Let the "One Ton of Fun" Begin!

I’m not sure which is more humorous…Watching the Governor of the Great State of Texas (Rick Perry) ride into Runtex at High Noon with his spandex cycling shorts and “Hotter than Hell” Cycling Jersey—or—the fact that I agreed to be a Coach and Motivator of Runtex’s newest program called “One Ton of Fun.” I got a nice chuckle from both, but still think it’s amusing to see one of the most powerful men in our state with helmet hair, cute anklet socks and a sleek cycling tan. Most Rural Texans and Ranchers would be appalled at the sight of our “wussy” Governor in stretchy pants. Political views aside, I think it’s pretty cool and motivating.

In any event, on Monday, May 29th I heard about a new program started by Paul Carozza at Runtex called “One Ton of Fun.” Basically, they’ve got 10 very overweight local celebrities (think Katz Deli owner, Mangia Pizza owner, Travis County Sheriff, Radio Personalities, etc) and the goal is for each of these celebs (and their recruited team members) to lose a collective amount of 1 ton of weight before Thanksgiving. They are also called to race sponsorship money for “Big Brothers, Big Sisters.”

See article: http://www.statesman.com/life/content/life/stories/health/05/29fitcity.html

The celebration will culminate at the 16th Annual Turkey Trot 5 Mile Race on Thanksgiving Day. As soon as I saw the article, I knew I wanted to participate in one way or another for several reasons:

1.) It’s an opportunity to continue my passion of motivating and coaching others to a fitter way of life.
2.) I’m the Race Director of the Turkey Trot and I saw it as an excellent Public Relations component to this event—Race Director as Coach and Motivator…you get the concept.

The Turkey Trot is one of Austin’s largest Races and this is my 4th official year at the helm thanks to the wonderful folks at Thundercloud Subs. Organizing a 5 mile race for 10,000 people is incredibly daunting, but very rewarding. I meet with City Officials, Police, Race Production crews, Sponsors, Volunteers and Parks and Recreation people on a weekly basis for a couple of months leading up to the event. This coaching opportunity for the “One Ton of Fun” is a Natural progression for me.

We’ll meet with our team at least once a week and go on walks, swims or bike rides. It’s also my responsibility to outline a very basic weekly workout schedule. In addition, they meet regularly with Doctors and Nutritionists. The impact of this program could be far-reaching in my opinion. I’m thrilled and honored to be a part of it. I’ve been assigned to Coach Rob Baylon and his team. Here’s the best part. Rob Baylon is a well-known Food Critic in Austin. His job is to eat rich food for a living!! Challenging indeed, but fun.

The inaugural meeting was inspiring and humorous. I was in the midst of incredibly powerful and influential people and, yet, they were there to get assistance, inspiration and motivation from us! What a strange turn of events.

This Fall, I’m not sure how I’m going to juggle my real full-time job, training schedule for the Dallas Marathon, Race Director Duties and Coaching obligations (among other personal stuff like selling a house and moving into another one). I do know this. The more goals I set for myself, the more I achieve. The more I motivate others, the more motivated I become. The more time I can give to others, the more rewards I receive

I’ll be keeping everyone posted and up to date with both the Race and the One Ton of Fun Project. In the meantime, I’ve got a race in 5 days that I need to start packing for! Let's hope this race is also a ton of fun!! I’m off for a quick bike ride!