Okay, to fully understand the “before” and “after” image, you first have to follow @AndyO22 on twitter or Andy O. on dailymile.  Andy is an inspirational runner that regularly clocks wicked fast times for his runs (mostly in the 7’s if not faster).  He is also a great sharer all around positive nice guy that is fun to interact with over the social networking landscape.  The funny thing is, I have never actually met Andy.  We are scheduled to run the HAT 50k on the same day in March, but at his pace I would be lucky to see him at the beginning of the run or at the end.  Anyhow, back to the explanation of the image.  A few weeks ago Andy wrote “How many times do I have to run 6.52 miles to trademark it? 3, 10, or 100+?”, to which I wrote, “From now on a 6.52 will be referred to as an “Andy.” ie: I am going to go run an Andy.” And so it started and the “Andy” caught on.  Others began to reference Andy’s 6.52 mile runs as “Andys”.  Fun, right?  Well, yesterday Andy ran another “Andy” and when people were leaving comments for Andy like “There you go with another nice ANDY.” -Jeanne B.  I decided that I would create a challenge on dailymile.  The challenge was simple, RUN AN ANDY! (6.52 miles) on Jan. 7, 2010.  I thought a few people might sign up for the challenge, after all, Andy is a popular figure on the site.  To my surprise over 40 people signed up!  The virtual turn out was great! I decided as a tribute to Andy I would transform myself into Andy. How would I do that?  In all the pictures I have seen of Andy, he wears a yellow tech shirt and a white doo rag. In the picture you can see how the “Andy” affected me.

Andy's profile picture

Check out some of the responses to the posting of the before and after pick:

• “LOL! You definitely look better in the after shot.” – Andy O.
• “Now I am really nervous about my run later. My wife might leave me if I start trying to rock a doo-rag.” – Caleb M.
• “This made me LOL OUT LOUD VERY LOUD!!!” – Michelle
• “This is pure awesomeness.” – David D.
• “Good one Thomas. Great challenge you set up here….inspiring a ton of people in the process.” – Steve S.

I had a lot of fun with this and it was great to connect with all these runners.  I am still amazed at how these social media tools can be used to connect with people that in our offline lives we would never meet, and how those people can touch our lives.  I love me some dailymile.  – Believe in the run