Inspirational runner Amy Dodson is on the cover of the July 2011 issue of Runner’s World magazine. The July issue features four different covers, each honoring a different cancer survivor, that not only survived but is thriving as an endurance athlete.
Amy lost her left leg to cancer at 19-years old. Two years later she lost her left lung to lung cancer. However, that was not the end but just the beginning of how her story would unfold.
Amy Dodson, 48, lost her left leg below the knee to sarcoma when she was just 19. Two years later, her cancerous left lung was removed. I’ve never met Amy, but I have run with her. We both were among the 75 marathoners in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to run with Dean Karnazes as part of his 50-50-50 quest in 2006. I had met amputee athletes before, but this was the first time I’d gotten outrun by someone with a carbon-fiber leg. And I loved it.
Amy has run Boston twice (she was the first female leg amputee to run that race) and has a marathon PR of 3:35. She’s a four-time national half-marathon champion, with a PR of 1:51:04. She’s also done more than 30 triathlons, including two Ironmans, and is a two-time USA Paratriathlon champion and a two-time ITU World Paratriathlon champ.
As you read this, she’s preparing for her first Western States 100, one of the toughest races on Earth. “One of the great ironies of my life is that because of my childhood cancer, I couldn’t run with two legs,” she says. “But freed from the pain, with one leg and one lung, I can run forever. Cancer may have ravaged my body, but running saved my soul.”
Run It Fast contributor Dallas Smith, author of multiple running books, is a very close friend of Amy. He dedicated his first book, Falling Forward, to Amy.
Dallas had the following to say about Amy’s strength, “Amy went through white-hot fire and come out the other side tempered like steel. If you watch her compete you learn the potential of the human spirit. She continues to be a wonderful friend.”
Congrats to Amy on all of her amazing accomplishments and for making the cover of Runner’s World. She is an inspiration of what the body can do when the mind takes control over it.
REVIEW: Running On Empty: An Ultramarathoner’s Story of Love, Loss, and a Record-Setting Run Across America by Marshall Ulrich(PURCHASE)
As a long-distance runner, it’s both intriguing and frustrating to read about the athletic achievements of famous ultrarunners. On the one hand, it gives you insight into the inner workings of the ultra athlete in his element, his thoughts, passions and fears. On the other hand, it makes the act of running a marathon seem puny by comparison. But that’s the toll you pay when you open the pages of books such as Dean Karnazes’ Ultramarathon Man or Christopher McDougall’sBorn to Run.
I must first admit my ignorance as I had never heard of Marshall Ulrich prior to seeing this book at Barnes & Noble. Like most core runners, I was familiar with Karnazes, Scott Jurek and Josh Cox because they’re the big names that most people know. However, after the foreword, written by McDougall, I felt like a running tyro for not having erected an altar to Ulrich’s impressive athletic resume. This guy ran the Pike’s Peak marathon and the Leadville 100 back to back, which is almost logistically impossible because they happen so close to each other. He won the Badwater 135-mile ultramarathon in Death Valley several times, ran it unassisted, and is famous for running it four times in a row. He’s scaled Mount Everest, participated in adventure races all over the world and holds numerous ultra running world records.
Also, he’s almost 60.
Running on Empty is a recollection of all of his most intense feats, from mountain climbing in the Himalayas to his personal struggles with romance and fatherhood. But the centerpiece of the book, around which his life’s story gravitates, is his last great accomplishment, the transcontinental Run Across America. My first thought was that the book was going to get tedious and repetitive. How much can you talk about running from coast to coast without getting bogged down by tales of running injuries and the frustration of monotony? However, Ulrich does a great job of balancing the narrative, using particular nuanced moments to reflect on previous events in his life, athletic or otherwise. He also intersperses local, idiosyncratic stories into the mix, talking about the history of local food establishments as he runs by them or reminiscing on charities close to his heart to forget about the pains in his feet.
Even though I can’t possibly comprehend how someone can average 50-70 miles a day for 52 days, I still found myself identifying with a lot of Ulrich’s stories. It seems like those who get into running passionately don’t only do it because of a drive to improve their health, but also as a means to unearth one’s hidden qualities. Ulrich shows that long-distance running can say a lot about one’s character, ambition, strength and resilience. The fact that he ran from San Francisco to New York in his late 50’s only reinforces that fact that age shouldn’t deter people from challenging themselves in extreme ways.
I’m not quite yet an ultrarunner – the marathon is still my biggest accomplishment. But if I keep reading books like these, it won’t be long until I break the 26.2-mile barrier into what all but the most dedicated runners call “insanity.”
This video is a memorial video tribute to Charles ‘Charlie’ Reagan about his life as a first class runner and as the biggest Milan Bulldogs (high school) fan ever.
Charlie was brutally murdered at his shop, Supreme Muffler, in Milan on June 16, 2011.
Reagan was found brutally stabbed to death inside his business, Supreme Muffler Center. He was pronounced dead at Milan General Hospital. He was 54 years old.
Milan police have arrested a 17-year old boy on charges of 1st degree murder and especially aggravated robbery according to The Jackson Sun.
