Run It Fast®

Here is the finisher’s medal from the Savage Gulf Trail Marathon that took place on March 18, 2012 in Savage Gulf State Park near Dunlap, Tennessee.

It was a first year event and the park rangers that put on the race did almost everything right. The race/park was stunningly beautiful, and the marathon was extremely challenging with climbs over big boulders. It took finisher’s on average 2-3 hours longer than usual.

Bling you say? Well as you can see there was no official bling. Something I’m sure will be rectified next year.

However, there was a swag table full of giveaways. So I saw the Skull Candy headphones and headed for the food tent.

[submitted by Joshua Holmes. Follow him on Twitter @bayou]

Huntsville’s Blake Thompson won the 34th Strolling Jim 40 Miler on May 6, 2012 with a winning time of 5:17:29 for the 41.2 mile course.

Thompson’s time was the slowest winning time in race history according to Race Director Mike Melton.  This was due in large part to the high temperatures and humidity that took a toll on all of the runners throughout the grueling hills of Wartrace, Tennessee.

Second place went to Strolling Jim veteran Dink Taylor (5:29:01) who has run 24+ Jims.  Third place went to ‘Bruce’ Sung Ho Choi (5:33:21) of Jacksonville, Florida.

Top overall female went to Huntsville native Kathy Youngren with a time of 6:04:35.

Second place female was Beth McCurdy (6:33:01) with third place female going to Kim Nosenchuk-Brooks (6:46:57).

Top 34th Strolling Jim Finishers

1. Blake Thompson – 5:17:29
2. Dink Taylor – 5:29:01
3. ‘Bruce’ Sung Ho Choi – 5:33:21
4. David Jones – 5:36:22
5. Tom Dolan – 5:48:59
6. Andy Bruner – 5:56:33
7. Kathy Youngren – 6:04:35 (F)
8. Christopher Cadotte – 6:10:11
9. Timothy Pitts – 6:11:19
10. Dwayne Satterfield – 6:14:00
11. Robert Youngren – 6:14:50
12. Carl Laniak – 6:25:40
13. Robby Callahan – 6:27:17
14. Evan Dare – 6:31:34
15. Beth McCurdy – 6:33:01 (F)
16. Gary Dawkins – 6:35:39
17. Hal McClure – 6:38:23
18. Orlando Baez – 6:45:20
19. Kim Nosenchuk-Brooks – 6:46:57 (F)
20. George Menyhert – 6:46:58
21. William Arnold – 6:51:34
22. Dana MacCorquodale – 6:58:37

One of the scarier and heroic moments of the race happened during the last mile when Chris Estes, who was on a 6:30ish finishing pace, jumped over a guardrail to help save a fellow runner who had fallen over the guardrail (full story).

[photo via Dink: Kathy Youngren, Blake Thompson, Dink Taylor]

We asked on Twitter (@runitfast) where you were running this weekend and 88 of you responded!

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

Joshua Holmes – The Strolling Jim 40 Miler (41.2 miles) – The greatest and oldest ultramarathon in the south. #runitfast

Marcia Larsen – Pittsburgh 1/2 Marathon on 5/6. How can you pass up being named a Runner of Steel!

Lisa Gonzales – I’m running the Safari Park Half Marathon in San Diego on Sunday. #AnimalRacing

Kim Yates – Running @CapCityHalf in Columbus, Ohio w/ my friend@MLSwinehart #go us

Nicole Segalini – In a half marathon on Sunday in Providence RI@coxrhoderaces

Michelle – Lake Lowell Marathon in Nampa, ID!

don morris – Flying Pig Marathon, Cincinnati! My first full!

Tanjie K – Run for the Roses 10k in Madison, AL

Larry Medina – #njhalfmarathon this Sunday. Looking for a PR.#runlarryrun

Corey Barton – Pacing the kzoo half on Sunday!

K7Lee – I am running Lincoln half marathon in good ole Nebraska. Yeah praying for no rain. No rain dancing at the moment.

