Saturday, August 22, 2009

the great gu giveaway

exactly one year ago today, chasing the kenyans was born with a simple post and one reader (ol' faithful mr. j). like many of you started out, this blog was simply going to be a journal of my training runs and races. i'd been keeping track of my data for the past four years, and j convinced me to start keeping more detailed entries. i can only assume he wanted me to start this blog so that i would quit talking to him about running 24/7. he claims he doesn't mind, but i wouldn't doubt if it gets old sometimes as he is not as passionate about running as i.

i'm not sure exactly how many readers i have out there now since there are about 19 ways to attempt to track data and they all give me different numbers. nevertheless, i have enjoyed feeling like the cool kid at school each time i gain a new reader. thanks for sticking with me through the good runs and the bad. you've held me accountable to run (and talk about my training) on those days when the last thing i want to do is lace up and head out the door. you've reminded me to step-back and relax and not let running take control over my life. you've motivated me to better myself as a runner and a person.

in honor of chasing the kenyans' first birthday, gu energy has so graciously donated a boatload of amazing gu products for some lucky readers! i'm personally a huge fan of gu - from their chomps to gels (regular and roctane) to gu brew, you just can't go wrong. i was introduced to gu's roctane gel from outside pr, and have been a faithful customer since. it's very hard to just give all these away - i loooove gu and could train for a couple marathons on this stash! ;-)

so, what's up for grabs?

not one but two gu feeding frenzies! yes, two of you wonderfully lucky readers will score a load of gu products to help keep you going through your late summer runs.


included in each prize pack are gu chomps, gu energy gels, and gu brew. feel free to visit the gu website to learn about these products and how they are designed to aid your training and recovery.

to enter the great gu giveaway, leave a comment on this post stating your favorite gu flavor or product (if you have one); if you've never tried gu that's ok too!

for additional entries:
  1. become a "follower" of chasing the kenyans blog and/or follow me on twitter. (1 entry for each)
  2. tweet or blog about/link to this giveaway. (1 entry for each)
  3. bonus entry if you were cool enough to stop by (and comment) on saturday, 8/22 to celebrate the official birthday of ctk!
the great gu giveaway will end on friday, august 28th.

many thanks to gu energy, outside pr and all of you fantastic readers!

73 comments:

  1. Happy one year! It is always fun reading your comments and insights about running. Keep up the fun blog!

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  2. This is so wierd. I just posted pictures of GU energy gels and then I visit your blog and you're giving them away. So, I made a link to you. Hey, I love following you and congrats on one year.

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  3. Happy Bday CtK! cool givaway; I used gu chomps for the first time on my 20 miler today. seemed to work with me well. Yay!

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  4. I know that I've been kind of "hiding" lately from the blog world and that is only because I have some serious training to do. While I have kept up all blogs I follow, I've been quiet......up until now! I would LOVE to win me some free GU. I posted them as one of my 3 favorites for training and maintenance of my new healthy lifestyle on my blog! I just tried the Chomps and fell in love with 'em. I've not seen the brew, so winning would be a great opportunity to try. I wish you a huge congrats and happy anniversary of your blog! I've been highly impressed with your regime and also very thankful for all the support you've sent out to me during "hard times" through the cyber world.
    Happy Anniversary!
    Now go run! :-)

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  5. Happy 1 year! Awesome give-a-way! I was going to do one for my 100th post but, missed it! (can you believe 100 posts!). Lindsey--I really enjoy reading your blog and you are a great inspiration to me--happy birthday, blog :)

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  6. Happy birthday! :) I have the same 'problem', hubby is by now very bored with me yapping about my running and he claims to not even know about my blog, but I'm sure he reads it anyway ;)

    Heard lots of good stuff about GU but never tried it, so of course I'd like to :) Tried to find you on twitter to increase my chances of winning, but no luck!

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  7. Happy blogaversary!!! Sweet giveaway deal to celebrate too!

    My favorite flavour by far is the chocolate mint. I bought so much up that I still have a few packets left to consume before they release it in time for Christmas again.

    If I'm not a follower I'll do that right now...plus bonus entry for the 22nd!

