So I’ve been in the Dirty Dirty for a week now and I have split feelings about this place.  I’ve seen some really cool stuff and I’ve seen some other things that truly make me feel that the west coast is “the good side of the country!”  I’m at a lose for words as to explain why I have these feelings about the ATL, so I have decided to handle this description in the way that I handle most other situations like this.  No, it’s not a scavenger hunt…but rather, a TOP 5 LIST!  So here it goes…Top 5 Good/Bad things of Atlanta, Georgia in alternating positions.

5. Good: Kennesaw Mountain. As with most parks in the south, Kennesaw Mountain is a civil war monument complete with cannons, large metal sculptures and an annual reenactment.  Yes, hordes of middle aged men (and probably like 3, maybe 4 women) converge on Kennesaw Mountain at various times of the year to play war.  As I ran on the numerous miles of dirty path (the reason the mountain made the list) I found myself wondering what it would be like to actually watch this reenactment.  In my mind I often find myself comparing to what I think a Dungeons and Dragons convention would be like.  Lots of pale skinny people, in costumes, with an undeterred fixation blacklist from mainstream society.  And for some reason I visualize a lot of Mountain Dew (or sugary carbon water as it was called in the olden days) being consumed and most likely there being some dice involved.  I’m not sure where the dice come into play, but the game Risk has dice, so there needs to be some dice involved.  None the less, I think it would be a hell of a time dragging a metal lawn chair and a 12 pack of PBR (or the regional equivalent) out to the mountain and seeing what this whole reenactment thing is all about.  Oh yeah, and the mountain is an incredible place to run, with many groomed dirt paths and miles of running trails; so one point for the trails and one point for the entertainment value of the reenactment. 2 points if there are dice involved.

5. Bad: Traffic. ATL has some of the most gridlocked highways I have ever seen.  If you are trying to get around town via the highway anytime between the hours of 7am-10am or 3pm-6pm you are totally f’ed.  It is not uncommon for it to take 1-2 hours to make it 10mi across town.  Not for me…

4. Good: The specialty running stores.  Atlanta has a plethora of great specialty running stores.  Big Peach, West Stride, Fleet Feet and Phiddippidies all provide incredible services to the running communities and are very respectable establishments.  Everyone has the own distinct personality, but ultimately helps promote fitness in an incredibly appropriate manor.

4. Bad: Strange people fighting in the streets.  Although it is slightly entertaining to watch two incredibly intoxicated persons try to karate style fight each other at a bus stop, it is still a little crazy.  I’m not a big fan of seemingly random acts of violence, so big thumbs down to the ATL street fight club; negative 2 points for not being able to keep your fist fights to backyards and basements where they belong.      

3. Good: Chick-fil-a/Cracker Barrel.  Holly S, these two places are awesome.  If I lived in the south I believe that I would sustain off of a constant diet of chicken and dumplings and waffle fries!  And I think I would get really good at that IQ game with the little triangle board and all the golf tees; 10 points for good old southern comfort food and a relentless willingness to put gravy on anything and everything.

3. Bad: Pavement.  I believe a very wise man once said in quote “Cause it's hard to survive, Livin' in a concrete jungle and these girls just keep passin' me by!” Oh wait, that was skee-lo.  But he is right…concrete sucks and the ATL has a ton of it.  Beyond the scattered parks and lawns this place is completely paved over.  Hurray for grass…negative 10 points.

2. Good: Southern Accents.  I don’t know what it is, but there is something very intriguing about a girl with a southern accent.  Maybe it’s the slow drawl, or the way they articulate their words, but I like it.  I like it a lot.  20 points, no questions asked.

2. Bad: Pub 71.  Pub 71 is an Irish pub located in Atlanta’s Buckhead district and may be one of the top 5 worst Irish pubs of all time.  In fact, I don’t know if they can even call it Irish.  Just because you sell Harp and fish and chips doesn’t mean you have the right to call yourself Irish.  

1. If you are an Irish Pub don’t have chalupas on the menu. 

2. If you are an Irish Pub your sheppard’s pie shouldn’t look like a banquet tv  dinner and some boxed mashed potatoes had a baby on your plate. 

