After months of miles, training, and hard work, many of you are gearing up to run your Virtual 2020 OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon! We are so proud of all of our participants and so are our 2020 Indy Mini Ambassadors. Check out some words of encouragement our Indy Mini Ambassadors have for you as you conquer your 13.1 miles!
Kevin Anspach: Thanks to all who are still conquering the 2020 OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon and Delta Dental 500 Festival 5K in the virtual world! The running landscape has changed, but our goals remain the same. We continue to train, we continue to improve our health, and we continue to conquer our goals! Good luck!
Lynn Buikema: Running is a mental sport. Kick the Mini square in the face and let’s get it done! Struggling at mile 4? Take that chew, think of the belly dancers and push on. Hard to breathe coming at mile 6-ish? Think of Gold Mile, feel the history of coming into the Speedway and let the thankfulness wash over you. Feel like you should quit at mile 10? See the bakery in front of you, and feel 1 of those 35,000 pats your back and remind you, you’ve got this! Close enough at 12.5? Picture the flags, hear the sounds and see the stands lining the street as you finish the spectacle you started out to accomplish. Whether 35,000 of your closest friends are next to you running past the zoo and on the race track, or with you in spirit running their own neighborhoods, we are all in it together! We got this!!!
Jamicka Edwards: Most times when you train for a long-distance race it’s just you and the pavement. Sometimes you have a good weather, sometimes not so good. Other times, the scenery is beautiful and makes you forget what you’re doing. If you can, find a place or a path that isn’t usually crowed, but a place you can run in peace and enjoy all that nature has to offer you and remind yourself of your MAJOR achievement to come at the finish line! You got this! Live or Virtual you will be an Indy Mini finisher!
Jim Garringer: Ultimately, this event boils down to one thing: are you willing to challenge yourself? The good things a person does in training and during the race are only measured for a handful of people relative to their finish over the other competitors. For all the rest of us, our competition looks back at us every time we glance in the mirror. You don’t have to be in a crowd of 35,000 to get a PR. You have to train, prepare, and then execute.
Patti Hammerle: Just keep running or walking! Training and completing a 5K or half marathon is a huge accomplishment and even more so when you do it alone without the hype of a race. Don’t give up on yourself or your goals! And just think how much fun next year will be with 35,000 of your closest running buddies doing it with you.
Lisa Herron: Own the body you wake up to everyday. Walk, crawl, run…. JUST SHOW UP!
Cynthia Marshall: I know it’s hard to find the support and encouragement to finish any race alone. Especially 13.1 miles. So, build your own race day running buddy and cheering squad! Let everyone know when you’re running your race. Check in with them prior to the start and have them virtually cheer for you with pre-sent messages, text, midpoint call etc. along the way.
Jason Ronna: My family has decided to make a fun day out of running the virtual Indy Mini. We have mapped out our route through our subdivision where we pass our house about every mile. We are going to set up our own aid station in our driveway. We are also going to have our own post-race cookout.
Danielle Shively: My words of encouragement during these unpredictable times would be to continue to focus on “Your Why.” Which, for most of us, is different but important to us for our own reasons. Allow yourself to run some more relaxed miles to enjoy the journey and capture the memories along the way of a much different looking #IndyMini, and be sure to connect with many of your new virtual friends who are cheering for you the entire way. Run strong and always look forward to brighter days ahead and reconnecting at the race we all love in 2021!
For more resources to help you cross your finish line for the 2020 Virtual Indy Mini, click HERE!