Faithful Soles In the News and Out and About

Sunday, July 29, 2007 - Robert Key, Founder of Faithful Soles, gave a motivational talk to about 100 Bay Area Fit (BAF) members, as well as family and guests, at BAF's 1st Annual Picnic held at Challenger Park near the Johnson Space Center south of Houston.  Robert (pictured right with BAF Head Organizer and Blue Racer Head Coach, Angie Binetti) gave a humorous and informative history of the marathon, talked about goal setting, and shared the story of his 15 year old son Robert (also in attendance) completing his first half-marathon in Houston earlier this year. Coach Angie stated after the event on BAF's discussion board, "Our guest speaker, Robert Key, did an exceptional job in motivating and inspiring the group, by sharing personal stories and recognizing all of the first time runners and walkers to the group." BAF is currently in their fourth week of this year's training program for the 2008 Houston Marathon and Half-Marathon coming up on January 18, 2008, with registration still open for those persons living in the area who wish to join.

Thursday, March 29, 2007 - Galveston County Daily News - Sports Section: "Inspiring young runners" - By Bernice Torregossa, Contributor - Robert was interviewed for an article in the sports section about the PR10K (Promote Running for 10,000 Kids) program and how Faithful Soles is involved in getting young people into walking and running programs. Click here to read the complete article.

Wednesday, March 7, 2007 - Robert attended an after-school training session conducted by Prepared4Life at Elkins Jr. High School in Houston for 5th and 6th graders in training for a future 5K and next January's Aramco Half-Marathon in Houston. The significance of this visit was that 25 youth were signed up in the the Faithful Soles PR10K (Promote Running for 10,000 Kids) program, the most youth signed up in a single day since the program was launched on January 1, 2007. Each student will receive his/her own Runner ID and Password with full access to all of the amazing stories and features on the Faithful Soles web site, and each will receive a "Goal Achievement Certificate" with their name and accomplishment once they have reached their individually established goals.

Friday, February 16, 2007 - Robert Key, pictured here with Kat Misiti, Head Coach of Round Rock Fit (RRF), was the keynote motivational speaker at the RRF pre-marathon pasta dinner prior to the Austin Marathon and Half-Marathon on Sunday, February 18. There were about 100 incredibly enthusiastic and inspiring walkers and runners in the audience along with family members and friends who were there to support them. Robert's speech was entitled "Visualize the Finish Line" where he discussed focusing on what the runners have accomplished thus far, and how to mentally get through the tougher parts of the race. After his speech, he and Kat fielded various questions from the audience regarding running tips for before, during and after the marathon and half-marathon. On Sunday, Robert successfully completed his 16th marathon (4th Austin Marathon), and his son Robert (14 years old) ran his second half-marathon in a time of 2:25:51, beating his previous best at Houston the prior month by 3:59.

Saturday, January 28, 2007 - Robert (pictured right leading students through some stretching drills), began the first session of the new year at KIPP 3D Academy in Houston coaching 5th and 6th graders in a walking and running program with a goal to participate in a 5K (3.1 miles). Robert co-coaches with Debbie Goldberg, founder of Beyond the Finish Line, a non-profit whose goal is "to help people tap into their own physical, mental and spiritual strength - and use the strength to create the next stage of their lives". Debbie is also the head organizer and one of the half-marathon coaches for Houston Fit, the largest USAFit group in the United States. Houston Fit had approximately 1,500 people register for their 2007 marathon and half-marathon training programs.

Saturday, January 21, 2007 - Robert was a guest at the Fort Bend Fit (FBF) post-marathon party held at Southwest Infiniti in Houston. Several hundred FBF members, along with friends and family, were there to honor their finishing last weekend's Chevron Houston Marathon, Aramco Half-Marathon and Houston Press/Smart Financial 5K. Not only did people wear their finisher's medals from these races, but several FBF'ers wore medals from other marathons completed within the last year including Boston, New York, Disney, Marine Corps, and many others. Robert (pictured left with Jan who also happens to be the author of Faithful Soles first ever featured blog and who has her blog listed in our Faithful Soles Blog Database) and his son had a great time at the event and enjoyed hearing all of the amazing stories of those who had achieved their goals.

Thursday, January 18, 2007 - Faithful Soles is honored to have been asked by Prepared 4 Life (P4L) to be listed as a resource on their web site. P4L empowers youth to become contributing members of society through asset-based, experiential after-school programs. On January 14, P4L had 50 youth who had trained in an after school program participate as walkers or runners in the Aramco Half-Marathon (13.1 miles) in Houston. P4L focuses on building assets in middle-school-aged kids by integrating life skills, character education and entrepreneurship with engaging experiential, fun after-school activities. They help youth take ownership of their lives and rise above their obstacles to become contributing and productive members of our society. Sara Selber, President of P4L, wrote "Robert, we want to list your site on ours as a resource. Love to promote good partners!"

