It was a Galloway Weekend in Atlanta
I arrived in Atlanta Friday afternoon. I took the Marta, as instructed by the Galloway folks, and went to downtown Atlanta to the Westin Hotel.
Jeff Galloway and his store Phidippides is located in Atlanta and he was organizing the Double G that weekend – a 5K run on Saturday and a Half Marathon on Sunday. Unfortunately, I hadn’t been feeling great leading up to the race, so I just ended up running the 5K.
The rest of the weekend was filled with seminars and meetings with Jeff Galloway and his team.
Shopping at Phidippides:
We had the opportunity to shop in Phidippides, Jeff Galloway’s running store and was offered a discount. After a little shopping, the program directors and I sat and listened to a moving speech by Billy Mills, the first Native American to win the 10,000 meter run in the 1964 Olympics.
Meeting Billy Mills:
Billy talked about how challenges are lessons.
He said:
- “The Journey not the destination empowered me as an athlete”
- “Daily decisions choreograph our destiny”
- “Unity through Diversity”
It all just resonated with me. Billy talked about how he was spit on as a child and told he was no good. So can you imagine the feeling he got when he surpassed every runner in the ’64 Olympics?
It was highly emotional. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Check out this video —
https://youtu.be/5F5iCsymMj0
Meeting Amazing People:
The other highlight of the trip was meeting incredible people from across the country. I finally met Anna from Sonoma County, California. Her whole neighborhood was destroyed in the fires. (I sent a care package to her when I heard the story. Actually, all of the Galloway program directors stepped up to the plate to help out.)
I also met Cheri from Ventura County, California, who is experiencing fires now and if anyone out there wants to donate shoes, running clothes, etc., please email me and I can provide you with the information. I met Lisa and Tom from Jensen Beach. I found that we had so much in common and coincidentally, her friend lived on the same block as me. Small world!
I also met Tom from Philadelphia who told me he does ultra marathons. I ended up running the 5K with Tom, Lisa and Tom. We had a blast! Meeting Shannah and Kelly was also an absolute pleasure, I found that Shannah and I are in the same line of work. What an amazing group of people!
It was incredible that I was there with these strangers and yet, running brought us all together and helped us bond. It was so powerful.
I’m so excited with all the new things happening with Team Galloway Long Island. As soon as I can talk about them all, I will let you know first!
P.S. Don’t forget to sign up for the kickoff event on January 14 at 9:30 am at Brands Cycle and Fitness in Wantagh. Here’s the eventbrite link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/january-14-kick-off-event-for-galloway-long-island-tickets-41744869027?utm_source=eb_email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=new_event_email&utm_term=viewmyevent_button
