Run It Fast®

Here is the finisher’s medal fromt he Hillstrider’s March Madness Half Marathon that took place on March 18, 2012 in Cary, Illinois.

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[medal photo submitted by Left Hash. Follow on Twitter @LeftHash]

Beautiful finisher’s medal from the Germantown Half Marathon that was held on March 18, 2012 in Germantown, Tennessee.

Run It Fast – The Club member Leah Thorvilson was the female winner with a time of 1:16:37. Congrats to Leah!

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[medal photo submitted by Nicholas L. Norfolk. Follow him on Twitter @absolut_zer0]

Here is the finisher’s medal from the Fall Creek Falls Trail 50K that took place on March 17, 2012 in Fall Creek Falls State Park in Tennessee.

I believe the medal/wood was also given to finishers of the FCF Half Marathon that took place at the same time.

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[medal photo submitted by RIF #2 Naresh Kumar. Follow him on Twitter @iamarunr]

Here are some photos from the inaugural Savage Gulf Trail Marathon that was held on March 17, 2012 in Savage Gulf State Park in Tennessee.

The race lived up to it’s name. The marathon was barbaric, uncivilized, viscous, and merciless with boulder after boulder mixed in amongst rocky creek beds and hundreds of roots over the 26.2 mile course.

However, it is the most beautiful race I”ve done to date.  It has 10+ waterfalls along with 10-12 swinging bridges mixed in with over 5,000 of elevation gain and 5,000 ft of elevation loss as well.

[photos: joshua holmes]

Amy - before and during Little Rock

Amy Petty is running her first marathon on April 29, 2012. Every runner’s first marathon is special to them but this one holds deep meaning for Amy. You see, she is a survivor and this marathon will allow her to celebrate her life and the lives of 18 friends and coworkers.

In 1995, Amy was in the Federal building in Oklahoma City when it was bombed. She was trapped in the rubble for hours but she was one of the lucky ones. She survived. Instead of letting that dark day be a shadow over her life, she’s turned it around and come out stronger. She made the decision to LIVE that day. She’s lost 200 pounds (!!!) since then, started running, and is much healthier so she can enjoy the second chance she was given.

Amy was kind of enough to let me interview her and I have no doubt you will find her story as inspiring as I do!

***

RIF: First, let’s talk about running. When did you start running?

Amy: 2010

RIF: How many miles do you run per week?

Amy: 25 this week but 31 last week

RIF: What’s your favorite race so far?

Amy: Oklahoma City National Memorial Run to Remember

RIF: What’s your favorite race bling so far?

Amy: Little Rock Half Marathon Medal (Note: the after picture above is from the Little Rock Half which she ran on March 4th. Amy ran it in 2:24:28 and set a 47 minute PR! Congratulations Amy!!!)

RIF: What’s your favorite running moment?

Amy: I love early morning running when sky is just breaking with light.  It feels like a new day – a fresh clean start is beginning.

RIF: Now that we have the easy stuff out of the way, let’s dig a little deeper.  Why did you start running? 

Amy: Because I am a survivor of the Oklahoma City 1995 bombing I was invited to pass out medals to the finishers of the OKC National Memorial Marathon in 2009.  I didn’t have any runner friends and really didn’t have a clue about the sport so it was a brand new experience to work the finish line.  I was so moved with emotion watching all the different people; young, old, skinny, fat, able bodied, disabled, all nationalities, etc crossing the finish line.  I vowed at the finish line the following year I would run a half marathon to honor the 18 co-workers of mine who were killed in the bombing.

RIF: How did it feel in the beginning?

Amy: It was awful!!!  I could only jog for 10 seconds and then walk two minutes to recover.  I couldn’t figure out how to do it.  I immediately regretted telling everyone I was going to run to honor the loss of my friends.  I thought there could have been better ways to honor their memory and figured they were up in heaven laughing their butts off at me trying to run.

RIF: What made you keep going? Does that still drive you?