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  8. happy one year! i've really enjoyed reading your blog since i discovered it a couple months ago.

    as for gu, believe it or not, i haven't had it in about 10 years! i used to use it religiously at soccer tournaments when we had back-to-back games, and back then, my favorite flavor was definitely vanilla, though i liked chocolate, too. strangely enough, i just went out and bought a few flavors yesterday to try them out on my longer training runs in preparation for my marathon. i'm pretty psyched about it because i'm a total running nerd and experimenting with race nutrition is fun (and also sometimes disastrous, ha).

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  9. Happy anniversary!

    I have tried GU Energy Gel a couple times, but the only flavor they carry at my local Dick's Sporting Goods is the Tri-Berry. I would like to try the Chocolate Outrage or Espresso Love and the Chomps.

    I am already a subscriber of your blog, and I follow you on Twitter (my Twitter name is TammyMullins). I just tweeted about your giveaway, and I stopped by on your anniversary. I think I covered everything.

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  10. Hey, awesome, one year!

    I wrote a post about your giveaway and started to follow you on blogger and twitter.

    Back in my triathlon days I used to use the Vanilla Bean gu like it was going out of style. I bought Vanilla Bean on accident because it sounded disgusting, but when I got to the bottom of the barrel and that's all I had left, I used it on a ride and loved it.

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  11. i am a follower.

    erica_haggins@hotmail.com

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  12. i sent you a follow request on twitter.

    @erica_h

    erica_haggins@hotmail.com

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  13. OK, so I never go for this give aways. But GU< how could I say no. So, I am already following you, would have wished HB to your blog anyway, and I will tell others on my blog about this giveaway...oops, that means more people to compete with...oops..
    Ana-Maria

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  14. Wooo, how did you get so lucky!?

    Of course I've been following your blog for awhile now, but now I'm an "official" follower, haha.

    Happy Birthday to ctk!

    I absolutely LOVE Gu Chomps. I eat them like candy and then I'm all out when I need them! lol. My favorite has to be cranberry apple. Seriously, soooo good.

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  15. aha, found you on twitter!
    /mialena

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  16. Happy Anniversary!!! I love me some GU too :) Big fan of the chocolate GU gel. I haven't heard of the GU brew. Interesting. Keep up the posts, I love to read them!

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  17. Happy Blog Birthday, Lindsay! It's been fun getting to know you over the last little while and I always appreciate your funny/helpful/supportive comments. Here's to another year!

    I am a HUGE Gu fan, so this is pretty much the best giveaway ever. It's just about all I use. We don't have Gu Brew around here yet, but I'd love to try it. My fave gel flavor is CHOCOLATE. Mmm, just like chocolate syrup. I also love the Chomps, but have a hard time chewing them so I only use them occasionally to mix things up.

    Whoops, long comment!

    As you know, I already follow your blog & your twitter.

    Have a great weekend!

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  18. Happy birthday to your blog! Excellent work keeping it up for a year.

    I know what you mean about the home-front "not minding" about the running talk.

    Your blog is a great read. I look forward to your posts

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  19. Just found your Blog while hoping around and became a Follower!! What a great giveaway, I live for the Chomps and other Gu products.

    YIPPEE I found you on 8/22..

    Will work on linking back. Will come back and give you the link when I do..

    Have a great day!

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  20. HAPPY b-day! So..I follow yo unbelievably amazing blog now :)...should've done it sooner!

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  21. lemon limes are my favorites. yesterday I used this power bar gel (? I think) that had been kicking around my gym bag for probably a year because it was vanilla, which sounded gross - but tasted like frosting and was kinda delicious. so now I want to get on the roctane vanilla orange. congrats on your blog-iversary!

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  22. Happy Birthday! I love Gu energy gels too, esp. triberry.

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  23. Very cool. I can't believe it has only been a year! It seems like I have been reading and following your blog forever. Keep posting.

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  24. Well, since I probably ticked off Outside PR by not saying nice things about the hat and shorts they sent me, I'm probably not going to get the goodies you got. Oh well...Let's see, I'm currently using the GO Blueberry Chomps due to you recommending them, and I'm tired of them, so if I win some different flavors that would be cool. I've never had the Roctane, or the brew, so I'd love to be able to sample them. My favorite GU product, as you know, is the Vanilla Bean flavored GU gel. Wow, I now regret giving my honest negative opinions about the hat and shorts that Outside PR sent me and endangering my chance of future GU freebies....No, actually I DON'T regret giving my honest opinion...I can't be bought as you know...LOL. Happy blog Birthday, Lindsay :-)

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  25. Happy one year!

