“What Did They Have You Do?”

That was the big question everyone was asking me yesterday afternoon.

To get you caught up, here are my posts relating to the Jack Rabbit “Run for the Rabbit” competition:

• First, I applied for the program.
• Then I found out I made it through the first round of cuts and got a callback.
• Then I made a plea to readers (you!) to help me pick an outfit for my screen test.
• Finally, the big day arrived.

OK, are you with me now? Excellent.

My callback wasn’t until 2 pm yesterday, so I’ll admit I was a bit anxious all morning at the office. I wasn’t nervous, I just wanted to get it over with. I hate waiting!

After being as productive as possible at the office, I finally left around 1:30 to take the subway down to the Jack Rabbit store.

When I got there, there were six people waiting. I checked in and the nice young man let me know they were running “a little bit behind.”

Well, it turns out they were running more than an hour behind. I waited for a loooong time. Luckily everyone who was waiting had plenty in common, and we chatted about running, barefoot running, running books and gym shoes to pass the time.

Finally, they called my name. Yay!

A man from the production team escorted me downstairs where they were doing the filming. A few people introduced themselves to me — everyone was super nice — and they told me that I was going to walk into the sitting area, have a seat on the stool and introduce myself to the camera.

Easy enough.

The biggest challenge for me was getting the little microphone up my shirt without flashing the camera. Hehe.

After hearing, “Alison Feller, Take 1,” I sprung into action.

The first thing they asked was simple: “Tell us your story.” I talked about growing up dancing in New Hampshire, then dancing in college, then feeling at a loss when I got to NYC, started working and stopped dancing. I talked about my life with Crohn’s Disease and how I want to help other people with Crohn’s feel comfortable talking about their disease, and encourage them to continue running or working out despite fearing flare-ups.

I made them laugh a few times (when I said I wasn’t going to bother spelling “Contoocook” or “Quinnipiac”) and I felt very passionate when I was talking about my charity of choice, the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America.

After sharing my story, I did a few promos for them, including reciting the program’s slogan and giving a short “Why I Run” mantra.

When I was done, everyone thanked me and said I’ll hear from them — whether I get the position or not — in about two weeks.

Two weeks is going to feel like forever!

So whatever happens from here on out, it was a great experience! I had a lot of fun prepping and being on camera, and even if I don’t get selected I’m glad I got to share my story with a few more people.

Any other questions?

Thank you all so much for your wonderful comments and incredible support this week. I think there were about 50 people who got callbacks, and it’s fun that I got to be one of them.

The rest of my day yesterday was spent chatting with friends (you guys rock) about the screen test, then doing a bit of shopping.

Today we’re going out to celebrate ABS’s birthday, so I need an outfit! I didn’t find one yesterday…

…but I did get myself a really cute bag!

After my little shopping trip, ABS and I went out for dinner. Sushi!

Obviously we topped off the night with some 16 Handles. I really need to chill out on the fro yo obsession…

Now I’m up and slowly getting ready for a long run. Not sure how many miles I plan on covering today because I have lots to accomplish later on (namely, finding a party outfit that’s suitable for both bowling and dancing).

Have a great day, everyone!

YOU TELL ME: What are your weekend plans? Anyone racing? Anyone celebrating? Anyone seeing any good movies?