1. Bad: Crack.  If you want some crack…downtown ATL has some of the best places to find it.  Lots of crackheads, lots of large individuals in parka jackets, lots of persons who come out of the shadows if your car slows down in the wrong neighborhood.  Up with hope, down with dope…negative 30 points.

1. Good: Randomness.  This city is completely random.  Million dollar homes next to the projects.  Huge skyscrapers next to brick single family homes.  Southern style BBQ next to Mediterranean.  Thugs in the same neighborhoods with guy’s who like guy’s and ladies who like ladies.  It is just an incredibly random place (good and bad) that always keeps you on your toes.  At times you think there is a high probability of getting shot, at other times you feel like you don’t have to lock your doors.  Random place, but I’m a random dude, so maybe it would work.

Anyway, my point system is completely flawed, just like the BCS so I am going to throw it out.  ATL has some great places to run in the outlaying areas and some pretty hip spots.  The running scene seems to be up and coming, there are some great places to eat and I have a weak spot for the accent.  However, it is a large city and large city problems.  Pavement, Crack and traffic.  All in all, I don’t think it is for me, but it’s not my least favorite place in the world.  Next stop…Boston, until then.

Well, it’s day one.  In fact, it’s 5:21am day one and I’m sitting at Portland International Airport on my way to the “Dirty, Dirty.”  For those of you that may not be as hip to the rap music as I, that is the nickname of Atlanta, GA.  The ATL is not my favorite place to go, but there is work to be done. 

2009 is going to be an interesting year and I think it is going to be very important to start it off right.  I’m taking a very pro active approach to my attack plan this year and it is going to take some work in the trenches to make it work.  There is an account in ATL that is going to become one of the major players in the south region before you know it and myself and three coworkers are going to meet with them.  I have a plan to drive sell through in their stores for the first ½ of the year which I believe they will be happy with.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed. 

Wish me luck on the flight…see you in the Dirty Dirty and I’ll fill you in on the details ASAP.

So...I'm going to give this another shot.  Here we go.

On Monday, I'm going to start a multi destination work trip that will take me over 25K miles in the next four weeks.  I'm going to attempt to write about what I am doing and where I am, so stay tuned.  Let the cronicals of adidassssssss continue.

Later gators 

Just an FYI...9 time New York City Marathon Champion Grete Waitz will be signing autographs in New York next week. Details can be found below.

adidas was named after its founder: 'Adi' (his nickname) from Adolf and 'Das' from Dassler and is technically pronounced "adi-das"

Over the weekend I was approached by an old friend that I had not seen in a number of years.  We made small talk, inquiring about what one and other had been up to for the last 2-3 years and the topic of employment came up.  She told me about her current job as an accountant and I simply stated that I work for adidas (usually easier than trying to explain exactly what it is that I do), but the answer did not satisfy her curiosity.  She wanted to know what it was that I actually did for adidas.  She didn’t want an ambiguous title, she wanted an explanation.  So I gave her the best run down that I could.  After the conversation was over my significant other (who was there for the entire explanation) professed that she never understood exactly what I do for a living.  It was at that point that I realized most people probably feel the same way.  So here is the answer to the million dollar question: What does Chris Hollis actually do?

Definition:  My official title is StaR (Strategic adidas Running) manager for North America and the main objective of my job is to utilize all of the key assets adidas has in particular metro areas to create a year round presence.  These assets can be anything from a race to an athlete, a retailer to a training group, a university to a high school running camp.  For many year adidas has had a number of assets throughout the country, but many times they do not link together or do not promote prolonged exposure.  My job is to make sure that this does not happen anymore.  We do not want to be the circus that comes to town on Thursday and leaves on Sunday, disappears for four months and comes back for the next event.

My job is to connect the dots.  My job is to make sure that all of the running assets we have are working as harmoniously as possible in a sustainable manor.

That is what I do.  I attempt to make singular events or assets connect with other events or assets so that they make a long series of assets and events.

It's exactly what I said I wanted to do when my first grade teacher asked me what i wanted to do when I grew up...that or a cowboy.   

Over the course of the last year I have come to know a life filled with running, hotel rooms, redeye flights across that country, life on the road, track meets, athletes, corporate BS, shoes and everything considered “Grassroots”.  Whatever that means.

