ryan did an awesome job researching and choosing our race registration website which will be seamlessly integrated into the new runhnl.com. I'll be announcing the need for some of you people to register very soon. We need to have HNLiens register first so we can make sure the whole thing works before we go advertising it. Once we make it official, we need your help getting the word out and getting our registration numbers to our goal of 300. Whole race committee meeting 7/30 at 6:30 location TBD. 

Here is the info for the Drake based run tomorrow:

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min

8:00 - C25K - 15:00 Run 15:00 Walk

14Jul

7/14 Poker Run Redux DRAKE - Friday Night Slow Ride

Don't forget the slow ride tonight! We'll meet for a restaurant to restaurant ride starting at El Ranchero Westpark at 6:30. The second location will be Partners Pizza then we'll vote after that to see where else the evening takes us. This will be a lot of fun and you don't want to miss it. BE THERE!

Last week must have been a travel day for HNL. We'll give the 7/7 poker run another go. Bring a $1 scratch off lottery ticket for each loop you want to participate in. If you're doing two loops, bring two tickets. Winner each loop gets half the tickets, HNL gets the rest which we'll use on a laundrymat fairy operation.

C25K! We're repeating last weeks run so if you missed it, you can get back in it!

All loops Drake

6:30 - 60 min

7:30 - 30 min

8:00 - C25K 3:30 run :30 walk