My first marathon memories and Legacybox!

I don’t know if you have noticed or not, but I really like pictures.  I take close to 50 a day (and share most of them with you;).  I love capturing moments from our day whether they be about the little simple things like our afternoon snack at the kitchen table together or about something big like Brooke’s first day of school or crossing the finish line of an important race.

A few years back we moved back to Utah from California in a flash.  One thing that I made sure to pack were a bunch of our old pictures.  I am sure glad I did because just a month later my laptop completely died.  It wasn’t backed up and not a soul could get a thing off of it.   I was beyond thankful that I had the actual copies of pictures that meant the world to me but super disappointed that I no longer had the digital copies.

This is where Legacybox comes in and why I was ridiculously excited to try it out.

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Legacybox makes it so that you can preserve ANY format of outdated memories—>  everything from your VHS tapes to Super 8 film.  They turn your outdated memories into digital files.  I can’t tell you how excited I was to be able to go through all of our pictures and get them back as a digital file (and a DVD) so that I could put them on my computer!

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Legacybox sent us a kit, we filled it with all of our old pictures (but you can fill it with any formats in your collection) and then we sent it back pre-paid.

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The kit that Legacybox sent included a guide (with easy to follow instructions), round-trip shipping, a crush proof box and personal concierge so that we could call and talk to an expert at any time.

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Brooke had a blast going through all of our old pictures together.  We talked about the pictures from her first year of life and I showed her all of my old race photos.

She held onto that little baby picture of hers like glue for the next few days.

We sent our Legacybox back with the pre-paid shipping label and eagerly awaited getting everything back!  Barcoding with online order tracking is included with the whole process so that you know your memories stay safe while they are away!

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After just a few weeks since sending our Legacybox back we received all of our originals…

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along with a DVD and digital files ready to put on my computer and share!

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I love having all of Brooke’s baby pictures in a digital format now and it has been so fun to go through my first marathon memories.  You only have one first marathon and I am so happy to have the memories on my computer now.  I’ll be crossing that finish line again in just a few weeks with what I hope to be a shiny new PR.  Going back and thinking about my first marathon is getting me even more excited for race day.  I’m excited for the smiles and all of the adrenaline in the first 16ish miles.  I’m stoked for the miles after that where I dig deep and challenge myself as the miles begin to feel harder and harder.  And that final homestretch, I will probably be bawling like a baby just like I did for that final homestretch of my first marathon.  I’ll have my parents and Brooke at that finish line and no matter what happens on the clock, I know they will be ridiculously proud.  Can it be October 3rd (the day of the marathon) yet?!?!

Going through these old race pictures also reminded me about how much I have learned about running over the years.  It reminded me that I love running for so many different reasons and one of my favorite reasons being that it has taught me that I can do hard things.   Life has changed a lot since that first marathon and running has always been that constant that has helped me through it all.

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Yep, really excited to see that finish line in a few more days:

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(this picture above is an example of one of the digital photos that I got back from Legacybox)

The first 25 people to use the code RUNNER at checkout will receive 40% off their Legacybox!  Try it out now—>  go HERE!!!!

I’d LOVE to hear some of your racing memories!! What was your first race and how incredible did it feel to cross that finish line?

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52 comments

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What a cool idea!

My first race was the Chicago Marathon in 2009. I was so scared to start that race but finishing and crossing the finish line in front of millions of people is incredible! So I signed up for 5 more….

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I want to run the Chicago Marathon so so badly! That is amazing that you signed up for 5 more. Amazing. Have an awesome day Meghan!

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Legacybox is such an awesome idea – love it!

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Wow what a cool idea! I have shoeboxes full of all photos that I would love to put on my computer but scanning them all is such a pain. My favorite finish line moments were from track in high school. I loved the speed and competition of getting to the finish line. My first marathon is in November so I’m sure that will feel pretty amazing too!

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I lost a bunch of photos the same way. My photos with my grandparents and uncle at my high school graduation hadn’t been printed or backed up when my computer crashed. They live half way across the country and I rarely saw them and all three passed away shortly after that. I’m still upset that I can’t get those photos back. Backup your computers!!

My first race was the Nike Women’s Marathon in San Fran. Loved it! It was the perfect first race! I’ve never been so happy to cross a finish line!