Sunday, January 14, 2007 - Robert and his son Robert were interviewed by reporter Winston Dutchin (right) of KPRC Channel 2 (the local Houston NBC affiliate) prior to the start of the Chevron Houston Marathon and Aramco Half-Marathon. The 2 Robert's were running the half-marathon, which would be the younger Robert's longest run to date. The purpose of the interview was to talk about how Robert got his son involved in running. The younger Robert, who is a 14 year old high school freshman, discussed what it took for him to train for the half-marathon. Winston also asked questions about the Faithful Soles PR10K (Promote Running for 10,000 Kids) program, and Robert discussed briefly the points of the program and how to get youth and teens involved in a walking or running program through the Faithful Soles web site. After the interview and before the start of the race, they visited with Kevin Kline (left) of The New 93Q Morning Crew in Houston, who was running his first marathon in honor of Chelsey Campbell, a 16 year old whom he had met only a year ago during her cancer treatment, and sadly she passed away in December. Kevin was running in her honor and to raise money to support his Snowdrop Foundation to find a cure for pediatric cancer. Kevin was the Faithful Soles "Featured Athlete" for the week of January 7-14 leading up to and including marathon day, and Faithful Soles has been working to promote Kevin's cause to its members and readers. Kevin would end up running an amazing time of 3:44 in his first marathon, beating his goal time of 3:45.

Friday, January 12, 2007 - Robert delivered the keynote motivational speech entitled "The Greatness in You" at the "Blessing of the Feet" dinner attended by members of Clear Lake Fitness Club and Bay Area Running Club, as well as many other runners in and around the south Houston and Galveston area. This was the 6th year of the dinner and Robert has been the keynote speaker each year. Mark Christensen, organizer of the event since its inception in 2002 (pictured here with Robert), once again did a great job of promoting and emceeing the program. The second half of the evening involved Robert giving running tips to the audience as part of final preparation for the half-marathon and marathon, where he reviewed the course layout map and elevation chart for both the marathon and half-marathon, offered advice on how to dress for what appeared to be rainy and warm weather conditions, and fielded input and questions from the runners.

Friday, January 12, 2007 - Robert made an appearance as a "runner" and background cheerleader on the local television show "Great Day Houston" (airs Monday through Friday from 9:00-10:00 a.m.) with Channel 11 reporter Cristina Terrill (pictured right with Robert) as part of the local news coverage leading up to the Chevron Houston Marathon and Aramco Half-Marathon this weekend. The segment was shot at Memorial Park, a popular area for many of Houston's runners. The program discussed diet and nutrition, as well as information on stretching before and after the races on Sunday. Also in attendance to help were several members of Houston Fit, including Felix Lugo, a nationally recognized runner famous for running marathons carrying an American flag. Cheering for the piece was led by an amazing group of 40 students from Sam Rayburn High School who were at the park doing their final walk/run in preparation for the Aramco Half-Marathon (13.1 miles).

Thursday, January 11, 2007 - Robert delivered the devotional message at Houston Fit's pre-marathon dinner by telling the story of "The Greatest Marathoner", the event which inspired him to found Faithful Soles. Debbie Goldberg, Head Organizer of Houston Fit and a long-time coach of marathoners and half-marathoners (pictured here with Robert), led the evening's festivities with about 300 members in attendance. Houston Fit is the largest USAFit group in the United States, having begun this season with 1,500 members enrolling in their marathon and half-marathon programs. The main speaker for the evening was Denis Calabrese, the founder of USAFit, who covered an array of amusing and informational topics centered around final preparation for the big events on Sunday. The program also included speeches by first time marathoner, Skip Browning, who lost 175 lbs. in his training and exercise program, and veteran marathoner, Shaun Loether, who will be attempting to qualify for the Boston Marathon.

Thursday, January 11, 2007 - Galveston County Daily News: "Church Offers Divine Event for Runners" - By Bernice Torregossa, Contributor - Published January 11, 2007 - "...The evening also features a talk by runner and motivational speaker Robert Key. “In my talk, ‘The Greatness In You,’ I take them through some of the things they’ll encounter, and remind them of some of the tips for success,” Key said." Click here to read the complete article.

Wednesday, January 10, 2007 - Robert Key (far right), was the keynote motivational speaker at the Fort Bend Fit (FBF) pre-marathon dinner leading up to the Chevron Houston Marathon and Aramco Half-Marathon on Sunday, January 14, 2007. The title of his talk was "The Reason 'Why'" where he spoke on the humorous and serious side of "why" we walk or run and set the goals we have set. This was the second consecutive year that Robert has had the honor to deliver the motivational message at FBF's dinner. Terrie Gorney (middle), Head Coach of FBF, led the evening's festivities with about 275+ FBF members in attendance. Terrie is one of the most widely recognized and enthusiastic distance runners in the Houston area. FBF is one of the largest USAFit groups in the United States, having enrolled over 500 members for this season. Robert's son, Robert (far left), a 14 year old freshman in high school, who will be running in his first half-marathon (13.1 miles), also attended as a guest of FBF.