There is a saying that goes, “Some people come into your life as a blessing, some as a lesson.”  This month’s female runner definitely came into NRC’s life as a blessing, and although Adriane Martinez now runs the roads of Nevada, we continue to be blessed by her friendship from afar.

Her story starts in rural Nevada in a small mining and ranching town named Winnemucca.  She grew up in a very tight knit family and loved her community.  Every summer her parents would take Adriane, and her brother and sister, on family vacations to Park City, UT.  They have continued this tradition for close to 17 years now, and she has wonderful memories of then and now with their own growing families.  She moved to Reno after high school graduation to attend college and stayed there until moving to Nashville in Fall 2010.

By day, Adriane is a paralegal specializing in Intellectual Property and is surrounded by cool gear on a daily basis (i.e. Apple iPhones, Starbucks brand, and more).  She really enjoys getting to see inventions and brands from a different perspective.  She is also Wife and Mom to an awesome family!  She loves spending time with her husband Kito and children, Aliya, 5 ½ and Tyler, almost 3!  The happy couple met in college in 2003 while working as law firm runners (legal couriers).  When a group of co-workers started a pick up basketball game during their lunch hour, she and Kito guarded each other (she was the only girl and well, Kito was more of a soccer player, plus he knew a good thing when he saw it) and it was “game on” from there.

From hoops to Gu, Adriane has been running off and on since late 2004.  She had wanted to challenge herself and a friend Jenny Sinocruz encouraged her to run; it didn’t hurt that she worked for a company with an onsite gym and a running club.  Before long she started to amass a long list of accomplishments and every single one has an amazing story.  I wish I had room to include them all, but you can always find her on Facebook and she’ll be happy to share!

She considers her first half, the Silver State Half Marathon, her biggest achievement.  It was in that race she proved to herself that she could run for 13.1 miles.  She also completed the WIPRO San Francisco Half Marathon (her current half PR by 19 minutes and all-time favorite place to run), the Reno Tahoe Odyssey an 178 mile adventure relay for Angel Kiss Foundation, Journal Jog (with her sister), Viva La Diva (thanks to Shawn Berkau), Rutherford Relay (with NRC friends), Rock and River Marathon (as training coach), and several as a family such as the Franklin Turkey Trot and most recently Miracles in Motion a 1.7 mile course that Aliya was so excited to do because the proceeds go to their local children’s hospital (Like mother, Like daughter!).   Of course, she keeps a special place for CMM, which she ran in honor of her Grandpa who died from cancer in 2008 and St. Jude.  One of the best, but toughest courses out there, she realized during the race, it was not a PR course or day – still, she was thankful to just be able to run.

This petite powerhouse first found out about NRC in December 2011 after a visit to Fleet Feet.  She was buying a pair of shoes to start training for the Country Music Marathon (CMM), saw a flyer and researched NRC on the web.  After emailing Scott for specifics and getting an immediate, detailed reply, Adriane was so impressed she had to try it out.  Her goal was initially to train with the group to finish CMM, which she did; however, NRC became more than a group to run with…NRC runners became her family away from family.

Adriane has a lot of fond memories of her NRC runs!  Like many of us, she remembers her first run with NRC, which was with Kelli Alexander and Shawn Berkau.  The perfect people for a stellar first impression!  If she wasn’t already sold, she said Scott, Lisa and Joe Singer, and I all made a point to welcome her and that she and Steve Kraft bonded immediately as they were both newbies.  She also recalls how she loved that when she asked JoAnne King what she was training for, JoAnne responded, “Life, I just want to be healthy!” And, how Jennifer Oubre taught her to run for fun – which is a motto she now lives by.

She’d say NRC definitely was, and is, an important part of her family’s life.  Last Fall, when telling Scott they were moving, Adriane broke down in tears.  Also, when explaining the recent tragedy in Boston to Aliya, the first thing she asked was if Mr. Scott and Mr. Joe were okay!  Having moved miles from her family, NRC became like family for the 4 of them and they always enjoyed spending Wednesday nights with NRC.