    I actually just found your blog, but the entries I have looked at so far are really interesting reads :) I've never had Gu before, but the Espresso Gu looks pretty good.

    And I'm becoming a follower by adding you to my Google Reader!

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  26. I do love me some Gu, so sign me up! Happy Blog Birthday!! I follow you on twitter :)

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  27. I`m new to your site but I do enjoy following it. Vanilla Bean is my favorite Gu. I like the added boost of the caffeine.

    Thanks for visiting my site. I answered your questions with a comment over there.

    Happy Birthday to CTK.

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  28. I love GU & Birthday Parties!

    I'm already following along.

    And I just Twitted your give away.

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  29. I wanna win I wanna win, I wanna win!!! Congrats on one year! I'm a follower, or at least I read your blog whenever you post?

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  30. Great giveaway! I've tried many of the Gu gels and have liked them all - even told the folks at my local grocery store about Gu since they don't carry it.

    Happy blogaversary!

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  31. Happy blog-versary from a lurker.
    I've only tried Gu once, can't remember the flavour though. I'm normally a Hammer Gel kind of guy, but I'd love to win some free Gu to give it a shot!

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  32. Hi! I've hithertofore been a lurker, but enjoy your blog a lot. My favorite flavor is Vanilla Bean. Thanks for your blogging!

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  33. My favorite is the good old regular GU in chocolate or espresso! Yummmmmmm

    Happy one year Bloggerversary!

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  34. Congrats on 1 yr of CTK! You are the 1st blog I've subscribed to (maybe it'll inspire me to start my own). I just finished the last of my Lemon Sublime GU's. Tasted pretty good during my long run (even if the package said it expired last year). Keep up the great work!

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  35. Happy blog birthday! I'm a fan of the berry Gu, and I'm dying to try the chompers.

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  36. oh my god, your blog is only one year old? really?! why do i feel like you've been writing for much longer than that?!

    ok, out of all the Gus, I'd say "just plain" or "vanilla" are my favorites, easiest on my tummy. I do like the Gu chomps too.

    happy birthday to your blog, Lindsay!! Here's to many more, I hope.

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  37. happy blog-iversary!

    mmmmm. gu in strawberry-banana is my favorite. though, i've recently heard good talk about the chocolate variety and i've been itching to try out some chomps.

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  38. happy blog-iversary! I enjoy your blog, and great giveaway. I love GU, either orange or strawberry/banana are my favorites. I already follow, and have a link to this giveaway on my latest blog.

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  39. Happy birthday Lindsay! (Wait...Happy Anniversary?) Great to see all the fans weighing in and, while we're obviously fans of GU and therefore not entirely objective, it's a pretty neat give-away as well.

    Speaking of objectivity, let's give a shout-out to MarathonMan! Mr., we value ALL reviews, so the fact that you didn't dig what we sent you definitely doesn't affect you getting a load of GU! We're at the TransRockies right now, but be sure to get in touch week after next and we'll send some samples...

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  40. And with 50 minutes to spare!

    Love me some Gu.

    Happy blogaversary, Lindsay. Here's to another year of inspiring speediness & hardcore awesomeness :)

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  41. 4 minutes to spare!

    i love the Espresso Love Gu! gotten me through many a long run (and started off many a race).

    happy blogiversary, btw :)

    (word verification is "moments" ... as in, i've had many moments laughing at your blog)

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  42. Oh, it's technically 10:30PM here in CA. Not sure how the rules work. Oh well, I'm already following via blog/twitter. I'll just tweet about it too!

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  43. Happy birthday :) I never read your blog before, but someone talked about it on Twitter so I stopped by to see it.

    I never tried GU either, so I have no favorites, for now ;)

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  44. I couldn't get GU to send me anything and I was pregnant craving GU!! I still love it. Vanilla Bean!

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  45. http://twitter.com/tosha25italia

    Happy anniversary!

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  46. Thanks for stopping by my blog. I'm now an official "follower" of yours.

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  47. I haven't tried the chomps yet, but I really like the orange Roctane. Good stuff...

