How I (Accidentally) Became a Local Celebrity
Anyone want my autograph?
A few years ago, I swore I’d never run a 5K. Not because I had anything against 5Ks or people who ran them, but because I simply hated running and couldn’t imagine putting myself through that kind of pain on purpose.
But my fiancé, on the other hand, loved 5Ks. I think he did at least six events in 2022. Wanting to be supportive, I went to all of them. I stood on the sidelines while he ran laps through small cities, semi-rural downtowns, and company parking lots.
The kinds of running events he picked were always really lively and fun, and I still liked going even if I wasn’t a participant. But after watching several 5Ks and realizing that many people walk the course, I decided to sign up for a race.
The particular race I chose was special: at the finish line, they’d reward you with an ice-cold glass of beer or wine. Mmmm. What a Wisconsin way to celebrate.
It was part of Elktoberfest, an annual Oktoberfest-themed celebration in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. If you’ve never been there, picture a cute little town with like three roads running through it and rows of picturesque houses with well-landscaped lawns.
Only about 1,000 people formally live there. But in the summer, tourists come up from Milwaukee and other areas of Wisconsin to race their fancy sports cars on the Road America track, play golf, or stay at one of the resorts. Those of us who don’t have money coming out of our ears can still find plenty to do there, like peruse the farmers’ market and eat at local restaurants. Or, in Ryan and I’s case, run/walk a 5K.
On race day, I took my sweet time getting to the finish line. Ryan sped past me and then waited at the end for me to turn the final corner. On the last stretch of road, I decided to challenge myself by jogging at a slow pace until I crossed the finish. It was fun! And Ryan captured that excitement on my face in this candid photo:
I thought it was such a cute shot, so I shared it on my Instagram. Apparently, the Elkhart Lake tourism department thought it was cute, too. I saw them share it several times on their social media accounts after the event.
Then, they kept sharing it. Like, way after the event. I kinda laughed when I saw my picture in the promotional materials for 2023’s Elktoberfest 5K all over Facebook and Instagram. (I don’t even remember giving explicit permission for them to reshare the photo, but I probably signed a waiver or used a hashtag that passively showed I was okay with it. It wasn’t a big deal — just odd to get a jump-scare from my own face several times a week when I checked social media.)
Things got crazier when I got a DM on Instagram from the official Elkhart Lake tourism account at the end of last summer. It was a request to use my picture on a billboard advertising the event.
How many times in life are most people offered a chance to have their face front and center on a billboard? Most likely never. So of course I said yes.
Once it was up in public, overlooking a Starbucks on a busy suburban intersection, I drove over to take a look. There I was, larger than life and smiling like I just ran a super easy 3.1 miles when I’d really just walked the whole thing.
I remember it was super windy the day I went to get pictures of the billboard. I probably looked like a weirdo pacing back and forth on the side of the road with my neck craned toward the sky, trying to scrape my hair out of my face long enough to take a selfie.
Honestly, I’m still impressed that the people who made the sign were able to get Ryan’s photo to look that good blown up on such a huge scale. He took it on his Google Pixel phone camera, which is excellent quality for social media, but not for professional work.
And it’s still surreal to me that any of this even happened. When that picture was taken, Ryan was just trying to capture the moment where I finished my first 5K. It was our first time visiting Elkhart Lake, and I was totally out of my comfort zone. I’d mostly signed up for the free beer at the end.
Yet somehow I became the poster child for the entire 5K. I wasn’t even running!
I can’t say I earned any real fame or fortune from this, but it was funny to notice a few people staring at me a little more intensely than usual when Ryan and I showed up for the 2023 race.
One of my favorite moments happened when we picked up our shirts and bibs on race day. An event organizer instantly recognized me and said “oh, you’re our gal on the billboard!” I should’ve pulled out a sharpie to give her my autograph, but instead I just laughed and said “yup!”
Oh, and in case you’re wondering, I’m back in the promotional materials for 2024. They can’t get enough of me!
The cutie who launched a thousand feet! 👏🏻🎶💕