Amy: At first I kept going because of my deep personal commitment to honoring those lives lost.  I didn’t enjoy running and just had to push through.  I quit running after accomplishing the half marathon.  Then in 2011 decided I wanted to try it again.  This time I hired a coach to work with me.  Coach Mark Bravo (www.runbravo.com) was one of the best investments in running that I could have made.  I learned so much and actually began to love running not to mention dropping another 25 lbs.  I started at a 15 minute a mile pace (yes those power walkers were passing me up) and now can run 4 miles at a 10 minute a mile pace.  What drives me now is the desire to push myself farther, to keep my body in shape, and I love those endorphins!

RIF: What do you love/not love about running?

Amy: I struggle with being last or at the back of the pack on group runs. It really messes with my head to have an old guy who looks like he is barely running pass me up and then I realize that I am going even slower than he is.  I don’t let those feelings last long though, I think about all the losers still in bed that I am beating!  Better yet, I think about my former 350 lb self sitting on the couch eating ice cream and dying a slow death.  I am beating that fat girl even if I come in last.

I love the competition with myself.  I love hitting a PR!!  It seems on every long run I learn something new about myself.  I do a lot of deep thinking while I run. 

 RIF: What are your goals for 2012?

Amy: 26.2 miles at the OKC National Memorial Marathon Run to Remember!!  Then shift to cycling and ride 500 miles through the state of Oklahoma from the Texas border to the Kansas border.  Next will be the half ironman distance at the Redman Triathlon in August – YIKES! 70.3 miles….uh…what am I thinking?

RIF: If you could go back and give advice to your beginner running self, what would it be?

Amy: Invest the money in a running coach, trainer, club, or class.  If I would have done that I would have learned properly how to run/train from the beginning and would have had more emotional support.

RIF: One of your major accomplishments so far is losing 200 pounds! Congratulations! Can you tell us what the turning point for you was? When/how did you decided to lose the weight?

Amy: On April 19, 1995 at 9:02 a.m. I fell 3 floors and was buried alive under 10 feet of rubble when the bomb went off.  I was conscious the entire time and lots of time to reflect on my life and my priorities.  The rescuers had to leave me right after they found me because everyone thought there was a 2^nd bomb.  I knew what was happening so I had about 45 minutes of being buried alive and waiting to die when the next bomb went off.  I made many decisions on how I would live my life if I ever made it out alive.  Losing weight was one of them.  It took a few years to get through the trauma of that day but once the darkness lifted I began tackling the different issues in my life one at a time.

RIF: How long did it take to recover from your injuries? Does the trauma of the bombing still affect you?

Amy: I was in the hospital for 8 days with severe lacerations.  My biggest physical injury was my right leg had a portion removed but the bone was still intact.  The physical injuries were nothing compared to the mental and emotional trauma.  It took a few years just to get through the worst of it.  Even now, this time of year particularly I have my moments.

RIF: I cannot even come close to imagining what that must have been/is like for you but you created something positive out of this with your weight loss. How did you go about doing it?

Amy: I did everything!  Seriously, I think if you have a destructive habit you have to be open to try whatever it takes to get yourself free.   The definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over and expecting different results.  I had tried repeatedly to lose weight and couldn’t sustain the motivation.  I was so large at 350 plus having knee issues that I couldn’t move very well.  I researched bariatric solutions and settled on a procedure called a Gastric Sleeve.  Basically they removed ¾ of my stomach so that I can’t overeat in one particular meal.  However, I can eat often and I can eat high calorie foods so I still had to apply myself to lose weight.  Unfortunately, there is no miracle cure to losing weight.  Eat less and move more is the only real answer.

RIF: Did you have a lot of support?

Amy: It was a mixed bag.  I had lots of support but then there are always those that whether they realize it or not will try and sabotage your efforts because they want you to remain the same.  Ultimately your support and drive has to come from within.

RIF: Did you get frustrated along the way? How did you deal with it?

Amy: Heck yes I got frustrated and still do!  I have 5 more lbs that I would like to lose and it is true that the last bit is the hardest.  I sometimes fall off the wagon and binge.  I hate to admit that but it’s true.  That fat girl just lurks around the corner waiting for a chance to jump back so I have to stay on it constantly.  I keep myself positive by reading books like Momentum: 77 Observations Toward A Life Well Lived written by my running coach Mark Bravo.  I constantly feed my mind with the positive. 

