Run It Fast®

This is the medal for the Reindeer Run Half Marathon that was held on December 2, 2012 in Fernandina Beach, Florida.

Love the shoes hanging from the antler. Another cute Christmas medal! Can’t wait til I do my Christmas races.

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[Medal photo submitted by Melissa – follow him on Twitter @MelRUNStheworld]

There were 60+ medals submitted to the Bling Case in October! What a month! I had no idea October would be such a popular race month. Let me tell you, it was hard to narrow it down. The best I could do was narrow it down to 25 medals. I chose them because they either were great representations of their race (like the Hershey Half Marathon Medal) or they had a unique shape (like the Yellowstone-Teton 100 Mile Buckle), or they were unique (like the Showdown Half Marathon Medal that let the participants choose the color of their medal), or they were just plain fun (the Halloween medals especially)! Good luck picking a favorite! I have no idea which one I’m going to vote for yet.

Anyway…the medal chosen as the Best Race Medal for October 2012 will be included in the contest for the Best Race Medal of 2012 at the end of the year. Oh, and the September Best Medal 2012 Vote is still going on so you have 2 more weeks to cast your vote for your favorite September medal if you haven’t done so already.

The Best Race Medal winners so far this year:
January – Inaugural Louisiana Marathon Medal 2012 
February – Surf City Marathon Medal 2012
March – Rock ‘n’ Roll New Orleans Half Marathon Medal 2012
April – Flying Pirate Half Marathon Medal 2012
May – Safari Park Half Marathon Medal 2012
June – Navy Ten Nautical Miler Medal 2012
July – Sogonapmit Marathon Medal 2012
August – North Country Run Medal (2012)

Vote for your favorite October 2012 race medal:

Thanks for voting!

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

RIF #181 Donna as an honorary Hatfield at the Hatfield McCoy Marathon

Time for another Run It Fast – The Club profile! This week, we are spotlighting RIF #181 Donna Pittman. I met Donna at the Flying Monkey Marathon earlier this month and we got to run for a little while together which I really enjoyed. The Flying Monkey Marathon is hard enough but Donna had a little mishap during it that made it even more challenging but she survived…I mean, finished and got her first Monkey kill. Read her “don’t” below to read all about it!

Meet Donna:

INFO
Name: Donna Pittman
RIF #: 181
Blog: www.themommyminute.blogspot.com
Facebook: Donna Johnson Pittman

STATS
Years Running: 5.5 years
Favorite Race Distance: 13.1
Favorite PR: Kentucky Derby Marathon
Favorite Race: Oak Barrel Half Marathon
Favorite Bling: Hatfield-McCoy Marathon finisher’s plaque in a mason jar.
Next Race: My first trail marathon at Land Between the Lakes in Kentucky on March 9.
What Makes You FEEL Fast?: Finishing strong and when I do tiny races and come out with an age group placement.

FUN RUNNING QUESTIONS
Who inspires your running and why?
The members of this RIF Club inspire me daily. I love how so many are “outside the box” runners completing extreme challenges in terms of distances, back-to-back races, running on trails and up mountains. You all search out adventure, not just another 5K PR, and I need more people like that in my life.

What is the strangest/funniest thing you’ve ever seen while running?
The strangest thing I’ve ever DONE on a run was at the Run Under the Stars in June of this year. I guess because it is a night race or because I overloaded on sodium, my feet swelled to the point that my shoes no longer fit by mile 13. I had huge blisters and all my toenails hurt. I thought I was going to have to finish in flip flops. Then I figured if MY shoes didn’t fit, why not try someone else’s? My friend James had already run about 20 miles in his shoes and was switching to fresh ones. So, I put on his hot, sweaty men’s shoes three sizes too big and completed my first 50K in them. My friends said I looked like I was running in clown shoes, but hey, whatever works.

Which of your running routes makes you the happiest and why?
My happy place is the Bicentennial Trail in Ashland City, TN. It is 17 minutes from my house. On one side, it is a four-mile paved path along the river. There is an old wooden bridge to cross and even a little waterfall in one spot. The other side is a dirt road/trail along the river for a few miles, then I follow the road through a campground, beside a little beach, and past Cheatham Dam. It’s where I discovered long-distance running. The first time I ever ran 13.1 miles was there. 6. Have you ever worn a costume during a race? What was it and for what race? If not, would you?

Why do you race?
Well, certainly not to win! I love being a part of the community of runners. That camaraderie is my favorite part. I talk to people in port-o-john lines. I initiate conversations on the course. I stay afterwards just hanging out. I enjoy spending time with my old friends and make new ones. In two of my five marathons, I’ve made a friend around mile 13 and stayed with him/her until the end. We shared our life stories (at my pace, we are talking for 2+ hours….), but most importantly, we shared the suffering. Suffering shared is so much better than suffering alone. I do races for fun, mostly, but a few times a year, I go all out to see what my body can do. I’ve only “left it all out there” a couple of times though. I need to do that more often.

