Slam Poetry
For the past 13 years I have been writing articles, web content, copy writing, blogging, video creation and social media posts to grow various businesses and projects both as a freelancer and as an employee.
Over the years I have been interviewed as an expert in regard to distance running for various publications (Runner's World, Competitor, Run Haven and Spry Living).
I would describe my natural writing style as one that is humorous, thought provoking and conversational in tone.
In the past few years I have also done more work on the graphic side of the aisle - creating brochures, sales collateral, banner images, presentation slide decks, etc.
I have a B.A. in English from the University of Pennsylvania
Slam Poetry
Poetry Slam Playbill
Zeal Relays Videos. Sponsorship Packet and Social Media / Print Ads
Graphic Work - Flyers
Flyer designed for Wildflower International's Sponsorship Offerings
iT1 Cloud Business Transformation Conference Packet
Created this proposal template for iT1.
iT1 Company Brochure
Flood The Zone Marketing & Sales Packages
The Official iT1 Technology Expo and Golf Tournament Magazine
I have created dozens of such digital event flyers for a series of lunch & learn events my company puts on throughout the country.
Digital Advertising, E-commerce Blogs & Articles
By David Allison, Hivewyre :: Even though the invention of the cookie was in 1995 and that the company DoubleClick, with its product launch of Boomerang in 1998, is almost universally seen as the first retargeting contrivance, it was not until the late 2000s that companies like Art.com, Discovery Channel, Diaper.com and Amazon began engaging retargeting campaigns as part of their marketing strategy.
By David Allison, Hivewyre :: A lot is discussed about personalization, but how accurate is the information being used to market to customers individually? I recently jumped on the Oracle bluekai registry last week to find out. While there were some things that were correct about who I am, there are many things that were completely wrong.
Hivewyre Blog posts ranging from company culture, industry trends, our business, second party data and our awesome market insights analytical tool.
By David Allison, Hivewyre :: Demographics have been the quintessential pieces of information since the dawn of digital marketing and print and media advertising, before that, which drive ad buys and marketing game planning; but even with the cleanest of data, a good conversion rate is still fairly low for online retailers (2-4 percent average).
All copy written by David Allison
Athlinks Blog (Inspiring & Fun Posts)
Over 28K Facebook shares and over 47K pageviews Post about why those of us who finish towards the back of the race are no less of a runner or triathlete than the elites.
'Twas the night before race day, when all thro' the house, Not a person was stirring, not even my spouse; My singlet was hung by the dresser with care In the hopes that my marathon soon would be there. When out in the yard there arose such a clatter, I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.
I could say that those of us who do long distance running events are all highly motivated individuals, who simply have it in our DNA to spring out of bed like the Easter Bunny in April with all his brightly adorned eggs in tow, for our 2-5 hour weekend early morning runs, but that my fellow harriers would be simply untrue.
Over 650 Facebook shares and over 1.1K pageviews. Post looking at why many of us very "serious" runners may want to re-examine how these costumed runners approach a race.
Whether we want to admit it or not, even the most zen of us has that competitive spirit pop up from time to time. Usually this feeling occurs in the middle of a race we're participating in, but once in a while this urge to beat another runner comes to the surface during an innocuous training run.
Although there are many non-runners out there who think all of us runners will have bad knees if we keep running, this has never been medically proven at all. In fact, the beauty of endurance sports, as those of you who do them can attest, is that you can still improve your times as you get older.
Run and workout for sometimes hours. Have a positive and healthy body self-image. Have energy like a superhero. Be fearless. Plan when and where you'd be racing throughout the year. Run or workout at all. See your body in a positive light. Have an ounce of energy left. Are Fearless.
We all know the famous fable about the tortoise and the hare and how the tortoise prevails due to his patience and consistency. But how many of us take this slow and steady approach in our own training or when we return to running after an injury or a significant amount of time off?
