Once upon a time a not so long time ago an Army Soldier thought about retiring and doing something different. This Soldier just happened to be a logistics officer whose primary function had usually been to sit at a desk hidden behind a computer. Now don’t let this destroy your image of the Army but some people especially in the military get the illustrious task of pushing paper. Well, pushing keyboard buttons, performing the all-important functions of cut, paste, and print all while still sitting behind a desk. Some of you may have experienced the unending and incredible joy of being permanently seated behind a desk, but this one particular Army officer didn’t want to retire just to sit behind another desk in another office.

For more than a few brief moments, this Soldier fantasized about becoming a homeless veteran. No, no, no not the one holding a cardboard sign on a street corner. The one that decides to take a cue from Crocodile Dundee and go on a walkabout. No mortgage, no lawn to mow, no bills to pay, or any of that stress. After years of repeatedly facing the enormous importance and pressure of meeting the next suspense (that means deadline for you civilians) the thought of being carefree on a little walkabout across the entire Appalachian Trail sounded pretty enticing. Then, at some point reality had to set in-oh, I mean children. Sometimes being a Dad means you have to forego crazy ideas like becoming a homeless veteran.

Since the sitting in another office and becoming a homeless veteran ideas didn’t seem to work, I (yes-I’m that Soldier) had to come up with something different. Although I didn’t have any real experience at becoming an entrepreneur, I had always wanted to own my own business. Did I mention that I love running? Don’t forget that I have children. I also enjoy helping make my community a better place. Mesh all those things together and I started to envision what my life would really be like after leaving the Army. I decided to start my own running (Event Management) business, make my children work for me, and provide a valuable service to great organizations in my community.

After brainstorming with my wonderful wife, we settled upon the brilliant name I Run Utah. I spent a year planning, running, sitting behind my Army desk, and trying to figure out how to start a business. I decided to do it the Army way. Jump right in and figure it out while moving forward as fast as humanly possible. Never retreat and never surrender. I started attending conferences with other race timers, volunteering my services for some non-profit charities, and networking until I landed my first major client in Idaho who wanted me to time five of his largest races including three triathlons. With the name I Run Utah, we worked with events in five states our first year. Let me also mention that Personal Best Performance in Idaho Falls, Idaho was my largest client! By our third year we expect to work events in 12-15 states.

So if you have the crazy notion that you want to put on a race, send us an email or give us a call. We will probably tell you that you are crazy and then we will help you figure out how to put on an awesome event that raises boatloads of money for your cause-even if your cause is to make a profit. Cause we’re like that. We think this is America and businesses ought to make money, create jobs, and all that good stuff. If you are more of the non-profit type who wants to change the world, adopt a child, or change the world by adopting a child then we will help you make that happen, too. Just plan to bring lots of friends, stop by an event, say hello, get to know us, and tell my kids to get back to work!

Greg Murphy
(801) 656-5897
greg@irunutah.com