virtual run

5 reasons why Motigo is our new favorite app + Let us cheer you on this August 29th!

08/20/2015 by fellowflowers Leave a Comment

Okay ladies.
Do you ever wish you could cheer on your friend while she is out there on the course?

Maybe it’s her very first race or maybe she is going for a new PR or maybe she has a Boston qualifier in her sites. All you want to do is tell her how proud you are of her effort! Except most often, getting those inspirational words to her during her race is nearly impossible.

Introducing, Motigo, a new app designed to deliver personalized audio messages to your favorite runners (automatically) during their race so they can #runLOVED.

Seriously. How freaking cool is this?!?! As a runner, you can receive personalized messages from everyone who has been part of your journey WHILE you are running. As a supporter, you get to inspire and cheer on your runner through their race day miles. We’ve decided this is the best new app for women runners, and here our five reasons why.

Who We’re Running the Fiercely United Virtual Run with and Why

08/18/2015 by fellowflowers Leave a Comment

Can you feel it? The Fiercely United Virtual Run is almost here!
To celebrate the friendships, the miles and the soon to be consumed post-race victory
cocktails (!) Tori and I decided to share two little vignettes about the BRFs (Best Running Friends) who will be running alongside us come race day.

Mel + Lindsay :: 13.1 BRF Team

She is the text message before a big day or a big moment. She is the ‘just because’ gift you receive because it made her think of you. She runs races with you not for the medal, but for the moments. She gets on an airplane and travels across the country because you need her. She is the friend you want to see truly happy because of all the smiles and generosity she has given you.

She is late nights, glasses of wine, dancing with your hands up and laughing until you cry. She reminds you that you can be carefree and grounded all at the same time.

I am blessed to have this friendship.

3 Flowers and a Stem: The Undeniable Bond of 4 Friends

07/29/2015 by fellowflowers Leave a Comment

Longtime friends, Monica, Sarah, Josh and Liz share a special bond of friendship with a story that begins more than 20 years ago. Like most of us fortunate enough to experience true friendship, their friendship has seen them through the thick and thin of life – from loss and divorce to new beginnings and life joys. After running the Marquette Marathon together a few years ago, they settled on the team name “Three Flowers and a Stem”. Now living in different states, as soon as they heard about the Fiercely United Virtual Run they knew they had to reunite their running team for the “Three Flowers and a Stem” relay!

Here’s the story of their inspirational bond of friendship and why running the Fiercely United Virtual Run is so important to each of them:

Chuckling over the 4-way text she shares with her friends, Sarah describes the “3 Flowers and a Stem” friendship as, “a rare connection, a fierce loyalty, a joint respect and love in its purest, selfless, most joyful form”.

“It’s always been about more than the miles,” said Sarah. “It’s a beautifully fierce friendship. One tough supportive loving stem and three grateful loving and bonded flowers.”

Our Fiercely United Journey: Inspiring Our Next Virtual Run

07/16/2015 by fellowflowers Leave a Comment

The story of Fellow Flowers is built on friendship. Mel and Tori were and are friends first and foremost. This focus on friendship and the spirit that we are all fiercely united is at the core of what Fellow Flowers is all about. It’s also the reason we decided our second virtual run would focus on friendship which is how the Fiercely United Virtual Run, taking place August 29,2015, was born.

Here is the story of Mel and Tori’s friendship which not only inspired our next virtual run but the birth of Fellow Flowers itself!

How did you both meet?

Before we were business partners, we were friends. And before we were runners, we were friends. Everything for us started with just truly enjoying each other’s presence, connection and spirit. We had very different professional backgrounds (Mel was in marketing and Tori was in education) so we rarely talked ‘business’ and more so dreams, fun and adventure. Our husbands are actually the ones who’ve known each other the longest – they are lifelong friends, and we met each other while dating them in college. (They like to take credit for that too, btw.) Over time, we became closer. Tori stood in Mel’s wedding, and Mel is the godmother of Tori’s daughter.

SHE Rocks, Rules, Runs: Honoring the Forever Bond of a Mother & Daughter

04/30/2015 by fellowflowers Leave a Comment

Rachel Yohn was born and raised in rural Wisconsin. Growing up in a rural area, she always felt a connection to animals and a desire to help them so she followed her passion and became a veterinarian. Rachel prides herself on being just as compassionate and caring to her animal patients as she does their human owners as she knows each person’s pet is truly a cherished family member. Rachel started running nine years ago when she signed up for her first race ever- the Chicago Distance Classic Half Marathon. Running a half marathon was a life changing experience and she hasn’t stopped running since. This Mother’s Day Rachel has chosen to run the SHE Rocks Virtual Run in honor of her beloved Mother, who embraced every day of life with joy and gratitude until the very end.

She RULES because:

She rules because she has never stopped chasing her goals whether it be to follow her childhood dreams of becoming a veterinarian or her goal of running a half marathon. When Rachel puts her mind to something, she follows through no matter what obstacles are thrown her way.

Fellow Flowers has become a key source of support in helping Rachel conquer her goals and embrace her inner rock star. For her, it’s a welcome reminder to keep putting one foot in front of the other even when times are tough. Rachel first heard of Fellow Flowers a year ago and was immediately drawn to the movement. She was inspired by the essence of what Fellow Flowers stood for – encouraging women to embrace who they are and celebrate every victory in life, whether it involved running shoes or not. Fellow Flowers reinforced a fiercely united bond that women innately shared and brought all types of women together to support each other – both their triumphs and pitfalls in both running and life. Fellow Flowers has held a special place in Rachel’s life ever since.

SHE Rocks, Rules, Runs: Never Giving Up & Inspiring Others

04/28/2015 by fellowflowers Leave a Comment

Siblings formed through adoption at Adoption Associates Inc.

“Adoption. Years ago, this word did not have a lot of personal meaning. It was merely just a word in passing…letters on a page. Honestly, it brought about feelings of sympathy for children without “real” parents. How naive I had been…uninformed and oblivious to the unbelievable gift that adoption brings to so many. My, how my life has come full circle,” shared Nikki Racine.

Nikki Racine is the Director of Fund Development and Outreach at Adoption Associates, one of three charities the SHE Rocks Virtual Run benefits. She has held many titles in her life, from daughter, sister and wife, to attorney, race director and runner, but for her the one title that means the most is mom.

She RULES because:

High school sweethearts, Nikki and her husband had worked hard to become the professions of their childhood dreams, her husband a physician and her an attorney, always standing by each other’s side.

SHE rules because after years and years of struggling to have a child of their own, she decided she wasn’t going to give up on their next life dream. Instead Nikki and her husband decided to explore the world of adoption.

“On May 6, 2011, our lives changed forever. Our son, Amari Michael, entered this world. He is from only 45 minutes away from where we live today. His birth mother loved him so much that she knew she just couldn’t give him all that he needed. We are deeply grateful to her, and we honor her legacy and kept his given name. “Amari” means “a miracle from God.” He is our miracle.”

Today her title has expanded to include “Amari and Zane’s Mom.” Her second little miracle arrived home from Ethiopia on February 5, 2015.