Run It Fast®

This is the medal for runDisney’s Castaway Cay 5K.

The Castaway Cay 5K is held during Disney cruises that stop at Castaway Cay. The race is free…well, except for the price of the cruise…but you get a bib and a medal and can buy a shirt if you would like one. Plus, there’s the whole getting to run on a tropical island thing!

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[Medal submitted by RIF #207 Jorge Angel. Follow on on Twitter @777jaah]

This is the medal for the Biggest Loser Half Marathon that was held on December 30, 2012 in Panama City Beach, Florida.

Cool how the medal’s ribbon is a measuring tape to tie in with the show.

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[Marathon medal photo submitted by RIF #192 Leigh Marsh. Follow her on Twitter @MsPrincessLeigh]

This is the medal for the Trail of Fears: The Day After the End of  the World Elimination Race that was held on December 22, 2012 in Jackson, Tennessee.

Love, love, love this medal. The detail is awesome and the “ribbon” is perfect for it!

Congratulations to RIF #65 Jonathan Harrison who was the Last Man Standing and won the Trail of Fears by completing 16 loops for a total of 68.8 miles! He received the beautiful buckle at the top for his first place finish.

Jonathan’s Trail of Fears Race Report

Inaugural Trail of FearsElimination Race Results

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[Medal photo submitted by RIF #65 Jonathan Harrison – follow him on Twitter @jdharrison37]

RIF #185 David Pharr

This week’s Run It Fast – The Club profile is #185 David Pharr. David’s running resume includes just completing his first 50 Miler AND finishing it 38 minutes under his goal time and running in a blue dress with a crown. Both feats show he’s got guts!

Intrigued? Meet David aka Lady Liberty:

INFO

Name: David J. Pharr
RIF #: 185
Twitter: @davidpharr
Facebook: www.facebook.com/dpharrside

STATS

Years Running: 3 years
Favorite Race Distance: Marathon or more
Favorite PR: Any PR is my favorite
Favorite Race: Currently my last one, Lookout Mtn 50
Favorite Bling: Myrtle Beach Marathon

Next Race: Probably the Mill Stone 50k in Fort Mill, SC
What Makes You FEEL Fast?: Beautiful morning on a country road with some great tunes.

FUN RUNNING QUESTIONS

Who inspires your running and why?
This is a difficult question because it has many answers. My dad was a runner in college (even bought a lifetime subscription to a little start up magazine called Runner’s World back in the 70’s) and continued when I was a little kid. In fact he surprised me one time when I was 12 or 13 that he had entered me in a local 5k. It was the first and only race I ran till 2010. But I attended many of his 5k’s and 10k’s, holding his keys and waiting at the finish. He always told me that if I keep running that eventually I would “love it.” However it took over ten years past that statement before I loved it. My college roommate, Nathan Judd RIF#166 , also encouraged me to start running and has been a great race buddy over the past year. Reading Dean’s The Ultramarathon Man caused me to be fascinated with the thought of what a human can do with running (however at the time I never dreamed of running a marathon). I receive inspiration by knowing that I have inspired others to fitness/running goals. My family has been the constant inspiration though. I started running because I wanted them to have a healthy dad that wasn’t 100lbs overweight and on his way to an early death or heart disease. Still everyday when I lace up my kicks I think about those I love and making myself better for them.

If you could go for a run with any famous person (living or dead), who would it be and why?
Running with Dean Karnazes would be pretty awesome. I entered a contest once for the chance…but didn’t win.

What’s the most beautiful place that you’ve run?
David, Panama was a beautiful and neat experience.

Which of your running routes makes you the happiest and why?
There are several routes around my town of Boiling Springs that are special. Some because of things that happened on them (good training runs, or firsts), others because of how certain things were “hard” when I first started out.

Have you ever worn a costume during a race? What was it and for what race? If not, would you?
Yes…I have worn a “Lady Liberty Outfit” for 2 or 3 different races. I have some buddies that own Liberty Tax Franchises and they paid for my race fees if I would run in the outfit. People give some great looks when a 6′ 4″ Lady Liberty passes them in a race.

What is your favorite go-to pre-race meal?
Ever since I have switched my diet to Paleo it has been ribs and sweet potato fries.

What is the thing you splurge on after a race?
Chocolate Milk Shakes and Pizza.

Why do you race?
I race so I will train hard. I race so that I know if I trained hard enough. I race for the joy of making my training pay off.

Big races or small races? And why?
The biggest race I ran in was the Country Music Marathon in Nashville, I did not enjoy all the people. The smallest race was a local 5k of under 50 people that I got 3rd in. So I prefer somewhere in between.

What is the one piece of running gear you can’t leave the house without?
If you see me running, I am always wearing my garmin, my road id, an ipod and carrying a Camelbak handheld.

What’s your pre-race routine?
Selecting playlist, dynamic stretching, and a visit to the porta-potty.

What running moment are you most proud of?
Most recently completing my first 50 miler and beating my goal time by nearly 40 mins.

