Did y’all watch the Western States 100 miler endurance race last weekend? This was the first time I have actually watched the footage online and tracked the runners. The coverage is amazing considering I was able to watch this tight race from mid morning to after dark, and into the next day. I was on the edge of my seat watching runners give it their all, and to see them in action on course, at aid stations, and crossing the finish line. It was inspiring!. Also, to see the dedication and smiles from volunteers, crews and pacers that were all helping the runners make their way to the finish line. Congratulations to all the Western State 100 finishers! So proud of those that I know from Oregon: Rachel Drake, Tyler Green, Yung Hae Cho, and Travis Liles for finishing strong! They are an inspiration, showing us their true grit to dig deep, persevere, and get to the finish line. Congratulations to the Western States 100 mile champions, Jim Walmsley and Katie Schide for their incredible victory! Katie Schide, I heard someone say in the race that you like cheese. Maybe you’d like to be a Shredder Cheddar ambassador? :)
This morning I started my day pre-dawn in a thunderstorm, with a cup of coffee, a kitten, and my laptop. While most mornings are a sunrise start; the coffee and kitten are usually followed by a gnar trail run with one of my new run friends. This kitten, I speak of, is a teeny tiny Dini, short for Houdini, that made her way through the tall grass to me. She showed up just one pound, way too small! We were both very lucky that I was able to rescue her. Two weeks later she is now a pound bigger making the most of a second chance on life.
Monday and Tuesday this week, we ran the same distance and the same pace, but it felt completely different because of the Florida humidity. Some days it's drier and I can breathe, but others the air is thick and I am soaked with sweat. The humid days are challenging and it is very important to have your running community hold you accountable. In the heat, hydration and electrolytes are key to replenish what has been depleted during exercise. Today, I am taking a much needed recovery day after several days of running in the heat. Tomorrow, for the 4th of July I will run a 5k, a distance that is newer for me. In years past, I would have been running a half marathon with my sister, and that is, in fact, where ultra running began for me.
Recently, I have started to get back to some shorter distances and test my speed. Have you heard of Park Run? It is an international 5k event that happens every Saturday year round, in cities all over the world. Some towns are lucky enough to have the event on trails. I have finished three Park Runs, but there are some folks that have run 100 Park Runs. It is an all ages free event, so you can imagine there is some competition if you want it. I have raced with teens and college students that are pushing me to the finish line. Every week I try to get my Fastest Known Time and my Personal Best for this 5k challenge.
In racing short or long distances, there are many strategies that can be used to get you to the finish line. There are, also, many aspects to launching a new product; learning each step, then taking action. Taking action is like going for a ride on a brand new bike on new terrain. When I run solo; I use that time to think, and when I run with friends that time is for sharing. These two types of running go hand and hand, and each have their purpose. Running alone allows my mind to wander to come up with ideas; those ideas are jotted down in my notes for another time, and if it's a great idea it will not be forgotten. Lately, I have turned some of these ideas into reels. Reels for sharing what I come up with when I am running alone. It’s like seeing a sunset alone and wishing you could have shared that moment with a friend. With reels, I can share that sunset with my friends. It's the best of both worlds, alone, yet not.
Sharing my first reel was intimidating, but moments after releasing it to my instagram followers @hull_some_foods, I felt liberated. These little steps of breaking down barriers and moving forward are what drives this product launch. It's moments like this that boost my confidence and I know I can do anything. Any post on social media will give you feedback with analytics to show how you are doing. I can then use that feedback to improve my next reel.
Asking for help on this journey is not something I am afraid of. With the help of my marketing advisor from Xcelerate; I was given the tools to deep dive into marketing. The first time I heard about brand guidelines was from a professor at PSU’s ad agency program- he called it, “The Brand Bible.” It would define the look and feel of my brand: color palette, tone of voice, logo vectors, mission statement, vision, fonts and much more. The brand bible effort seemed overwhelming. I wanted to pass the torch to a professional on this one, but after spending a few hours on Canva, I was able to create my brand guidelines. I understand a professional may look at it and say “this is a good start,” regardless, it feels good to have it done for now.
In November of 2023, I first heard the words, “Pitch Deck.” I had submitted my product pitch to NC State University for a contest, and I was quickly told I was a finalist. What a surprise! I had five days to get to North Carolina to present my five minute pitch to several judges. I was told I would need a pitch deck presentation. At that time, I tried to pull together a powerpoint, but that was also foreign to me, since I had never had a job that required me to learn the software. Within a couple of days I decided to decline my invitation. A pitch deck was now on my to do list! Meanwhile, my SCORE advisor was sending me pitch decks from large successful companies like Facebook and Airbnb. It was so interesting to see what their pitch was before they became a multi-billion dollar company. Recently I discovered a program called Canva and learned how to create a convincing Pitch Deck that can be used for presentations for contests, investors and product buyers.
PSU’s Capstone summer term program has begun, and Hull-some Foods has been accepted into their program as a client. I had an introduction with the students last week, and they are very excited about my product launch. They had a lot of questions about my marketing strategy, supply chain, packaging, etc. It felt very positive, and I was Fired Up to hear that the students and their professor are both equally inspired by my idea, motivation, and dedication to this product launch.
Next month there will be more to share as we get closer to the launch date… Continue to follow Trail Talk and see what's next. Have a safe 4th of July! Go big and shred- find your inner beast and thrive.
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