In true NRC spirit, Adriane couldn’t just move and go back to running solo.  She started thinking about what she would do without NRC with no local running clubs near her.  Inspired by Scott, and the people of NRC, which make it more than just running club, she decided to start her own.  She wanted it to mirror NRC – a group of friends who hung out together, gave back to the community, and supported each other!  Kito, her brother-in-law (Chris Kegler) were in, as was an NRC connection in the area, Shawn Skillman.  Since the 2nd week of January they have been running every Saturday at the Sparks Marina.  The first NRC West text went to 7 and now has grown to 36 people, plus she posts on Running Buddies, a local running FB page.  The group is growing steadily and the feedback she is getting is awesome!  She is already on her way to impacting peoples’ lives and changing the world by promoting health through exercise, fellowship, and support and giving back.

Someday she hopes the two NRCs can join together for a run, maybe at Carmel, CIM, San Francisco or even a local run in Nashville! She added, “I would love NRC-West runners to meet NRC runners and see why I have so many good things to say about NRC and the people.  I’ve told some of the runners to ask to be a part of the NRC group on Facebook to see all the motivation and support provided by this amazing group.”

I asked Adriane a few things about what she does when she’s not running or hanging with the family.  She is a movie person with her favorites being, Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken and Forrest Gump (Run Forrest Run!), but she’s a sucker for Nicholas Sparks’ books.  She won’t say no to a hotel in San Francisco, although she likes camping, too and is definitely a dog lover (her favorite pet was her first Brittany Spaniel, Duke).  She’s also a night owl, not a morning person, which is hard for us runners!  She said she often procrastinates sleeping watching HGTV (House Hunters) or reading magazines.  Finally, I asked her if she had to be a piece of running gear, what would she be and why.  Her answer?  She would pick shoes, because they can take you places and she likes to think there are still a lot of places for her to go.  Plus shoes come in all shapes, sizes, and colors, which makes them unique, and each one of us is unique and special in our own way.  Well said!

Adriane, you are obviously going places and are without a doubt one of the most special people we know!  Take a minute to tell Adriane how proud we are of her and all she is doing to spread the NRC spirit!!!  Thanks for bringing NRC one step closer to world domination!  Congrats!

The life of our male runner of the month reads like an inspirational, action-packed, guide for the irreverently deranged, which could only mean one thing… it’s NRC’s own sexy Brit, Wayne Jacks!  This little devil is known for his blush-inducing comments on NRC’s Facebook page and mad web and logo design skills, but what you don’t know about him will leave you gobsmacked!

Born in Essex, England Wayne had a happy childhood, but adds that his Dad was massive into sports, like karate and kayaking, while he was more massive into… well, TV.  In fact, he goes so far as to say he was a “chubby kid”.  It didn’t help that his Grandmother was an especially awesome cook who made all his favorites, including steak and kidney pie and black pudding (which isn’t even pudding at all; it’s basically a sausage made of fried blood).  Yum, right?!

Wayne went on from high school to complete a two-year degree and then decided he wanted to enter the world of business.  So at 18 years of age, he took a job managing movie theatres, making him the youngest multi-plex manager in the UK!  Little did he know, the action wouldn’t stay on the movie screen.  He was the victim of weekly robberies, where he was threatened with iron bars, shot at and even tied up with a knife put to his throat!  So, um, you could say that the job nearly killed him, (understatement of the century) and so he left for a less adventurous stint as one of the opening managers of the famous tourist attraction, the London Eye.  One of his employees was a cute Canadian, Kate Cruikshank.  Wayne was still married at the time, so while they became fast friends their story of romance would have to wait.  When his first wife tired of the London weather, they came stateside to Manchester, TN and Wayne got his green card.  Since then, he has lived in Murfreesboro and now in Nolensville.