RIF: Can you tell us a little about the physical/mental/emotional differences you feel now versus when you weighed 350? (for example, did you have health issues that are gone or now you see yourself as an athlete where you didn’t before…that kind of thing. I don’t think people get what it’s like to be that big).

Amy: At 350 lbs I was on blood pressure medicine, had terrible knees, and severe plantar fasciitis and could barely walk.  I couldn’t fit in a booth at a restaurant, needed a seat belt extender in my car, could only shop for clothes at one store in town, couldn’t tie my shoes,  couldn’t get down on the floor to play with my son etc.

Now?  No blood pressure issues and a resting heart rate of 48!  Knees are strong and no plantar fasciitis despite the miles I run.  I can shop for clothes anywhere except for the plus size stores!  Now my son has to try and keep up with me instead of the other way around and when he give me a hug…his arms can reach all the way around me!  The best part is being able to run, ride a bike, and swim!  I was never on any team sport and never had a clue there was an inner athlete lurking inside.  It is the best part of my life now.

RIF: That is so awesome! I love what you said about the hug from your son! Ok, back to a few more questions about running and your first marathon. Why did you decide to do the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon? Do you feel the emotions of running this marathon will help carry you through it?

Amy: The Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon is unlike any other marathon. It combines the intensely personal challenges of running a marathon with the emotion of a shared national tragedy. The OKC Marathon is not about runners, it is about life.  As I run this race I will see a banner for each of the 168 people killed along the race route.  I knew so many of these people and seeing their names as I run by will carry me through.  I will run celebrating my second chance at life while honoring the friends I lost.

RIF: Do you feel like your weight loss journey helped prepare you for the discipline of marathon training? Or the other way around?

Amy: Actually I think it was enduring over six hours of being buried alive and then fighting to get my life back for years afterwards that created a discipline for training and endurance.

RIF: I’m sure what you went thru was much harder than training for a marathon but what’s been the hardest part of training for you?

Amy: The first 20 mile run last Saturday was brutal.  I struggled the entire way. Let me share with you my journal entry during that run…

Mile 15: I see some people walking in front of me and I want to walk so badly but it won’t happen.  I can’t seem to control my performance but I am sure as hell not quitting or giving in.  I let myself think and remember what it was like to be buried alive, can’t see, can’t breathe, smelling that awful smell of death, knowing that I might die, having all those regrets….I really feel it and tell myself that this run pales in comparison to what I have already been through.  How I would have traded this day for that day in a heartbeat.  I pick up the pace.

RIF: What has the best part of training been?

Amy: I can best answer this by sharing my journal on the first training run we had this year that actually was on part of the marathon route…..

Mile 2.5: I see Presbyterian Hospital ahead.  Such a powerful emotion for me to see this hospital because 17 years ago this April 19th I spend eight days there recovering my my injuries after falling three floors in the Murrah Building and being trapped in the rubble for over six hours.  I remember looking out of the window that I am now gazing up at; and seeing all the cars on Lincoln with their headlights on in the middle of the day to show their support.  I found out 18 of my 33 co workers were killed while in that hospital.  The emotion is overwhelming and I look down to see I am running a 9 minute mile.  I am NOT a victim anymore. 

RIF: Finally, is there anything else you would like to share with our readers that you’ve learned from running, your weight loss, or surviving the bombing?

Amy: The biggest lesson I have learned through all of this is that we can’t always control what happens to us.  Life is not fair sometimes. But the one thing we can control is how we choose to respond to it and that truly is what makes the difference.

Amy Petty

***

Amy’s story is in incredible one of hard work, perseverence and hope. I am sure that her friends are watching her from heaven with big grins on their faces because they are happy and proud of what she has accomplished! She is absolutely correct that how we look at things really makes a difference. Whatever big “thing” you have on the horizon – whether it’s recovering from a tragedy, losing weight, or training for a marathon/ultra…or all of the above as in Amy’s case – our mental attitude will play a big part in that journey. A positive attitude makes the path a little smoother. I hope you have been inspired by Amy to make that one small (or BIG) change you’ve wanted to make in your life! Don’t wait for a second chance. Make that change now.