Lexie Stempihar – Swamp Rabbit 5k Friday night in Travelers Rest, SC

smithcincinnati – flying pig marathon!! Squeal!

christopher russo – Broad St 10 miler in Philly

Erin Manzo – Expedition Everest Challenge!

Perry Ligon – The North Face Endurance Challenge 50k Bear Mountain NY Saturday 🙂

tracie-lyn – just running in my neighborhood!

Alex Flores – I will be running the Whiskey Row marathon on Prescott, AZ.

Raezzelle – Oak Hall Run 5k for St. Jude !!!

Wade Anderson – Strolling Jim Wartrace , TN

Robert Boluyt – Whiskey Row Marathon, Prescott AZ

Ryan J. Copico – Cotton Classic 10k Greenville, MS

Kristi Puls – Lincoln half marathon this Sunday.

737 Guy – pandoras Box of Rox trail marathon in Burnet Texas on Sat.

Ike ¦) – I’m racing a 10k at Mt. Hood community college tomorrow @runitfast#ready #pumped #allornothing

Serg Aloma – OC Marathon

Anne Burke – Lincoln, NE! National Guard Marathon 🙂

Nayeli – Flying Pig Marathon @RunFlyingPig in Cincinnati, OH this Sunday! My first full!

Bob and Trish Evans – we will be joggling (running + juggling) in Vancouver, BC 😉

Nick Kane – Jersey marathon baby 26.2 #6

Rachel Zides – Providence RI half marathon

Steven Thorstenson – ONE AMERICA 500 FESTIVAL MINI MARATHON Indianapolis.

Azifikare – #TorontoMarathon this Sunday. Just another long run..

Amy Hanavan – Wallis Sands half-marathon Rye, New Hampshire!

Nicholas L. Norfolk – No races. I’ll be at @BealeStMusicFes this weekend. Long runs still on deck though. As @MarathonJunkie would say#RUNMORE

Stephen G – the @HoustonDynamo Go for Goal 5K

Paul Sargent – Pittsburgh! I’m trying to become a #RunnerofSteel. My first marathon!

Trey Pittman – New Balance Uptown 5K in Shreveport, LA!

David W – Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon.

Dennis Arriaga – Western Pacific Half Marathon in Fremont, CA

Daniel – Long Island Half Marathon!

Kate Runner – 17 miles- nature preserve and suburban streets (8 miles out, then “run home”)

Stephanie Mary – broad street run in Philadelphia on Sunday! #10miles#runitfast

lindsay – 10-miler in beautiful Ann Arbor! Hoping this rain quits.

Sarah – Brazen Western Pacific 5K in Fremont!

Christie Jester – doing my first half in Kenosha, WI on Saturday!!

KFun – Oak Hall for St Jude on Sunday in Memphis!

Meredith – Diva 1/2 Marathon in San Francisco!

Mands! – @PGHMarathon !!! Doing the half!!!!

Mike McCoy – OC marathon in SoCal this weekend to support autism and @TACAfoundation .

Gregory Wilson – The Western Pacific 10k Saturday at Quarry Lakes Regional Park in Fremont, CA.

Lea Boyd  – Flying from Toronto to Philadelphia to run my first race ever: the Blue Cross Broad Street Run 10 miler.

PerOla Axelsson – half marathon “Kungsholmen runt”

Amber Goetz – the Flying Pig Marathon (1/2 Mary for me) in Cincinnati OH on Sunday! 😀

Lena Tamplin – Tricities 3rd Annual 10k Run and 5k Run/Walk, Sat. at 8 am.

Elle – Toronto Marathon this weekend!

Alvin Lee – Pittsburgh Marathon…Here’s to becoming a Runner of Steel!

Skip Keltner – running the One America 500 Festival Mini Marathon Saturday with 35,000 runners. #Indy

Laura Raeder – The Flying Pig Marathon cincinnati Ohio!

