Category: My #IndyMini Story

For the past 25 years, the Indy Mini has been one of the largest half marathons in the country. It’s certainly Indianapolis’ premier road race and has topped multiple “Best Of” lists for more than two decades.
I have run the Mini three times (2011, 2012 and 2013) and had the great honor of volunteering at a finish line water station last year. This year I am thrilled to be running it again, having signed up for the Mega Mini Challenge less than a week after the 2015 race. My Mini training program started Monday. As the wind chill dipped below zero more mornings than not this week, and I forced myself out from under my flannel sheets in the wee hours of the morning, I asked myself “Why DO I keep coming back to this race each year?”

For Perspective. The 2011 Mini was my first half marathon. That Mini‬ was supposed to be a “one and done” thing so I could cross half marathon off my 30-Crisis Bucket List … but that was 5 years ago. Since then, I have completed 13 half marathons and numerous shorter distance races. Not bad for a girl who had never run in an organized event of any kind until about 9 months before that first half.
Sometimes, I look back on those first finish line pictures and wonder how that girl, who used to roll her eyes at anyone who muttered the words “exercise” and “run” in the same sentence, managed to even cross the finish line. Let alone stand up, walk or smile when it was over. For me, this race signifies growth and perseverance.

 

For Family. Not to be outdone (especially after I spent several months talking about my next Mini Marathon adventure), I convinced my brother to sign up too! Being able to share in his first half marathon was pretty awesome. Though we’re 2 hours apart, I’ve been fortunate to run 4 half marathons with him while our parents cheer us on from the start/finish lines! (When I say “run with him” I mean we started in the same corral and he patiently waited for me to finish 15-20 minutes later.)

 

For Friendships. I trained for my first Mini on my own, but when I decided to continue running, I knew I wanted (no, needed) to join a training group because I knew there was SO MUCH I didn’t know about nutrition, cross training, injury prevention and gear. What I didn’t know is how much the accountability would change my once-sporadic training schedule … and how irreplaceably important the friendships formed with the girls in that training group would become.
Even last year, when I wasn’t sure my schedule would allow me to run, I knew I still wanted to be involved. When presented with the opportunity to volunteer at an aid station, I jumped at the chance!
So whether it’s your 1st or your 40th … whether you’re walking or running … Don’t let the #IndyMini pass you by!

U.S. Olympian and Boston Marathon Winner Meb Keflezighi will be running the 2016 OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon!

Widely acclaimed as one of the greatest runners of our time, Meb is the only athlete in history to win the New York Marathon, the Boston Marathon, and an Olympic medal. Beyond his athletic achievements, Meb is passionate about inspiring individuals of all ages and athletic abilities to achieve their personal best. With that commitment in mind, the record setting runner will not start at the front of the Indy Mini with the other elite athletes. Instead, Meb will serve as the official starter for Wave 1 and Wave 2, then he will start his race at the very back of the Mini-Marathon, to ensure all participants in the 2016 Indy Mini have the opportunity to run or walk with him.

To celebrate Meb’s participation, any Mini-Marathon participants who have registered before January 31 will be entered to win a VIP dinner with Meb Keflezighi and other elite athletes on Friday, May 6^th.

Official Contest Rules and Eligibility

Participants must be registered by 11:59pm ET on January 31 for one of the following events:

• OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon
• Mini Maniac Challenge
• Mega Mini Challenge

Must be 18 years or older.

The winner will be randomly selected and announced on Wednesday, February 3. An email will be sent to the email address used for registration. The selected winner will be required to reply within 72 hours to accept the prize. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, they forfeit their prize and a new winner will be chosen.

Dinner with Meb is non-transferrable. If the selected participant is unable to attend, another name will be drawn.

Walter Payton once said, “Running alone is the toughest. You get to a point where you have to keep pushing yourself.” For Mini Ambassador, Rebecka Howard, she’s not only pushing herself, but also Stephen. Her #IndyMini story is about serving others and running for those who can’t.

Rebecka and Stephen met 8 years ago at the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon. Stephen was volunteering with Special Olympics at the finish line and handed water to Rebecka. His infectious smile made a lasting impression, and she made a point to seek him out the following years. In 2013, with the anticipation of seeing Stephen, Rebecka crossed the finish line to find he wasn’t there. Stephen’s grandfather passed away a couple days before the Mini-Marathon. Feeling led to attend the funeral, Rebecka reached out to Stephen’s family and a friendship was formed.

 

Stephen had always wanted to participate in the Mini-Marathon. His mom and Rebecka knew they could make it happen. Following the funeral, they committed to pushing Stephen in the 2014 Mini-Marathon in memory of his grandfather.

Rebecka has spent her life helping others. As a Director for an Agency serving individuals with disabilities, her passion is to bring awareness and inclusion for all. She’s always admired Eunice Kennedy, the Founder of Special Olympics. Eunice encouraged individuals to get off the sidelines and get involved. That’s exactly what Rebecka did for Stephen!

