well, here it is – the very last new experience of this year’s 1970kikiproject. wow. it feels a little emotional! happily, we launch next year’s kiki project on monday!
i had decided wayyyy back in the fall to volunteer at our new year’s day resolution run for a new experience. as we got closer to the date/the end of the kiki project, i thought i would make this event project #40, and then i’d have one more project to complete between january 2nd and 8th. however, the vibe just wasn’t coming together for what to do for that last new experience. so, i ratified my plans and decided to see a movie as new experience #40, and volunteer at the run to wrap up the project.
the more i thought on it, the more i liked the concept. this final kikiproject would include philanthropy; it was on new year’s day; it is a fitness-focussed event; it would be an opportunity to hang out and be social with my friends from the store…what a 100% winning combination!
the resolution run is an annual event held at many locations across canada. for the kitchener-waterloo chapter, we hold a 10k run (at 10:00 a.m.) and a 5k run or walk. (over 400 people participated, this year). the race site is the kitchener ymca, the race director is manager paul. [sidenote: the kitchener ymca holds a special place in my heart: from about 1990 - 2002, it was my gym, and that's where i got introduced to aerobics, taught aerobics, made close running friendships...i spent a lot of happy hours there].
anyway, i told paul i was happy to help out…but could i please volunteer indoors?! i did not relish the thought of being a course marshal, outdoors in january. good call on my part! while we enjoyed above-freezing temps this new year’s day, it poured rain during the 10k and rained steadily for the 5k. our poor outdoor volunteers were soaked and chilled [it's one thing to be active running or walking in wet conditions, and quite another to be standing still!].
so, i got to handle the food/refreshments table!
the following is a pictorial description of my new year’s day volunteer experience:
when i arrived at the y at 9 a.m., it was just overcast - too bad THAT was not the start time for our events!
i'm dreaming of a...green new year's?!
my y gum: old stomping grounds...i mean jumping jacks and high kicks grounds!
manager paul has organized numerous resolution runs, and by now has streamlined the process:
the course: 4 loops for the 10k and 2 loops for the 5k
manager nicole from theOTHERstore co-ordinated the food supply!
pylons to help mark the route!
nicole and me - hope people will be hungry for clementines!
friends and familiar, friendly faces. i so enjoyed seeing everyone! people were so willing to pose “for the blog!”
alan and becky!
derek and cindy (nicole's mom!)
annette and will!
david and meredith with mom, sue!
ken! (the shrinking - or streaking - tortoise!)
michael, brenda, and paul!
when you registered for the resolution run, you received a free jacket with your entry:
nico, kaylene, sandy, and steve model their jackets!
and a blast from the past! a friend from my y days just happened to be at the y!
what a serendipitous encounter to see selena! we enjoyed a wonderful catch-up chat!
and guess what! a new experience within a new experience: TWO blog readers came up and introduced themselves – i’ve never had that happen before!
dawn!
ali and me!
it was SO cool to meet both dawn and ali, in person!
oh yea – i did fulfill my volunteer duties, too!
with meredith and annette!
our refreshment table offered water; granola bars; juice boxes; bananas; clementines. given the rain, i think soup, coffee and hot chocolate would have made welcome additions!
guess what else – i realized i never showed you who the orange mittens were for (my last christmas knitting project):
the mitts made an appearance at the res run...
...and as seen on paul, the recipient!
being the shoe professional that i am, of course, i subconsciously tend to look at people’s feet. check these out…
i guessed that those were nike air pegasus shoes - yup! never seen those groovy colours, though! (the wearer bought them in tennessee - that figures!)
i've mentioned these NB shoes before on the blog!
all in all, i could not have asked for a better way to end off my 41 new experiences. all participants seemed to have a great time, and it was much fun to celebrate the arrival of 2012 at the resolution run event.
do you have any new year’s day traditions? in order to volunteer, i unfortunately had to skip my annual viewing of the rose bowl parade with dad. i did get to clean the condo casa – love to start the new year with an organized home! and i chilled out by painting my nails and watching a movie!).
Comments
Yeah, yeah, i know! I’m only catching up on your blogs now after being gone over xmas hol’s! anyhow, my brother-in-law, Réal, and SIL, Wilma, both did the resolution run here in Wpg. they were both sick so they just walked though. couldn’t believe the awesome jackets rec’d for signing up! Jeff and I would totally have done the run had we not been away with family at the time. next year? does RR give away awesome jackets every year???!
and thanks for filling me in on the orange mitten recipient! i was curious!
oh, that is cool that you have a connection to the winnipeg res run, gina!!! sorry to hear real and wilma were under the weather…but glad they could still walk the event! yes – RR has done jackets the last THREE years now. they usually post registration in early fall…so keep your eyes open for next year (provided you are not in ontario!). it’s true that the jacket deal is pretty amazing – better than the usual tshirt, eh?!
Good on you for snagging an indoor spot! Looks like fun.
I don’t have a new year tradition beyond all the thinking about what happened last year and what I want to have happen this year!
I love all the photos. I didn’t realize how plain my sneakers are!
i know!! those snazzy colours sure stand out, eh?! more companies need to get more creative!! glad you took time for reflection on 2011 and anticipation of 2012 – i really enjoyed reading your goals for this year!
Please thank everyone for all the hard work on such a great run. It was a great race. It was the first race for 2 of my learn to run students and they had a blast. So nice to finally meet you too.
oh, it was super fun to put a name and a face together, ali!! so glad you all had fun and thanks for your kind words on the event. special congrats to your two students! i hope i see you again, soon!
My first 5K was walked in a downpour. It rained the entire time and I was wearing new shoes. I wasn’t thrilled with the conditions but I loved the experience.
I would love to volunteer at an event. I had signed up at the Tinman (local triathlon) the year I had my heart attack but the doctor didn’t want me to stand out in the heat for several hours so I didn’t get to do it. Maybe this year.
Happy 2012!!!
happy new year to you, too, johanna! way to go on enjoying your first 5 k walk, despite the rain. i was impressed with the high spirits of the res run participants, too, despite the cold rain. yes – maybe you will volunteer somewhere this year?!
It was great meeting you in person – so nice to see a friendly face before I started out on that rainy 10k! Happy New Year!
happy new year, dawn! congrats on starting the new year out on the right “foot” (haha!) with the resolution run. i hope we meet up again!