M & M, and M

A few days ago, I was doing what all super cool twenty something year old's do...I was wasting time on Facebook.  I came across a new "friend" of mine, who goes by Rae at Ragnar.  We became friends because when I did Ragnar Del Sol, somehow I ended up with a women's XL t-shirt.  I contacted Rae about getting a new shirt.  All I can say is, Rae did not attend the "Shoebacca school of customer service".  Not only are they getting my the shirt that I ordered, but their sending it right to my house!  Take note shoebacca.  Back to the story.  Rae had a post about the Mount Lemmon Marathon and Half Marathon, and a possible free entry.  Obviously, this caught my eye and I applied immediately.

I didn't know anything about this race when I sent in my application for the free entry.  Maybe I should have done some research first.  Apparently, this is the "The Toughest Road Marathon in the World and the Only Uphill Marathon in the US." according to the races website.  Here's the proof:

This might be hard to see, but it's completely uphill for 21 miles.  The elevation gain from start to finish is 5250 ft!

Fortunately for me, I'm doing Ironman Arizona a month after this ridiculous Mount Lemmon race, so I'm only planning on doing the half marathon.  Not to say that the half marathon will be a breeze, because it won't be.  It is still an uphill race, but only about 2,000 or so feet up.  It basically goes up for 8 miles, then sort of has rolling hills until the finish.  The only real question I have about this race is, who is going to carry me down the mountain after I run up it?

So what's the deal with the free race entry?  Well like I was saying, Rae at Ragnar posted a link on Facebook.  This link was to a post by Muscle Milk - Arizona.  From what I could gather, Muscle Milk just became a major sponsor of the Mount Lemmon race and was forming a training group of 80 athletes to run the race.  It was going to be on a first come, first served basis, and opened up on 3/7/11 at 8:00 am.  I didn't see this post until the afternoon of 3/8.  I thought for sure it would be filled up, but I figured I'd do it anyway.  Well, it wasn't filled up, and I was selected!  Booya!

This group that Muscle Milk formed is called the "Muscle Milk Machine (MMM) Training Group".  As part of the group, I get some freebies!  I have yet to attend our official team meeting, but according to the Facebook page for the race, Muscle Milk will be providing me with:

The Muscle Milk Machine Training Group includes:
o Entry for the Marathon or Half Marathon (a $95 dollar value)
o A seat at the Mount Lemmon Marathon Pre-Race Dinner
o Hotel Accommodations for one night prior to the race ($159 dollar value)
o “In Training” shirt (provided we are all registered by March 30th)
o Muscle Milk Product to train with
o Muscle Milk Machine Branded Item for the 2011 race
o 7 E-blasts with training schedule and tips provided by Epic Fitness

At this point, I'm very happy that I created a Facebook account.  Not only did it lead me to a season with Team Marathon (who is currently accepting applications by the way), but it led me to the Muscle Milk Machine!  Who knows where else it will take me...

Oh, and when Muscle Milk sent me the confirmation email to be on the team, they still had 13 slots available.  Once it fills up, they will be forming a waiting list based on the order that they received your emails.  My advice, send in an email right now!  Here's what you do:

Simply email musclemilkarizona@gmail.com with your:

o Full Name
o Email
o Phone Number 

 

Good luck!  And let me know if you get selected...maybe we'll run (or most likely walk up this stupid mountain!) together!