You've been so focused for months, maybe even years with your endurance training - waking up early, eating right, hitting your personal goals and having a great time in the process; but, for whatever reason, you have had a severe lack of focus, which has been spiraling out of control for weeks and months now - you've lost your motivation to train.
Yes, I know saying you hate running is a pretty strong sentiment, but many of you triathletes out there have to admit that the running leg of your triathlon is your least favorite part of the race. How do I know? Because you have told me time-and-time again over the years.
In Part 1 of our blog post yesterday, we discussed reasons why sometimes you lose your motivation to train and gave some possible solutions to get you out of those training doldrums. Today we finish up the post in Part 2. You are trying to train, but there really doesn't seem like enough hours to get your workouts in.
With a New Year kicking off, many runners are setting their goals, making resolutions and planning out their race calendars for the year. Too often, these goals are focused solely on setting Personal Records (PRs) without a clear plan for attaining them.
Athlinks Blog (Equipment, Races & General Info)
Me to someone in the running community I know: We should run sometime soon. Running community person's usual response: Oh, no! You're too fast for me; I'd just slow you down. I am always both amused and slightly irritated by this response, which I have received too many times to count over the years as a runner.
Many of you got into running for a myriad of reasons: become physically fitter, clear your head, lose some weight, find an active social network of friends, etc. It would be pretty safe to say that the average adult runner is not a big fan of speed work.
Over 340 Facebook shares and over 2K pageviews. Post about whether endurance athletes still feel they deserve or want a finisher's medal.
Maybe you have an injury that has you out of competition for a while. Maybe you are thinking about doing your first 5K, sprint triathlon, obstacle race or cycling tour event, but still have not had the courage to sign up for one just yet.
This post isn't about what songs pump you up on your training run or ride. Nor is it some top-100 list of the best songs to workout to. No, this is more personal...more telling...more raw and honest. This my fellow endurance brethren and sistren is what song or songs, right now, describe where you are in your training.
I get asked this question all of the time: What shoes do you run in? My answer is usually with a chuckle: Me? Oh, I have worn almost everything? I'm lucky. I have a neutral strike. I then proceed to tell this person who has just asked me about running shoes, that there isn't just ONE shoe company that trumps all of the others.
If you're new to the endurance racing scene it may be a bit stressful to figure out what races to enter. Also, you feel you may not do so well or look silly out there on the course. R-E-L-A-X, not all races are the same.
PR, which in endurance circles stands for "Personal Record", or the best time an individual has done personally in a particular distance or race. This is something that many serious and even not-so-serious athletes try to achieve.
Maybe your significant other is supportive in your racing endeavors, but is not an endurance athlete and at times is not sure entirely why you love being on the roads for hours at a time. Well, a great way to get some buy-in from him/her is to plan a race somewhere that is great for both of you.
I know many of you in most parts of the country right now have no need for treadmills - the weather is perfect for running - not so for us out here in Phoenix, AZ. This time of year is what we call "triple-digits" season.
Although most of us out there are not trying to break any world records in our next race, some of us are looking to PR, or just simply finish the marathon/triathlon itself. One way to get an edge on the competition (even if the competition is only with yourself) is to go over the event race course, if possible.
When we are out on our bikes or pounding the pavement with our running shoes we sometimes feel, let's be honest, invincible. Whether we call it being in "the zone", "runner's high" or "cyclist's high", the point is sometimes when we are pedaling or running we are "in the groove", "crushing it" or cruising along, seemingly effortlessly, that we almost feel like the roads or trails are our personal domains for that moment in time.
So you just signed up for your first triathlon, half marathon, trail run, Spartan or mountain bike race and you're not sure whether you should train by yourself or find some people to share your training with from time to time.
If you want to track how you have been improving (or not improving, unfortunately) in the endurance events you have been racing in, then the days of you opening up your computer and inputting your race results into that spreadsheet you have had since 1999 are over - spreadsheets have been dead to us at Athlinks for some time now, in regards to race results.
I realize this idea of running without earbuds and music is close to endurance blasphemy as far as many of you are concerned, but hear me out. I'm not saying you should never run without music, but you may want to think about unplugging from time to time for a couple of reasons.
