Hood to Coast Application (Dear Nuun - Pick Me!)

(Note to my readers - Nuun hydration products is sponsoring a contest for the 2011 Hood to Coast Relay.  Nuun is putting together a H2C team consisting entirely of female bloggers.  To enter, one must submit a "creative application."  The following blog post is my application.  Enjoy reading and wish me luck!)

The following is an excerpt of an interview by Runner's World Magazine with a representative of Nuun following the 2011 Hood to Coast Relay:

Runner's World:  Sounds like your Hood to Coast women blogger team was a rousing success.

Nuun:  Yes, we had a great time with a wonderful group of 12 outstanding ladies. 

Runner's World:  Were there any women on your team that stood out from the rest?

Nuun:  We really enjoyed Linda, a blogger who was coincidentally from the Portland area.  She's an avid photographer who keeps a great blog titled "Linda's Lens."  Linda loves the outdoors and runs, hikes, camps, and skis.  She brings her camera with her where ever she goes to chronicle her adventures for Linda's Lens.  Each post includes lots of great photographs, as well as entertaining stories behind the images.

Linda before the 2011 Eugene Marathon

Runners' World:  Hmmm....a running photographer?
Nuun:  Yes, Linda brings her camera with her everywhere, even when she runs races.  She takes photos on the run.  She brought her camera for the H2C relay, and captured tons of images of the entire event.  She was gracious enough to share her photos with both her teammates and us.  Linda said she can't wait to post photos and recap her H2C experiences on "Linda's Lens."




Photo from this year's Race for the Roses in Portland


Runner's World:   Linda sounds like an interesting woman. What did she contribute to your H2C team?
Nuun:   We really appreciated Linda's local knowledge. It came in handy quite a few times, keeping our vans from getting lost! Linda also gave her team the use of her home mid-race as a place to shower and catch a quick nap.

Linda was also a very fun-loving person. Her motto is that many runners are way too serious and we should have fun at races. She has a tradition of doing "the wave" and yelling "woo-hoo" at every mile marker in the races she runs. It wasn't long before she had everyone on our team repeating her mile marker celebrations. If there's music playing along a race course, Linda has been known to break into an impromptu dance mid-stride. She's not afraid to get wacky to provide motivation. She kept her teammates entertained and in good spirits the entire weekend.

From last year's Mickelson Trail Half Marathon in South Dakota

Runner's World:  What were Linda's running credentials?
Nuun:   Linda took up running two and a half years ago. Since that time she's run two full marathons, seven half marathons, and several other shorter distance races. She's lived in Portland over 20 years, and is very familiar with the H2C relay. She's always wanted to run this race, but didn't know anyone who had a team she could join. Winning this contest was a dream come true!

From the 2010 Nike Women's Marathon

Runner's World:   So what "creative" way did Linda capture your attention and win a spot on this team?
Nuun:   She posted this great mock-interview between us and Runner's World Magazine on her blog.  This post described herself and the contributions she could make to our team.  Linda also included several images that showcased photos she'd taken from past races. 

Self portrait on the run

Runner's World:  So you were pleased with your selection of Linda for your H2C team?
Nuun:  Oh yes!  Linda was a lot of fun to be around.  We enjoyed her energy, enthusiasm, and our team all loved her.  We appreciated Linda sharing her photographs and offering her help with logistics.  She was a great inspiration to the team.  We hope Linda can join us again next year!


So Nuun.... Aren't you glad that you chose me?

 :)