A visit to Rockefeller Park for a run with the Westchester Group!

"If everyone is moving forward, then success takes care of itself" -


The Westchester Running group has a strong bond and a true feel of success!


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It always amazes me how when we get outside our own nucleus of friends, runners, familiar trails...that there are other groups that exist and share such a common passion. How to get that feel is to meet with them in their territory, not in a race where people come from all around...but in their weekly get togethers and experience the commodare and bonds that create the successes.

I feel so fortunate to have been invited to the Westchester area to represent Montrail - being part of their group run and giving a talk to share my passion and experiences as well as the awesome Montrail team that I am on. Karen, one of my Whole Running girls traveled along with me and really made it extra special in many ways!

I was and always am excited to explore a new area, new trail as well as meet new friends who share stories that help build my own - I continue to learn from experiences. And this past weekend was a great experience!

Who would have guessed that right near NYC is a state park, Rockefeller State Park in which you can run miles and miles (I'm told easily over 40!) of well maintained trails! Little did John Rockefeller know that his miles would be used by such a variety of runners!




And so the morning began with a wonderful group run which Christy and Dean and others from the Westchester Running Group who put this together. The people that were there were amazing and had amazing stories to share.

My talk for the day was based on two main topics "You can do more than you think" and "Failures are opportunities in disguise" - John Rockefeller quotes "I always tried to turn every disaster into an opportunity" - and isn't that a great way to keep you moving? And the stories that were shared based on these topics were priceless. I will share one (of many) : The man in the picture with me above, has just recovered from cancer treatments. He has run many many marathons, New York City Marathon 19 times - this last one was his slowest but the most rewarding and memorable - he sees a deeper perspective. Not only that, but he has traded a job of a business of high end design in New York City (I believe architectual kitchens and such) to helping less fortunate people who could use the help. I love to hear stories of people who have been through super tough times, fought through it and come out with a stronger soul and a new way of looking at life. Those moments and meetings are such a gift to really grasp a reality of importance of life.

Taking a situation, problem and turning into an opportunity. This can be applied to so many things!

As we shared our stories, we often used metaphors to our running - on the trails and the roads.- We talked about how we can learn from our experiences and look to ourselves as the biggest lessons to learn from "the experiment of one". Try, try again!

After the talk we went over all the wonderful shoes that Montrail has to offer. Montrail has an amazing 2012 line that can accommodate a variety of runners.

It was a great day all around. I feel a connection and a strong desire to go back to Rockefeller Park , where the Sleepy Hollow legend was created! Hmmmm...maybe a night time Halloween run next year!

Thanks again Westchester, for letting me join in! Hope to meet again soon!