She Runs by the Seashore

It’s always so much fun to meet fellow BibRave Pros in person, but that hasn’t been possible for more than a year because of the pandemic. However, we were able to connect virtually last weekend, March 26-28, for the BibRave Proud Virtual Summit, and it was a blast!

Leading up to the summit, I received a package of BibRave swag that included a bandanna, Buff multifunctional headwear, Knockaround blue light blockers and Science in Sport Turbo+ and Sleep Plus gels. We started the virtual activities on the Hopin platform with a Friday night welcome session and a session with our cohort — a smaller group of BibRave Pros and Creators. One topic that came up was toughest races — which was sparked by a discussion of my photo in the mud (read more about this year’s Algonquin 50K here).

On Saturday, we did a scavenger hunt using Runkeeper. I was one of the six BibRave Ambassadors who recorded clues of items for people to find during the scavenger hunt. I did my run in Pittsville, for a change of scenery after shopping at Chesterfield Heirlooms. It was fun looking for representations of the different items, and it kept things interesting, as I’ve hardly been listening to music or podcasts on the run recently.

It was so nice outside that I sat outside for the weekend daytime sessions. The first online session of the day was an Ask Me Anything with Tim and Jess, the co-founders of BibRave. It’s great that they are so open with the community. After a short break, we had a session on social media and content creation.

Next up were breakout sessions for channels that we have on Slack, our communication platform. I am one of the moderators for the Book Club channel, and my co-moderator Kim put together a book scavenger hunt. I also listened in on the vlogging session, as that’s something I’m getting more into at work. I’ve also been playing around with Instagram Reels a little bit, and we were challenged to make a reel featuring our new Knockaround blue light blocker glasses, so I did! I was pretty happy with my jumping transition. If you want to check it out, visit my Instagram at @vanessajunkin.

Later that evening, teams faced off for Trivia Night. I was on a team with fellow ambassadors Ryan, Brian and Kristi. We came in second-to-last, but it was still a lot of fun and a good way to connect with others and test our knowledge. I certainly learned some things. For example, nobody got the answer to Bill Rodgers’ favorite pizza topping — mayonnaise! And I learned there are 26 bones in the foot, which I think I’ll remember as I can associate it with 26.2.

On the final day, we heard from BibRave’s Diversity Equity and Inclusion Council. I think it’s really cool that BibRave has a DEI Council, and I’m glad I have associated myself with organizations that are working to make a change when it comes to diversity, equity and inclusion issues. Although I am female and have experienced some things that male runners likely haven’t, I think I have a lot to learn as far as what runners of other races, for example, have experienced.

Once someone is a BibRave Ambassador for five years — which will be me next year! — they are presented with a Zestie award. I thought it was fun to hear from the recipients about their time with BibRave and the early days, as well as learning how these Pros were introduced to BibRave.

There was also a chance to interact one-on-one for three minutes with a fellow ambassador using a networking tool on Hopin. I interacted with four different people, and this was a fun, quick way to briefly get to know someone. I wish I’d done a little more of this.

It was great to connect with everyone, and the connections have continued on the Cappuccino app, which I just downloaded and has been fun so far. People can record short messages that can be listened to in podcast form.

Interested in becoming a BibRave Pro? Applications open up periodically, and I’m sure I will be sharing that info on social media when applications open! Learn more here. The summit is also discussed in the latest episode of The BibRave Podcast, and you can check out what it was like by searching the hashtag #BRProudSummit.