No, thank YOU.

It’s been almost 3 years since I started The Ginger Runner blog, youtube channel, and brand. The idea started late one night after hours of searching YouTube and other blogs for reviews on products, races and running related topics – something I found myself doing religiously when I wasn’t working. The lack of entertaining and engaging content was astounding. While there was a mass of educational and amazingly informative content, very little of it was FUN or EXCITING. I wanted to change this. Thus, The Ginger Runner was born.

I honestly thought it would be a side-project that I would throw time at every once in awhile. I would blog from time to time, I would create videos whenever I was sent products to review or whenever I felt like documenting an adventure, and I would continue to entertain fellow runners and athletes. Well, as the days, weeks and months ticked by, my life became more and more consumed with the desire to not only venture outdoors, but to create entertaining, inspiring and all-around fun new content. The idea of Ginger Runner excited me, gave me inspiration and drove me to pursue this passion head-on.

What’s been the biggest – and albeit BEST – side effect of creating this mess of fun content online has been YOU. I can’t tell you how awesome it has been to read the countless comments (even from haters), messages, emails and tweets from all of you with stories of inspiration, stories of triumph, anecdotal ginger jokes, fun asides and pictures of goals achieved. A day doesn’t go by where I don’t see someone doing something great, working against the odds to better themself through fitness. It’s damn amazing and fucking inspiring.

This morning I received an email from a fan – who will remain Anonymous – that nearly brought me to tears. While I do try to inspire all of you by showing you my progress as a regular everyday athlete over time, the truth is it is YOU who inspire ME to do what I do on a regular basis. While you might thank me for entertaining through my videos, it is you who I owe the gratitude. Thank you for helping Ginger Runner grow to what it is today and what it will be tomorrow. Thank you for continually pushing me to do my best and show everyone what’s possible. Thank you for smiling and having fun with me on these adventures. Thank you for being you. Train hard. Race harder. Party hardest. #TrainRaceBeer

Here is the letter from Anonymous:

Greetings GingerRunner,

**Disclaimer** I don’t know how frequently you receive “fan mail” so
if this is out of the ordinary or just plain weird, I do apologize.
**Disclaimer**

Anyways, I just wanted to thank you for you and your YouTube channel.
Your videos are awesome and you really make watching them fun with all
of your energy and enthusiasm and positivity and blah blah blah (I’m
sure you get this all the time)! Not only is your channel super
informative and helpful, but it can also be used as a source of
inspiration. Maybe that wasn’t your intent when you started it, but
it’s a darn good byproduct, no matter what you were thinking.

I guess how your channel has really helped me is by highlighting how
fun running can be. Shit can happen in life. You can get injured or
you could lose your way or your brother can even pass away, but you
got to power through and seek out all of the things in life that are
still good. This can sometimes lead to destructive behavior, and I
like to party and have a good time so sometimes the easiest way to
cope with it all is by doing just that. Sometimes you forget that
there are other things out there that can make your days that much
more enjoyable. Your channel reminded me that for a lot of us, running
can do just that – and you can still drink beer!

Came across your videos today while researching for a new pair of
trainers (I am a gear nut as well) and decided to forget about
everything else for a moment and get my ass back out there. My knee
still isn’t 100% and my heart is still heavy as shit from all the
loss but fuck it, today I wanted to run. It was a blast.

Keep doing what your doing man – it’s really great stuff,
Anonymous