As it seems with most years, 2015 has come and gone too quickly. Half of 2014 was spent planning the opening of Vancouver Running Company and by the time we found our space late that year, it seemed like forever before we would open the doors. Now 8 months later it seems like a flash and we're wondering a bit how that happened so fast.
We've managed to accomplish a great deal of what we set out to do during 2015. The most important was to solidify a new and unique place in the running community and to offer as much as we could back to that community. Thanks to many friends (many that we've made this year) we were able to do this, and we've had one hell of a time doing it.
Photo: Ben Johnson
Here's how 2015 played out...
February 1 - We took possession of our space at 1886 W1st Ave. Equal parts terrifying and exciting.
February 15 - The hammer dropped and renovations were underway.
April 9 - Vancouver Running Company launched online, WOOT!
April 28 - Our shop and online store opened for business, WOOT!
May 14 - We had our launch open house where we got to let loose and celebrate launching Vancouver Running Co. Then the next morning we had our first real clean up...beer drinking runners, maybe not the cleanest people I know.
May 28 - VRC Flight Crew was launched with the support of Adidas and Ciele Athletics and our ambassadors: Linda Wong (run), Jay Grandin (run) and Carolyn Ann Budgell (yoga).
June 3 - We held our first Wednesday Flight Crew Yoga for Runners class with our beloved Carolyn Ann Budgell.
June 15 - East Van Run Crew (EVRC) held their Monday run out of the shop helping us introduce our soon to come Thursday runs. Selfless crew that EVRC is, we like them...a lot.
June 25 - We had our first VRC Flight Crew run, WOOT! 12 people showed up, which was 11 more than I thought would, win! Before long we had a regular crew of great people showing up, good vibes and smiling faces, Thursday's are awesome!
August 13 - We hosted the first Flight Crew Summer Social in partnership with EVRC and the support of Adidas, Postmark Brewing, Ciele Athletics and the Juice Truck. Almost 100 people from run crews in Vancouver, Surrey, Burnaby, Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary, and Montreal showed up for a run, some yoga and of course, post-activity refreshments.
September 1 - Our first Flight Crew Maintenance talk took place with Meghan Cahill discussing the differences between carb adaption vs. fat adaption.
September 16 - We finally got to pay back EVRC and host their 24hr treadmill relay to raise money for Breakfast Club of Canada on behalf of the Eastside 10K. All in, they raised over $5,000!
October 22 - We Run the Night went down in partnership with Adidas and Postmark Brewing. Check out the night's recap here.
November 1 - Our first Flight Crew trail run took place all around Lower Seymour.
December 10 - We teamed up with EVRC again and hosted our second Flight Crew Social, the Holiday edition. I can go on and on about how great this event was but you can read about it here!
December 20 - We held our first Flight Crew Trail Chase. Thank the running gods for Linda and her creativity or this hare chase through the mountains of North Vancouver would have been a lot less fun. 2 hours of following clues through long ascents and steep descents...yeah, we'll be doing this again.
Photo: Linda Wong
Phew, what a 2015 it has been!
We just came off a bit of a break and are more fired up then ever for 2016 and everything we have planned. What exactly do we have planned? Can't tell you yet, but we think you'll be pretty stoked.
Happy New Year to you and your crew! We can't wait to keep running with you all!
Photo: Linda Wong