Athlinks Blog (Endurance Athletes)
Over 350 Facebook shares and over 2.5K pageviews. Post about how some of us who compete in endurance events need to have a more balanced life.
Since my mom has been in the hospital, I've been doing a lot of walking back and forth between her apartment in Hyde Park, Chicago (where I'm staying) and the University of Chicago Medical Center, where she is recovering.
Okay, so you've trained for months for your big race (marathon, half, Ironman, 10k, etc.) and you are antsy with 2-4 weeks before the event - what do you do? You do what is called a taper.
You've been doing endurance events for years now and have been having a blast, quite frankly. But lately, you feel like you have the time and/or the drive to up your endurance ante. People have been telling you for years now: If you took being an endurance athlete more seriously you'd be killing it!
Progress. What a loaded word. Depending on where you are along the endurance athletic spectrum, the answer will vary greatly. Try not to judge yourself against other endurance athletes - I know, a hard request to follow, but one which will serve you well throughout this endurance journey.
I hope most of you who are endurance athletes know the value of strength training, speed work, and a solid flexibility regimen (whether it be straight stretching, yoga, or pilates) in regards to your running performance. For those of you who say, " Dave, I barely have enough time to fit in my runs, swims and cycling.
It's going to be hot all over the country in a month or two (and even hotter out here in Phoenix, AZ), and for many it's when we start training for our fall half/full marathons or half/full Ironmans.
Do You Have Time for a Coach? I have coached individuals who have hired me to put together a program for them and I have either sat down with them for 30-45 minutes in person or discussed over the phone their goals, and then I go back to my home and put together a plan...
It used to be "back in the day" all an endurance athlete had was a local 5K or 10K to compete in. Today, there are almost too many endurance event types to choose from - road races, Ironmans, Half Ironmans, mud runs, sprint and olympic triathlons, obstacle races, urban runs, half marathons, marathons, trail races, endurance relays (road and trail), mountain bike races, century rides, duathlons, ultra marathons and track races.
This week I'm going to be part of the twelfth annual Carspondent.com Active Lifestyle Vehicle of the Year awards program. A fun program, which I've been invited to for the past 4 or 5 years, to judge cars in different categories for people who live an active lifestyle.
Athlinks Blog (Pacing)
So you are worried about what competition pace should be for your full or half marathon. You are worried that you are going to bonk at the 10- or 20-mile mark. How do you know how fast to run this goal race in the first place?
You enjoy running and you're looking to give back to the sport you love. Have you ever thought about being a race pacer for a marathon or half marathon? This is a very rewarding volunteer role, where you're helping throngs of people reach their particular time goal.
You have the GPS, the wrist chronograph, the heart rate monitor, and still you manage to go out 30 seconds a mile faster for your first couple of miles in any race you sign up for.
Athlinks Blog (Kids in Sports)
Let it be known that I have been running competitively since the age of 6 years old. At 7, I ran a 2:48 in the 880-yard run. At 8, I ran a 12:19 2-mile and a 21:11 5K on the road. At 9, I ran a 6:02 mile.
This is a topic that is near and dear to my heart. Although I love running (obviously) to this day still, if my mom hadn't pulled me out of the intense club track team I was on, I may have never continued running.
Athlinks Blog (Training)
Although we have all heard how people like Helen Keller, Leonardo Da Vinci, the Wright Brothers achieved amazing things in their lives; and they too only had 24-hours in their day, just like the rest of us, I sometimes don't find these comments quite as inspiring as they were probably intended to be.
For those of you who know me understand that I strongly believe in a tune-up race before your goal race. While I am competitive, this is not the sole reason I enjoy racing before my goal event.
When you're training for an important endurance event and you have a family, it can get downright challenging when trying to balance your family time and training time. On one hand, you don't want to miss, say, your daughter's soccer game Saturday morning, but you also need to get in your 70-mile bike ride to get ready for your upcoming triathlon.