Thank you for sharing your story with our readers, Amy. Run It Fast wishes you the best of luck for the Oklahoma City Memorial and don’t forget…Run It Fast!

Amy exemplifies the Run It Fast attitude. Run It Fast is about leaving your comfort zone and trying new things, pushing your limits, boundaries, and being the best you can be, whether it be in running or in life.

We asked on Twitter (@runitfast) where you were running this weekend and 55 of you responded!

Good luck to you all this weekend and Run It Fast!

Joshua Holmes – Savage Gulf Trail Marathon. 4,500 ft of climb and put on park rangers that have no clue what they’re doing. Water every 9 miles 😉

Naresh Kumar – Fall Creek Falls 50K 🙂

OnTrack Fitness – 5 miles w our half mary grp at a local park.

Mystic – on the back country roads of fouborg holla

Emily Stacey – first race for the season with #LAC! 5k super excited!

Nicholas L. Norfolk – Running with a friend for his first half. #GermantownHalf

Reggie Dunn – Where are you running/racing this weekend?” L.A Marathon

Sean Lewis – Wabash College!

Katie Grant – I’ll be going for a run in Honolulu. Can’t wait! #girlyfatbet

Scott Stader – youth villages 5k in Jackson, Tn & Germantown, TN half marathon #staderdouble

Mandy F – st pats 5k..!!

Martyn Fisher – Offord, near St Neots, Cambridgeshire. An 18 mile road race.

Diego Eluchans – “Corrida Nocturna Luchetti”, Santiago, Chile.

Yaz – Mmsha Mishrif chinna

Fabrizio Colella – Roma marathon :))

Christy Bowers – Dash Down Greenville in Dallas!

Lynsey Rimmer – Liverpool half marathon!

Rohnny Petitjean – A long the river Meuse in Liège.

Amber Goetz – Beer Run 5 miler in Greensboro NC 🙂 #HappyStPattysDay

Ashley – running by La Tour Eiffel in Paris! #springbreak

Kiki – Three races this weekend – Rhodes City Run 10K in Louisville, KY on Saturday morning, followed by Run for the Gold 3K in Frankfort, KY Saturday evening; then have indoor triathlon on Sunday in Jeffersonville, IN

Mary Jane Schriver – Shamrock Shuffle 1/2 marathon, Harmony PA.

Andy Scott – Rocket Run 10-miler

Stacy L. – #NYCHalf! It’s finally here! Wheeee!

Willie Way – Las Vegas Six Tunnels Half Marathon – Saturday 17th.

Michelle Mitchell – Moscow University Indoor Championships. Speedwork after a high volume block:) 100k Worlds and Euros in a month!

E.B. – Georgia Half Marathon, Atlanta

Sarah Gipe – my family is in the Heart Run/Walk in Cinci, OH in honor of my Mom who is a heart attack survivor. We’re blessed she is with us.

Colene Lord – 8k Shamrock Run in Portland, OR!! After we hit up some college hoops on Saturday, of course!!

Sid Wegener – Wild Goose State Trail in Dodge County, WI.

Kevin Ronayne – Long runs in central MA this weekend

Ms. Swan – 20mi w/ #RunningExcels running grp #Chicago #CARA#marathontraining

Left Hash – Cary March Madness Half Marathon.

telisa – USA marathon in DC

GLITZANDBLITZ – woke up and ran a quick 1.6 miles before work.#babysteps

titeyogarunner – ultrabericus.it 1st #ultratrail of the season. Tomorrow, Vicenza Hills, Italy. 65k, +2550m. In the sun, for once!

Mark Shipley – Running the JC Stone 50K

Freda Miller – Nashville. Springer Mountain Farms 5K.

Ace – Irish Jig 5K in Grand Rapids

kelli – Louisville, KY – Rodes City Run 10k

TriStateSportsNut – NYC 1/2….sunday !!!!

