5 For Friday

1. This week's Chobani Greek Yogurt Giveaway winner, according to random.org, is.... #1 Abbi who writes Higher Miles and is training for her first marathon! (This is kind of funny because her husband roots for Notre Dame and the Spartans are playing the tomorrow in East Lansing! Go Spartans!!) Congrats Abbi! Send me your address and I'll get these out to you!

2. Have you heard of Cupcakes for a Cause? I hadn't until a colleague told me about it the other day. The deal: September 20 - 26 is Cupcakes Week, an annual national fundraiser for the CancerCare for Kids^® program.The campaign, which began in 2004 when a small group of NYC bakeries baked and sold specially decorated cupcakes to benefit the Kids program, has grown in size and scope every year, and has raised over $340,000 dollars for CancerCare for Kids. This year, over 700 locations in communities across the country are participating.

Here are two easy ways to participate:
- Buy a delicious cupcake at one of over 700 participating bakeries nationwide; a portion of the proceeds goes to CancerCare for Kids.
- Send free, virtual e-Cupcakes to your friends and family; göt2b will donate $1 per e-Cupcake sent in September, up to $10,000!

3. An interesting TV commercial, produced by the nonprofit Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine was set to air in select markets last night. Click the link and view the commercial. It's short and graphic. It directly attacks McDonald's as a cause for our national obesity crisis. You know that I am one of the last people who would support fast food like McDonald's, I don't remember the last time I ate there, but I do think this commercial is a bit harsh. Well, at least it's pointing the finger at one company when it's definitely not the only one in the game. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
 
4. I've recently begun listening to music through headphones at work. It's a pretty quiet, although busy, office and music coming from my cube would probably not be appreciated by everyone sitting around me. I am used to having loud music or at least a lot of noise around me as I work, so I had to find something! Since I don't want to use all my free streaming time on Pandora for the month before it's half over, I went to NPR.org and streamed a few albums from their "First Listen" section. If you don't know about this already, you should. It's a great way to hear full albums before they even come out! And the genre's range drastically from classical to indie pop and I just listened yesterday to "Wake Up," the new album by John Legend and The Roots!

5. Next Thursday is the NYRR Young Professionals Committee Fall Happy Hour! $35 gets all who attend unlimited burgers, beer, and wine (a few tasty side dishes too), an opportunity to meet elite runners Shannon Rowbury and Alan Webb, and the satisfaction of knowing that for all this fun, you are also supporting great running programs that help underserved children around the country and in South Africa. Oh yeah, and you can meet other very cool people - runners and non-runners alike - and there will be a raffle for some really great prizes! Read HERE for more info about the YPC and HERE for more info on the NYRR Youth Programs! Get your tickets in advance, their $5 more at the door.


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workout stats -
none. Rest Day!What are you doing this weekend? A race, a trip, a football game, shuttling kids around, relaxing?!