OK, I’ll admit it, I am not back in to the swing of GIVEAWAY THURSDAYS yet. It won’t take long before they’re prepped a few days in advance and scheduled to post at 6am, but we’re not there quite yet.  So, apologies for the delay.

We had a record number of responses to the GIVEAWAY last week (134 entries: woo hoo!). Congratulations to Diana who won the fabulous track jacket.  As to what inspired Diana to run her first Marathon:

My husband inspired me. After years of running various KBVCM relay distances with me and assorted friends & family, he took the plunge in 2011 and decided to do the full 26.2. His commitment, dedication and training – and the grin on his face when he crossed the finish line – was really inspirational to me and motivated me to run my first marathon just a year later.

As the days get colder and darker, if you find yourself in need of inspiration to get out for a run, take a minute to read through the comments on last week’s post. We were moved by many of the stories and sincerely appreciate you sharing them with us.

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Registration for the 2013 KeyBank Vermont City Marathon is off to a roaring start.  There are more people registered now than participated in both the 1989 and 1990 events!

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If you’re local, please consider joining RunVermont and SkiRack for a celebration of World Run Day!  World Run Day was founded to celebrate the sport of running worldwide. For the second year, RunVermont and SkiRack are partnering to host a morning of running for fun. We’ll start with relaxed jog through downtown Burlington (1-mi for kids, 3.1-mi for anyone), followed bagels, coffee and a raffle that includes 2 guaranteed and complimentary KBVCM relay team entries and a pair of running shoes (complete with video analysis and fitting). There is no charge to participate, but we are accepting canned food donations for the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf and new, kid- and adult-sized winter accessories (gloves, hats, etc.) for Sandy-affected NYC families (to be distributed by Baby Buggy).

This is a gathering in the spirit of building community, therefore we’re not timing the runs.

Here’s the schedule for the morning:

8:45: Kids run registration

9:00: 1 mile kids run (parents required to accompany kids 7 and under)

9:15: 5K registration

Please RSVP via SkiRack’s Facebook page so we know how much yummy food to bring (but don’t sweat it if you make a last minute decision to join us race day!)

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And now on to today’s GIVEAWAY! Today you have the opportunity to win a limited edition 2013 KBVCM InTraining shirt.We only order 100 of these shirts, so when they’re gone, they’re gone! Currently the only way to purchase on-line is through registration for the Marathon, but if you’d like one (or want to give one as a gift), please email us at store@runvermont.org and we’ll help you out! Here are the specs:

To Enter:

Have you ever had a run where you felt like no two body parts were working in concert with each other? What do you do when that happens? (If you’ve never had this experience, you’re not excluded from entering. Instead, tell us what your secret is.)

PLEASE NOTE: In order to claim extra entries for Tweeting or FB’ing the GIVEAWAY, you must follow the rules below. Thank you!

The GIVEAWAY closes at 11:59pm Wednesday, November 13; we’ll announce the winner on Thursday, November 14.

* If you’re a follower of The Run Down, tell us so in an additional comment. (If you’re not a follower, subscribe using the RSS feed on top right of the blog and then leave a comment telling us you did it.)

* Tweet about the giveaway using hashtags #rvt and/or #vcm and leave one additional comment.

That’s right; you have the opportunity to get 4 entries into this giveaway!  (If you choose to take advantage of the extra entries be sure to submit an additional comment for each one.)