This year, the Heartbreakers team closed, reopened, and relaunched. We made milestones and we made a ruckus. We blasted off a mountainside with a marathoner, cancer survivor, and pro snowboarder to launch a new kit. Thank you, Zach! We celebrated Boston's global leadership in science and health in honor of the Boston Marathon with Nikla, Lanisha, Jane, Rachel, & Maria. (Congratulations, Maria, on welcoming your baby boy to the world!) Heartbreakers got married & got engaged. Love permeates the Heartbreakers. That's what always draws us in - draws us closer. Jonny ran 2:14. Ari ran 2:35, the second fastest time for a Black American-born woman. Lara worried about coming in last in Chicago but streaked by our 20-mile zone with thousands of runners in her wake. English scored 25th in Chicago! We did the big runs: longest long in Boston and Chicago, "The Starting Line Run". We decided we'd throw a carnival in the Chicago store cuz why not. The squad went hard in CIM. We Mob Miled, we Shamrock Shuffled, we Chased the Monster. Ladies Led. We got some inside tips from Galen, Keira, & Emily Infeld. We celebrated 3 years in Chicago. Fitch led the charge back to grass for Heartbreakers competing in XC and we went all over the country supporting high school XC teams. Reggie sessions came back to Boston.
That's not even close to a complete summary of what the Heartbreakers did. Most importantly, we made new connections and deepened the ones we had. We battled as a team, we chased our personal goals. We missed, we fell, but we always got back up. We went back to the starting line.
One highlight to close the year for me was rolling into Jog & Nog late while in the middle of a work project off-site. The room was packed at 9:00PM with new faces and lots of cheer led by Coach Josh. The half dozen OGs with whom I spent many nights in the now-closed bars were there too. Late night on a Thursday back in 2013 when news broke that the Boston bombing suspects were found, it was this crew I was sitting with at Parish. One of the many memories that color life in the Heartbreakers. It's the people we run side by side with, who we chill with after, through the years, through the local and global events. Love grows & life is colored here in this crew of people who run.
What a year, Heartbreakers.
Some highlights (links to the Heartbeat):
Internationalist Kit Launch - Rise to the Moment
Flyer team relaunch
Ladies Lead with Trailblazhers
Book It Around Boston with BPL
Next up, 2023. '23. The Jordan Year. 💔💨