 

In 2014 Rebecka and Stephen lined up for their first Mini-Marathon together.  He enjoyed every minute. He cheered on participants, gave high fives, and yelled, “I’ve got this!” along the entire course. Two hours later they crossed the finish line. It was at that point, she realized that she hadn’t pushed him. He had pulled her! She provided him the opportunity to experience the Mini-Marathon as a participant, and he gave her a memory she will never forget.

Following the Mini-Marathon, they were introduced to Ainsley’s Angels. Through their Power to Push Program, they were able to raise $6,000 to build Stephen a custom made Team Hoyt Racing Chair. In 2015 Rebecka and Stephen lined up once again for the Mini-Marathon with a new chair, complete with a picture of Stephen’s grandfather on the side and signatures of all their supporters.

 

When asked about her experience pushing Stephen, Rebecka says, “Words cannot express how it’s changed my outlook on fitness. What was once out of selfish ambition is now about helping others. Finish times, keeping pace, and beating personal records have all been long forgotten!”

Keep your eye out for this dynamic duo at the 2016 OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon. Stephen will be pulling Rebecka to the finish of the 40^th Mini-Marathon!

What inspires you to participate in the 2016 Indy Mini? Share your story in the comments below or on our website, and you could be our next My#IndyMini story!

By Chrissy Vasquez

Ring in the 40^th Anniversary with a new you!

2016 is your year to reinvent yourself as a 500 Festival OneAmerica Mini Marathon finisher! I believe in you and if you want it you can achieve it! How do I know? Because I was once sitting in your spot, wondering if I could do this.

Do this? Change my life. In late 2009 I was overweight, unhappy and needing a change. I started working out, but I had nearly 100 pounds to lose, and that was completely overwhelming! Luckily for me, a friend dared me to run a half marathon in Miami Beach in spring 2010. I took a running training class and my first night I couldn’t even make it half a mile, WALKING, without having to stop. For some reason unknown to me, I kept going with the training program and made it to the finish line of that half marathon. It was incredible; I struggled, I fought hard and I made it 13.1 miles using a run-walk method! During the process I lost 40 pounds and started to pave the way toward a new lifestyle. Some days were better than others during that process, but I never quit!

 

 

Two months later I ran my first Mini-Marathon. There were a lot of people, but it made it so fun! I loved that there were thousands of people on the streets, just like me, working to change their life. We were sharing the road with elite runners, casual runners, run/walkers and walkers. It didn’t matter our pace, it mattered that we kept going until the finish line!

Because of my lifestyle change I found an organization called Back on My Feet, that uses running to help those experiencing homelessness change their lives through running as they work toward housing and employment. As executive director of Back on My Feet, I had the honor in 2015 to train with five members of the Back on My Feet program training for their first half marathon, the Mini Marathon. Through the Mini with a Meaning program we were able to participate in the Miler Series, presented by OrthoIndy and it was so fun to train with my teammates. We met each Saturday and it was rewarding to cheer each other on and see the progress we had each made.

 

After several months of training race day was here! We all hugged before we took off to the start line. It was a beautiful day and we were all grateful for the opportunity to run 13.1 together. I’m proud to say that everyone from our group finished! The day was filled with laughs, good memories and even some tears – one that will live in our hearts forever.

I’m looking forward to starting the training program in 2016 with more members from Back on My Feet as we set our eyes on the prize of the finish line! I’m going to be running side-by-side with fellow teammates as I work to lose the last 50 pounds I want to lose to get to my goal. I hope you’ll join us, you can do this!

Here’s a few tips to get you there:

-Tomorrow never comes – get started today. Even if you’re just walking to the end of your street and back, it’s further than you’ll get waiting for tomorrow.

-Find people to train with – you’ll be able to push yourself farther and harder with the support of other people. Join a training group at your local running store, come join Back on My Feet or find a friend to join you!

-Get the right shoes and training plan – training for a half takes dedication and some know-how. You don’t have to guess; you can go to your local running store to get shoes that fit YOUR feet well. Also get a training plan, you can find one in a training group or even one online. Having the right equipment and knowing what you need to do will get you to the finish line with less chance of injury and a bigger smile on your face!

-Consider racing for someone else – you can FundRace for Back on My Feet or your favorite local charity through Mini with Meaning. You’ll raise money through your network while you train. Knowing that your training matters in order to help someone else will encourage you to get out on your training days even when you don’t want to.

-Be good to yourself – Get plenty of rest, hydrate and eat well. Also go easy on yourself, you’ll have some great training runs and others will leave you frustrated. Take the good with the bad and be proud of your progress!

Good luck and see you at the 40^th running of the #IndyMini! You’ve got this!

By Katie Foster

At the risk of sounding cliche, I’ve struggled with my weight my entire life. It all started in the fourth grade, when a boy in my class started calling me “Shamu”. I tried to lose weight dozens of times over the years, but never stuck with a diet long enough to make much progress.

