pa href=http://hayesjeff.typepad.com/.a/6a00e00986beda8833011570568c3f970b-pi style=FLOAT: rightimg alt=3214807510_d094b206b3 class=at-xid-6a00e00986beda8833011570568c3f970b src=http://hayesjeff.typepad.com/.a/6a00e00986beda8833011570568c3f970b-320wi style=MARGIN: 0px 0px 5px 5px //a Today we’re spotlighting the lead instructor at our Freedom location, Erin Evans.#0160; Erin has been with BTB a long time and served as an instructor at two other camps before starting the Freedom location last year.#0160; So a lot of you have met Erin and know what a wonderful role model she is!#0160; Here’s Erin’s story:br //p pI#39;ve been a runner since high school, and in May 2006 I was at dinner with John Williams and Paige Stanley who were singing the praises of boot camp.#0160; I thought about signing up, since the program sounded fun, and MUCH different than my regular workouts.#0160; I knew it would be a good way to work out bad feelings of my dad#39;s recent passing. br //p pOur friend Greg was a boot camper that month and loving it, so he invited me to bring a friend day. The alarm went off that morning, it was raining, I turned off the alarm and went back to bed. No BAF for me! But then after talking to JW and Greg about it more, I signed up for the June session at Piedmont. /p pThere are 2 factors that had I known in advance would have deterred me from joining boot camp:br //p p1. JW was an instructor....really!? JW? Wouldn#39;t have done it./p p2. There was a nutrition component. I had NO clue before I started, and good thing, because yet again, wouldn#39;t have done it. I used to workout so I could eat whatever I wanted....I didn#39;t want anyone telling me what I could and could not eat....or so I thought.#0160; I was so disgusted when I started to log my meals. Yuck, I ate b-a-d. br //p pI learned a lot of lessons that first month, but the 2 most important were 1) I could live without a daily bag of gummy bears and 2) Diet Coke is actually good (who knew!?)/p pWhen I did boot camp in June and quickly realized I had no strength anywherebr /other than my legs. It was time to step it up. I came back in August amp;br /September, taking off October to run my 2nd marathon. I shaved 26 minutesbr /off my marathon time....just one more way I could see boot camp making bigbr /improvements in my life. br //p pI came back for November and became an instructor in Dec/January. I moved to our Decatur camp when it opened in 2007, and then over to Freedom / Candler when BTB opened the camp in March 2008. It#39;s unbelievable to think we#39;ve been meeting nearly every AM at Manual#39;s forbr /over a year!/p pWe started Freedom with 5 instructors...4 of whom had been at 2 different BTB boot camps before this, so we took all we loved from both and made, what I think, is a pretty awesome boot camp! The Freedom crew is determined, hard working and not afraid of whatever it is we may face in a day (and trust me, at Freedom...we encounter a lot!). We now have 10 instructors and this month 25 campers....my how we#39;ve grown!/p pAnd I have grown too. From being an overtrained runner, to loving boot camp, and starting CrossFit....BTB has changed my life in many fabulous, significant ways. This month I#39;ve started with the CrossFit Endurance program, and am excited about taking my fitness to a whole new level! I#39;m aiming for a sub 4 hour marathon on June 21 and then a 3:45 in the fall.br //p pAny morning I can get up and workout out with the Freedom crew I am excited. Even the worst mood is changed just by being surrounded by all the fabulous instructors and campers we have. Who knew I could have so much fun at that crazy hour of the morning!?/p pBeing part of BTB @ Freedom is definitely the highlight of my day....but duty calls after 7AM. By daylight, I am a Marketing Manager for Elekta, Inc - a leading worldwide provider of oncology amp; neurosurgery solutions – the machines that deliver radiation to cancer patients, the software that plans their treatment and manages their patient records as well as a device that allows for precision brainsurgery, without cutting. I have the privilege of managing our Strategic Marketing And Referral Techniques Program (yes, that#39;s SMART for short), helping our customers in North America develop marketing programs in their local communities. I absolutely love what I do, from start to finish, 5:30 AM to 5:30 PM./p pI often travel for work and while I still love exploring new places by taking a run through town, boot camp has taught me great exercises to do in a hotel room or local park....anywhere can be your playground and a great place to get a workout!/p pI thank Jeff amp; Melissa for giving me the opportunity to be part of the Freedom Boot Camp. It#39;s such an honor to be out there every day with our awesome instructors, JW, Greg, Mark, Lauren, Kim, Grizz, Sara, Julie, Shelby amp; Tim. Jeez, they can really make you laugh a lot before 7 in the morning!/p pSo it#39;ll be 3 years this June that I#39;ve been lucky enough to be part of the BTB family....here#39;s to another 3!br //p pErin, we’re the lucky ones!#0160; Your smile, enthusiasm and encouragement has helped a lot of people change their lives.#0160; Thanks so much for all that you do!!br //pbr / pJust as Erin was invited to Bring a Friend day all those years ago, we are hoping you will invite your friends to come out and play tomorrow.#0160; The more the merrier, so round up everyone you can for another great workout.#0160; Please remind your friends to arrive by 5:45 and to bring water./p