Chia
Hi, I’m Chia, one of the original Run Bums. Not quite the spring chicken (physically) that Sean is as I’m rocking’ it out at 38. Mentally…I still feel I’m in my 20s as I continue taking on new challenges. Hell, I didn’t start snowboarding until I was 33. Ha! I showed them.
Like Sean I too love traveling. Not the kind where you go and stay at some fancy hotel but the kind where you immerse yourself in with the locals. Perhaps that’s why I have such respect and admiration for Anthony Bourdain (and feel lucky as hell to have been able to spend an afternoon drinking with him down in St. Martin).
So…about me…a Carnegie Mellon graduate who discovered my love for running while at CMU. I used to be blazing fast…but that was in fourth grade. Then I got fat and slow and stayed that way until around the time I graduated college (so much so that I was scarily close to not passing PT tests while I was in ROTC…oh my!). However, my roommate kept nagging me to go running with him and eventually I got hooked and felt the need to run each morning before work. Such a great way to get the day started and get the blood flowing. You should try it! (then again, I’m guessing if you’re on this site there’s probably a good chance you already are). I also found that all this running really helped out on the soccer field back in the day I was playing amateur soccer. Go figure.
I’ve got a love for life and I want to live it to the fullest. I want to help others forget the rat race mentality and follow their passions whatever it may be (that’s pretty much what I babble about on one of my blogs,WaxPorhetoric).
Run, laugh, treat people right and enjoy life as much as possible.
If you want to see how I did the Run Bum Hero questions, click here. Now to get back coding and getting this site up and running so you all have something to read and be inspired by.
Sean
My name is Sean Blanton, I’m 24 yrs old and I love to run. I also enjoy throwing myself out of perfectly good airplanes. Skydiving is a recent hobby of mine and I hope to one day start base jumping. Soccer however has been, and always will be, the love of my life. I still play 3-4 days a week. I started traveling about four years ago and I haven’t stopped since. When you travel it opens up your mind to the world and to other cultures that you may have only dreamed about. Travel is one of the healthiest things you can do. I have seen and experienced some of the craziest things that no one else can comprehend while traveling. I’ll just say it’s one of those things you just had to be there for.
I started running 2 years ago when I wanted to challenge myself more. I’ve played soccer my entire life up until that point. With no formal training, I signed up to run a 17 mile mountain race in New Zealand during an upcoming trip. I was 22 and living the dream…traveling the world alone. Taking a year off college has since turned into a couple of years off.
I got to the starting line of that first race and the gun went off. I had run a couple of times in my neighborhood leading up to this…no big deal right? I just have to run to the top of a 4,000 ft high mountain and then back down. I took off and I felt great. “Pacing is for sissies!” I thought. Halfway into the climb I started eating my words. I finally crested the top of the mountain and was rewarded with a view from heaven as I was overlooking mountains, lakes and fjords. Going back down the mountain my legs had turned to dust. Cramps came every couple of steps. People were passing me but alas I finished. I finished in 17th place with a smile on my face that said I came in first. It was this moment that got me hooked on distance running.
Since that race, I have been signing up for as many races as I could fit into my schedule and taking my body to new levels of endurance, strength, and mental fortitude.
I want to inspire others to run, exercise and get motivated to do something that they have always wanted to do or go somewhere they have always wanted to go. What are your fears? Face them! Talk to that girl three seats up from you in math class. Sign up for your first marathon. Dance in the streets like no ones watching!
