Hasta La Creative!

As a pretty avid runner, I have utmost respect for the near-elites, the fantastic runners who put themselves through grueling workouts in obscurity. There’s a great story I came across of Paul Stoneham, a Fort Worth, Texas, runner who is still chasing his dream of running in the Olympics at age 37. His life isn’t glamorous: He puts in 140 miles a week in the hopes of qualifying to run the 10K at the Olympic trials race on July 4. His odds, frankly, are rather long. He knows this. “I would be something you would call the darkest of dark horses,” he says. One agency can relate to his fight. Austin shop Kolar Advertising is sponsoring Stoneham’s attempt by subsidizing his training costs. On its Web site, the shop explains the rationale: “We’re all about the underdogs. The little guys. The ones who somehow, against all odds, find the courage, cunning and cojones to win.” For me, that beats mindless blather about “the big idea.”

—Posted by Brian Morrissey