I know it seems still a bit too early to start talking about fear and being scared with Halloween still over a month away; but when it comes to race preparation, fear can be your secret weapon.
We've all been there - frantically looking for our watch, GPS and/or heart rate monitor that we have misplaced because there is no way we could go for a run without these crucial training and timing tools...or could we?
Although I am currently involved in this self-initiated running experiment, which is sort of an anti-training-log system, I am still keeping a running log on various factors that go beyond simple time and distance. If you really wish to figure out what is going on with your training then you need to track what you are doing on a daily basis.
I hear some of you yelling at me this very instant through your computer screen or handheld device: David, there is absolutely no way running, swimming or cycling 5 minutes a day will make me a great endurance athlete! I couldn't agree with you more.
If I were going to generalize about the Type-A-ness of runners versus cyclists versus triathletes, I'd say that runners, on the whole, are the most relaxed and non-Type-A out of the three groups. That being said, runners need to put a big fat asterisk next to the term weekly mileage.
For the past 10 years now I have lived in Phoenix, Arizona - one of the hottest places to run in the U.S. for a good part of the year; but, I'm originally from back east and have also lived in climates like Chicago, which are pretty darn cold in winter months.
To race or not to race?...That is the question. Some of our Athlinks' members race 1-2 times per year for the local Turkey Trot or for that annual endurance event to raise money for such-and-such charity. Others of us race a bit more regularly.
Athlinks Blog (Half Marathon & Marathon Runs/Training)
It was 1996. I was a young man living in Chicago and had started running again after being abroad for the past two years teaching English in Prague, Czech Republic. My training was going well - running pretty solid times in 5Ks and 10Ks.
Over 350 Facebook shares and over 4K pageviews. Post about what U.S. marathons to run in my opinion.
I have already written in a previous post about what you should be doing days leading up to your marathon, but this post is not about that. These are 7 things I'd highly recommend you doing leading to your upcoming marathon.
One would think because I have run marathons and coached hundreds of people to race a marathon that I would be a huge proponent of running marathons...well, I am and I am not...Let me explain.
You've put in the 16-20 weeks of training for your upcoming marathon. You put in the long runs, the progression runs, the tempo runs and even did some speed work for good measure. You know when you should take that gel, salt tablet or sports/carb drink supplement throughout the race and you've been eating well.
With marathon season just around the corner, we thought we'd share some common training and racing no-nos that will get you into trouble come your marathon race day. This is a marathon people and it's pretty crucial for your health and safety that you did the adequate training.
It's that time of year again: Holiday parties at work, family gatherings, traveling and the seemingly endless supply of sugary sweets, alcohol and comfort foods that have been in front of you at every turn since Thanksgiving hit. And here you are right in the middle or end of your marathon training cycle for a big winter race.
Athlinks Blog (5K & 10K Runs/Training)
If you have been like me lately, you have been struggling to get in your running training, never mind trying to figure out how to get faster, due to unforeseen circumstances in your life. After nearly 11-solid weeks of traveling to and from Chicago to assist with my ailing mom, I finally landed home in early December for the foreseeable future, as my mom's health stabilized.
You are thinking about running your first 5K, but you're not a runner. You don't even like running, but you've read some articles about running, a few of your friends are trying to nudge you to sign up for this local 5k and it seems like an attainable goal.
You are not exactly a newbie, but you're no veteran either in the sport of running; but lately you have been thinking about registering for a race that is longer than the distance you usually run. That's great! Way to challenge yourself.
Articles in Print - Running & Endurance
Heartfelt article about how running with my son in the baby jogger brought me back to wanting to dream big again in my running.
Article about what you do after you have just finished a huge goal endurance race and now you need to get psyched up to start the training cycle again.
Article where I interviewed 5 endurance athletes on why they had selected the Ironman as their race of choice.
Article addressing cheating in all sports and wondering if anyone is not cheating these days.
Article to promote a local 5K race with a beginner's training plan included.