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I love this idea – between race pictures and the tons of pictures I have from 3 kids they all overwhelm me! The main picture of me on my blog is from my first marathon in 2013 – also my PR to date :)

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What a cool concept. Unfortunately, I only have one photo album that I’ve kept through the years with physical photos – but it’s a great album – my first two years in college! Thank goodness for Instagram, Facebook, Google Photos backup, etc. now because I’ll always have all my memories going forward!

Now if only marathonfoto would make race pictures more affordable so that I could buy them all! ;)

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My first race was a long time ago when I was 10 years old, but I still remember it perfectly! It was a neighborhood 5k and it was really small (this was back when running wasn’t popular and there only cotton shirts and bike shorts to run in!). I beat my dad in the race and won second place in the women’s race! I loved that feeling so much and haven’t stopped running and racing since. Thank goodness the fashion has gotten better :)

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I really should do that with all the photos from when I studied abroad! My first race was a 10k and it left me hungry for more!

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I don’t remember my first race, but the finish of my second marathon was my favorite. I kept looking for my sister because I thought she was running the last mile with me. I didn’t see her until the final 800 or so, but I almost started crying when she finally came running out toward me. We crossed the line together, and my dad got a picture of it. It was such a special moment to have her cross that line with me.

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My first race was the Baltimore half-marathon in 2007! I will never forget that experience… sadly I don’t have any pictures from that day except for some official race photos that I tried to save to my computer but came out super blurry.

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I woke up a little earlier today and I almost passed out because there was no new blog post!!
I love your shirt…where did you get it?

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Oh no, I’m so sorry to worry you this morning:) I hope you are having a wonderful day Chiara!

Here is the shirt! http://www.roolee.com/tops/malibu-pier-top

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This is amazing! I love that you have these memories back in digital form!!!

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Super cool idea – love that you can create a single file full of mixed media

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I remember my first half marathon in 2007. I carried so much stuff with me! My fuel belt had everything from band aids to a small face towel. To me 2 1/2 hours of running then was an eternity and I needed to be prepared. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would move on to full marathons! Needless to say I don’t carry all that stuff anymore.

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I am telling my mom about this ASAP! We have so many disorganized photos I think getting them all digital would be awesome!

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That’s an awesome way to keep you pictures and memories safe! My computer crashed several years ago and I only had about half of my pictures printed or backed up. So a lot of them got lost. I never want that to happen again!

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I definitely want to do that with my oodles of paper photos! My first race was a 5K that I signed up for on a whim partway through “training” for what would have been my first 5K. My daughter and I ran the first half of it (slowly), and walked the second half. It was fun, although not terribly memorable.

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this is just awesome!!!!

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I really like the box for “legacy box”. That is awesome.

I always enjoy reading about other people’s race memories and what they have done. For me, my first and most memorable race was the Plattsburgh half marathon. I never thought I would be able to win anything let alone a half.

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This is SUCH a cool idea. Also my goal for my next marathon is to look that happy when crossing the finish line.

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My first race was a 5k about 6 months after my daughter was born. My husband ran it with me and I passed the mayor :) I was so proud of myself because I never thought I could run longer than 20 minutes. It started my love for running and turned into a love of half marathons!

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I LOVE your shirt (the sort of plaid one)! Where is it from???

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Hey Rachel! Thank you so much! Here is the link:

http://www.roolee.com/tops/malibu-pier-top

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It’s a great idea and an easy way of having your memories on hand.

My first half-marathon was the Hamptons Marathon in Long Island, NY. I barely slept the night before, I lost my running buddy early on and made new friends along the route. I was disappointed because I thought we would run near beach (only for 1/2 mile at mile 11) and I couldn’t figure out whether to laugh or cry when I hit the finish. I was so overwhelmed at what I just did.

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This is the best idea ever! Do you know how many lost pictures I have? It’s about time someone came up with this!

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I bought this for my dad for his birthday last year! It’s awesome, you can even do old home movies!

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Love the idea of Legacy Box! Such a great way to get your digital copies back! :)

It’s funny how marathons can become an addiction. I ran my first marathon in college in 2011, then didn’t do another until 2014. I just did my fourth one last weekend and now I can’t wait to do my next one!!

I was tearing up reading your post – totally know that feeling of being at the home stretch and getting filled with emotions. So excited to see you set a new PR in October!!