Jason Perdew – Kingdom of Bahrain, around Al Amwaj Islands.

Jared Friesen – 18 mile training run on still very snow packed trails in Anchorage.

Grace Hunsberger – Shamrock 10k in Yorktown, Indiana, to benefit the recent tornado victims in our area. @Ms_Yale

Sambeaux WhoDat – In between kids soccer and baseball games. 2 mile loop around the park of game fields in Lake Charles LA.

Elizabeth Kalifeh – ga Publix 1/2 marathon in Atlanta!

Angie Gerber – Tackling our first 20 mile training run on the Terwiliger hills in Portland, Oregon! Yahoo!

Michael Redlich –  I am #running the @RunRocknRoll #RnRUSA#halfmarathon this weekend in Washington, D.C. with my neighbor, Richard.

Nicole – @lamarathon !! And in the rain again apparently

BeardRunJax – Skipping St. Patty’s 10k on Saturday, for a long run on Sunday. #SundayRunday

Josh Liggett – doing the Portland shamrock run 15k.

Larry Medina – running my first @NYRRLive #NYCHalf. Looking forward to running in the streets of manhattan.

Can’t Stop Endurance – Training in Memphis but cheering #CantStop Endurance runners at Shamrock Marathon, NYC 1/2, Germantown 1/2, RnR USA!

Leah Pate – Through the heart of downtown, along the Sunset Strip, to Santa Monica for the LA MARATHON!!!!!!

Cameron Adamson – shamrock half! 5000 feet up- at the base of the Wasatch mountains, some good hills and a humbling early season tuneup race!

___________

I really like this medal. It’s fresh and resembles a gingerbread cookie with icing. It looks almost edible. That would be a fun challenge to put upon someone finishing a marathon…give them a medal that is a cookie and see how many would still have a medal by the time they got home from the race.

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[medal photo submitted by Nadia Ruiz Gonzales. Follow her on Facebook on her Fan Page]

A simple video of a kid flipping through flashcards, written in Sharpie, with several very important and helpful tips for running your first marathon or half marathon.

Hat tip to Antonio Gonzalez.

[This post is part of a series where we ask runners from all over the world what some of their favorite marathon and ultramarathon races have been.]

“Running has given me an excuse to travel and one race usually leads to  another.  Listed below are some of my favorites.” – John O’Regan

1.  Spartathlon: This must be the toughest and most satisfying ultra Marathon in the world because of its unique history and background.  The thought of this race scared be as I knew by the consistently high dropout rate of 70% that the chances of not finishing were quite high but fear of failure isn’t a good enough reason not to do something you really want to do.  This race traces the footsteps of Pheidippides as he ran from Athens to Sparta to seek help from the Spartan Army in the battle of Marathon.

2. Antarctic Ice Marathon, Patriot Hills, Antarctica:  When I heard rumours of a Marathon to be held on mainland Antarctica.  Stepping off the plane onto the ice runway and feeling the cold while taking in an incredible vista is a memory that will stay with me forever.  Running a Marathon in Antarctica made me want to run a Marathon on each of the 7 Continents.

3.  North Pole:  When I heard there were plans for a Marathon at the North Pole my first thought were, how do I enter?  To add to the experience I ran this while guiding a blind runner ‘Mark Pollock’.  To say it was tough is an understatement but it was very rewarding and I’d love to go back.

4.  Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, Peru:  It takes 4-5 days to do this trek but running the Marathon gives you the opportunity to cover the trek in less than 1 day.  Along the way you pass many interesting sights before the final approach to Machu Picchu through the Sun Gates.  The final Vista before you ascend to the finish line is enough to stop you in your tracks and makes the effort worthwhile.

5.  Tenzing Hillary Everest Marathon, Nepal:  You can’t have the lowest without the highest and that’s what made me choose this race.  It starts at the foot of the Khumbu Icefall just above Everest Base Camp and finishes 26.2 miles down the valley in Namche Bazzar.

6.  Dead Sea Ultra, Jordan:  With the lowest finishing line in the world I just had to do this one and to top it off you get to relax with a dip in the Dead Sea.  Another highlight of this race was an opportunity to visit Petra which then became one of the 7 Wonders of the World.  The accidental tourist.

