The Creative Computer office has gone from a bunch of ‘computer nerds’, the name given by a client to help with hashtagging on Instagram, to group of decently competitive runners.
It all started when, our resident sales guy, James Welborn brought up his bucket list – with one of his goals being to run a half marathon. Once he said it, almost everyone jumped on the bandwagon. With the help of the internet, we found the Hotter than Hades Half Marathon in Leland, MS scheduled for June 20, 2015.
Now we ALL had a goal to work towards.
The office began training in early February. Our first step was to run a 5k to ease ourselves into the ever so challenging 13.1 miles ahead of us. Everyone stuck with regular runs to increase speed and endurance leading to a couple of 5k races before we made it to Leland.
The first 5k race we participated in was the Hattiesburg Clinic Rise and Shine 5k & Half Marathon on April 4, 2015, in Hattiesburg, MS.
It was our first race (for a lot of us the first EVER), and we all finished in less than thirty-five minutes. For some, this may not be an incredible time, but it was something we were definitely proud of. This made us one step closer to being ready for the half marathon.
Our second 5k was the Day in the Park 43rd Annual 5k and 1 mile Fun Run right here in Laurel, MS. This was the only race that EVERYONE in the office participated in. A few of them even convinced their kids to run with us as well. Once again everyone had an amazing experience and knew we had taken another step closer to the big race.
Finally, the day came. Last weekend four out of the seven of us traveled to Leland, MS for the Hotter than Hades Half Marathon. This was it! We made it!
By the time June 20th rolled around we were all slightly less prepared than we hoped to be, but we were still excited (maybe a little neverous) the day had finally arrived. The race was long and hot and challenging to say the least… Even still, we powered through it. James finished in 2 hours 51 minutes and 14 seconds. He was the office winner! Not only did he have the fastest time, he could finally scratch this race off the ole bucket list! Bo, Dusty, and Anna hung together all finishing in roughly three and a half hours.
After the race, it was unanimous, no more half marathons – at least not anytime soon. We are all sticking to running several times a week focusing more on speed and less on distance. We had a ton of fun, lots of friendly competition, and all constantly pushed one another – and still do.
Remember; never give up on your goals.
