Run It Fast®

RIF #159 Diane Bolton

Time for May Extreme Racer Standings! In the last 5 months, our RIF Club Members have raced 650 races, including 250 marathons, 14 100 Milers, 12 50 Milers, 38 50Ks, 90 Half Marathons, 109 5Ks, 32 10Ks, and 105 races of non-traditional distances. That’s 12,859.52 miles raced so far this year! 71 RIF Club members have submitted points and/or monthly miles so far for 2013 (only points count in the standings so only 69 Club members are listed below).

We have new club members in the Top 3 Overall, Men, and Women and in the Top 10! AND…there are more women than men in the Top 10 this month! Woo!

The race between 1st and 2nd looks to be getting a little closer but RIF #159 Diane Bolton is still in the lead with 809.9 points, followed by RIF #190 John Kent Leighton in 2nd 741.7 points and RIF #279 George Southgate is now 3rd with 598.7 points.

On the Women’s Leaderboard, Diane is in 1st, followed by 2 new club members to the top 3. RIF #287 Carol Earles is in 2nd with 466.4 points and RIF #231 Christy Scott is in 3rd with 432.6 points. On the Men’s Leaderboard, John is in 1st followed by George in 2nd and RIF #1 Joshua Holmes in 3rd with 584.1 points.

Here are the full standings through May:

Top Ten Overall
1.   Diane Bolton – 809.9  (RIF #159)
2.   John Kent Leighton – 741.7  (RIF #190)
3.   George Southgate – 598.7  (RIF #279)
4.   Joshua Holmes – 584.1  (RIF #1)
5.   Carol Earles – 466.4  (RIF #287)
6.   Christy Scott – 432.6  (RIF #231)
7.   Elaine Bickel Green – 424  (RIF #217)
8.   Rob Distante – 409.13  (RIF #259)
9.   Katrina Mumaw – 399.5  (RIF #268)
10.   Carol Goslin – 397.8  (RIF #218)

Women’s Leaderboard
1.   Diane Bolton – 809.9  (RIF #159)
2.   Carol Earles – 466.4  (RIF #287)
3.   Christy Scott – 432.6  (RIF #231)
4.   Elaine Bickel Green – 424  (RIF #217)
5.   Katrina Mumaw – 399.5  (RIF #268)
6.   Carol Goslin – 397.8  (RIF #218)
7.   Kerri Haskins – 359.7  (RIF #261)
8.   Heather Zeigler – 296.1  (RIF #246)
9.   Heather Shoemaker – 261.8  (RIF #44)
10.   Suzanne Spiceland – 259.7  (RIF #280)
11.   Laura Raeder – 258.9  (RIF #20)
12.   Sandy Staggs – 243  (RIF #220)
13.   Lisa Gonzales – 216.56  (RIF #5)
14.   Alicia Eno – 149.6  (RIF #126)
15.   Robin Mancinelli – 142.3  (RIF #134)
16.   Shannon Burke – 136.8  (RIF #171)
17.   Amanda Staggs – 121  (RIF #210)
18.   Michelle Mitchell – 112.4  (RIF #133)
19.   Melanie Kayal – 108.9  (RIF #202)
20.   Jennifer Wood – 91.7  (RIF #243)
21.   Christy Bowers – 91.5  (RIF #60)
22.   Marj Mitchell – 85  (RIF #4)
23.   Jennifer Whitley – 82  (RIF #160)
24.   Michelle Lenahan – 76.58  (RIF #283)
25.   Beth Hosick – 76.2  (RIF #219)
26.   Donna Pittman – 62.8  (RIF #181)
27.   Leigh Marsh – 61.7  (RIF #192)
28.   Jill Hassen – 57.2  (RIF #242)
29.   Natalie Torres – 55.5  (RIF #72)
30.   Marlene Deem – 52.4  (RIF #189)
31.   Martine Kincade – 26.2  (RIF #260)

Men’s Leaderboard
1.   John Kent Leighton – 741.7  (RIF #190)
2.   George Southgate – 598.7  (RIF #279)
3.   Joshua Holmes – 584.1  (RIF #1)
4.   Rob Distante – 409.13  (RIF #259)
5.   Hideki Kinoshita – 396.2  (RIF #88)
6.   Danny Staggs – 348.9  (RIF #186)
7.   Jeff Le – 293.96  (RIF #248)
8.   Denis McCarthy – 271.3  (RIF #263)
9.   Nicholas Norfolk – 225.8  (RIF #116)
10.   Billy Cannon – 208.9  (RIF #169)
11.   Mark Watson – 194  (RIF #173)
12.   Houston Wolf – 182.2  (RIF #254)
13.   Jeff Liu – 178.6  (RIF #275)
14.   Anthony Ohrey – 167  (RIF #27)
15.   Nathan Bass – 145.4  (RIF #174)
16.   Kevin Brandon – 116.3  (RIF #214)
17.   Dennis Arriaga – 109.6  (RIF #140)
18.   Nikiah Nudell – 94.8  (RIF #234)
19.   Rodrigo Jiménez – 93.56  (RIF #203)
20.   Charles Carmen – 89.63  (RIF #255)
21.   Steven Reagan – 88.2  (RIF #157)
22.   Josh Liggett – 85.7  (RIF #147)
23.   James Krenis – 84.8  (RIF #67)
24.   Rick Thiounn – 79.5  (RIF #111)
25.   Kevin Ronayne – 72.9  (RIF #11)
26.   Mark Ogletree – 70.3  (RIF #247)
27.   David Wingard – 65.5  (RIF #101)
28.   Stephen Griffin – 60.3  (RIF #48)
29.   Robin Robbins – 58.3  (RIF #33)
30.   Neil Dryland – 57.2  (RIF #252)
31.   Jason Scott – 55.5  (RIF #265)
32.   Naresh Kumar – 50  (RIF #2)
33.   Bill Baker – 39.3  (RIF #196)
34.   Stewart Crouch – 29.3  (RIF #89)
35.   Brian Wooldridge – 26.2  (RIF #141)
36.   Chris Haynes – 26.2  (RIF #223)
37.   Daniel Escue – 22.4  (RIF #187)
38.   Austin Coates – 22.4  (RIF #241)

I know June was a HUGE month for Run It Fast Club members and can’t wait to see what happens. Will there be a big mix-up in the standings? Who will emerge next month? Check back next month to find out!

Oh, we also did a random drawing to pick one RIF Club member who submitted points for May and this month’s winner is RIF #181 Donna Pittman We will be sending her a Gone For A Run sign. Don’t forget to submit your points/monthly miles next month for a chance to win!

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 Lisa Gonzales]

This is the fun finisher’s medal for the Backside Trail Marathon that took place on April 28, 2013 in Louisville, Kentucky.

What a lucky medal. 🙂 It must have been lucky for RIF #181 Donna because she was one of only 35 people to finish this muddy, hard trail marathon. Go Donna!

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[medal photo submitted by RIF #181 Donna Pittman. Follow her on Twitter @RunslikePhoebe]

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]