Climb On!


The past two weekends have been almost entirely devoted to an activity that is central to the Runnells household - climbing! 


Two weekends ago, the fun began with Adventure Rock's annual Quick on the Draw competition. Brian has long been involved, either as a participant or a volunteer, and I even attempted to climb at the comp once.  Suffice it to say that I am better suited for assisting with scoring and volunteering than climbing with about a billion people watching. Craig, our dear friend and a manager at the gym, always flexes his creative muscles when it comes to this comp.  There is guaranteed to be a creative theme, which finds it way onto the website, the walls (tape art), the T-shirts, and the awards.  There's always pizza, and there's always an after-party that puts all other after-parties to shame, at least in my book.  Seeing all of our gym friends and 'family' is the best part of the Q on the D weekend, for sure.


So, how can such a fun time with such great people be topped, you ask?  Only with the annual USA Climbing Bouldering National Competition -- in Madison -- on campus!  Brian has made quite a name for himself as a climbing media personality.  His blog was his entrance into the professional climbing community; his knack for talking about climbing and his endless stockpile of aptly timed one-liners have kept him a central figure.  He'd never admit it, but he's very good at what he does.

Not only does USAC Bouldering give me an opportunity to brag about my husband, it's also a chance to hang out with friends, speak our own language (crimps, slopers, dynos, oh my!), and spend multiple days getting inspired to train harder and climb stronger.

This past weekend was also a chance to visit a few college (and MadTown) hotspots, The Great Dane, The Old Fashioned, State Street, Ian's Pizza, Nitty Gritty, and Monty's.  That, and a quick visit with Brian's Boulder bros, the guys of Louder Than 11, totally overrode the impending near-death cold that was descending upon me. And once I kick this cold, it's back to the gym for me; if I'm ever to come close to kickin' butt at climbing rocks, I've got some work to do -- good things I have lots of inspiration and a really awesome climbing pal or two!


Chris and the Climbing Narc - way to go, Buddy! 


perhaps the most dedicated female climber in.the.world

another personal fav in the climbing world 

Home :) 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Just a Little Evening Adventure

Image
Sometimes you have those days that turn out to be so very different than you expected them to be.  Wednesday was one of those days.  We welcomed houseguest Tuesday evening, and I thought I might do a bit of climbing with them in the morning, but then I expected to return to my typical routine - take a hike/go for a run, do some work and head to the gym for some evening climbing with Brian.  Instead, we decided to solo the Second Flatiron, a six-hundred or so foot climb up one of Boulder's most notable landmarks.     To the best of my recollection, I have not soloed anything before (read: climb without a rope or protection/gear).  The only part that unnerved me, however, was the 'jump.'  This was a point where, along the climb, you are required to leap across a divide in the rocks. I decided the benefits outweighed the cost/risk/fear, and I joined Brian, Alex and Cait, our houseguest, and Josh, another Sconnie native and AdRock climber living the d...
Read more

Stylin' in My New Ride!

Image
Last Friday was an exciting day for me.  Though the new school year was rapidly approaching and my nerves were out of control in anticipation of starting a new school year in a new school with a relatively unfamiliar staff, I happily headed to the car dealership to pick up my new ride, a beautiful white Ford Fusion with all sorts of bells and whistles!   We haven't had a new car in the Runnells family in a few years...and that car quickly became Brian's.  This car, however, is all mine and I LOVE IT!!  A big THANK YOU goes out to my hubbers, who dealt with all the less-than-enjoyable stuff that went along with getting this car  (suffice it to say, our initial car salesman was less than professional and almost drove us to another  dealership).  I think about it each time I get into the car. Doesn't my ALUMNI plate holder look good?!  Want to listen to a little SIRIUS radio?  I'm lovin' making calls via my car Drivi...
Read more

Helping Chelsea and Kyle

Image
Brace yourselves... this is a long one...and I'm asking for your help. As some of you may know, someone very close to me, Chelsea Bullis, experienced a life-changing event on Sunday, June 10, 2012.  She and her boyfriend, Kyle, were in a terrible motorcycle accident that left them both seriously injured.   Chelsea and her family have always been a part of my life. Chelsea's Aunt Anita was my first babysitter, and eventually her grandma, Maureen, and  her mom, Lynn,  took turns taking care of my brother and me.  Chelsea's Aunt Lainey is my mom's very best friend.  Chelsea, her brother Chad, her cousins Sam and Rachael and I all grew up together.  We took summer trips together, and when I was old enough, I began taking care of Chelsea, her brother and her cousins.  Chelsea and her family were so close to me that we began referring to each other as cousins...and 20+ years later, it is still how we refer to one another.   So ...
Read more