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The legacybox is so awesome, I am going to give it a try! First half all I remember was seeing my family at the finish line and it was the best feeling ever.

PS I used Brooke’s mantra yesterday while I was a running up “the hill of death” by my house. Ok, no one calls it that around here but me haha! Tell her thank you from a running mama in Boston :)

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I am so glad Brooke’s mantra helped you to ROCK the hill of death.. I think we have a very similar hill very close. You are so right about that feeling at the end of a race when you see your family:) Have an awesome day Kelli!

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O my gosh! This is such a good idea! (All those VHS recorded home videos we have!)

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My first race ever, well -my first distance race, was the Des Moines half, and at the finish line I felt…AWFUL!! I finished in an embarrassingly horrible time and walked a lot (it’s my own fault, though, because I didn’t train correctly at.alllll!) I swore I would never run again. I cursed the sport -spit on it, even…NEVER. AGAIN.

9 half marathons later (including 3 more on the same course), I’m training for my first full. Running the Des Moines full on October 18, and I’m so excited!!!

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I am so so happy you stuck with running after that crazy hard race. You are going to ROCK your first full next month. I am so excited for you!

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I love this idea!!! I’m going to look into this when I finally make it to Boston :)

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That is an awesome idea! My fiancé has so many pictures that he keeps in a shoe box and is too unorganized to….organize. This is a great birthday idea! My first race was the Flower City 5k. I was nervous as hell, and finished with a not so great time, but it started me off on this lovely journey!!

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Are you planning to run Boston next year? I was just able to register today! My first Boston Marathon.

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What a great idea!

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My first race was a 5k, a valentine’s day 5k in the Twin Cities (MN). it was ROUGH and I sat on the couch and ate for the rest of the day hahah. now when I need to run 3 miles i’m like ugh, why bother…. id rather run 8! haha

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This sounds so cool! After a few bad experiences I have definitely learned to back up my pictures :)

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My first race was when I was 26 and had been running religiously 5 days a week for 8 years. I would run basically a 10k or about an hour everyday but never went further than that. One day I just decided to see if I could run for 2 hours and see what would happen. I had my family strategically placed along my route through our city just in case. I made it 10 miles to my sister’s house and decided a 1/2 marathon was in order. I ran my first 1/2 marathon the next month and loved it! It was perfectly hard.

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My first race was the Nike Women’s Half Marathon. It was such an awesome experience. That was back in 2006 and I’ve kept racing ever since then.

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What a great idea! I love this concept!

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JANAE THANK YOU!!! Yay now I can finally convert all our Super8’s to DVDs!!! we’ve been trying to figure out how to do it for years and now we can! :D

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I’d love to have had this service a few years ago when I spent weeks scanning all my old pictures from childhood by hand! I love taking pictures and videos and it’s great to have them all digitally.

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My first race was a small town 5K. It was a very small field and I was the 2nd woman to cross the finish line-have I mentioned how small the field was? That race was amazing, as I had been doing weight watchers and lost some weight and was so incredibly proud of myself! Since then, I have crossed the finish lines of 10K’s, half marathons, and a marathon!

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I just splurged today and ordered a race photo from my half-marathon a couple of weeks ago. It was a PR for me – I shaved 10 minutes off my last PR! There was one race photo where I looked like a real runner (you know, speedy and athletic and all that good stuff) and I just had to have it for my memory box.

By the way, I listened to your Runners Connect podcast today. Thank you so much for sharing your perspective on running. I’ve never met you, but I consider you a friend and running buddy. I’m pretty solitary in my running and training, and your blog is often my source for inspiration and perspective. Thank you!

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HUGE CONGRATS REBECCA on your PR. That is amazing and enjoy that picture and remember you are a real runner all of the time! Thank you so much for your sweet words, they mean a lot and we are friends and running buddies:) Have an awesome night!

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You do take so many pictures! But its so great especially with Brooke, you gotta capture all the moments.

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Legacy box is such a cool idea! I still have a hard drive that died years ago that I keep hanging onto in case someone can eventually retrieve the photos off of it.

My first half was both triumphant and painful. I was seriously under-trained, but it was really exciting to cross that finish line! My first full is in a few weeks, can’t wait for that first finish feeling!

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I ordered my Legacy Box last night and AM SO EXCITED to get my dad’s old VHS tapes on dvd. Thank you for the great discount!

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What a great idea!

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