Servicing the local community through our Community Outreach initiatives is an important aspect of the Stroller Warriors® mission.  Along with running and fitness goals, Stroller Warrior chapters strive to support the local military and civilian communities through charitable events, donation drives, community clean-ups, and philanthropic engagements.

In May and June of this year, our SW chapters continued to support their communities one charitable event at a time!
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Charleston:
Members of Stroller Warriors Charleston, along with their mini warriors, set up shop at the Base Exchange and put together 32 packed lunches for the Low Country Blessing Box Project.  Reducing the impacts of food insecurity is the mission of the Low Country Blessing Box Project. There are over 200 blessing boxes placed throughout South Carolina’s low country.  The packed lunches included a sandwich, water, fresh fruit, and snacks with an added touch of a greeting/picture/sticker ensemble from a mini warrior.

​Hurlburt Field/Naval Air Station Pensacola:
Members from both Hurlburt Field and Naval Air Station Pensacola participated in the Rett-y, Set, Cure 5k in support of Girl Power 2 Cure in honor of one incredible mini warrior, Lilliana.  The run was held in-person and virtually with all donations going to support education and research towards a cure for Rett Syndrome. 
 
Quantico:
In May, Stroller Warriors Quantico supported the Carry the Load Campaign- a nonprofit whose mission is to provide active ways for people to support the sacrifices made by military, veterans, and first responders.  The chapter created an online donation campaign- contributions went directly to the Carry the Load Campaign.  Members of SW Quantico, along with their families, took part in the Family Heroes Challenge workout.  The workout consisted of:
1 Lap around the track

Heroes Challenge Circuit:
- Pull Ups/Alternative
- Push Ups
- Sit Ups
- Squats
Repeat x10
 
Virginia Beach:
 
Stroller Warriors Virginia Beach organized their third round of shoe donations for Soles for Souls— collecting shoes at the June events.  A pick-up option was available for those who could not attend in-person events. 
 
Pearl Harbor and Kaneohe Bay
Members of both SW Pearl Harbor and SW Kaneohe Bay continue to keep the beaches in the local area clean— organizing beach clean-ups at Hickam Beach and Fort Hase Beach.  Beach clean-up events have been an on-going community outreach event! 
 
Vandenburg
In June, Stroller Warriors Vandenburg organized a Stroller Warriors table at a neighborhood block party on base— raising awareness about Stroller Warriors and the support/activities the chapter provides for military families.  The event was a major success with over 20 new members joining the chapter! 

Thank you to all of our Stroller Warrior members for your continued dedication to service— to the military community, local community and beyond.  Keep up the brilliant work making positive impact in the community!  

Happy Running!
Rose 

​This morning I was chatting with a Stroller Warriors friend about their family’s PCS--a PCS where everything that could go wrong has gone wrong, then sprinkled with the worry of first day of school jitters.  I wish I had the ability to reach through the phone and give her a hug, or teleport myself to her location and run it out.  Alas, those two options were not possible, so I offered an ear. 
 
I stepped out the door for a run shortly after getting off the phone.  My run was not pretty!  The dog stopped many times to sniff, I stopped several times to cool off in the shade, and I began chaffing because I wore the wrong shorts; however, I was determined to finish the run despite these hiccups.
 
I quickly switched gears and thought about the telephone conversation I had right before I left to run.  I love to use running as a life comparison tool.  Running keeps me balanced.  Like military life where one hits that jackpot with an awesome assignment or a PCS that runs seamlessly, I have incredible runs where I feel like I can run a marathon or hit a PR!  Then I have a run like today where I just want to stop, like a PCS gone awry! I realize during those difficult runs, like today, that I need to switch gears.  So, today, I ran for my friend— channeling my bad run frustration and my friend’s vexing PCS situation through my feet and right into the pavement.   
 
One thing I love about Stroller Warriors- we know that it is OKAY to lean in, to vent about the positives and negatives of this military lifestyle (a life that many don’t understand), to share about our lives and all without judgement— offering an ear on a run, while our kids play at the park, at a SW coffee meet-up, or over the phone.  Like running, Stroller Warrior friends fill my cup.  They provide sunshine on a gloomy day.  They are here!
 
Happy Running!
Rose 

This summer has been fun, but busy!   My seasonal bag has been in and out of the car at least 50 times to change and replenish items after a series of summer road trips, beach nights, pool dates with friends, and runs with Stroller Warriors.  I usually keep a seasonal bag in the trunk of my car with extra items.  I never know when my kids will hop into a creek, make mud pies while on a hike, or need a towel after an impromptu detour to the beach.    

