Centro on the Run

Welcome to the first part in our four part series: Centro on the Run.  Marathon season is upon us and Centrons, being the trendy folks that we are, can’t help but get in on the fun (marathons are fun…right?). So it’s no surprise that there are plenty of Centrons who love to go the distance (pun intended) and stay healthy by running. With our internal Wellnesspalooza week all wrapped up, Centrons across the country are strapping on their trainers and taking on some new wellness challenges.

We’d like to dedicate this blog post to these active folks; whether it be a 5K or a full marathon, we have the inside scoop on who’s running what, when. We’ll also peek in on their progress and pass along some fun findings.

Enjoy the first issue of Centro on the Run! We hope you brought plenty of water.

The Runners

NAME: Amanda Burchfield

POSITION: Sr. Billing Specialist

CITY: Chicago

WHY RUN? A friend of mine suggested that we do a Thanksgiving Day 10k in Detroit about 4 years ago.  I only ran because I felt like it was a good work out, but I’ve always hated it.

NEXT RACE: October 12^th, Chicago Marathon

NAME: Carrie Mathos

POSITION: Sr. Campaign Analyst

CITY: Chicago

WHY RUN? I’ve (almost) always been a runner, but took a break for about 7 years. I got back into running around 2010, mostly, honestly, because I was getting married and wanted to feel great on “the big day”. Once I started running again, I remembered how much I liked it, so I kept it up. I’m doing the marathon this year because I decided when I was 16 that I wanted to do one, so here I am.

NEXT RACE: October 12^th, Chicago Marathon

NAME: Erin Peralta

POSITION: Copywriter

CITY: New York

WHY RUN? I started running when I was in high school. I ran hurdles then, but obviously couldn’t continue doing that past college. If I tried to hurdle something today, I think I’d end up in the hospital! With the amount of races available these days, long distance running seemed like a good (?) option.

NEXT RACE: October 18^th, Baltimore Marathon

NAME: Hank Rooney

POSITION: Account Executive

CITY: NYC

WHY RUN? I gained over 30lbs my freshmen year of college, no joke.  Had a ton of fun doing it but hated being out of shape so started I started running.

NEXT RACE: October 11th, Tough Mudder

NAME: Michael Legat

POSITION: Director, Account Management, West Region

CITY: Los Angeles

WHY RUN? My fitness instructor/roller derby skater wife, Robin, is the one that basically talked me into every race I’ve run thus far, including my first half-marathon in November.

NEXT RACE: November 16^th, Disneyland Marvel Avengers Half Marathon

NAME: Michael Mahler

POSITION: Director, Publisher Solutions

CITY: Santa Monica

WHY RUN? My first race was a 5k in 2004. I was running a 15k a couple of weeks later and wanted a practice race to work out some of the pre-race jitters.

NEXT RACE: December 6^th, Santa Monica/Venice Christmas Run

NAME: Michael Thill

POSITION: Director, SoCal

CITY: Los Angeles

WHY RUN? It’s a fun escape from the world that lets me free my mind and enjoy the setting around me. I also lost 70 pounds focusing on health and fitness, so it’s become part of my daily routine.

NEXT RACE: November 27^th, Turkey Trot Long Beach

Fun in the Run

Now that you know why they run, let’s get into the tough stuff. We compiled a list of questions, both related and unrelated to running. We felt compelled to share the fun with you all. Enjoy these great answers and get to know our Centrons on the Run a little better.

If you could run a race with anyone from history, who would it be?

Amanda: Chuck Norris.  Ok so he’s not really from history, but he’d Chuck Norris me through that race in Chuck Norris time.

Erin: WOW! Ahhhh - maybe Jackie Joyner Kersee. She rocked.

If you could run anywhere in the world, where would you want to run?

Michael T: It’s not possible but if it were, along the Bering Strait from Alaska to Russia.

Carrie: Hmmm…I’ll say the Bordeaux region of France so I can just run from vineyard to vineyard- have a goal and some fun while doing it.

Amanda: I ran in Spain this past summer and one of the routes was up Mont Juic in Barcelona.  It was rough but the views were breathtaking.  But if I had to choose somewhere else, probably somewhere in Africa so I could run with the giraffes and elephants in the Safari.

What is your favorite part of running a race?

Hank: The beer after.

Michael M: The end…and passing people.

Michael T: I love the camaraderie with all the runners and fans. When you feel you’re at your tipping point, the runners and fans around you give you that extra boost to power through.

Unrelated and Humorous

If you could have one superpower, what would it be?

Erin: Lightening-speed, of course!

Michael L: Freeze time.

If you we given $1 million, what would you do with it?

Hank: PC answer, donate to a charity of course.  Honest answer, buy an airplane.  Got my pilots license last year.

Carrie: Hire a financial advisor; stash several hundred thousand safely away so it can accrue interest and I hopefully won’t have to worry about money for the rest of my life (is that possible? See, that’s why financial advisor is #1); the typical- pay off house/debt; travel and purchase a vacation home in one or two of my favorite spots; donate some; buy artwork; renovate my house; share with my close family; enjoy it!

Michael L: Start a record label in Nashville, TN.

Well, that wraps up the first leg of the race.  Tune in next time to see how the Centrons are doing with their training, how they are feeling about their upcoming races, and more running fun as this series enters its second leg.