Run It Fast®

Here is the finisher’s medal from the XTERRA Oak Mountain Trail Marathon that took place on May 20, 2012 in Birmingham, Alabama.

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[Submitted by RIF #68 Brenton Day. Follow him on Twitter @thealerunner]

The Walt Disney World Marathon is getting a course facelift to help celebrate the 20th anniversary of the popular race.  The changes should please many veterans of the popular Florida race.

Earlier today WDW released a video, featuring Mickey Mouse, that highlights the biggest changes to the course for 2013.

The most noticeable changes will be removing one of the big loops around EPCOT to start the race. Instead the race will go from EPCOT straight to the Magic Kingdom where runners will run through Cinderella’s Castle just before Mile 6. This will be roughly 4 miles sooner than in past years.

Runners will also be running through the Disney Motor Speedway this year, around the NASCAR track, instead of outside of the facility, before rejoining the traditional course that then goes to the Animal Kingdom.

The last major difference will be that instead of the unpopular out and back at Mile 20 from previous WDW Marathons, runners will instead run to the Disney Wide World of Sports where they will run around the inside of Spring Training stadium of the Atlanta Braves.

Runners will then head to Hollywood Studios before finishing back at EPCOT.

The 2013 Walt Disney World Marathon will take place on January 13, 2013 in Orlando, Florida.

The WDW Half Marathon takes place the day before in the same location.  

Runners can complete both races in what is called the Goofy Challenge. The GC does fill up fast.

2013 Walt Disney World Race Maps (January)

• Walt Disney World® Marathon
• Walt Disney World® Half Marathon
• Disney Family Fun Run 5K
• Mickey Mile

The Extreme Runner Points program is well under way and we’ve had a great turnout so far. 43 Run It Fast – The Club members have submitted their races and miles for the first 4 months of the year. This is a summary of all the races and miles that have been entered so far:

Pretty cool, huh? So far, Run It Fast – The Club members have run almost half way around the world and run a boat load of races! But that’s not all. I’d also like to highlight some of the fun run things they shared with us when they submitted their races and miles.

January

2 members ran a couple of firsts: Congratulations to Daniela Obregon #49 (@Nanyob) for running her first half marathon and Rick Jarvis #13 who ran his first marathon (and also ran another one in January!).

Nicholas Norfolk #116 (@absolut_zer0) became a Marathon Maniac!

2 members set PRs in January: Dennis Arriaga #140 (@dennarr) set a 5K PR and Hideki Kinoshita #88 (@RunKino) set a marathon PR at the MS Blues and then again a week later at Houston! Congratulations to you both on Running It Fast!

February

3 members set PRs in February:  Dennis Arriaga #140 (@dennarr) set a 10K PR this time and Kevin Ronayne #11(@KRona217) set a PR in the 5 Mile. Once again that running machine, Hideki Kinosita #88 (@RunKino), set a marathon PR! Yay! That’s how you Run It Fast!

March

Daniela Obregon #49 (@Nanyob) ran her first marathon! GoDani Go!

 There were a slew of PRs set:  Dennis Arriaga #140 (@dennarr) set another 5K PR, Kevin Ronanye #11 (@KRona217) also set a 5K PR, Nadia Ruiz Gonzales #69 set a marathon PR at the LA Marathon, and Hideki Kinoshita #88 (@RunKino) set ANOTHER marathon PR at NOLA. Way to Run It Fast!

Congratulations to Perry Ligon #146 (@perry_ligon) who placed 4^th in his age group (50-59) at the St. Patty’s Scramble 15K Trail Race!

April

For firsts in April, we have Dennis Arriaga #140 (@dennarr) who ran his first half marathon! Congrats Dennis!

4 members set April PRs: Mark Sikkila #108 set a PR for the half marathon, Christy Bowers #60 set a PR for the 10K, Hideki Kinoshita #88 (@RunKino) set a 4 Mile PR, and Michelle Mitchell #133 set a PR in the 100K. Awesome job of Running It Fast you guys!