A few weeks ago, I rushed the kids into the car and quickly dashed off to summer camp; I then made my way to base for a run with Stroller Warriors.  It was a hot and humid run that left me soaked and feeling as if I had just completed laps in a pool. I was anxious to towel off and change my clothing.  I opened my passenger seat…no gym bag!  In my haste to get the kids to camp in time I forgot to grab my bag of post-run items.   I immediately checked the trunk and voila…my bag of extra items for the win!  I had a towel to dry off and a clean set of clothes for post-run story time. 

It took a lot of trial and error, and changes with the ages of the kids and/or seasons, but as of right now below is a list of items I keep handy in my car:

• An easy change of clothing for each family member.  I say easy because I like to limit the number of clothing items I need. I opt for swim trunks or athletic shorts with built in lining over bottoms and undergarments, but I add a sports bra for myself!
• A fleece for each family member.  There have been many times when I have changed the kids, but a shirt gets soaked moments later or one child gets chilly in the car with air-conditioning, so the fleece keeps them warm or can work as a back-up shirt!  One rule- I place the fleece back into the trunk when we arrive home…unless it needs a wash. 
• Towels.  3 of them!
• Socks for each family member.  Sometimes between running errands we take a spontaneous trip to the bowling alley or trampoline park to beat the heat!
• A blanket, which is always there for a picnic, outdoor activity (it proved useful for Freedom Fest this year), or groundwork at Stroller Warriors when I forget my yoga mat. 
• Flip-flops for all!  My kids always get their shoes wet, or I often forget a change of shoes for after a summer trail race— no one likes wearing soggy sneakers.  I have my kids kick the flipflops to the floor of the car when we get home to ensure each pair stays in the car.  The “car flipflops,” as my kids dubbed them, have also came in handy in the winter!
• A bottle of sunblock and bug spray in case I leave home without either, or run out! The mosquitos and noseeum bugs swarming around Charleston in the summer months will rock your world…and not in a happy way!  My extra bug spray has been a saving grace!  I keep the extra bug spray and sunblock at the bottom of my emergency bag to avoid direct sunlight and overheating. 
• A sleeve a Nuun tablets for when I need a bit more than water to hydrate. 

​Have a go bag in your car that comes in useful for post run or outdoor activities?  What items would you add to the list?

Happy Running,
Rose

Many of our Stroller Warrior families are now at the tail-end of PCS season— filled with anticipation for the day they will receive crates packed with belongings finally arriving from previous duty stations.  Some Stroller Warriors are reunited with their jogging stroller that was tagged and shipped with their household goods.  Others watch as the movers carry a heavy treadmill from the moving truck and into a garage as they hope it is delivered undamaged or able to operate on a European adapter!  Hopefully, the free weights or kettle bells did not smash the other items loaded into the crate, especially not the jogging stroller! 

Kettle bells, free weights, jogging stroller, and the treadmill all have one tiny PCS item in common: these items were tagged with a numbered moving label! 

Earlier this week I lead an introductory kettle bell session with Stroller Warriors Charleston.  I grabbed the kettle bells from my car and placed them on the concrete when I noticed one kettle bell with a blue moving label still attached— a moving label from Germany…several assignments ago!  This kettle bell has been lifted thousands of times by either me, a Stroller Warrior, or a military spouse friend, neither of these people having removed or mentioned the sticker still being stuck to the handle!  

So, today before the post-run strength training session, I peeled the sticker off the kettle bell and placed it on my key fob (I didn’t want to litter).  That little sticker brought back fond memories of Friday evening strength workouts on the Southside track at Ramstein, Friday morning strength workouts with Stroller Warriors Fort Belvoir— all the kids playing in the grass while the moms lunged and swung kettle bells, workouts in my garage with my Elsewhere friends, and now on to Stroller Warriors Charleston where my friends stick around to learn about kettle bells in the heat.  These PCS stickers are a reminder of so many wonderful memories with Stroller Warriors and how incredibly grateful I am to belong to an extremely supportive military family!

Interested in joining Stroller Warriors?  Please visit our website to find a chapter near you! 
https://www.strollerwarriors.com/chapters.html

​Happy Running,
Rose   

​Giving back is an important part of the Stroller Warriors® mission. During the month of June, Stroller Warriors Global organized a charity event in support of DAV ( https://www.dav.org/).
 