What was your biggest “don’t” of a race?
Falling down at the 10.7 mark of the Flying Monkey Marathon is my biggest “don’t.” I had never fallen on pavement or a trail before. One minute I was talking to Lisa Gonzales, the next minute I was looking at sky. I stepped in a pothole in the asphalt, rolled my left ankle, and went down hard on the right side. I sprained my ankle and my wrist. Then I had to run 15.5 more miles. But, I figure the Monkey was going to hurt anyway…..

What running moment are you most proud of?
The race I’m most proud of is the April 2012 Kentucky Derby Marathon. I trained hard, studied the course, and wrote a detailed race plan of what pace when. I even wrote my goal splits in Sharpie on my arm for miles 13, 16, 20, 23, and 25. I executed my plan exactly, ran negative splits, and finished 3 minutes ahead of my “best-case scenario” goal. It was a nine-minute PR, and I definitely left it all out there. Those last couple of miles hurt, but were my fastest of the day.

Finally, we asked Donna if there was anything else she would like the rest of the club to know and that is what she had to share:
When I started running in 2006, I absolutely fell in love. Running changed my life. I knew I had to share this amazing experience with others, so I became a RRCA certified running coach. Over the last three years, I’ve coached aspiring runners ages 5-12, led two Couch to 5K training groups, and have helped 122 runners and run/walkers cross their first half-marathon finish line. As a coach, I’ve discovered that most people just need someone to believe in them. I love sharing my passion with others!

***

Donna said she admires RIF – The Club members for being ” “outside the box” runners ” but I think she shows a lot of that herself…like wearing “clown shoes” so she can keep running at the Run Under The Stars race (a timed, loop race). She also obviously has a LOT of determination to not quit after spraining her ankle while running the Flying Monkey. She passed me later on in the race and I had no idea that she was hurting like that! I admire Donna for her guts, her outside the box thinking, and her willingness to help other runners and give back! Thanks for sharing Donna! Good luck with your next race and…Run It Fast!

I am seeing an awesome trend while doing these profiles of Run It Fast – The Club members. So many of them are helping others and giving back to the running community and I think that’s what makes it such a great club. It is so cool to have so many supportive and encouraging runners help each other and push each other to be the best we can be!

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 Donna Pittman]

This is the medal for the Space Coast Marathon that was held on November 25, 2012 in Cocoa, Florida.

Awesome medal! Love the shuttle and the stars and the planets. Shiny bling well worth a marathon effort!

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[Medal photo submitted by RIF #156 Susanne McDowell]

This is the medal for the Standard Chartered Bangkok Half Marathon that was held on November 18, 2012 in Bangkok, Thailand.

Here is another view of the marathon medal:

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[medal photos submitted by Natalia Tanyadji – follow her on Twitter @nataliatanyadji and by Vincent Morand – follow him on Twitter @vincent_morand]

This is the medal for the Schaumburg Half Marathon & 5K Turkey Trot that was held on November 24, 2012 in Schaumburg, Illinois.

Very cool bling!

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[medal photo submitted by Arturo Moreno. Follow Arturo on Twitter @marathonarturo]

This is the medal for the Quarry Turkey Half Marathon/10K/5K that was held on November 24, 2012 in the Quarry Lakes Recreational Area in Fremont, California.

Pretty fierce turkey! Love that it incorporates a slice of pumpkin pie too.

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[medal photos submitted by Sarah – follow on Twitter @craftyxplorer]

This is the medal for the Inaugural Black Diamond 40 Miler that was held on Black Friday, November 23, 2012 in Jackson, Tennessee.

So cool that the medal has a map of the route on it. Love it! This is a photo of the back of the medal and the award that RIF #1 Joshua Holmes won for winning the race. Congrats Josh!

Check out the full results here: Inaugural Black Diamond 40 Miler + Relay Results 

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[Medal photos submitted by RIF #1 Joshua Holmes.  Follow him on Twitter @bayou]

This is the medal for the Nike We Run Mexico 10K that was held on November 25, 2012 in Monterrey, Mexico.

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[medal photo submitted by Rodamor VanPorbeers – follow on Twitter @gargaholio]

This is the medal for the Amica Seattle Marathon that was held on November 25, 2012 in Seattle, Washington.

Per Scott “It has a kind of minimalist elegance” and I agree. 🙂

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[medal photo submitted by Scott Hillis – follow him on Twitter @bittermelon]