see you in august, austin!

lululemon — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 00:33:49 +0000

To launch SeaWheeze 2013, our Ambassador Program Manager Rob headed down to Austin, Texas last week for the kickoff party. Why was the party in Texas instead of Vancouver, you ask?

Two special people in the Austin community have crushed a very big goal and made some SeaWheeze dreams come true in the process. See Rob tell their story below.

two crazy austin kids with a dream

I love ambassadors. These people amaze me everyday with their energy and passion for what they do. Of course, I'm a little biased since I was an Ambassador for the Robson store here in Vancouver in my previous life as a personal trainer. In my present life (which is, hands down, my best life), I work here at lululemon as the Ambassador Program lead. I feel like I have the best job in the world because I get meet and support all of these amazing people.

Last week, I was in Austin, Texas visiting two of our newer Ambassadors, Chris McClung and Jenn Howard-Brown. They had contacted me back at the end of 2012 with a seemingly crazy goal: they were going to have 150 of their running group participants sign up and travel to Vancouver for SeaWheeze 2013. I'm a firm believer in living in possibility, but even this idea seemed as far fetched as me touching my toes in yoga class (I curse you hamstrings).

Fast forward to February 2013. The SeaWheeze had sold out and our two upstart Austin Ambassadors had rallied their troops to register 150 of their runners to come to Vancouver. A perceived improbability gradually morphed into an inevitability. Chris and Jenn, in partnership with our two Austin Stores and the community of Austin Ambassadors took this goal and literally ran with it. On February 27th, the Austin community celebrated SeaWheeze style: RUN. YOGA. PARTY.

The party started at home base at Chris and Jenn's home base, Rogue Running (the run coaching company that Chris co-owns). Slowly, the runners started filling the space and eventually more than 200 runners were spilling onto the streets. It was time to run. After a Mel Gibson-in-Braveheart type-speech where Chris stood up and congratulated everyone for helping them achieve their goal, we started out onto the streets of downtown Austin. Our first stop: the Austin Capital building lawn.

As the sun slowly dipped we got to the the Capital, where Yoga Ambassadors Leah Culis, Shelby Autry and Erinn Lewis were ready to take us through some twilight yoga. One of the highlights for me was meeting a runner who had never run a half before, and was making the SeaWheeze her first. It was very touching. We then did some partner yoga where we actually went from warrior two into a thumb wrestle. She beat me handily (darn stubby thumbs).

Yoga was done and it was time to party. We ran to a beautiful place called Brazers Hall, where we would finish the night with a big luon party. It was awesome - a roof top patio, adult drinks, a photo booth, a seriously hip DJ and tons of good vibes.

Near the end of the night, Chris and I reminisced over that first conversation that we had about their goal. We looked at the 200 people who were there that night and Chris laughed, "wow, we did it!" You certainly did sir.

Next stop for the Austin run community: The SeaWheeze 2013. I can't wait to see them all again.

Chris and Jenn, we are so inspired by what you have created in the Austin community! How many of you are coming from outside of Vancouver to participate in SeaWheeze 2013?

meet your SeaWheeze trainers: chris and jenn

lululemon — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 19:51:39 +0000

SeaWheeze 2013 is just over 5 months away, but we just can’t wait to get started! The Get Sweaty Get Ready program starts on March 18^th, and we want you to introduce you to the four awesome trainers that are going to be taking you from here to the finish line on August 10^th.

This week, meet Chris McClung and Jenn Howard-Brown, who head up the Rogue Running group in Austin, Texas. They set a BHAG to bring 150 runners to Vancouver in August and kicked things off with a launch party last week - look for more of their inspiring story coming soon!

chris mcclung (twitter: @chrismcclung)

Chris was a retired (and recovering) soccer player at age 19 when he began running to stay in shape and quickly became addicted to the sport. Since then, he has run 10 marathons, struggled through 2 Half-Ironman events (w/o drowning!), and completed over 90 other road races and triathlons. Chris is one of the co-owners of Rogue Running, an Austin, Texas-based running store, training center, and community that is committed to changing people's lives through running.

jennifer howard-brown (twitter/instagram: @jennhb)

Jenn is a run coach for Rogue Running who is passionate about helping athletes find the joy in running. She has completed 14 marathons -- London, New York, Chicago, Austin, San Francisco, San Jose, Dallas and Eugene; more than 3 dozen half-marathons; 2 triathlons; and countless 5k's and 10k's. Jennifer began coaching for Rogue four years ago and has trained hundreds of athletes, who describe her as a Tiger Mom coach -- nurturing with a dash of drill sergeant.

q & a with jenn and chris

1. What made you want to be involved with SeaWheeze?

C: Fate? A calling? Changing lives through running and fitness is my passion, and for some reason much bigger than me, I was meant to be a catalyst to inspire others for this year's race. On a drive to an ambassador meeting at lululemon, I had this spontaneous vision of this tidal wave of people from Austin experiencing the journey to SeaWheeze together. Less than an hour later, I had put that vision into words, and that is when the BHAG was born. Now we have over 150 strong coming from Austin to do the race, and I am so excited to help others in the journey through the training program as well!

J: Joining an inspired group of runners and yogi's for a fun-filled weekend in a beautiful city was impossible to resist. There is an electric hum buzzing about the SeaWheeze that I had to be part of.

2. What's your favorite race to run?

J: The Eugene Marathon in Eugene, Oregon -- better known as TrackTown, USA. It's a smaller race on a good course with reliably good weather in magical, running town, finishing on the track at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon, where the running greats have run.

3. What's your favorite way to sweat (other than running)?

C: Chasing my children! I have two and four year old boys and a newborn daughter. They keep me on my toes!

J: A juicy, vinyasa flow class. It's equally as a tough as a run workout without the impact.

4. Favourite thing about your hometown (Austin, TX)

J: The best thing about Austin is the "weird." We pride ourselves on being a little quirky with our "Keep Austin Weird" slogan celebrating everything from our colony of 1.5 million bats living under the Congress Bridge to our Cathedral of Junk and our food trailer culture.

C: In my opinion, there is no better fitness community in the US than what we have in Austin. Whether you want to run, swim, bike, stand-up paddle, hit the gym, or do almost anything else, you can find a community of like-minded athletes who will surround you with love and lift you up. That and the BBQ and Tex-Mex food too!

5. Who inspires you?

C: The athlete's I coach. I love being a part of their journey from goal-setting to action to accomplishment.

6. Best piece of advice for a first time half-marathoner?

C: Be consistent and have fun! Find a local run group or get a group of friends to together to meet regularly. Choose shorter, fun buildup races that will provide milestones along the way. Oh, and smile more!

J: Have a positive, mental attitude. Your body listens to your brain -- those unspoken doubts in your head affect your physical performance. Stay positive and trust your training. You will succeed.

7. Tell us one goal you have for 2013.

C: To set a new personal best marathon time this year (under 2:46!) My marathon best came in 2004, just over 9 years ago. I have been close to breaking that time again, but haven't yet gotten there. This is the year that I do it!

J: I will achieve my Boston-qualifier in 2013, which means running a qualifying time (3:45) in order to register for the 2014 Boston Marathon. (I need to PR by 37 seconds!)