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@@@ Nancy Lieberman founded Go! St. Louis in 2000 and has developed an organization that operates several annual major running events, which include everything from marathons to one-mile run runs for kids.聽This <a href=http://www.buycelinebags.com/celine-doctor-frame-42>Celine Doctor Frame Bags</a> month, the first KT82 Trail Run will be held, stretching from Creve Couer Park to Hermann on the Katy Trail.Lieberman is a member of the Governor's advisory council for health and fitness, Trailnet's leadership council and the St. Louis Civic Pride Foundation. She has competed in seven marathons, dozens of triathlons and on Sept. 7 she will compete in the half Ironman world championship in Mont-Tremblant, Canada. Lieberman also travels extensively and has hiked or climbed the Milford Trek in New Zealand, the Mount Blanc circuit in Europe, the Himalayas, Patagonia and Mt. Kilimanjaro.Here are "5 Questions" for Nancy Lieberman:1. How did the KT82 Trail Run come about?Lieberman: We try to be proactive, innovative and anticipate trends and endurance relays were becoming very popular. Last June we were thinking of doing an endurance relay on the Katy Trail and the governor announced that Missouri was named the best trail state by American Trails for 2013. He came to kick off the 100 Missouri Miles Challenge, and he and I walked and talked about how we could promote and do something together. So, out of that meeting, I decided we'd promote the state trails by putting the endurance relay on the Katy Trail. We put the announcement out in December and the buzz was tremendous. The team component and distance add a new dimension. It's not about individuals doing a PR but bonding and a sense of camaraderie.2. Are there plans for Go! St. Louis to expand, either in terms of the number of events <a href=http://www.buycelinebags.com/celine-luggage-43>Celine Luggage</a> or causes that you support?Lieverman: We will be celebrating our 15th anniversary, and we've always prided ourselves on being innovative and proactive. First and foremost, we believe that health and fitness improve quality of life in St.聽Louis. We started with one major event and blew that out to 10 events in one weekend. We started looking at other things that are fun and make a difference. What we want to do is grow what we have and create unique and different events. We've got our hands full with the trail run. We have four major events a year. We've worked with Cardinals Care the last four or five years. We also have youth programs. As a non-profit, we give back and re-invest in youth programs with about 15,000 kids in three youth initiatives.3. How much of an impact do you think the organization has had on the growth of the running community in St. Louis?Lieberman: I don't have a gauge, but I can say we certainly helped to create the second running boom in the city of St. Louis, resulting in all of these national runs coming in and wanting a piece of the pie. Our job is to stimulate the conversation in getting people off their duffs and getting them to have a more active lifestyle. In maintaining a steadfast approach, we hope we are having an impact.4. Did you have any expectation that Go! St. Louis would grow into what it has become?Lieberman: One of the beauties is that it was all about health and fitness. That's our only objective. That's what we're selling and it's the only thing we have to sell. We started the model that we have. When we started we didn't have deep pockets for sponsoring elite runners. It was about families and fitness and we've grown it that way. We maintain the mission and see what more we can do.5. You compete in a lot of events yourself and do a lot of traveling. What are some of your most memorable journeys?Lieberman: I love traveling and exploring new countries. A lot of that exploration is through hiking. It's got to be mixed with learning different cultures and meeting people along with hiking. Kilimanjaro was a great experience because we hiked with many of the sherpas and many spoke English, so we learned a lot from them. Traveling serves both purposes of getting exercise and learning about people and culture. This year I qualified for my fourth (half Ironman) championships and what I'm looking forward to is that they're holding it in Canada for the first time.