Article about the unspoken happenings around marathons
Humorous article about types of runners who are not pragmatic
Article about going to the track with the entire family
Article about why all athletes can benefit from participating in track and field.
Article about why one should race a mile more often
Article about reasons for and against running a marathon
Article about helping you locate the right running group for yourself
Article about doing more speed work in your training at any age
Online Articles & Blogs - Running & Endurance
Blog for endurance athletes of all levels. In the first 5 months we have managed to gain 80K users and 180K pageviews.
Article about what you should be doing as a new runner.
Article about how you can always find time for running if you want to.
Article about training and life balance as an endurance athlete.
Articles I have been quoted in as a coaching expert
Quoted as an expert coach in this article.
Quoted as an expert coach in this article
Quoted as an expert coach in this article
Social Media Ads
Quips about endurance sports to drive visibility of our Fan Pages and website.
Group of ads that helped grow our track club by 400% in 2014
Ads that publicized our track club's monthly 1-mile time trial fundraiser. Raised over $900 with these ads to help for equipment and uniforms
Group of ads that publicized our new Athlinks Blog and asked our members to subscribe to it.
Humorous ad to wish all our members a Happy Thanksgiving
25.2% Open Rate and 1.7% CTR
Website Content
Start You Own Music Camp MH Music Camps presents a most exciting music history camp program now available to other music teachers. Due to a lack of available material on the market, two piano teachers, Hunter Moncure and Sonia Haxton Tressler, have developed music camps on a variety of subjects in order to appeal to all piano/music students and teachers.
Youth track club in Phoenix, AZ. All content on site created by me.
Website for discount pool cleaning jets, popup heads, iInfloor pool cleaning products and replacement Kits. All content created by me.
Website for commercial property management and commercial Real estate brokerage services company. Updated content on home, about and careers pages.
Website for CPR training and emergency response training in Arizona. All content created by me.
Site for all levels of runners to get coaching help for upcoming races from 100 meters to marathons. All content created by me.
Website for an artist who specializes in creating warm, colorful and joyful environments for one's home or business. All content created by me.
Online Articles - Car Insurance Comparison.com
Weekly car insurance is designed for drivers with short term needs for coverage. We are in a fast paced world. People want flexibility in their lives, from what songs they want to purchase online, to the coffee they purchase every morning on their way to the office.
Warnings should not affect your car insurance rates at all. Although it is never a good thing to get a warning by a police officer for a moving violation, it's still better to get a bit of a tongue lashing by the man in blue, than to have him write out a ticket or citation to you due to your driving negligence.
Anti-lock brakes (ABS) definitely affect your insurance premiums for the better. Anti-lock brakes along with a few other safety features you can have on your car will, or should, lower your premiums quite a bit.
If you are driving and one of your tires blows out, it can be a scary and dangerous situation. Whether or not it is considered to be a car accident and, hence, covered by your car insurance policy depends on a number of different factors.
The average car insurance premiums for a 2011 GMC Sierra are in the neighborhood of $1,250 - $1,670 depending on what model of Sierra you do purchase. A 2008 GMC Sierra rates are a bit lower in the $1,120 - $1,460 range.
For the purposes of this article we are going define the top auto insurance companies by their overall market share and customer satisfaction rating gathered respectively from A.M. Best Company and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), JD Powers and Associates, and the Better Business Bureau.
Before all the other car insurance companies get their feelings hurt that Amica is named the best, we'll take a look at the criteria that puts Amica at the top of the best automobile insurance company list. This article will look at company ratings, marketing, customer feedback, and other factors that make Amica number one.
Although it would be in your best interest to always call the police when you get into a car accident, you only need to call the police if there has been major damage to the cars, persons, or property involved in the accident.
Whether or not your 4-wheeler requires car insurance (or ATV insurance) varies from state to state. And while some state laws may not require you to carry full coverage for your 4-wheeler, many of the states still require you hold some sort of liability coverage for your motorized off-terrain vehicle.