As luck would have it

After I crossed the line at the ASICS LA Marathon last month, things got a little hectic. I posed for lots of photos, did a few television interviews and was quickly whisked off to the awards for the top 3 overall runners. As I was standing on the podium next to a rather tall gentleman, he commented, “Nice shoes.” I said, “Thanks. I love them.” And that was the extent of our conversation. Later, I found out he walked over to my husband and asked him where I got them. Jon told them I bought them at a local running store, but in truth I bought them on Amazon, like I buy almost every thing else we need. (I may have a problem.)

Not having a sponsor these last few years as been a little rough. Frankly, I have been so spoiled not having to buy shoes for the last 15 plus years. But, the good thing about not having a sponsor is that I could research and wear what I really liked. I tried a bunch a racing flats from all different companies and finally settled on the ASICS Gel Hyper Speed 6. With horrible bilateral bunions since I was a child, finding comfortable shoes that could get me to the finish line of a marathon without pain has always been a challenge. With more miles in training in these babies than I care to admit, when race day rolled my feet were the least of my worries.

So, as luck would have it, the nice gentleman I was standing next to was Kevin Wulff, the CEO of Asics. He was happy I wore his shoes and frankly got the ball rolling with a sponsorship opportunity. So, I am thrilled to be part of the ASICS America team and grateful that they are taking a chance on a veteran athlete not quite ready to throw in the towel. I don’t plan on letting them or myself down any time soon. Gotta love it when freak coincidence turns into a great opportunity!

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