"Working out at Northwest Personal Training is the best investment I ever made. Not only have I lost body fat, increased my strength and endurance, but I'm less stressed and have more energy for my family." - Steve Horenstein, Attorney
Featured Event Workout for your Soul An exercise-a-thon to raise food and clothing for those families in our community who need help! Date: 11/14/10
What a perfect day for our 2nd Annual Girlfriends & Dudes Triathlon! Thank you so much for being a part of this special day. As I mentioned in my pre-race announcements, one of my clients Cindy Shrum who finished the triathlon and has lost a significant amount of weight over the last few years bought me a t-shirt that said “The only way to finish is to start!” Doesn’t that say it all! It really does say a lot about each of you that you’re willing to put in the time and energy to accomplish such a challenging event – especially in the heat!
There’s another quote that I love that says “What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.” Zig Ziglar Although you received some good stuff for participating in the event– I hope you liked the tshirts, caps, finisher’s necklaces, water bottle etc – what’s most important is that when you crossed that finish line, it can’t help but positively impact your whole life and change you for the better!
So thanks for making the commitment to be the absolute best that you can be. And just know that by doing that, you inspire others to reach for their best too!
Here are some of my highlights from the event:
• All the first timers who completed the race. Just to know that we played a part in helping you get to the finish line brings me so much joy!
• Big congratulations to Marcelo Silva, age 41, for winning the entire event 2 years in a row with a smoking fast time of 1:02:44. Is anyone going to be able to challenge this man? You’ve each got 12 months to train to try to take him down next year!
• The incredible athleticism displayed by our ‘young at heart’ athletes! I had to ask to see ID from a number of our participants because they just looked too good for their age. It’s a great testimony to what life can be like when you get older and stay in great shape. Special kudos to Richard Tauber and Jim Vitale both 70 years young for completing the entire event. I want to be just like the both of you when I grow up!
• Urban Groove Reggae Band was a huge hit! We’ll definitely bring them back next year! You can see them play every Thursday night at Tommy O’s in downtown Vancouver from 7:00-10:00pm
• Our very own Trainer Remy Maquire who placed 2nd overall with a time of 1:16:07. You rocked it girlfriend! If you’re looking to improve your Tri time or just get in the best shape of your life, go see Remy or any of our world-class Trainers in Portland or Vancouver! We had numerous team members who finished the Tri showing we walk our talk at NWPT!
• Huge accolades to Erin O’Connor, one of our clients who suffered a stroke 15 years ago, had 10% of his brain removed and still finished the Triathlon! Erin – you are a testimony to living life to the fullest!
• The best volunteers in the world – One of the hardest parts of putting on an event is finding volunteers who are willing to give of their time and energy. I can’t name them all but you know who you are and my wish is that you will be blessed for you generosity and serving attitude. I also want to make special mention to our team at Northwest Personal Training & Northwest Women’s Fitness Club who provided so much energy, organization, time and a positive spirit throughout the entire planning of this event. It shows that you all really care about our clients & our community! I especially want to give a shout out to Becky (and her hubby Rich), Shantina Weston, Justin Hughes, Rob Cloke, Debralyn Cox, Jim West, Peter Clarke and Gary Hinterlang who all put in countless hours leading up to the event. I could never do it without each of you!
• There is absolutely no way we could have pulled this event together without the support from our Sponsors. A huge thank you to PowerBar, Max Muscle, Corwin Beverage Co, FitRight Northwest, Clark County Sheriff Reserve Unit, Tommy O’s, SunRise Bagels, Northwest Personal Training, Northwest Women’s Fitness Club, Northwest Health & Safety Inc., Shaka Sound, Bad Monkey Bikes, Boards & Skate, Clarkes Moving, & Jordan’s photography …and the best way to thank these companies is to do business with them!
• One of my personal highlights was beating Ted Schatz, one of our trainers at Northwest Personal Training. We’re a little bit of a competitive group at NWPT and Ted’s in great shape and I took him down so that’s a huge boost to my confidence – especially since I’m a 40 year old mother of two. Sorry Ted – I just had to rub it in! He has vowed to take me down next year though…we’ll see if he’s all talk. Oh and I really liked beating Justin Hughes too – our Vancouver studio manger! Oh and I can’t forget barely beating two of my clients Fiona Helsel and Julie Zehetbauer. I just hate it when the students surpass the teacher so fortunately I held onto my reputation for at least one more year! Can you sense I’m a bit competitive?! We tease and do it all in good fun though!
Now for the not so good part of the day….Our Kids Triathlon did not turn out as we planned. We had a number of mis-communications between volunteers and I take full responsibility for not being more clear with our team. The kids were never supposed to be on the road and were mis-directed a number of times. We did have a crash between a couple of the kids. One of our young athletes was scraped up really good and I went out to dinner with her last night. Fortunately, she was taking the whole thing very well and with an incredible positive spirit and I’m confident she will be back next year. I’m going to take her out for a girlie day to make up for her new war wounds. The last thing I wanted was for a negative experience for any of the kids and/or parents and I cannot apologize enough for any chaos you may have experienced. I have personally made a number of notes to ensure this never happens again. To make it up to all of our parents and kids, I am going to comp the 2011 registration for the Kids Tri to all the kid triathletes who did it this year. I promise next year will be a much better experience for everyone. So when you go to register your child for next year, just know it won’t cost you anything.
I want to thank all of you for participating – it’s people like you who make a huge difference in our world!
Sherri McMillan
"Do not neglect this body. This is the house of God; take care of it. Only in this body can God be realized." -Nisargadatta