Robin – Pocono half marathon.

Amber Meranda – The entire @JonniesGoodguys team is running@500Festival #MiniMarathon Saturday in Indianapolis. Give us a follow!!

Robin Robbins – a little trail running and road running near home this weekend in Milan, TN

Courtney – Broad Street Run, Philadelphia!

Allie – Cincinnati Flying Pig, my first marathon and 26th birthday!

Adele Read – Toronto Half Marathon. Whoot Whoot!!

Jaclyn Janicky – NJ Marathon in Long Branch !!!

Kelsey Stevens – I’ll be running at my local park to train for my first 5 mile race in three weeks in Boston!

Nathan Kreeger – Hoping 4 a night training run for the ‘supermoon’ Sat. night. 30 miles for my 30th b-day with a 30% brighter moon to light my way

Kelley – I’m running the #Blend5k on the East Coast!

Jenn DeSimone – Frederick Running Festival, Frederick, MD. Half Marathon! 🙂

Joseph Raymond Ruiz – 2012 South Padre Island Jail Break 5/5/12

Colleen Hood – running in beautiful ann arbor – training for upcoming#annarbormarathon

Mark Sikkila – Kalamazoo Marathon for #RIF108 Damn worried about the heat, but first official run with the RIF shirt.

Terri Preast – Strolling Jim, Wartrace, Tennessee!

Meredith Marciano – New Jersey Marathon this Sunday. On the train now to the EXPO to pick up bib.

Brooke F – SMARM 5K (Sevierville, TN)

SKORA Running – Bloomsday 12k!

Jeff Courvoisier – Running the half at @OCMarathon on Sunday w/@mindfuljogger and I’ve got 100+ students running #KidsRuntheOCtomorrow! #KROC

California Footwear – the longest party in California, also known as The Relay. 🙂

Mary Jane Schriver – Pittsburgh 1/2 marathon. Runner of Steel!

Bill Ebersohl – Doing the #Greenland50K tomorrow between Colorado Springs and Denver.

Cordell Lewis – Track Conference at IWU tonight! 800m for me#wonderhowthatwillgodown

Frank S – I’ll be racing in the @BMOVanMarathon this Sunday, May 6th in #Vancouver

Kiki – I am running in the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini Marathon in Indianapolis, IN. Largest half marathon in the country!

Kristopher Gauson – racing at Hayward field this weekend for the twilight meet. Hoping for a fast 1500/800 combo. Place of my current 800 PR

Domenick P. Addesi – @IBXRun10 Blue Cross 10-Mile Broadstreet Run in Philadelphia!! #cantwait

Scott Gorski – 8 mile run around Wind Lake.

Colleen F. – Here! View from packet pickup at the #DoorCounty Half Marathon.http://bit.ly/IJrhSd

Kelly Webb – the Mississauga Half Marathon.

Michelle Mitchell – Moscow International Half Marathon 6-May

Natalie Torres – I will be running around my neighborhood this weekend.

Naresh Kumar – RIF#2 will be at Strolling Jim 40 Mile

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In March, we brought you the amazing story of Amy Petty who not only survived being trapped in the rubble of the Federal building during the Oklahoma City bombings but who also lost 200 pounds to make life better for herself and her son. You can read the story here:

RELATED: OKC Bombing Survivor Amy Petty’s Inspirational Story

When we last talked with Amy, she was training for her first marathon – The Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon which took place this past weekend on April 29, 2012. I thought I would check in with her and see how her first marathon went. As it turns out, fate threw her yet another curve!

 A couple of weeks before the marathon, Amy was riding in the Redbud Classic 50 Mile Ride when she was hit by a tandem bike. She was knocked unconcious and didn’t wake up until she was in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. Luckily, she didn’t break anything but had major road rash and injured her knee. Her knee was giving her trouble after the accident and she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to run but when I talked to her a few days before the marathon she said was feeling great. Ever the positive spirit, she said “Ah the challenges…when I cross that finish line I will know for a fact that I can do anything I set my mind to despite the obstacles!!!” No way was she going to let a little bike accident stop her!