Congratulations to Alicia Eno #126 who was 2^nd Woman Overall at the Dash for Dad 13.1 in Memphis, Hideki Kinoshita #88 (@RunKino) who placed 3^rd in his age group at the Martian Marathon, Marj Mithchell #4 who placed 1^st in her age group at the Shiloh Run In The Park 4 Miler, and Michelle Mitchell #133 who won a 2 mile race and placed 2^nd in her half marathon

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As you can see, Run It Fast – The Club members have started off the year with a bang! I know the rest of the year is going to be just as fun. No, even better. I can’t wait to see everyone Run It Fast in 2012!

So come on! Don’t be shy. If you haven’t submitted your races and miles for the Extreme Runner Points program for January through April, you can do so here:

Run It Fast – The Club Extreme Runner Entry Form

You can click here to find out more information about it: Extreme Racer Standings Program (details).

In case you missed the post on the current standings thru April 2012, click here: Run It Fast – The Club Extreme Runner Point Standings (thru April 2012)

And for information on joining Run It Fast – The Club click HERE. Join us today and be a part of the fun!

P.S. If you submitted races but forgot to submit your monthly mileage totals, you can leave a comment here or send me an email or a tweet and I will add them for you.

Claire Lomas was paralyzed from the neck down back in 2007 when she was in a horse riding accident.  Doctors told her she would never walk again.

So she finished the London Marathon days ago in a ‘bionic’ suit, sixteen days after the race started.  She is the first person to finish a marathon in a bionic suit.

With her husband Dan, mother Joyce and 13-month-old daughter Maisie by her side, Lomas walked about two miles a day to complete the course. More than a fortnight later, on May 8th, a tearful Lomas crossed the finish line as thousands of cheering supporters urged her forward.

“The support has been breathtaking and it feels fantastic to finally finish,” Lomas, who was given a guard of honor by members of the Household Cavalry and the Virgin endurance trophy by CEO Richard Branson’s daughter Holly.

The ‘bionic suit’ runs about $75,000.  The suit allows movement by detecting shifts in the movement of the human body.

Lomas was able to raise over $100,000 during her 16-day journey to complete the London Marathon.

However, organizers of the London Marathon refused to giver her a finisher’s medal or official time since she didn’t finish the marathon on the same day she started it.

But several generous marathoners gave Lomas their finisher’s medal from the race. She says she has over a dozen now.

People who win marathons can inspire others to run, but it’s people like Claire Lomas that inspire thousands of people, by overcoming impossible odds to complete what many consider an impossible task as it is.

Claire said her biggest accomplishment after the accident was giving birth to her baby daughter, Massie.

Congrats to Claire Lomas on her London Marathon finish!

Here is the finisher’s medal from the Dances With Dirt Marathon/Half Marathon that took place on May 12, 2012 in Gnaw Bone, Indiana.

Simple yet unique finisher’s medal. Love the name of the city.

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[Submitted by Jered Mounce. Follow him on Twitter @brokenmiles]

One from the vault for Mother’s Day:

On Fridays I would take Momma out for supper. One Friday we ate at Pizza Hut where I could have spaghetti. She wondered why. It was because my first race, a 10K which I’d kept a secret, was on the next morning. Four days after her death, I had surgery, and, following recovery, trained for eight weeks and ran my first marathon.

Running began a new life for me. For her, life itself was a hard run. By coincidence, it ended as my new one was beginning. Endurance had threaded her days. She left it with me.

Read the full story by Dallas Smith by clicking HERE

We asked on Twitter (@runitfast) where you were running this weekend and 45 of you responded!

Good luck to you all this weekend and Run It Fast!

David Chaloupka – Warrior Dash 2012 Amity, AR, run it clean or run it dirty, but #Runitfast !! Gotta go!

Vanessa Goodman – #YMCA Conroe, Tx 5K trail run fund-raiser for equine therapy program

TribalEspresso – Mt Tremblant Qc, Biking IM Tremblant 90k loop

Ricardo Sosa Pieck – merida, mexico!

michael c. miller – i’m running my first half marathon…the kirkland half, kirkland WA.

Shannon Clark – I’m running a Mother’s Day Virtual 10k on Sunday-my 1st 10k! 🙂

Rudy Regalado – New Prauge Half Marathon

Nicholas L. Norfolk –  I’ll be in #LittleRock at Jesse is Awesome Half Marathon on Sunday. #JIA12 #ARKrun

Kathy Shirley – Running an easy 10-miler along the beautiful San Diego coast!

