Hi friends! I’m back from a wonderful whirlwind of a weekend in Boston for the Runner’s World Heartbreak Hill Half & Festival! I’ll be back tomorrow to recap the running/race portion of the weekend, but for now, I wanted to share a couple of the other highlights!
- Experiencing the original November Project on Friday morning!
The November Project is a free grassroots community workout group that began in Boston; as you know I’ve been to the DC one on the Lincoln Memorial steps quite a few times! It was a lot of fun to meet the original founders and experience the insane hill that they run up on Friday mornings from 6:30-7:30 a.m.
This hill was NO JOKE. It was really long (apparently 0.75 miles?) and really steep. I did 4 trips up it, including our original walk up it when we arrived. You know, since doing hill repeats (well, hill shuffles…) the day before a weekend you’re running a 5k + 10k + half marathon is a really good idea. 
Whatever – worth it!
With the beautiful Julie:
I survived!
- Brunch at Zaftig’s with the full blogger crew following our November Project beat down:
I’d been here once before on a previous Boston visit and it rocks. Vermont sharp cheddar and apple omelette for me! Plus fruit, potatoes, side of bacon, latte.
- Meeting Shalane Flanagan and Sarah Reinertsen, who are both truly inspiring athletes. Shalane said: “I am in the business of inspiration” – she is right!
Sarah was the first woman to finish an ironman with a prosthetic leg. Isn’t that amazing?!
Both women were really friendly and it was such a honor to get to do a meet and greet with them. Thank you to Runner’s World for the opportunity! (Everyone attending the festival was also able to meet them- they both gave seminars/speeches that were free and open to all!)
- Sampling some goodies from the Runner’s World Cookbook!
- Meeting Nancy Clark! If you are in the dietitian world you know that Nancy Clark is basically THE expert on sports nutrition. She gave a free seminar on sports nutrition that was excellent – so cool to see her speak!
I loved that this race weekend included some cool seminars and speakers in addition to the races. I thought the expo was excellent, too – nice and small and not overwhelming, and really well organized. I hit up the Runner’s World booth at the expo for a foot analysis – hello, high arch!
It was also fun just exploring Boston College’s campus, where the race weekend took place – beautiful!
We stayed right on campus in the dorms which was both hilarious and fun – it made the whole weekend feel like a party! (Below photo via Caitlin.)
I’ll be back tomorrow to share a big recap of the other main highlight of the weekend: lots and lots of running! 
Until then, check out my fellow Runner’s World blogger crew – it was a really great group!
- Matt: www.nomeatathlete.com
- Jason: www.strengthrunning.com
- Katie: www.runsforcookies.com
- Caitlin: www.healthytippingpoint.com
- Sarah: www.sarahfit.com
- Julie: www.pbfingers.com
- Theodora: www.preppyrunner.com
- Dani: www.weightoffmyshoulders.com
- Presley: www.runprettyblog.com
- Amanda: www.runtothefinish.com
- Katy: www.katywidrick.com
- Karla: www.runkarlarun.com
- Heather: www.relentlessforwardcommotion.com
- Marnie: www.runstreet.com
- Sarah: www.pickyrunner.com
- Larisa: www.larisadixon.com
- Charlene: www.fabrunning.blogspot.com
- Jessica: www.keepingmommysane.com
A big thank you to Runner’s World for hosting me this weekend! And a big hi to those of you who came up to say hello during the weekend – loved meeting blog readers Melissa, Katie, Mameko, Sarah, Abby, and more! Thank you for saying hi and for reading my blog! Hope you had a blast, too!
Runner’s World Heartbreak Hill Half & Festival Weekend Highlights originally appeared on fANNEtastic food | Washington D.C. area Registered Dietitian | Recipes + Healthy Living + Fitness on June 9, 2014.
The post Runner’s World Heartbreak Hill Half & Festival Weekend Highlights appeared first on fANNEtastic food | Washington D.C. area Registered Dietitian | Recipes + Healthy Living + Fitness.