Founded in 1920, DAV is a leading nonprofit charity that provides a lifetime of support for veterans of all generations and their families. The organization helps more than a million veterans each year in positive, life-changing ways. Last year, the organization provided more than 163,000 rides to veterans attending medical appointments and assisted in filing over 151,000 claims for benefits. In 2021, DAV-represented veterans received more than $25 billion in earned benefits. DAV’s services are offered at no cost to all generations of veterans, their families and survivors.
 
DAV is also a leader in connecting veterans with meaningful employment, hosting job fairs and providing resources to ensure they have the opportunity to participate in the American Dream their sacrifices have made possible.
 
With over 1,200 chapters and more than 1 million members across the country, DAV empowers our nation’s heroes and their families by helping to provide the resources they need and ensuring our nation keeps the promises made to them.

​One similarity shared between DAV and Stroller Warriors is the persistent support for military members and their families. Both organizations continually recognize the importance of having someone who is there to support our cause. Let us not forget about DAV as we move on throughout our summer. 
 
Thank you to our Stroller Warriors chapters for organizing events in support of DAV.  SW dedicated over 1000 between chapters and individuals personally running to #supportDAV.

Good conversation is one the best parts of running with close friends.  Running gear- be it sneakers, clothing, fuel- is one of the many topics often discussed mid-run. 

This past weekend I ran a trail half-marathon with a dear friend and right away our conversation turned to a running gear-- specifically, how we each clean a water bladder after a race.  Prior to the race last weekend, it had been over 6 months since I last used my hydration pack where my husband used it for a Saturday trail race series, and I used it for the Sunday race series.  Luckily, my husband sanitized the water bladder after we last used it and it was ready to go for my race! There have been times when I have had to make an emergency pit-stop at Walmart to snag a new insert.    
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So, how does one clean a water bladder hydration system?  Here are a few useful tips my friend and I discussed along the trail…

Invest in a cleaning system for the water bladder (like the one below)— using the tools to scrub the water bladder and valves, then hanging the bladder on the drying rack.  However, I had a bit of mold build-up on the inside of a tube and the bladder when I used this method last.  Thanks to my friend, I learned an easy remedy to this problem— place a few paper towels inside of the water bladder before placing it into storage.  The paper towels will absorb excess moisture and help prevent mold.  Be sure to use a cleaning system that fits your hydration system to ensure you do not tear the bladder.  

Another simple solution is to clean the hydration system with the tools above and place the water bladder and tubes into the freezer— ready to be re-filled right away for the next use. 
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Some use specific cleaning tabs for a deeper cleaning of the hydration system.  I use cleaning tablets after every 3 uses of my hydration vest.  Follow the directions on the cleaning agent packet, rinse several times, and scrub.  

One can also hit the easy button, like I did this weekend!  I needed to get my water bladder cleaned and put away amid the happy chaos of returning home from a weekend trip, unpacking, and prepping for a week of the kids’ summer camp.  I drained the remaining fluid from the bladder, filled the system with hot water, gave it a good shake, and drained it— I repeated this several times before placing in the freezer until the next race!

​Happy Running,
Rose

I could not tell you how many times I open the trunk of the car to load groceries, school items, etc., only to see the jogging stroller taking up much of the trunk space— it’s a permanent fixture.  I always let out a long sigh and use a delicate system of placing a full load of groceries from Costco around the BOB stroller.  I remember our BOB stroller sitting in the front entryway of our house in Germany— rolling it out of the way to grab our shoes stored under an entryway table.  I would often load the kids in the stroller and walk to the bakery in the mid-afternoon for a snack before going to the neighborhood park as the evening church bells rang.  In the mornings, the stroller would go back into the car before Stroller Warriors, only to be placed back in the entryway when I got home.  The jogging stroller— taking up much needed space and always annoyingly working around it. 

I mentioned to my husband that I cannot wait for stroller free days— we will have so much more space!  However, as I was running this morning before story time at the library- extremely hot, sweaty hands slipping from the handlebar, and my youngest singing the lyrics to her favorite Disney tunes at the top of her lungs- I realized that I would miss the jogging stroller and stroller running days. 
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I have been running with a jogging stroller for over 10 years-- beginning with a single stroller pushing my first born through strong windy weather in Montana; transitioning to a double stroller when my son was born; adding a bike rider to the mix when my youngest came along and experiencing the need to run at turbo speed with a double stroller in order to keep up with a quick kiddo on wheels; thankfully moving back to a single stroller with 2 kids on bikes; now here I am with my last stroller rider who will be heading off to school in a month.  