If you can’t run, you’re __dead or close to it______?

Finally, is there anything else you would like the rest of the club?
I started running mainly to lose weight. Back in June of 09 I was over 310lbs. I was sick of being fat and started working out and running, although I couldn’t do a full mile on the treadmill without stopping. I quickly dropped 20lbs just by increasing activity. I discovered the more I ran the more weight I loss, meaning that I was going to start running more. By Nov of 09 I set a goal to run 100 miles that month and ran 106. Then in December in hopes to fight off the holiday weight gain and the urge to stop working out/running, I decided I was going to run 2 miles everyday for 100 days. I started on December 1, 2009 this Dec. 1st I celebrated 3 years of that streak and am still going.

Before and After David's 1st marathon 2010

***

I’m not sure what I give David more credit for: running as Lady Liberty or losing weight and getting back into shape! But seriously, I can see why David inspires so many people. He’s accomplished a lot in a short time and his transformation is pretty darn cool. He obviously takes running seriously and works hard but also has a sense of humor about it so I’m sure he will have great success in the future! He’s a great example of RIF – The Club…someone who goes farther and faster than he ever thought he could. It’s not about being faster or better than anyone else. It’s all about being the best you/runner that you can be and David has that figured out. 🙂

Thank  you for sharing with us David and I LOVE the Lady Liberty photo! Good luck with the Mill Stone 50K!

If you’d like to join Run It Fast – The Club or would like more information about it, please click this link:

Run It Fast – The Club (JOIN TODAY)

[All photos submitted by David Pharr]

This is the medal for the Mile Cup that was held on December 23, 2012 in Russia.

Congratulations to RIF #133 Michelle who took 3rd in her age group at the indoor mile! Here is a photo of the back.

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[medal photos submitted by RIF #133 Michelle Mitchell – follow her on Twitter @runnerchickey]

This is the medal for End of the World 5K that was held on December 21, 2012 in Nags Head, North Carolina.

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[Medal photo submitted by Bill Jordan. Follow him on Twitter @billjordan4]

RIF #190 John, RIF #159 Diane, and RIF #153 Justin

The year is almost over and WOW…Run It Fast – The Club members have done a LOT of racing! They have submitted 23,263.12 race miles thru November for 2012. They have almost raced their way around the world (and they probably have since not all members have submitted their points…ahem!)! Kind of mind boggling when you think about it but also very, very cool and inspiring.

RIF #194 Steve Hughes, a racing machine, has a seemingly insurmountable lead thru November with 2182.6 points! RIF #159 Diane Bolton is in 2nd place with 1616.51 points and RIF #190 John Kent Leighton is still in 3rd with 1437.98 points.

The Men’s Leaderboard is the same as the Overall Leaderboard for the first two spots with RIF #1 Joshua Holmes in 3rd (1405.9 points) to round out the top 3. Joshua is right on John’s heels in points so that could change by the end of the year!

Diane is leading the women and she is followed by new RIF – The Club member RIF #218 Carol Goslin in 2nd (1096.6)  and RIF #124 Michelle Walker in 3rd (696.7 points).

Not only are 3rd and 4th really close in points but so are 5th and 6th! One more month to go but anything can happen! Who will come out on top? Here are the complete standings through November 2012:

Top Ten Overall
1.   Steve Hughes – 2182.6  (RIF #194)
2.   Diane Bolton – 1616.51  (RIF #159)
3.   John Kent Leighton – 1437.98  (RIF #190)
4.   Joshua Holmes – 1405.9  (RIF #1)
5.   Hideki Kinoshita – 1101.4  (RIF #88)
6.   Carol Goslin – 1096.6  (RIF #218)
7.   Michelle Walker – 696.7  (RIF #124)
8.   Heather Shoemaker – 680.9  (RIF #44)
9.   Nadia Ruiz Gonzales – 561.5  (RIF #69)
10.   Scott Stader – 514.9  (RIF #40)
 
