Running Meetup With New Friends

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A few weeks ago I wouldn't have planned something like this because I would have never believed it would have worked out the way it did.  If you are part of the community at the 26.2 Quest Fanpage or if you follow me at either @262quest or @virtual4now you probably already know what I am talking about, but for the rest of you I  had the most awesome opportunity to run with some new friends..... from Australia!

You will recall about a week ago I posted about the Couple On The Run book, and the Authors Andrew and Sue O'Brien from Partnerunning.  Just a few weeks ago I didn't know them, but through the magic of social media last week I helped them with the virtual launch of their book, and this past Friday actually had the opportunity to run with them here in Atlanta.

I like to think that they flew here from Australia just to run with me, and for my purposes that is what I will continue to believe.  While they are here in the states I think they found a conference to attend in Atlanta, and they ran a marathon in Phoenix this morning, but you know the real reason they came to the US right? :)

It really did seem like I was running with some old friends when we met up at their hotel, exchanged greetings, and headed out the door, shortly after 6 am, making our way to Piedmont Park in Midtown Atlanta.  I hadn't run there before, so we were all finding our way as we ran.  It was a gorgeous day with temps in the upper 40's and we fell in love with Piedmont Park quickly.  After the run we continued the conversation over a bagel and sports drink.

One of the other highlights of getting to know them was the Skype Video Interview we did last week for their virtual book launch.  They provided me with the video in it's entirety and so I would like to share it with you, just in case you have ever wanted to know a little bit about the "man behind the curtain"

If you haven't read the original post from last week, you need to stop by and read a little bit more.  In that posting I was privileged to do a giveaway of their Couple On The Run book which I used random.org to  pick a winner for.  The lucky winner will receive a signed copy of of Couple On The Run, hand delivered to me by Andrew and Sue..... maybe that was the real reason they flew to the US?

This was the first time this has ever happened to me, there were 19 total entries, and I plugged 19 into random.org and hit generate, and 19 popped out as the random number.... as my kids would say it, wow, that was random!

So, the winner of the signed copy of the Couple On The Run book is Kerrie T from Mom vs Marathon and the Mom vs Marathon Facebook Fanpage.  Kerrie, please e-mail your information to info@262quest.com and I will get the book right out to you.

If you didn't get a chance to enter to win this time, please keep your eyes open throughout the web.  I have another copy to give away, and you never know where it might show up.  It could be here on the blog, on the 26.2 Quest Fanpage, the Family Running Fanpage, or even somewhere on twitter either at @262quest or @virtual4now.

Don't forget the Protein Supplement giveaway that will be wrapping up in the next few days!

What is your coolest "Family Running" or running meetup story?