Phillip Forsyth – Maclehose Stages 4-6 in Hong Kong. Around 32clicks

Jerry Armstrong Ⓥ – Representing @trailandultra at “Fear the Deer 1/2 Marathon!

Lisa Gonzales – Just running local roads/trails this weekend. Prepping for my 12HR! #ultra #gettingloopy

Brian Rice – SALUTE A SOLDIER 5K IN GILBERT AZ

Jason Orlinsky – 11th Annual Lou Gehrig’s Disease 10K Run in Coconut Grove (miami,fl) .. C’MON!!

Mary Grieder – Should be a 22 miler for marathon training but sidelined by injury instead 🙁 #disappointed #idratherberunning #run

Linda Tendler – Santa Barbara Wine Country 1/2 Marathon!!

Sheri Sandahl Mahnke – Walking for March for Dimes

Angie Gerber – Beautiful Portland, OR! Hoping for an easy 6 miles. Still recovering from The Ave.

Caloy Bautista – I’m doing my #Anywhere5K on the streets of Kidapawan

Aron Lanie – Brunswick Forest Duathlon in NC!

Michael Ceglinski – Paducah iron mom, half marathon in Paducah, KY

Christy Bowers – Ran Katy Trail 5K last night; just training runs this weekend

Jonathan Bobbitt – ’roundhere

RunTramp – Hammer Trail Marathon, Bornholm, Denmark. Will send a pic’ of the medal if I finish!

Murray Meads – Edmonton River Valley trails with my Canada Day 10 mile clinic

sutah ann robins – DE Marathon in @Running_Skirts

Kevin Erb – “Run with the Knights” – 5K fundraiser for alma mater high school in Fort Wayne, Ind.

Jeff Cook – Warrior Dash Arkansas in Amity AR.

Obaid Rahman – Will be running the folloing route on Sat morning with@fehrtrade http://bit.ly/Jxsszu

Jim Elliott – my daughter is running her 1rst 5K with “Girls on the Run” in San Francisco this weekend, the day before her 9th birthday!

Pablo Solano – 21k at San José tomorrow and 10k on Sunday at Cartago, Costa Rica

Samantha Firman – Title9K+ at the Boulder Reservoir in beautiful Boulder, Colorado on Mother’s Day!

Mark Sikkila – Fifth Third River Bank Run 25K Going for a sub 2:00:00#nervous #RIF108

Lauren S. – my last long run in STL before moving…10 miles in Forest Park

E. Smith – Early morning long run 10+ miles on Saturday, Jacksonville, FL.

Ted Lascari – 5/3 River Bank Run 25K in Grand Rapids, MI

Natalia Tanyadji – tomorrow morming long run before Singapore Sundown Marathon on the 26th will be road with the sea breeze 🙂

Robin – 3 Days at the Fair, NJ. There are 72, 48, 24, 12 and 6 hour races. Great races from the NJ Trail Series!

Lisa Edwards – Fifth/Third River Bank Run (25k) in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Both MI RIF members will be there 🙂 I’m totally out of shape. Fun.

Sean Higgins – susan g komen Philadelphia 5k

elizabeth v rehmer – trail run in Bozeman tonight, long run on Sunday. 🙂

Joshua Holmes – Strawberry Festival 10K

rian c p – UOB heartbeat race

Scott Gorski – my first 10 mile run in prep for the Summerfest Rock & Sole half marathon next month. #Summerfest #bestfestonagreatlake

Michelle Mitchell – raced a 1000m TT then 5000m tempo run last night at Moscow State U trying to get my legspeed back post 100k. It’s getting there:)

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Here is the finisher’s medal from the Pittsburgh Half Marathon that took place on May 6, 2012 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

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[Submitted by RIF #90 Marcia Larsen. Follow her on Twitter @marsh153]

Here is the finisher’s medal from the 35th Lincoln Marathon that took place on May 6, 2012 in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Pretty medal and an exact replica of the Lincoln Presidential Half Marathon Medal (see HERE). Not sure which one went to this design first, but I’d bet on this one above since it is the 35th running of the event.

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[Submitted by Chad Kilpatrick. Follow him on Twitter @BBChad]

Here is the finisher’s medal from the Gettysburg North-South Marathon that took place on April 29, 2012 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

A medal that lives up to it’s name.

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[Submitted by S. Martell. Follow Martell on Twitter @scottym228]