    Happy one year anniversary! I should have done something to commemorate that mark... but I just didn't think anything of it.

    Online stats are a pain in the rear! Just thought I'd throw that out there! :-)

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  48. Congrats on your one year blogoversary

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  49. Happy blog-versary! I wasn't cool enough to comment yesterday...but oh well! Congrats!
    I've never tried GU, but I'm really wanting to. :)
    And of course, I'm @zoeamaris on twitter and I follow your blog.

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  50. Espresso Love is my favorite flavor. I really want to try the Roctane but it's so expensive!

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  51. Wow, happy blogiversary! I had the blueberry chomps today during my triathlon... huge help for sure. I also love their Mint Chocolate Gu that they sell at Christmas time! I'm already a follower :)

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  52. Happy Blog-iversary Girl! I'm def glad you've been chronicling your journey... you've become one of my favorite reads for sure. I don't twitter but you know I'm a follower! Sorry I missed the actual b-day as I was out of town but congrats again on one year!!!

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  53. I posted a link on my Blog this AM:

    http://tallmomontherun.blogspot.com/2009/08/10k-lessons-learned.html

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  54. Hi, I saw a link to your contest on another blog. My favorites are the chomps in strawberry and the gel in mint chocolate.

    I'm adding you to Google Reader so I can start following your blog.

    Congratulations on one year of blogging!

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  55. happy anniversary! you have a most excellent blog and i always appreciate the sincere comments you leave me on mine. you're great! congrats!

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  56. ohhh happy one year! i saw your giveaway on mel tall mom's blog. so count me in. i'm now a follower! :)

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  57. well i am already a follower of both your blog and twitter :)

    pick meeeee i want to win!!! happy blog bday :)

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  58. Congrats on your one year! I do follow your blog and know just what you mean about readers keeping your accountable. Funny, I'm reading "Julie and Julia" right now and she says pretty much the same thing.

    Would love to try the GU's. Am heading into longer runs now and have never found anything that I like.

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  59. Happy birthday to you! I don't get points for stopping in on the actual day, but I do get points for having you in my Google Reader and following you on Twitter! I love my some Choc. Gu!

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  60. Happy Anniversary!!
    Love love orange burst and vanilla GU. Don't know what I'd do w/out it!

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  61. Congrats on your one year! I just became a follower! :) I also just signed up for my first half marathon, so winning some GU would be great! My favorite is the vanilla flavor...

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  62. Happy blog birthday!!! (a little late)

    Fun giveaway! I've never tried the gu chomps and would totally be interested in them.

    And I'm a follower. On Blogger and Twitter!

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  63. Happy blog-birthday!!

    I like the espresso flavored gus. And the chocolate. And the vanilla. Also ones with some caffeine! Hah! I am a fan!

    Oh, and I am a follower now as well!

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  64. Happy belated blogaverasary!

    My favorite GU flavor without a doubt is Chocolate Mint. I wish it was available year-around!

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  65. Okay, I'm a new follower! :)

    I love, love, LOVE the chocolate outrage gu!!! Tastes like brownie batter and is one of the only gels/flavors that tastes absolutely amazing! :)

    Pick me!!! ;)

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  66. I try them a few week ago for firs time,and they really work!!!.
    Love strawberry-banana.

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  67. Happy Anniversary! I am actually reading this blog for the first time, thanks to a fellow BTer who mentioned your blog in his (ontheroadtoironman). From what I've read, it looks like an interesting blog, and I will continue to follow. So far, I've only tried the strawberry banana GU, and loved it, but would like to try more of their products.

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  68. YAY, happy blogiversary, chica! I'm already a follower, and will be as long as you continue to blog (which I hope is for a very long time!). My fave Gu product is Espresso Love Gu! :)

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  69. I just may share these with a certain skinny bald guy we all know and love.

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  70. I linked you back today. :)

    Mmmm... Gu...

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  71. no need to enter me, just wanted to say yeah for blogs as an outlet! I know hubs was happy that I finally had someone else to talk to about running :)

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  72. CONGRATS on a year of writing an informative and interesting blog! I'm happy to say I'm now a follower of the blog itself (who knew I wasn't already?) and am a follower on Twitter. I haven't tried Gu, but any product you recommend is worth a try. Winner or not, I'll give
    em a chance on my next long run!

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