Looking at Wayne, you would never imagine that he’s only been working out for about 7 years and only started running outdoors a year ago! In fact, last week was his 1-year anniversary of running with NRC!!!  It seems like he’s been with us forever.  As surprising as that is, I was completely dumbfounded to hear that he also used to weigh 300 pounds!  No one would ever guess it from watching him speed off from Town Hall now, but Wayne has not always been addicted to running.  The sedentary lifestyle and love of food of his youth eventually caught up with him; but after hitting 300 pounds, he committed himself to getting active and eating better.

It wasn’t easy, but he had some motivation along the way.  After his divorce, Wayne happened upon Kate again through Daily Mile!  They would chat and encourage each other towards their running goals, Wayne on his treadmill and Kate on her mountain trails.  One thing led to another, they started dating, and he realized quickly that his true love was Kate all along.  They were married in what was an absolutely beautiful wedding in 2011 at Gigi’s house in Franklin (yes, the cupcake guru Gigi!).  They soon welcomed a new addition, their lovable pup Basil (pronounced Bazzle, of course) and started settling in.

Lucky for us, Kate’s jones for a running club led her to our website (Yay, Amy K.!), which then led them to (drum roll, please) NRC!  I had the privilege of running with The Jacks their first Wednesday with us and while they tend to avoid the hot, summer runs, they have been regular NRC runners ever since.  Wayne isn’t one to shirk a challenge; so when Kate suggested his first official race be a half marathon trail race over Raccoon Mountain, Wayne didn’t blink an eye.  He followed Kate’s training plan for the Scenic City Half Marathon in Chattanooga and having run on a treadmill for his entire running career, he was floored when he finished his first (flat) training run outside of 13.1 miles in 2:07.  Then the same weekend he received his citizenship in Nashville, they headed out to run his first race.  He was crazy nervous, but when he crossed the finish line he felt strong and was blown away with his time of 2:09!  He can’t say enough about how beautiful the course was or how well Kate had prepared him for the run.  Plus, Kate had told the race crew that it was Wayne’s first race and his 10-year anniversary of achieving his weight loss goals.  He’ll always remember that day since they not only announced his milestones as he finished, but they gave him one of the medals reserved for full marathoners in honor of his feats.

Wayne is among many NRCers who have eaten the words, “I will NEVER do a half marathon.”  Since his momentous first, he has done 6 half marathons!  They include the Hard Rock Half and his favorite race, the Space Coast Half in Florida, which features dolphins jumping along the coastline and a spectacular sunrise.  He finished Space Coast with a 1:58 and he is still chasing the “high” he felt after finishing that race.  While he is currently battling issues with his back (dang Daily Mile challenge), he has slowed his training, but he is planning to return to Chattanooga for the Scenic City again this May.

When he’s not working or running Wayne is a painter!  He’s invented his own unique process to create incredible works of art!  It’s too difficult to explain, so you just have to see it!  Check out www.projectwanksy.com to view a time-lapse clip of Wayne in action.  It’s really cool!

I asked Wayne, if he could be any piece of running gear what he’d be and why.  His answer, “a buff, because it’s one of those things that’s really useful, and you don’t realize you need it until you’ve got one.”  (Don’t know what a buff is – click here!! http://www.buffusa.com/sports/collections/filter/running)  So true!  NRC didn’t know how much we needed Wayne until he joined our ranks.  Now it just wouldn’t be NRC without our resident racy, comedian!

With all Wayne has overcome in his life, he will tell you he truly believes that a person can do anything they set their mind to – Words of wisdom for our C25Kers and all of us working towards a goal.  He is so thankful for the Nolensville Drinking Club, eh hum, I mean, Nolensville Running Club, noting that home doesn’t feel so far away because of all of his friends in NRC!  So next time you see him be sure to say congrats, or better yet, buy him a high gravity beer (you’re welcome, Wayne).  Cheers!!!!