Marrying Ambitions: A Working Forward Story

For Collin Weyer, it was love from the start line. “We met running a half marathon in Milwaukee,” recalls Collin. “It was my first time doing that distance, and I was with my brother when I noticed a girl running alongside of us.” That runner, a cheery blonde with a stunning smile and personality, made the miles of Collin’s first half marathon fly by. Collin was smitten, but skeptical: “I assumed she had to be taken. I didn’t even have the guts to ask for her number after the race!” But Collin couldn’t get her out of his head.

That night, he used race photos and bib numbers to look up her name: Jennifer Hoffman. Collin didn’t want to be presumptuous, so although he was able to find Jennifer on Facebook, he opted to hold off on contacting her too soon after the race. He didn’t have to wait a few days—just a few minutes after finding her on Facebook, Collin received a message from Jennifer. Like Collin, Jennifer had enjoyed their time together on the race course so much that she used race photos and bib numbers to track down Collin too.

“We met up the next week for a drink,” Collin says with a smile,” and have been together ever since.”

Collin and Jennifer bonded over their shared love of running, waking up early to admire the sunrise during easy recovery runs or push each other during interval workouts. As ambitious, goal-oriented people, they knew how to successfully approach their goals in racing and in life: identify your ambition, make a plan, and keep working forward.

For Collin, there was one ambition in particular: a proposal. He knew without a doubt he wanted to spend the rest of his life running alongside Jennifer. For the next year, Collin dreamed up how he would ask her to marry him.

“Running obviously had to play a part in this proposal,” Collin says. “We met at a half marathon, and Jennifer has a goal of running a half in every state. We were looking up options for races during a road trip, and it just so happened that there was one in Arizona on a Saturday and Denver on Sunday. We decided to knock off two states and two races in one weekend.”

Immediately, Collin contacted the race director of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Denver Half Marathon to plot his finish line proposal. For the next few months, he checked off the boxes of his plan: buy a ring, notify close friends and family, and train for back-to-back half marathons—all while keeping the proposal a secret from Jennifer.

Thanks to Collin’s thoughtful preparation, the half marathons and the proposal went off without a hitch at the finish line of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Denver Half Marathon. Jennifer said yes, and the two couldn’t be more excited about their shared ambition to spend the rest of their lives together.

“Running has given us so much,” effuses the newly-engaged Collin. “Sharing common interests and goals brought us together and made our love even stronger.”