Run It Fast®

This is the medal for the Media Maraton de Cali. The half marathon was held on July 8, 2012 in Cali, Colombia.

Fun medal with mascot Juancho Correlon!

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[Medal submitted by Jorge Angel. Follow him on Twitter @777jaah]

This is the medal for the Duo At The Ledge Half Marathon that was held on July 7, 2012 in Grand Ledge, MI.

It was a hot, hot Half so congrats to all the runners who finished and earned the medal!

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[Medal submitted by RIF #108 Mark Sikkila. Follow him on Twitter @MarkSikkila]

Emily Conley #24

This week’s RIF Club Member Profile is Emily Conley #24. Emily is just coming off a HUGE accomplishment – she just ran Western States 100 (her Race Report) and finished in 28:45! She is an amazing runner!

But that’s not what impressed me most about Emily. I met her at the Jackson Jackass 50K in February. It was raining when we met in the parking lot but she was all smiles. During the race, she passed me (like I was standing still) and asked me how I was doing. I told her I was having some stomach issues. She actually stopped and waited for me to catch up to her to remind me that she’d brought peanut butter & jelly sandwiches for all of us and that real food might help. Is that not cool, or what? It’s one of the things I love about the running community…their willingness to help out a new runner or someone having trouble. Emily is a great example of that. Oh, and by the way, Emily was the overall women’s winner at the Jackson Jackass 50K!

So let’s meet Emily:

INFO
Name: Emily Conley
RIF #: 24
Twitter: @trailjunke
Facebook: emily hendrix conley

STATS

Years running: 4
Favorite race distance: anything from 50k-100mile
Favorite race: Sylamore 50k
Favorite bling: belt buckle from Western States 100
Next race: possibly Arkansas Traveller 100
What makes you FEEL fast?: running in the dark

FUN RUNNING QUESTIONS

Which of your running routes makes you the happiest and why?  I love to run the trails at Herb Parsons lake in Memphis.  Its a beautiful place to run.  One of my favorite memories there is running the trails right after a snow.  Almost every time I run there I think of that day and it makes me smile.

Have you ever worn a costume during a race? What was it and for what race? If not, would you? no costumes.  ever.

What is the thing you splurge on after a race?  more running gear

Why do you race?  I love the people, the comraderie, seeing new places, and the feeling I get when I run well or even just finish a race that was really difficult.

Big races or small races? And why? I have a deep appreciation for small, grass-roots trail races….the kind where you stand behind a line and someone yells GO!  My least favorite races I’ve ever done are the Chicago Marathon and the Vegas Marathon.  Maybe I’m just a trail lover at heart.

What is the one piece of running gear you can’t leave the house without? Lululemon speed shorts

What was your biggest “don’t” of a race? skittles.  I’d explain but it was gross at best.

What running moment are you most proud of? A little over four years ago I finished my first half marathon.  It was the gateway drug that led to Ultrarunning.  I’ll never forget finishing that race.  But I’m not sure it compares to crossing the finish line at the Western States 100.  That was just surreal.

If you can’t run, you’re __okay___.  There has to be balance between running and the rest of life.  Sometimes it’s perfectly okay to sleep late and snuggle with the kids on Saturday morning.

***

As you can tell from her pictures, Emily is obviously have a great time while she’s running. Her reasons for running and racing make running a joy but she keeps it in perspective. Racing and running are not the be-all and the end-all of our world and we have to remember to keep some balance in our lives. They sure do make it sweeter though, don’t they?

Thanks for sharing Emily! We are so proud of you and know you will continue to Run It Fast!

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 Emily Conley and Naresh Kumar]

We receive a lot of medals each month and it’s so fun to see all of them. We are going to have Run It Fast readers vote on their favorite medal for each month. At the end of the year, we’ll have a vote for the best medal of the year! We’ve already had the vote for January Medals so thank you to all of you who voted! The medal that received the most votes in the January 2012 Medals was the Inaugural Louisiana Marathon Medal.

We couldn’t include them all but here are the best of the medals submitted to Run It Fast in February 2012.

Vote for your favorite:

Thank you for voting! 

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This week’s Run It Fast – The Club profile is #72 Natalie Torres. Natalie and I have the same problem. We love to run but we have out of control hair that makes running interesting so I was happy to read about her solution to this “issue”. I always have fun seeing what gear other runners use, don’t you?

So let’s get to know Natalie:

INFO

Name: Natalie Torres
RIF #: 72
Twitter: @NattieRuns
Facebook: www.facebook.com/nattie1218
Blog: http://www.thismamacanrun.com/

STATS

Years running: 2

Favorite race distance: half-marathon

Favorite PR: Marine Corps Historic half 2:03:40

Favorite race: Historic Half

Favorite bling: RnR St. Pete’s [See photo at the top or check it out in the bling case for a close up look.]

Next race: The Naked Foot 5k

What makes you FEEL fast?: My Saucony Kinvara 2s make me feel fast. Since wearing them I have been able to improve my speed and overall pace.

FUN RUNNING QUESTIONS

What’s the most beautiful place that you’ve run? The Rock-n-Roll St. Petersburg Half Marathon is the most beautiful place that I have run. It was along the beach and so very peaceful.

Why do you race? I race because it makes me a better runner. When I race, I am only competing with myself. I like to be able to train and then see the results of all of my hard work.

What is the one piece of running gear you can’t leave the house without? I cannot leave the house without my Sparkly Soul headband. I have very thick curly hair and I need something that is going to keep it out of my face when I run.

What running moment are you most proud of? I am very proud of my first half-marathon. I ran the entire time even though I felt like I was going to die. I pushed through and finished strong.

If you can’t run, you’re ________? If I can’t run, I am either strength training or going to yoga.

***

We all have favorite gear that we use, whether it’s shoes to makes us feel “fast” or headbands to make the run more comfortable. What is the one thing you can’t leave the house without when you go for a run?

Thanks for sharing Natalie! I hope you run it fast at your next race!

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 Natalie Torres]

Here is the medal for Memorial Day 5K that was held on June 23, 2012 (rescheduled date) in Orange Park, FL.

Very cool red, white, & blue medal for a Memorial Day run.

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[Medal submitted by BeardRunJax. Follow him on Twitter @BeardRunJax]

This is the medal for the Kiryat Gat 10K that was held in Kiryat Gat, Israel on June 21, 2012.

Pretty solid medal for a 10K!

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[Medal submitted by Hudi. Follow him on Twitter @RunHudi]

Here is the medal for the Backass Jackal Trail Marathon that was held on June 24, 2012 in Jackson, TN.

The fun & unique medal was custom made by RIF #151 Chris Estes’s brother Micah Estes. The Backass Jackal was run by 5 hardcore runners the day after the Jackal Trail Marathon. Two relay teams also took part in the Backass Jackal. You can see the results for both races here:

THE JACKAL TRAIL MARATHON AND BACKASS JACKAL TRAIL MARATHON RESULTS

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[Medal submitted by RIF #49 Dani Obregon. Follow her on Twitter @nanyob]

Here is the medal for the Jackal Trail Marathon that was held on June 23, 2012 in Jackson, TN.

I love this medal and wish I’d been able to run this so I could get one! The jackal on it is fierce and has tons of attitude which is perfect for a trail marathon.

THE JACKAL TRAIL MARATHON RESULTS

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[Medal submitted by RIF #40 Scott Stader. Follow Scott on Twitter @ScottStader]

Here is the medal for the Spartan Race that was held on June 24, 2012 in Toronto, Canada.

You can find out more about the Spartan Races which are held all over here.

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[Medal submitted by Azifikare. Follow on Twitter @Azifikare]