Men’s Leaderboard
1.   Steve Hughes – 2182.6  (RIF #194)
2.   John Kent Leighton – 1437.98  (RIF #190)
3.   Joshua Holmes – 1405.9  (RIF #1)
4.   Hideki Kinoshita – 1101.4  (RIF #88)
5.   Scott Stader – 514.9  (RIF #40)
6.   Alvin Lee – 460.2  (RIF #30)
7.   Danny Staggs – 440.9  (RIF #186)
8.   Nicholas Norfolk – 398.8  (RIF #116)
9.   Jason Howard – 379.9  (RIF #150)
10.   David Wingard – 365.4  (RIF #101)
11.   Rick Thiounn – 299.9  (RIF #111)
12.   Rick Jarvis – 296.8  (RIF #18)
13.   Daniel Escue – 290.25  (RIF #187)
14.   Mark Watson – 244.9  (RIF #173)
15.   Chris Estes – 226.2  (RIF #151)
16.   David Donald – 203.96  (RIF #54)
17.   Perry Ligon – 193  (RIF #146)
18.   Jonathan Bobbitt – 180.6  (RIF #3)
19.   Dennis Arriaga – 176.26  (RIF #140)
20.   Wade Anderson – 170.6  (RIF #22)
21.   Rodrigo Jiménez – 167.2  (RIF #203)
22.   Kevin Leathers – 143  (RIF #12)
23.   Trent Rosenbloom – 141.6  (RIF #57)
24.   David Pharr – 128.2  (RIF #185)
25.   Winston Trice – 126.4  (RIF #29)
26.   Greg Smith – 118.2  (RIF #168)
27.   Robin Robbins – 115.9  (RIF #33)
28.   Steven Reagan – 113.62  (RIF #157)
29.   Mark Sikkila – 113.4  (RIF #108)
30.   Kevin Ronayne – 106.3  (RIF #11)
31.   Josh Liggett – 102.52  (RIF #147)
32.   Nathan Bass – 97.9  (RIF #174)
33.   James Krenis – 83.6  (RIF #67)
34.   Naresh Kumar – 83.4  (RIF #2)
35.   John Hudson – 79.6  (RIF #63)
36.   Brian Wooldridge – 77.9  (RIF #141)
37.   Victor Fleitas – 71.12  (RIF #21)
38.   Scott Lochridge – 65.5  (RIF #32)
39.   Stewart Crouch – 64.8  (RIF #89)
40.   JD Leman – 39.3  (RIF #139)
41.   Scott Gatlin – 29.3  (RIF #80)
42.   Scott Gorski – 25.5  (RIF #107)
43.   Chris Nelson – 19.3  (RIF #135)
44.   Patrick Johnson – 10  (RIF #87)
 
Women’s Leaderboard
1.   Diane Bolton – 1616.51  (RIF #159)
2.   Carol Goslin – 1096.6  (RIF #218)
3.   Michelle Walker – 696.7  (RIF #124)
4.   Heather Shoemaker – 680.9  (RIF #44)
5.   Nadia Ruiz Gonzales – 561.5  (RIF #69)
6.   Lisa Gonzales – 514  (RIF #5)
7.   Shannon Burke – 498.93  (RIF #171)
8.   Laura Raeder – 491.1  (RIF #20)
9.   Mikki Trujillo – 461.9  (RIF #13)
10.   Emily Conley – 426.4  (RIF #24)
11.   Robin Mancinelli – 413.8  (RIF #134)
12.   Alicia Eno – 382.3  (RIF #126)
13.   Michelle Mitchell – 357.2  (RIF #133)
14.   Shannon McGinn – 333  (RIF #46)
15.   Leigh Marsh – 306.5  (RIF #192)
16.   Marlene Deem – 265  (RIF #189)
17.   Jennifer Whitley – 184.9  (RIF #160)
18.   Donna Pittman – 147.2  (RIF #181)
19.   Marj Mitchell – 136.7  (RIF #4)
20.   Christy Bowers – 121.5  (RIF #60)
21.   Daniela Obregon – 107.7  (RIF #49)
22.   Amber Goetz-Bouchard – 105.98  (RIF #15)
23.   Nicole Knutson – 104.8  (RIF #47)
24.   Lisa Edwards – 58  (RIF #122)
25.   Natalie Torres – 42.4  (RIF #72)
26.   Meredith Yox – 40.2  (RIF #128)
27.   Debra Jacildo – 17.39  (RIF #98)

Details on joining Run It Fast – The Club

[Extreme Racer points are rewarded per each racing mile completed. Example: marathon = 26.2 points, half marathon 13.1 points, etc.]

[photo from Diane Bolton]

These are the medals that RIF #133 Michelle won at the Big 6 Masters Meet in Russia on December 16th, 2012.

Congratulations to Michelle for taking 2nd in the 800 and 1st in the 3000! Here’s the back of the medals:

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[medal photo submitted by RIF #133 Michelle Mitchell – follow her on Twitter @runnerchickey]

This is the medal for the TRI-2b-Tuff Challenge the took place over 3 months in 2012 in Florida.

The medal is given to runners who complete the Jacksonville Marine Corp Half Marathon, the Distance Classic Half Marathon, and the Jacksonville Bank Half Marathon in 3 months.

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[Medal photo submitted by E. Smith.  Follow him on Twitter @beardrunjax]

This is the medal for the Lookout Mountain 50 Mile Trail Race that was held on December 15, 2012 in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Congratulations to RIF #166 Nathan Judd, RIF #185 David Pharr, and RIF #83 Brad Box who all did their first 50 Miler there! Here’s a photo of Nathan and David before the race with RIF #1 Joshua Holmes (who shaved 2.5 hours off his previous time there) and RIF #65 Jonathan Harrison (who crewed).

RIF Club Members rocked it! Congratulations everyone!

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[Medal photo submitted by RIF #166 Nathan Judd – follow him on Twitter @Beukdeup]