A Little Effervescence

The sky was still dark at the pre-dawn gathering, a time I call “the magic hour.” As the field of marathoners began to build, the starting line swollen with runners, the anticipation of what lay ahead was palpable.

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Trudy MerrittComment
Finding Our Touch Trees

PRFS athlete Kisha Arnold’s story is a reminder of the real and metaphorical ways that a tree, a “touch tree” is not just beautiful but orienting. It can help us find our way when we step off the path of living a healthy, flourishing life. 

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Trudy MerrittComment
Ordinary Mortals

The world will soon be watching as athletes, the highest of the high performers from all around the world, gather in Paris for the Olympics.  The competition will be mesmerizing and the stories moving and compelling. 

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Trudy MerrittComment
We Can Do Hard Things

You are my heroes.  It is a privilege to bear witness to your efforts over and over again.  I get a front row seat as you battle your way to each finish line.  No race is “just another race.”

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Trudy MerrittComment
A Hero's Journey

One of the most time-honored and cherished themes in storytelling is the “Hero’s Journey.”  From ancient mythology to modern romantic comedy, the idea of the hero’s journey has enthralled the collective imagination for as long as stories have been told.

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Trudy MerrittComment
Three Miles an Hour

“Fast” is such a funny little word.  Sometimes an adjective, sometimes an adverb. Sometimes it’s a simple four letters, sometimes, it’s a four-letter word.  We have the strangest relationship to it.

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Trudy MerrittComment
The In-Between

There are so many “spaces between” in our lives, the in-betweens where most of life’s work is found, places of endeavoring to get the most out of life, especially an active life.  As we move into our 2024 racing season, I’ve been thinking about a few of these in-betweens, the places where we learn to see ourselves with fresh eyes.

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Trudy MerrittComment
Macronutrients

I find the fields of neuroscience and psychology incredibly interesting, probably because we humans are pretty interesting creatures.  I like them because they remind me that we are complex and simple all at the same time.

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Trudy MerrittComment
A Time for Traditions

I love routine.  Many runners do.  The predictable hum of our day to day, week to week, and year to year.  There’s a kind of comfort in the steady rhythm at the heart of routine.  As 2023 draws to a close, I am appreciating the routine that rounds out another year for the Platte River Fitness Series.

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Trudy MerrittComment
2024 Race Schedule: Sneak Peek

We know that many of our athletes eagerly await the release of the upcoming year’s Platte River Fitness Series event lineup. As we approach the Jingle Bell Run and the end of the 2023 race season, we want to give our athletes a “sneak peek” of next year’s race schedule!

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Sage MerrittComment
A Season of Transition

I could be the president of the Fall Fan Club, a group for those people whose favorite season is fall.  The color palette of reds, oranges, golds, and yellows painted across trees, shrubs and fields of native grasses make it the perfect backdrop for family photos and pumpkin patches, football, and of course, foot races.  The crunching sound of leaves under our feet creates an almost lyrical rhythm to our runs or walks.

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Trudy MerrittComment
New features for fall

In response to popular demand, we’ve added a new feature to the Platte River Fitness Series' website, and embraced a new method to help us better communicate with you. Our athletes can now create a user account on our site, and receive our monthly newsletter.

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Trudy Merritt
The heroes of our stories

I am inspired by stories. Moving stories of ordinary people who not only endure struggle, they learn to thrive alongside it. I love them and believe stories can change the world. Stories inspire, they teach, they create empathy and connection, and they can even make us brave enough to share our own.

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Trudy MerrittComment
Small steps to a bright future

Medal of Honor recipient Kyle Carpenter captured my attention and my heart in a favorite podcast of mine when he said, “the smallest of steps lead to the grandest of journeys.”  He is an extraordinary human being who exemplifies service to others.  That statement is not only inspiring, it is verifiably true.  There are evidence-based practices that tell us creating habits that last is best done by taking small steps over time. 

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Trudy Merritt