Chip’s Not Dead Yet Social Media Training Group

What: Free fitness training for Chip’s Not Dead Yet race

Who: You? Me? Anyone in the Vancouver social media community who wants in

When: Wednesdays, 6pm drop-in

Where: Steve Nash Sports Club, downtown. Rain or shine!

Chip’s Not Dead Yet Memorial Mile is a one-mile race straight uphill, from 10th and Alma practically up to the sky; that hill is a bus-defeating, skateboarder-terrifying haul that reminds one that we in Vancouver live, after all, on mountaintops poking up from the sea. It’s called Chip’s Not Dead Yet because guess what? Chip is still alive, and good for him! Yay!

Chip Wilson is what you’d call a serial entrepreneur, having started the phenomenally successful Westbeach and followed that up with lululemon, because the man simply can’t retire. And he, being a parent and not dead and all, decided it would be a really good thing if Children’s Hospital had enough money to do everything it could to help kids, and so he started this sadistic athletic endeavour to raise some money therefor, and which not-incidentally features the richest purse for a one mile race in the world of two-legged racers (I believe there are several thoroughbred races and a couple of Formula Ones that pay more, but it’s strictly against the rules to run them entirely on your hind legs, and boy, would PETA be after you for that!). And to make it extra-amusing and camera-friendly, he decreed that for the non-elites which are by definition most of us, costume “waves” would be the thing: you can run in a wedding dress, in superhero costume, or in underwear.

And Raul Pacheco says that if he raises $5000 he will run in his underwear, so go donate now!

And what does this have to do with you, or with me, I can hear you asking. Just this. And yes, I can. I can hear your thoughts. And I’m SO TELLING YOUR MOM.

We know how the social media world works. Hello World, Welcome to your blog, Hello from Facebook, Tom wants to be your Friend, the FBI is Following you, and here are your extra thirty pounds. As a (very) lapsed Marathoner (you’re allowed to use Capitals, if you’ve actually finished one; it’s true. it’s a fact) I’ve been looking for a good excuse to get into shape, preferably with company, for lo many and varied are the excuses for not exercising I can come up with when nobody’s expecting me to show up.

So, to deal with those thirty extra pounds that we in social media tend to have lying around in our jeans, I have started a group of Twitter/Facebook/Myspace/Wordpress/Drupal addicts who will get together once a week and train so we don’t completely embarrass ourselves on race day or die of a terminal infarction (SO mortifying). Naturally, you should train a minimum of three times a week, but I figure we’re all busy and can only commit to getting together once per week, on Wednesdays at 6pm. And where? I thought you’d never ask.

Steve Nash Sports Club has very generously volunteered to sponsor our training from now till race day, so we will have our inaugural meeting this coming Wednesday, April 29th at 6pm at the Steve Nash Sports Club downtown. We’ll have free access to all facilities, and yes, they have internet in the gym so there’s no need to suffer withdrawl symptoms. I’m picking the downtown location because it’s handier for most people, but having eyeballed the floorplan for the new Richmond location, I’m dying to check that out as well.

Thanks as well to AHA Media for videoing the process of getting healthy (don’t worry, you don’t HAVE to be on the video) and to GirlWithNoName for ongoing fitness advice. This effort has come together thanks to Twitter and email, and the enthusiastic cheerleading of the team at Chips Not Dead Yet. Thanks to all our supporters and participants.

See you on Wednesday? What do you have to lose, besides your caboose?

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