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Feeling Lifted: The 2021 Albion Uplift 5K and 10K
To start, let me make one thing clear: I’m much more of a shopper than I am a runner.
I discovered Albion Fit years ago, in my hunt to find the perfect basic t-shirt. While I did find that comfy tee, I also found a small business gem. With quality and design overflowing in every corner, I happily shopped alongside the adorable and encouraging girls who worked the store. The sweatpants are life altering, I kid you not. More importantly, I always love how I feel when I’m shopping at Albion. The employees are rooting for you to feel great about yourself and build confidence in your look, making it so I always leave feeling better than when I came.
It’s at least five or six years since my first Albion trip, and the world seems infinitely more complicated now. Adventure was put on hold and adversity filled in the gaps left behind. We’ve worked hard to make our own fun in the last 18 months, which has included an effort to reclaim my fitness after growing a couple of mini humans. So when Albion announced that they were hosting a race I thought to myself:
“Hey, I might actually be able to pull that off.”
One of the things I’ve tried to focus on lately is finding ways to support locally owned businesses. So when one of the businesses I’ve fallen in love with starts up a cause, I’m totally on board. My husband and I registered for the race the night it was announced, excited to push ourselves physically and participate in the service project for Sister Goods that was part of the race.
Race morning was beautiful. Cooler than you could hope for in August, we gathered up in Holladay with SO MANY runners to take a 3.1 mile loop. I sent my husband off ahead of me (he outran me by a lot) and happily turned on some music while I jogged through shady neighborhoods. Running on my own gives me a lot of time to observe those around me. I saw families, teens, girlfriends, and couples across the course. I was even able to run with Liz, for the few moments that I could keep up with her!
Two or three years ago I would never have attempted something like this race. But knowing I could do it in a community of people who I knew to be encouraging and uplifting was such a gift. Isn’t that what we all need, an environment where we can take risks and stretch ourselves?
After the race we went to fill bags with period products and some self care items, which were all donated to local girls. I smiled as I watched everyone, men and boys included, writing little notes with words like “You’re awesome!” and “You are important!” to go into the bags. Knowing that our words would reach women and girls in vulnerable moments made me so happy. In one morning our group prepped resources that would reach over 2,000 girls. How often do we get overwhelmed by all the problems in the world, instead of just picking one close to home that we can work on? I hope this time was a reminder to all of us that we can just start working and more help will come to add to our own efforts.
The Albion Uplift run was a huge success that truly reflected their mission of supporting women and the community. I was also impressed by the local businesses that joined in to help; Harmons, Salt Lake Running Company, and Kodiak Cakes all took part, showing that Liz and Dave make beautiful clothes and beautiful relationships. The run itself raised $15,000 which was all donated to the Utah Food Bank for period products to support the women in our own community. Every dollar from race entry and breakfast went straight to the cause, and I’m grateful to have had a small part in that effort.
A huge thank you to the Albion team for taking this idea and literally running with it in a totally selfless way. I hope there will be many more chances to join as a community to help people feel confident in themselves, their capabilities, and their ability to make an impact.
Cheers!
- Amanda
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