Charles is survived by his wife, Trenia, and three daughters.
Charlie was a good running friend and one of my favorite people. We always knew when Charlie showed up at a 5k or 10k race that we were racing for second place.
Reagan ran mostly 5k and 10k’s of recent but was an accomplished marathon runner as well.
He ran the Rocket City Marathon back in December 2010 in 3 hours and 7 minutes. Earlier this year he ran the Germantown Half Marathon in 1:24. His best marathon time I could find was a 2:52 in the 2002 Rocket City Marathon.
He was still knocking off sub 18 minute 5k’s this spring. I had last run with him at the Medina Hornet 5K back just last month. That day for some reason he went into great detail about how he ‘got fast’ and shared with me his speed workout that had helped make him speedy.
I had picked up a medal for him from a previous 10k a few weeks before that he had to leave early. I gave it to him that day. He looked at it a couple of times and told me, “This thing is puny!” He then found a small child to give it to. The little boy lit up!
Charles would often wear all purple for his hometown Milan Bulldogs (high school). After a win, he would famously shout out “How ’bout them Milan Bulldogs” or “Go Milan Bulldogs!”
A lot of us just run, but Charlie would truly Run It Fast!
Royal sister-in-law Pippa Middleton, the younger sister of Kate ‘Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge’ Middleton’s, finished the GE Blenheim Triathlon in Woodstock, England earlier today. She was part of a triathlon relay team. Pippa did the 5K run at the end of the triathlon according to the Mirror.
Captured in the warm sun Pippa finished the 5km run leg in a respectable 25:30. Her team, called SJP, finished the full triathlon – a gruelling 750m swim, 20km bike ride and then 5km run – in 1:27:32.
The English socialite/party planner/partier definitely shows the USA version, Paris Hilton, that you can still be fit, athletic, and inspire a nation even when you put the Patrón down. The closest Hilton or Kim Kardashian come to being athletic is in their choice of professional athletes they date.
This was NOT Pippa’s first triathlon. She has completed one before. Sporty-Royal Spice finished the Blenheim full triathlon in 2009 with a time of 1:26:01 according to official race results.
Actor/comedian Drew Carey finished the Marine Corps Historic Half Marathon on Sunday morning with an unofficial time of 1:57:02according to a tweet Carey sent immediately after the race.
Carey, a former Marine, has lost nearly a 100 pounds over the last couple of years after doctors told him he was going to die if he didn’t change his eating and exercise habits. He trained hard for his first half-marathon as his finishing time shows.
Congrats to Drew on his first half marathon! Hopefully he will continue to run and inspire others!
American track & field legend Carl Lewis claims to have never run longer than 4 miles at one time. Lewis, as quirky and eccentric now as he was during his multi-medal winning Olympic prime, is publicly stating that he plans to complete a full marathon (26.2 miles).
I say ‘complete’ because Lewis makes it clear in the interview, with Rodale’s David L’Heureux, that he only plans to complete the race. Carl even jokes he will give the city his credit card to keep the lights on for him to finish.
So look for Lewis to do walk/run/walk his way to the finish line. Carl makes it clear this will be the only marathon he will ever do.
Lewis has been making this claim to run a marathon for a couple of years now. He wants to do it this year because he is turning 50 years old.
Carl seems to indicate that he doesn’t even really play to train for 26.2 miles. But boasts that he will find someone near the end of the race, challenge them to the finish, and beat them.
Lewis has not stated what marathon he plans to run yet, but Bank of America Chicago Marathon Race Director Carey Pinkowski has already printed up Carl a bib number with his name on it and invited him to the ‘Windy City’ for his marathon cherry.
The last time Carl mentioned running a marathon, about a year ago, he stated he would run the Houston Marathon.
He has always believed that his track & field success could be parlayed into other walks of life. Lewis has provided us with the one of the worst National Anthem renditions (at an NBA game) and ‘First Pitch’ at a Major League Baseball game….ever!
“When I run – as you see from my record – I run to win,” Carl boastfully told reporters at the kickoff for his political career.
His awkwardness with the media and gold medal ego to match always kept Carl from cashing in on his Olympic success as much others with his success would have.
Carl Lewis won 9 Olympic Gold Medals and 1 Bronze Medal over the course of four Olympics. He is considered the greatest track and field star of all-time.
Comedian/Actor Drew Carey, currently the host of The Price is Right and Drew Carey’s Improv-A-Ganza, will run the Marine Corps Historic Half Marathon according to Runner’s World CRO Bart YassoFacebook update.
UPDATE: SEE HOW FAST DREW RAN HIS FIRST HALF MARATHON
The Marine Corps Historic Half Marathon takes place on May 15th in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
It is likely not so random that Carey has chosen to run the Marine Corps race. Drew was in the U.S. Marine Reserves for six years starting in 1980.
After a health scare Carey become serious about his diet and exercise. He has since lost nearly 100 pounds. He will look to inspire others to do the same when he runs his first half marathon in May.
Drew tweted via his Twitter (@DrewFromTV) back on March 14th that he was planning to run the Marine Corps Half Marathon.
Random Drew Carey Fact: He was born with six toes on his right foot.
