Packet Pick Up at The XL Center Hartford

Downtown sidewalks in any major city are usually crammed with pedestrians from storefronts to the curb making it difficult to navigate through the crowd and forget about trying to find parking on the street; surprisingly that wasn't the case today at  the XL Center in Hartford-I managed to find metered parking directly around the corner from the Expo.  "10/10 Wins Baby Its your birthday!!" No, it really is my birthday so stop by and wish me a happy birthday.

With two hours on the meter it should be ample time to secure my bib and check out the vendors, word has it that Skechers is going to have a booth-Hmmmm Go Meb Ride 2? Maybe.

My Calm Pic Because My Enthusiastic Action Shot Was Too Much For The Camara 

You know I had to stop by the booth to try on a pair of the Go Meb Ride 2 and I was pleasantly surprised.  In the past I thought of Skechers as a lifestyle shoe brand and the first image that popped in my mind were those gawd awful shape up shoes.  The brand has come a long way since then and there are making serious strides in the running shoe game.  And it certainly doesn't hurt to be endorsed by Meb Keflezighi and Kara Goucher, we'll talk more about the Go Meb Ride 2 in a future post.

Fun times with the Organic Fuel Team.... 

Ok, so where were we? Ahhh yes, I got it we were making our rounds through the expo, the next stop was by the Organic Fuel booth, these folks were funny as hell especially the Ayeesha-(names have been changed to protect the guilty).  

Joe greets me and gives me the 30 second elevator pitch then asks if I would you like to try a sample, to which Ayeesha chimes in with: "Would you like to try chocolate, chocolate".  Huh? I'm LMBO at this point Joe and I eyes meet briefly but, my attention quickly returns to Ayeesha's chocolate comment at this point she's turning pink, the more she tries to back peddle her cheeks turn crimson. Classic!  Not sure if it was Freudian slip or pick up line, but I found it innocently insanely funny.

Fyer Reversible Bennie 

Next stop was the Janji booth where I spotted this reversible Bennie; Janji has an interesting business model a portion of their profits are allocated to provide water for various countries.

A FEARLESS Living Legend Kathrine Switzer

I had the pleasure of meeting a living legend Kathrine Switzer.  In 1967 Kathrine was the first woman to officially enter and run the Boston Marathon before she was attacked by an angry race official.  Kathrine fiercely kept her bib and completed the race, after the Boston incident in 1967 she vowed to change women's running for ever-and she did.  Kathrine is still fearless and gracious.  Visit 261Fearless to discover more about Kathrine Seitzer

From Kathrine's booth I strolled over the Ankleaid station which is a bucket of sorts with a unique patented therapeutic design to treat ankle injuries.  Ankle in. Toes out..

I'm inspired by creativity

I picked up my prize from Fleet Feet while  in Hartford, check out my Adidas visor.  I probably won't wear the hat on Saturday but, I'll make use of it next season-off to the summer storage pack you go.

Adidas Visor courtesy of Fleet Feet Sports West Hartford

I'm locked and loaded for NU Hartford I may not be as fast as a speeding bullet but I'm ready to go-feeling like a kid on the first day of school laying out my gear the night before.  Download the NU Hartford App from the iTunes or Google play and follow my progress.

Looks like I have everything together??? Ooops almost forgot my watch and music yes...

Connect with me on FaceBook at RunR4Lyfe stop by like my page wish me a Happy Birthday 10/10 Wins Baby!!

RunR4Lyfe.