On Thursday I will embark on a month long journey that will take me across the country and abroad.  At 6:00am Thursday morning I will be asleep on a plane bound for LA, the first leg of my trip.  For those of you have not seen the event that I have organized in LA please see (http://www.runnerspace.com/ChampionsDay).  NOTE: Ross is responsible for the awesome page.  I am not technically savvy enough to pull something like that off. 

LA should be a fun time; a track meet, kickin it with Olympians and sun…all and all an above average weekend.  After the adidas Track Classic is over on Sunday I’ll fly back to Portland for a quick sales meeting and touch base with all parties involved with the OT’s in Eugene.  Then on Thursday (22^nd) I’ll be flying to Chicago to work with Fleet Feet on the Soldier Field 10mi.  Who knows, I might even run the race.

On the way home from Chicago on Saturday (24^th) I’ll make a stop in Boulder for the Bolder Boulder 12K and meet up with my man Jon Madsen (Maddog as he is better known as) for a quick tour of the town and meet and greet with the Boulder Running Company.  I’ll probably try to meet up with Melody Fairchild while I am there as well and talk to her about her up coming camp.  Which everyone should check out (http://www.fairchildsportscamps.com/).

On Monday (26^th) afternoon I’ll head back to Portland and catch up at the office where I will stay for a couple of days.  On Thursday (29^th) I’ll head down to Eugene to get the final touches on the trials done and watch the 10K WR go down at Hayward.

After that I’ll be on a plane bound for China, where I will be learning the ins and out of shoe production.  I’ll be there for 10 days before I come back just in time for the trials.  I won’t bore you with all the details yet, but stay tuned for updates along the way.

Peace,

Chris

P.S. Please pardon my spelling / grammatical errors.       

Dear Coach,

    adidas and the Future Track Running Center would like to invite you and your team to Champions Day. A motivational presentation where youth, high school and college aged runners are able to interact with past and present world class athletes. Two time Olympian Todd Williams, Carrie Tollefson, Dee Dee Trotter and Ian Dobson will all be attending. These athletes will be speaking about the success and failures of their running careers, with a focus on inspiring young athletes to set goals and make smart decisions in both their athletic and personal lives.

    Following the event, all speakers will be available for autographs and photo opportunities. The event will be held on Friday May 16th, 2008 at the Agoura Hills/Calabasas Community Center starting at 6:00pm and is free to the public. The first 400 attendees will also receive a t-shirt and water bottle compliments of adidas. Attached is a flier for you to pass out to your athletes or any interested parties. We hope to see you there and please feel free to contact me or Future Track Running Center for further details.

Sincerely,

Chris Hollis
adidas Grassroots Running

Steve McQuaide
Director of Marketing Future Track Running Center

Facility Information:
Agoura Hills/Calabasas Community Center
27040 Malibu Hills Rd., Calabasas, CA 91301
Phone: 818-880-2993

Future Track Running Center Information:
30125 Agoura Road Ste. A
Agoura Hills, CA 91301
818-991-4784
www.futuretrackrunning.com
Mon-Fri: 10am-7:30pm
Sat: 10am-6pm
Sun: 11am-4pm

Boston…Miles…World Record

First….I am not exactly dedicated to this, but am going to attempt it again after my 3 month absence.

So here we go.  Much has happened over the last three months.  I’ve spent an absurd amount of time in Boston.  6 weeks since January 3^rd to be exact, but things are starting to rock and roll in beantown.  The BAA relationship is at an all time high, Wellesley College had the best damn “Scream Tunnel” ever, 50 retailers (from 7 different countries) got to see what the Boston Marathon is all about and now I know where the best Tapas bar in backbay is. 

As for the whole yogging thing…it is actually starting to go well again.  I’m running 6-7 days a week and feeling pretty good.  In fact, I broke the adidas Slough Loop WR on Wednesday.  I mean I’m kind of a big deal…my apartment smells of rich mahogany and I have many leather bound book.  Okay, well maybe it’s not a big deal, but it’s a step in the right direction.

Stay tuned for more…I only have the attention span for two paragraphs.