I made so many cherished memories while running with my kids in the BOB, but one in particular is by far my favorite— during our last days in Germany, my husband and I took a family run down the Kaiserstrasse heading towards a local overpass to watch the trains pass.  It was a perfect evening— pleasant summertime weather with a slight breeze in the air, and puffy clouds in the sky with the early evening sunbeams bursting through.  In the middle of the run, my daughter leaned over, reached her hand out and brushed her hand over the wild daisies that were growing alongside the path. 
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The jogging stroller has helped keep my love for running alive throughout each stage of parenthood.  Ten years, a quarter of my life, running with a jogging stroller.  The stroller and my kiddos have been my steadfast companions throughout the past decade.  It has been an instrument that set me on an incredible path in discovering the Stroller Warriors community.  There are many aspects of running with a stroller that I will miss….I will miss the storage for my water bottle and cellphone, I will miss having the space for my Bluetooth speaker, but most of all, I will miss the company it keeps. 
 
Happy running,
Rose 

Time for another running haiku!  Summer vacation is in full swing— which means I have all 3 mini warriors with me when I run in the morning and walk the dog in the evening.  Creating a running haiku is something fun that we do when we’re out and about! 

Here is a running haiku created by my 6 year old…

I zoom lightning fast
Can I have a freeze pop now?
My mom runs too much. 

​Running in hotter temperatures means adjustments for all— runners, stroller riders and pets!  Many Stroller Warriors, including myself, run with their dogs.  Recently, a friend of Stroller Warriors shared some great advice about running with your furry friends— all useful advice as we added a dog to our family last fall.  Once we trained our dog to heel, it was an easy and quick adjustment running with the stroller AND the dog— running 4 to 5 miles several times a week and even attending runs with Stroller Warriors.  It seemed like I had settled into a smooth routine with the dog…then the late spring/summer-time heat and humidity arrived.  Our dog struggled with the rising temperatures, so I had to make several modifications— shorter runs, changing the time of day, including several water breaks, or just skipping a run with the dog. Here are a few considerations to keep in mind when running with a dog in the summer heat:

1. Touch the ground.  Is the pavement too hot for your bare feet or hands?  If so, then it’s too hot for your dog.  The hot pavement can cause damage to your dog’s paws.  What can you do?  Which times- try running earlier when the pavement isn’t heated by the sun.  Even in the evening, the pavement will still be too hot for a dog to run. 
2. When out on a run, guide your dog towards running in the grass or other cooler surfaces. Dogs will unknowingly burn their paws. 
3. How is your dog’s breathing?  Is your dog panting heavily with his tongue sticking out? If so, your dog needs a break.  Pause (preferably in the shade), give your dog a sip of water, and a few moments to catch his/her breath. 
4. If possible, plan your run around local water fountains or a dog park with a watering station—this a fun break for both dogs and kids! 

Running in the summer is always fun, but we must remember to keep yourself and family members- including pets- safe in the heat!
 
Happy Running,
Rose 

​Running on hills— hill repeats, tackling a hill during a training run or race, etc.— has always been my favorite type of running. 

I grew up in a hilly Boston neighborhood and fell in love with incline running while home from college during summer break; this meant zigzagging up-and-down steep side streets and finishing with a quarter-mile hilly trek up Bunker Hill Street.  Fast forward to life as a military family— most of our assignments have been in areas with hilly running paths…running the hills along the Missouri River in Great Falls, Montana; craggy inclines on the trails in Germany; hill repeats with Stroller Warriors Fort Belvoir on the Lewis Hill at Outdoor Rec— for years it was hard to find a flat running route.  Then came my last two assignments in South Carolina— a hill drought.  My daily running route is flat and without any options for hills!  I know that the treadmill offers options for hill training, but running outdoors with friends is always more appealing and enjoyable! 

Living in a location with mostly flat terrain hasn’t stopped me from running long-distance races with steep inclines and rolling hills.  I’ve adapted my workout routine to ensure I stay conditioned for hilly running routes:

1). At least once every few weeks I complete a 30-minute incline run on the treadmill. 
2). I make it a point to include at least 10-minutes of strength training after my runs— working in weighted step-ups or box jumps are great for hill training. 
3). On the weekends, I do a longer running workout mixed with a variation of cardiovascular exercises and strength training.  For example:

4 rounds of:

• 1 mile run
• 25 box jumps
• 20 deadlifts
• 15 burpees
• 10 double unders

​4). I break up my runs into an “Every Minute on the Minute” (EMOM) structure in the middle—completing 1 mile of running, 1 mile with an EMOM of lunges, and ending with another mile.

​In the past 2-weeks, I’ve enjoyed several hilly runs in North Carolina and Ohio— feeling strong and ready to tackle more incline running routes in the future!  

Happy Running,
Rose