May 11th

Seeing the Mayor in an East Nasty shirt made me think of one thing: our responsibility to be good citizens in our neighborhoods and great advocates for the running community.   This mindset is what I think distinguishes East Nasty from other running groups, and I think it is a mindset that is shared by our mayor. Community focus is the foundation that this group is built upon, and if that ever goes away, we should just disband!   So what does that mean?

1) May 11 - Alley Clean Up.  We had our pre-marathon alley clean up planned for April 27, but it was stormed out.  So we rescheduled for this week.  After our run tomorrow, everyone needs to get into groups of 2-3, grab some bags and gloves and go pick up trash!  This is one way that East Nasty gives back to our great community.  And all you need to bring is a willing spirit.  We will give you gloves, trash bags, and a map that highlights your section of the neighborhood to clean.   This should only eat into about 20 minutes of our post-run fun!  So plan on sticking around for that tomorrow.

2) June 6th - Potato to Tomato kick-off meeting.  Our couch to 5k program (called potato to tomato) will run from June 20th until the Tomato Fest 5k.  Not only is the training program free, but this year we will have scholarships available for people who cannot afford the race entry fee.  Combine that with the East Nasty shoe program and there is no excuse not to take part!  If you are already a runner, we could use some mentors/coaches, or you can just encourage a friend to take part in the program.  Our informational meeting is at 6:30 pm, at the Margaret Maddox YMCA on June 6.  Please email Holland Carley dutchrunnerchickusa@gamil.com  if you are interested or have questions, then show up at the Y on June 6th.

3. Run #8: Rick's Market Coldest Beer in Town... is our run for this week, but we are going to tweak it slightly...  Check out the new and improved Run #8.  Why did we tweak it?  Because want East Nashvillians to look forward to seeing us out on the streets.  So to that end, remember that we need to defer to traffic, and stay on the sidewalk, or right up against the sidewalk at all time!  (We also tweaked it because Lillian is sort of "dog-central", so we are going to avoid Lillian between 14th and 11th...)

Also remember to bring your slightly worn shoes!  With the new crop of Couch-to-5kers approaching, we will need more shoes soon.  Now is as good of time as ever to go buy a pair of summer running shoes, and give us your old ones!

See you on Wednesday!

Mark