I’m happy to report that Amy completed her first marathon in 6 hours and 30 minutes and she is now a marathoner! Amy was kind enough to answer a few more questions for me about her experience that day.

RIF: How did you feel before the start?

Amy: I was excited and nervous at the start.  I lined up with 27,000 other friends that I didn’t know yet.  The energy was awesome.  And then….to hear 27,000 go completely silent when we have the 168 seconds of silence to honor the lives of the 168 people killed….eerie.  – I cried like a baby.

RIF: Did you ever feel like stopping or was it just one foot in front of the other?

Amy: I sailed along on a total runners high until mile 10.6.  Then my left knee, the one that hit the pavement the hardest in my cycling accident two weeks ago, started giving me trouble.  I began limping at a pace of 17 minutes a mile.  3 power walkers passed me up.  I was devastated.  I had spent months training and was on track for a 5:30 finish time.  I watched between mile 10.6 and mile 17 as it slipped away.  At mile 17 I stopped to pee.  Big mistake.  When I opened the porta-potty door there were two medics there.  Does that tell you how bad I looked?  They were waiting for me and started talking to me about pulling off the course.  I asked if there was a medic tent nearby where I could get my knee wrapped up.  They escorted me to the tent and they wrapped the knee and tried to talk me into pulling off the course.  I said I was going to finish if I had to crawl.  Then suddenly a cyclist friend of mine showed up beside me and made me start talking to her.  A stranger gave me what I hope was Advil and by mile 19 I was doing a 12ish minute pace which I held until the very end.

 It was so enlightening to me.  Here I thought I had it all planned out but things went differently.  Isn’t that life?  I thought my life was all planned out too but suddenly at age 45 I’m single.  Well guess what – when push comes to shove you find out what you are made of and you dig deep and somehow rally yourself to finish strong regardless of past regrets or failures.  

 When I turned the last corner I saw my coach Mark Bravo and he told me that Camille Herron (who is one of the coolest elite runners ever) had won and broken the female record in the state.  I had been rooting for her and was thrilled.  He said she was waiting at the finish line to see me!!!  Bless her heart!  She finished in like 2:40something and I looked at the clock ahead and realized I was going to finish in 6 ½ hours…..the same amount of time that I was buried alive on April 19, 1995.  Somehow it seemed fitting. The finish line couldn’t have been more special regardless of my pace!  But hey….I sure did set myself up for an easy PR for next year! 

Amy, Mark Bravo & Camille Herron

RIF: How did you celebrate after the marathon?

Amy: I got a little ripped off on the celebration part because my aging body revolted against me and I ended up sucking down Advil and taking it easy.  However, I was able to visit my nieces party for just a bit with some of the other runners and that made me feel like I was one of the “cool kids”!

Congratulations on your first marathon Amy! I hope you got that celebration & partied like a rock star!

I don’t know about you but I think Amy is definitely one of the “cool kids”. Amy pushed past her limits on Sunday and she pushed herself to not only finish but to Run It Fast in those last miles! Once again, she proved that a positive spirit, the will to succeed, a sense of humor, and determination can help you overcome incredible odds! I think that’s very cool.

Amy Petty Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon Finish

[photos and video provided by Amy Petty]

Here is the finisher’s medal from the Frisco Railroad Run – 50 Mile, 50K, Marathon, 1/2 Marathon, 8K and 50K Relay – that took place on April 28, 2012 in Willard, Missouri.

Extremely beautiful medal with a lot of detail and pop to it. You won’t find many medals much better than this one.

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[Submitted by RIF #58 Eric Van Zee]

Here is the finisher’s medal from the Illinois Marathon that took place on April 28, 2012 in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois on the University of Illinois campus.

This is well done medal. Within the outline of the state of Illinois there is the letter ‘I’ which is a spinner.