The first time I heard of the Indy Mini was when my sister, Jeanie, asked if I would like to walk it with her in 2008. I had no idea how far a half-marathon really was, and I was over 200 pounds at the time, but I still agreed to do it. I thought it would be a great way to motivate me to lose weight. There was a large group of us (family and friends) that registered for the race.

I had intentions of training—I honestly did—but I never really got around to it. I think I did only ONE training walk before that first weekend in May rolled around. The race was MUCH harder than I anticipated, and I really struggled to finish. When I went home to Michigan after the race, I ended up having to wear a walking cast for a couple of weeks, because of severe tendinitis.

 

Still, I agreed to do the race again in 2009. I wanted a redemption! I followed a training schedule that time; but as my mileage climbed, so did my weight. When I went to the race, my weight was at a peak of 253 pounds. The race itself went much more smoothly than the previous year, and the training helped me to feel great during and after the race.

However, one thing that really bothered me was that I was, by far, the largest person in our group in Indy. Also, the entire time I was walking the race, I noticed that I was one of the most overweight people in the race. It was embarrassing, and very eye-opening. I decided that I would do the race again in 2010, but I wanted to be 100 pounds lighter.

It took me a few months to really start working on the weight loss, but in August of 2009, I finally committed to getting the weight off. I changed my diet by simply eating less food (I still ate all of my favorite foods, just much less calories), and lost 60 pounds before I even needed to start my training schedule for the Indy Mini. Then, I started to walk four times a week to train for the race, and I continued to drop the weight.

Whenever I had a hard time, or was struggling to stay on track, I would imagine myself at the Indy Mini, and NOT being the largest person there. I wanted to be a “normal” size, and to look like I belonged in the race. I wanted my race photos to show a fit, healthy person, and not the obese, unhappy person I was the year before.

When I arrived at the race, I wasn’t quite 100 pounds lighter, but I did manage to lose 88 pounds since the previous year! The first two years that I walked the race, I finished just under the time limit of 4 hours; in 2010, I managed to walk the race in 3:23, taking over 30 minutes off of my time. During that race, I became inspired to set a crazy goal for the following year—I was going to RUN the Indy Mini in 2011.

I started adding a little running to my walks (at first, I couldn’t even run the length of my street); and, eventually, I was running 3-4 days a week. I ran a 5K race, and a 10K race; and I registered (once again) for the Indy Mini—only my estimated finish time was closer to two hours instead of four hours.

In 2011, I arrived at the race having lost well over 100 pounds since race day in 2009. I felt amazing throughout the whole race, and I enjoyed every moment. I crossed the finish line in 2:10:40, a 9:59/mile pace!

Time can heal but it doesn’t forget. For Gary Aletto, the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon not only helped him honor a lost loved one, it’s added so much to his life.

Gary’s Mini story began ten years ago when he lost his brother-in-law, Pete, to Colon Cancer. To Gary, Pete was so much more than a brother-in-law, he was a great friend and was like a second father to Gary’s kids. Pete was an avid runner who had completed several marathons. Several of Pete’s friends from within the running community decided they would travel to Indianapolis to run in the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon in his honor. Inspired by their gesture, Gary committed to joining them and running in his first Mini-Marathon in Pete’s memory.

When you ask Gary about his first Mini, it never fails, you’ll be greeted with the biggest smile and Gary’s trademark laugh as he tells you, “I wasn’t really much of a runner, so needless to say, my race wasn’t pretty.” Gary finished with a respectable time, just over 3 hours. As he crossed the finish line he decided that he didn’t want the Mini to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, he wanted it to be a tradition. Gary not only made running part of his life, he also got involved with the 500 Festival, the nonprofit organization that produces the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon, serving on its Board of Directors.

10 years, 40 pounds, and hundreds of miles later, 2015 marked Gary’s 10^th consecutive Mini-Marathon. It was also the year that Gary was elected chairman of the 500 Festival Board of Directors. A lot has changed since Gary’s first Mini. He’s a little faster (his streak of sub 2-hour half marathons is pretty impressive), he has a couple of new running buddies – his daughters who he helped train for their first Mini, and his cheering section’s gotten quite a bit larger thanks to the countless people his met through his work with the 500 Festival. You could also say that his experience at the Start Line has changed quite a bit. As chairman of the 500 Festival Board of Directors, he had the honor of waving the green flag to start the race!

One thing that hasn’t changed after all of these years, Gary’s never forgotten the reason he runs the Indy Mini. After Gary completed his duties at the Start Line, he got out of the bucket truck and ran in his 10^th Mini in honor and memory of Pete. Pete was with Gary as he crossed the Yard of Bricks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and his memory gave Gary the wind at his back needed to finish that last mile stronger than ever.

The Mini has given Gary the opportunity to keep Pete’s memory alive and make the community a better place, proving you just never know where those 13.1 miles will lead you in life! And yes, Gary’s planning to take on the 2016 OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon. He’s gotta keep his sub 2-hour streak alive!

What inspires you to participate in the 2016 Indy Mini? Share your story in the comments below or on our website and you could be our next My #IndyMini Story!