On the Move

Our guest on this episode is Stephen Lecky, Director of Events for Venture Richmond. Sports Backers and Venture Richmond are partners for Dominion Energy Riverrock, coming up May 20-22. Stephen provided more insight on Venture Richmond’s mission, events, and his role booking music for many different festivals. He also shared more about his own experiences as a musician and gave us all the details on the music lineup for Riverrock, so pay close attention to that as you prepare for this weekend’s festival.

To stay up to date with Venture Richmond, visit them online at www.VentureRichmond.org or on social media @VentureRichmond. For more info in Dominion Energy Riverrock, visit www.RiverrockRVA.com or @RiverrockRVA on social media.

Until the next episode, thanks for tuning in!

Welcome to a special preview of the Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10k presented by Kroger and Atlantic Union Bank 10k Mini coming up on April 23. My Sports Backers colleague Meghan Keogh, Director of Events and race director for the 10k, joins us to provide all the details you need to know ahead of race day, and she also shares some of her favorite memories from the event. And, as an added bonus for our listeners, she provides a tip on where to find the best bathrooms near the start line of the 10k on race day. You definitely don’t want to miss that, so enjoy the episode and pay close attention.

We are very excited about this year’s event and hope that you are too. For more information on the Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10k presented by Kroger, please visit www.sportsbackers.org or follow us on social media @SportsBackers.

Until next time, thanks for tuning in!

Our guest on this episode is Brandi Horton. Brandi is Vice President of Communications for the Rails to Trails Conservancy, the nation’s largest trail advocacy organization and a partner with Sports Backers for the Great American Ride. Brandi shared details on how the Rails to Trails Conservancy works across the country to create safe ways for everyone to walk, bike and be active outdoors, and how they are completing the vision for the 3,700-mile Great American Rail-Trail that will run from Washington State to Washington, DC. And as a bonus, we even had time to discuss her previous work with Farm Aid and its well-known music festival.

Be sure to follow the work of the Rails to Trails Conservancy online at www.RailsToTrails.org, and on social media. The Great American Ride, a virtual team cycling event that follows the path of the Great American Rail-Trail, kicks off on March 19, and team registration is available at www.GreatAmericanRide.org.

As always, thank you for tuning in to the On the Move podcast from Sports Backers. Visit us online at www.sportsbackers.org or on social media @SportsBackers to share any feedback on the podcast.

Our guest on this episode of the On the Move podcast is Hamilton Glass. Hamilton is a renowned artist, designer, and creator based here in Richmond. He has created over 50 murals and public art installations throughout Richmond, the state of Virginia, and across the United States. He is one of the creators behind innovative public art projects like Mending Walls and All In Together, and this year he has partnered with the Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10k to create a design for the event participant shirt and also launched a new All In Together 10k project. In this episode we discuss those partnerships for the 10k, the importance of connecting people through art and conversations, and the impact his work is having in Richmond and beyond. It was a great discussion full of insight, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Be sure to stay up to date with Hamilton online at www.WhosHam.com or www.MendingWallsRVA.com, and on social media @HamGlass, and check out www.AllInTogetherVA.com to contribute to the 10k mural. You can learn more about the Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10k presented by Kroger at www.sportsbackers.org. Until next time, thanks for tuning in!

Our guest on today’s special bonus (meaning: very short) episode is Gene Dykes. The self-described ‘Ultrageezer’ has set multiple official and unofficial age group world records in a variety of running distances and continues to go after big goals and accomplishments. The 73-year-old from outside Philadelphia visited Richmond in November for the Richmond Marathon, and we caught up with him for a few minutes on November 12, before the marathon at the pre-race expo. He was gracious enough to join for a quick interview to share more insight on his accomplishments and experiences and it was great to speak with him.

Gene ended up finishing the Richmond Marathon with a time of 3:20:40, which was good for first place in his age group. It also helped him move into 2nd place in the World Marathon Majors rankings for the age 70-74 category. And we’ll continue to look for more incredible accomplishments from Gene in the future.

