All Humans Welcome
by
Mark Jimenez
I'm Mark from Red Rock Running Company. You've heard me say it a bunch of times, but today you get to read about my story. I hope you'll join me on this journey and learn more about why the All Humans Welcome 5k on November 10th is such a unique opportunity.
I grew up here in Las Vegas. I went to Western High School. I ran track and cross country in High School, but I wasn't very good at it. I often joke that if I had the mindset I have now in the body I had then, I'd be unstoppable. Unfortunately back in 1993, 94, and 95 a 3.1 mile run might as well have been a million miles. That's how far it sounded to me. I ran for something to do, not because I was good.
Off to college I went in 1995 and I graduated in 1999 and started my teaching career at Redondo Union High School in California. Four years later I moved back and started teaching at CCSD. I got married along the way and something else started to happen to me.
I started to gain weight.
A lot of weight.
Before I go on I want to make it very clear that this space is not about shaming anybody for their body type. I am talking about my body and my choice with my body. At Red Rock Running Company, we are here to support you no matter what your age, gender, body type, or any other identifying factor anybody can think of. We don't care about any of that, we just care about you!
I kept buying bigger and bigger pants. I didn't even notice what was happening to me, really. I spent a lot of money on new pants and new shirts as I kept gaining weight. I'll never forget what happened to me on my 29th birthday, over 18 years ago. I was getting dressed in front of the mirror. My weight had gotten up to 243 pounds and my waist was a size 44. I looked in the mirror and it was like I was seeing myself for the first time. A thought, as clear as any I've ever had, shot into my head. "If I don't make a change I won't live to see my kids graduate high school or get married."
LVAC had opened a gym on Lake Mead and 95 a few years before. I had signed up for a membership during their opening sale but never gone. That day, I went to the gym for the first time since college. It started my running journey.
I didn’t start off running. I did different exercises around the gym. I quickly lost 10 pounds then hit a plateau. I realized that if I wanted to lose more weight I had to change my eating habits. I joined weight watchers and the weight started to come off. Changing the way I ate made a huge difference. Eating to me seemed to always be a race. I’d start a meal and hurry to finish everything on my plate so that I could go back and get a second helping. Then I’d rush through that to see if I could get a third helping down. Then I’d eat everything that was left my kids plate.
Weight Watchers helped me learn how to eat properly again. It’s something I still struggle with. Man, I love food! The struggle will never go away, but I can properly manage it now.
I had talked my friend John into going to the gym with me. Then his daughter talked him into running a half marathon, and John started to talk me into it.
I laughed at him at first. There was no way I was going to run a half marathon. 13.1 miles, are you kidding? Get outta here.
John kept bugging me and finally I acquiesed. I ran my first half marathon, the 6 Tunnels to Hoover Dam, on a Halloween many years ago.
Mark & John after finishing a marathon in the early years.
When I started training for that race, believe it or not I found the same pair of trainers I wore in High School. Shoes are shoes, I thought. I put them on and started to run with them. A while later I decided it was time for a new pair of shoes. So what did I do? I found a pair of cheap shoes at Costco and started to run in them. Almost immediately I got one of the most common running injuries around, IT band. For anybody who has ever had it, it isn’t fun.
I started asking questions. Why does this hurt? Gosh, wouldn’t it be great if I had a hydration belt. What about proper shirts? Why am I getting blisters? Finally I said something to a friend, “wouldn’t it be great if there were a store that actually could help me answer these questions?”
He looked at me and then said, “There is, it’s called Red Rock Running Company.”
I went to Red Rock Running Company and bought a pair of Adidas Supernova Glide. My first official pair of running shoes.
I have to say, I felt very intimidated going into a store called “Running Company.” I didn’t look like a runner. I didn’t consider myself a runner. I was embarrassed. I don’t know if my experience that day was framed by my thought process, but I felt ignored when I went in the store. The store wasn’t super busy, but it took a long time for somebody to pay attention to me. My questions seemed to annoy the sales associate, who was more interested in talking about his upcoming run with a coworker than helping me out. It just didn’t feel great. I was trying to make a change in my life and I needed some positive motivation. Instead I felt judged.
Admittedly, a lot of that is on me.
Somewhere along the way I must have signed up for their customer list, because I started getting emails from Red Rock Running Company.
You know, when I first started running I used to hate going to local 5ks. I would show up and the gun would go off. Everybody would take off super fast and I would struggle. I had my iPod mini and my hydration belt and my sunglasses. I’d listen to my music while I ran. I didn’t have a GPS watch, I didn’t know how fast I was going. I just know that by the time I finished the race most people were gone. The volunteers didn’t seem to even care that I was there. I’d get a medal and then just slink off, ashamed that I didn’t finish fast enough to join in the post-run fun when I should have been feeling great that I was doing something good for myself.
If you’ve ever felt that way, the All Humans Welcome 5k is for you. This is why we made this race, for anybody who has ever said, “I’m not a runner.”
In January 2018 I got an email from Red Rock Running Company that said the store is for sale.
I deleted it.
The next day I went into my deleted email folder and wrote a reply. Soon after I was the owner of the store.
It took me a while to get our vision pinned down, but here it is. Our vision is to Redefine What it Means to be a Runner. We don’t care what you look like. We don’t care how fast you are. We don’t care what your 5k time is or how fast you can run a mile. We care that you are doing something amazing and we are here to celebrate you.
This is the genesis of All Humans Welcome. We want to celebrate you!
At this race we’ll all run our own pace. When we finish the 5k we’ll turn around and find the person walking with the balloons. Then we’ll start walking with that person. Everybody doing the race will do this, and we’ll all finish together!
For $40 you get an awesome medal, a t-shirt, and a race experience unlike any other.
I hope you’ll join us on November 10th. Please help us Redefine What it Means to be a Runner. We can’t do it without you!
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Every Run is a Good Run