Merianna Harrelson

I am the Pastor of Garden of Grace United Church of Christ in Columbia, SC and the Director of Consulting at Harrelson.Co. I am always looking for a good cup of coffee and a great book.

Winter Warrior

Winter Warrior There’s nothing like a misty morning run as the cold air of winter blows in. As I was running this morning and my lungs were burning, I thought of how many more cold runs there would be if I decided to truly train for a half marathon in the Spring. It seems unfair …

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Chi Running

Chi Running Thanks to my friend, Sadie, I have been doing aspects of this since training for my first half marathon in Germany! She literally ran beside me and taught me to breathe and stand up and engage my core. If you haven’t tried this, you absolutely should. Changes the muscles you work out, changes …

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RunKeeper Keeps Shoe Mileage

After being instructed by the wonderful people at Jus’ Running to never run in the shoes I brought in to replace again, I realized that I needed a better system for keeping track of the mileage I was putting on a pair of running shoes.  I could estimate how many miles I had put on …

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Walking Alone

I often wonder about the people that I meet on my runs. I wonder what their stories are. I wonder where they have been. Sometimes I even make up their stories: Her morning was filled with preparation. She had started at 10 and finally got in her car at 11:45 to make the short drive …

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Log Jumping

You have to love when you are trail running and your encounter a large obstruction blocking your path!  At this point, you have two options: Reroute: Turn and run back the way you came from!  Jump: Although it might mean slowing your pace to a walk a little climbing, it will make you feel more …

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First Fall 5K

For some reason last year, I didn’t run in many fall 5Ks and as I was running and training this summer, I realized I missed the scene and the energy that encompass a Saturday morning run for a good cause.  Asheville is the perfect place to get re-engaged in the running scene (although I would …

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Day Before Race

I’m excited to be running in the Autism Run in Asheville tomorrow and even more excited that support and donations have been so high!  As I picked up my registration this morning, I got the familiar butterflies and my heart start racing.  I was running tomorrow!  There are certain rituals and habits that every runner …

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Running Gear Envy

When you are with a new running partner, there is inevitably a moment where you check each other out.  No, I don’t mean like that.  I mean you check to see what shoes she is wearing and what gear she has.  I have to admit on Tuesday, I turned green with running gear envy.  She …

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Runner’s High

It was truly one of those runs where you don’t know where, but you are getting more and more energy with each step (and I needed one of those after the bad runs last week!) and you end up running way more than the time budget you had allowed yourself.  In my case, I decided …

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