Thank you for listening to this episode of the On the Move podcast and for your support throughout the year. Be sure to share any feedback at www.sportsbackers.org or on social media @SportsBackers. Until the next episode, thanks for tuning in!

Our guest on this episode is Megan Schultz, Chief Operating Officer of Sports Backers. Megan has been with Sports Backers for 15 years and has just about seen it all in terms of events during that time. She’s also Race Director for the VCU Health Richmond Marathon, so she’s the perfect person to help preview this year’s race, which is coming up on November 13 and includes the CarMax Richmond Half Marathon and Allianz Partners 8k. We take a deep dive into everything that participants can expect, and I hope it’s a great way to help you prepare for race day.

As we mentioned, all the information that was discussed can also be found at RichmondMarathon.org, or on social media @SportsBackers. And if you have any feedback on the podcast, let us know at www.SportsBackers.org or on social media. Thanks for tuning in!

Our guest on this episode is Jacki Quinlan, Director of Youth Programs for Sports Backers. Jacki leads programs and events that create active living opportunities for thousands of kids across the Richmond region on an annual basis. She has spent most of her career working in youth programming and is a dedicated advocate for creating equity through active living. It was great to learn more about her work, her experiences, and her own active living pursuits, including an upcoming marathon and ultramarathon.

You can learn more about the events we discussed, including Marathon Jr. and the Fall Fit Club, as well as Kids Run RVA, NextUp, and the Scholar Athlete Awards, at sportsbackers.org, or follow @KidsRunRVA and @SportsBackers on social media. As always, thanks for tuning in!

Through their work with events, training teams, and the Richmond Road Runners Club, as well as their passion for active living, Michael George and Nikkia Young are great resources for all things related to running in Richmond. They joined this episode of the 'On the Move' podcast to talk about a few well-known events, including the Ashland Half Marathon and VCU Health Richmond Marathon, how they got started with running, efforts to make the sport more open and inclusive, some interesting history, and, of course, inflatable unicorns and the Grateful Dead. So we really covered a lot of ground and it's worth a listen whether you're an experienced runner or just getting started.

If you want to learn more about the Richmond Road Runners Club, visit their website at www.RRRC.org for find them on social media at @RVARoadRunners. For more information on the Ashland Half Marathon and VCU Health Richmond Marathon, visit www.sportsbackers.org. or www.RichmondMarathon.org.

Lisa Bentley competed as a professional triathlete for 20 years, is an 11-time Ironman champion, a finisher of multiple marathons, and an accomplished motivational speaker, author, television broadcaster, and coach. And she competed at the highest levels of her sport despite a diagnosis of Cystic Fibrosis at the age of 20.

Lisa joined this episode of the On the Move podcast to share more about her career path, overcoming challenges, the processes that led her to success in a variety of fields, and the things that any athlete can do to successfully set and achieve their goals. It was a great conversation and I hope you enjoy it.

If you want to learn more about Lisa or connect with her, visit her website, www.LisaBentley.com. And we also discussed the VCU Health Richmond Marathon, which takes place on November 13. More information on that is available at www.RichmondMarathon.org.

Kevin Tobin is an owner, camp director, and youth programs coordinator for Peak Experiences climbing gym and Passages Adventure Camp in Richmond, Virginia. He also coordinates the Bouldering competition for the Dominion Energy Riverrock festival each year, which attracts some of the top climbing athletes to compete, including Nathaniel Coleman, Kyra Condie, and Brooke Raboteau, three of the members of Team USA in the Tokyo Olympics. In addition to the athletes representing the U.S., Garrett Gregor is the lead route setter for the Olympic event and he's held the same role in the past at Riverrock. So Kevin is a great source for knowledge on all things related to climbing.

He gave us great insight into the competitors and format for the Olympic event ahead of the start of the climbing competition on August 3, so be sure to listen before you tune in to the Olympics. If you're interested in checking out Peak Experiences or Passages Adventure Camp, visit www.PeakExperiences.com. For more information on Dominion Energy Riverrock, go to www.RiverrockRVA.com.