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Have you ever run an all-out mile just for fun?
Throughout the month of August, runners of all levels and experience put their training to the test in the Meridia Mile virtual run. This virtual race allowed participants to compete anywhere, anytime between August 9 to 23.
The Meridia Mile promoted the newest and trendiest professional running club: Team Meridia. This team is taking the typical pro-running format and flipping it on its head to put the athletes at the forefront of the decision making.
The Meridia Mile was mostly a virtual event, but held a few in-person races on August 9th in Boulder, CO, St. Louis, MO, and Raleigh, NC. At these in-person events, racers met and ran with members of Team Meridia—a rare chance to race with the professional Team Meridia members. Meridia’s Instagram promoted its community race saying, “Whether you’re looking to run a lifetime best, a PR post-injury, your first mile postpartum, or race your kids…the Meridia mile is for you!”
At the Boulder Meridia Mile, racers competed alongside Skylyn Webb and Molly Sughroue. Meanwhile, Meridia founder Colleen Quigley supported milers at the North Carolina event.
“The Meridia Mile is about more than just running fast. It’s an invitation for you to be in community with us at the very beginning of our journey as a team.”
Meet Team Meridia
Team Meridia includes founder Colleen Quigley, Annie Rodenfels, Katie Camarena, Madie Boreman, Molly Sughroue, and Skylyn Webb, all of whom have their own sponsorship deals and their own coach. Since there is such variety in sponsorships for Team Meridia, those who signed up for the Meridia Mile had the chance to win prizes from brands like WHOOP, Saucony, Strava, Bose, and lululemon in weekly drawings. The Meridia Mile grand prize is a trip to Boulder for the Boulderthon race the weekend of September 28.
Leading up to the event, Team Meridia hosted Instagram livestreams to announce the giveaway winners and share the stories of each team member and what brought them to Meridia. Those who registered also received a “Meridia Monday” email with training tips and workout ideas from Team Meridia athletes.
More than A Race
One of the best parts of the Meridia Mile is that it was open to everyone and focused on community. You didn’t have to be a standout runner to run in this event.
That’s the character of the Meridia brand. Team Meridia wants to emphasize inclusivity and appeal to every runner, not just the best of the best. Milers from all over the world were able to share their passion for running and push their limits in support of a team that is redefining what it means to be a professional runner today.
Team Meridia is especially committed to women athletes. In fact, every current Team Meridia member is a woman runner. This team is made for athletes that feel like typical professional teams don’t have their best interests in mind.
That’s ultimately what helped inspire Colleen Quigley to come up with Meridia—she wanted a professional running team that truly advocated for women’s interests and provided women coaches.
The Meridia Mile was a community race. But it was also much more than that. It was an event intentionally hosted to make every individual feel like they were part of an actual team. Meridia has said, “the Meridia Mile is about more than just running fast. It’s an invitation for you to be in community with us at the very beginning of our journey as a team.”
As everyday runners toed the line, they didn’t just race a mile. They joined Team Meridia as they raced.