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[Submitted by Left Hash (@lefthash) and Telisa (@telisa)]

Here is the finisher’s medal from the Greater Manchester Marathon that took place in northwestern part of the United Kingdom in Trafford on April 29, 2012.

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[Submitted by Gavin J. Reeves. Follow him on Twitter @GavinJReeves]

Here is the finisher’s medal from the Big Sur International Marathon that took place on April 29, 2012 in Big Sur, California.

This is one mega cool medal that has a very natural Native American feel to it.

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[Submitted by RIF #18 Rick Jarvis who ran the Country Music Half Marathon the day before running Big Sur.]

Here is the finisher’s medal from the Salt Lake City Marathon that took place on April 21, 2012 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

This is such a strong, bold, and masculine medal.  A medal a superhero would be proud to wear as his belt buckle.

The middle part of the medal (with the runners and ‘Utah’) is a spinner.

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[Submitted by Jason Howard. Follow Jason on Twitter @jasonrunsutah]

We asked on Twitter (@runitfast) where you were running this weekend and 80 of you responded!

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

Joshua Holmes – Country Music Marathon in Nashville, Tennessee

Naresh Kumar – RIF#2 will be running the Country Music Marathon #CMM

Scott Wood – Nashville Country Music Half Marathon

Terri Selig – I’m running the KY Derby Festival Marathon!!! Woohoo!

Lia – Big Sur Marathon!

Miss Potter – I’m looking forward to the #TwitterRoadRace this Saturday! Still time to sign up… http://tinyurl.com/87jqvqv

Arturo Moreno – St. Jude Nashville Marathon

Lisa Gonzales – I’m doing back-to-back long runs on local roads & trails.

Don Newman Kazery – Starkville, Ms

Kosher Peter – barefoot on grass this weekend and a 10k in Shiprock the following weekend! 😀

Neil Zeller – Police Half Marathon in Calgary Alberta. @YYCPoliceHalf

Chris Haynes – Country Music Half Marathon, Nashville, TN!

Kat – Get in Gear Half Marathon – Minneapolis, MN

Shawna – First Full Mary!!!! @CountryMusic262 in Nashville!!!

Daniel – Eisenhower Park 4 miler!

Luis Ayala – Marvel Race!! Hulk costume!!

Alvin Lee – Local 10k Pikes Peak Rockville, MD

Jeff Burrell – nashville marathon

Jesse Schneider – Derby Festival Mini Marathon in Louisville, KY

Vanessa Goodman – the @TheGreenRun #Houston Sat. My first 10k! I’m ready to #runfast

Jesse Salazar – Big Sur marathon, CA.

Domenick P. Addesi – Tough Mudder PA baby!!! #thetimehascome

Jared Friesen – hitting the trails while in vacation on Maui!

Billy Zuccaro – Nashville TN fun race 1/2 marathon

SKORA Running – Eugene Marathon!

Erin Tucker – Running the Run For The Trees 5k in Winter Park, Fl Saturday!

Monkey Trent – Me too RT @bayou: @runitfast Country Music Marathon in Nashville, Tennessee

Kelly Berry – 23-mile training run around Minneapolis – my 2nd to last long training run before #Grandma‘sMarathon in June!

Matthew Mitchell – Cleveland 10 Miler #HermesCleveland

PerOla Axelsson – Lidingö Ultra 50km, Stockholm Sweden

Tim MacBean – Eugene marathon!

Ryan Malone – I’m running a 5k for Noble Hospital in Westfield MA on Saturday 🙂

Angie Gerber – Eight mile run. Countdown to Avenue of the Giants Marathon next Sunday! The taper is torture!