7.  Marathon des Sables, Morocco: Probably the most famous Ultra in the world, 6 stages over 7 days covering 150 Miles in the Sahara Desert and my first introduction to Ultra Running.  This race taught me that anything is possible once put the work in and it’s a race to need to experience rather than read about.

8.  Run Connemara 80K, Ireland:  A trail race in the west of Ireland that also doubled as the 2011 Trail World Championships.  One of the most amazing races I’ve ever ran which took in all aspects of the Irish countryside.  It was a new experience and sometimes you forget what’s on your own doorstep and the grass isn’t alway greener on the other side.  Think about and appreciate what you have before you look for more.

9.  North Face 100K, Australia: 100K through the Blue Mountains in Sydney.  This is an opportunity to see the one of Australia’s natural wonders without feeling like a tourist.

10.  Yukon Arctic Ultra, Yukon Territory, Canada: 100 Miles along the Dawson trail following in the wake of the famous Yukon Quest dog sleigh race.  Competitors haul their required kit and must remain self sufficient throughout.  There’s also a longer option of 300 Miles and 460 Miles. Thinking back I wish I had signed up for the longer race but I wasn’t feeling that way at mile 90J

11. Energia Belfast 24-hr Race:  We all want to know how fast we can run and this race gives you the opportunity to find out how far you can run.  Unlike a regular race where you cover a set distance in the fastest possible time in a 24-hr race you try cover the maximum distance in a set time.  This is a true test of mental and physical strength and you will soon discover your weaknesses.

12.  Donadea 50K, Ireland:  A very enjoyable trail race through 243 hectares of mixed woodland with plenty of squirrels to cheer you on.  The race consists of 10 * 5K loops but the route is so interesting you never get bored.

13.  Run Winschoten 100K, The Netherlands:  I did this race when it doubled as the World Championships and it consisted of 10 * 10K laps through the suburbs of Winschoten.  The course was almost pancake flat and all the locals embrace the event giving it an almost party type atmosphere.

14.  Celtic 100K, Ireland:  This was my first introduction to the 100K distance and it consisted of almost 50 laps along Salthill Promenade in Co.Galway.  The thoughts of running so many laps was slightly overwhelming at the start but this race taught be a lot about the benefits of proper pacing and how to control the mind.

15.  Self Transcendence 100K, Scotland: This race took me to the historic town of Perth in the heart of Scotland.  A flat looped course along the banks of the river Tay which to me was a memorable distraction.  The Tay is a world famous salmon fishing river and I spent most of the race looking into the water in the hope of seeing a fish jumping.

16.  Boddington 100K, England:  A small friendly race in the English countryside and also includes 50k and marathon options.

17.  Dublin, Ireland:  My hometown Marathon and one that I’m proud to say is known as the Friendly Marathon.  This was my first ever race and one I always look forward to doing and it feels so different every time because it just keeps getting better.

18.  London, England:  I have ran this race on a few occasions as part of the Runner’s World Pacing Team.   I seldom do the same race twice but make an exception for London because of the carnival type atmosphere on race day.

19.  Dingle, Ireland:  A very scenic Marathon which follows the Dingle Peninsula.  I found it hard not stopping during this race as the views are breathtaking .  If you need an excuse to visit Ireland, this is it.

20.  Longford.  A relatively flat Marathon which takes in 3 counties and although quiet along the course it has a great finish.  At times you could almost forget you’re running a race and sometimes that can be nice.  I was the first entrant in the first Longford Marathon and wore race No1, for that reason more than any I will always remember this one.

“Some experiences should be remembered and not repeated and I seldom do the same race twice but if I was asked and given the opportunity to run one of my big races again it would be the Antarctic Ice Marathon.”

– John O’Regan

Here is the finisher’s belt buckle from the Land Between the Lakes 50 Mile & 60K Trail Races that were held on March 10, 2012 in Grand Rivers, Kentucky.

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RELATED: Land Between the Lakes Marathon Medal (2012)