Edith Hurt – After long haul flight from Germany to Australia I’ll just get circulation going with 5-10km while @CanTooRunSwim buddies do 38km

Dennis Arriaga – Inaugural Pleasanton Half Marathon – Pleasanton, CA

Caloy Bautista – Does #TwitterRoadRace count? Doing it tomorrow

‘Ama – I would be running Pikes Peek 10K, if I wasn’t injured. 🙁

Robin Robbins – Country Music 1/2 Marathon Nashville,TN

Laura Gulso – @CrazylegsRun 8K is where I’m running tomorrow! Can’t wait to cross the finish line in Camp Randall Stadium!

Larry Keister – Kentucky Derby (half) Marathon in Louisville, KY

Brad Bennett – country music half tomorrow

Michelle Walker – Kentucky Derby Marathon

Hideki Kinoshita – I’m running @kdfrunner #KentuckyDerbyMarathon on Sat in Louisville. Marathon #95 / State #40, & I hope 23sub4. Thanks!#RunItFast

Colene Lord – Eugene Half Marathon Sunday!!! The finish line is on the University of Oregon track!

Laura Raeder – Big Sur…finally!

Erica Agran – Chicago Lakefront 10 and Ravenswood 5k!

rb – CCK Singapore

Marcia Larsen – Cara Lakefront 10 mile in Chicago

Tom Martin – I am running the Cherry Creek Sneak 5 mile run. Sunday

Crystal – I’ll be running the virtual #TwitterRoadRace on Cape Cod. I get to choose my own adventure.

MarathonJunkie™Engle – I will run on the beaches of Hawaii Sunday by 11 am.#mantan #vacay #notgonnarunEugene 🙁

Dallas Smith – Rock N Roll Nashville Country Music Marathon, whatever they’re calling it now.

Mike Clifford – running my first marathon in Gettysburg PA on Sunday!#excited

Nicholas L. Norfolk – I’ll be in #Nashvegas at @CountryMusic262. I’m doing the half, but it will be full of fun. #CountryMusicMarathon #RNRNash

Maria Stivers – Have several friends running Rock and Roll marathon in Nashville this weekend! Good luck @Mary3Smith, Terrie, Sandy and Jen!

Jordan Adams – Bob Jones Track Sectionals (Section 4, 4a)

telisa – Illinois marathon- Champaign Illinois

Bradley Reiter – Loaring Sun Run 5k this Sunday in Tecumseh ON.#pbseason

Cordell Lewis – Lime City Relays at HNHS

HalfMarathons.Net – The 21-miler at the Big Sur Marathon in Monterey!

Jeff Cook – Tour dePaul little rock ar

RunWell – Running @outrun24 in Ohio. Going to be cold for this Florida resident!

Gregory Wilson – My first Big Sur Marathon.

Kelley – I’m participating in the #TwitterRoadRace virtual 5k in my home town on a new route.

Elizabeth Kalifeh – big sur marathon!

Ed Ayres – Pacific Crest Trail, California. Hope the rattlesnakes are still asleep!

Kevin Ronayne – #TwitterRoadRace tomorrow

neilj1971 – James Joyce Ramble in Dedham MA

Beth – Louisville KY mini marathon in celebration of the Derby. My dad runs the race every year, this is my first year joining him.

elizabeth v rehmer  – #TwitterRoadRace !!! In Livingston mt

Laurie Cyr –  #ilmarathon relay. I am ready to run!

Timothy Agee – 4-hour pacer at the Country Music Marathon.

XC problems – everywhere!

Bill Hoover – Parkway Half Marathon, Sacramento CA

Running with Kids – 34th annual Minuteman 5K in Westport CT along beautiful Long Island Sound & through Longshore Country Club

Leah Thorvilson  – #FriscoRun in Willard (the Las Vegas of) Missouri.

Kristen Jones – Ben Layton Memorial 5k Run/Walk in Salisbury Maryland. I will be walking because I am almost 9 months pregnant!!

Chad Norton – Derby Festival Half Marathon

Stephen G – Conn’s Green 6.2 @TheGreenRun

Michelle Berg – Cheshire (CT) Half Marathon 4/29

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