Run It Fast®

This is the finisher’s medal for runDisney’s Tinkerbell Half Marathon that was held on January 19, 2014 at Disneyland in Anaheim, California.

Fun set of wings!

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[medal photo submitted by RIF #10 Dianna Seda. – Follow her on Twitter @DiannaSeda]

This is the finisher’s medal for the Fit 4 Life Village Creek 10K/25K that was held on January 11, 2014 in Wynne, Arkansas.

Very cool medal! Nice to see something other than the usual round medal.

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[medal submitted by RIF #116 Nicholas Norfolk. Follow him on Twitter @absolut_zer0]

Last January, we presented Hope Shull with a membership to Run It Fast – The Club at the Race for Hope 5K in Henderson, Tennessee.

The 5K was held to honor Hope as she had terminal cancer with just a few weeks to live. She died shortly after the race was held.

Hope was a personal friend to myself and many other of the early members of Run It Fast. I ran several of my very first 5K races with Hope and her good friend Marj Mitchell in West Tennessee.

I wrote Hope a letter to be presented to her at the Race for Hope 5K last January that Marj read to her at the race.  The letter included a permanent membership to Run It Fast along with a few other words that included the creation of an award in her honor –  ‘The Hope Award.’

January 12, 2012

Hope,

I’m amiss that I can’t be at the race today.  I’m in Los Angeles, but you are on my mind as you often are.

I asked Marj if it would be ok ,and she thought it would be, so I want to proudly announce you as the newest member of Run It Fast – The Club.

You will always be RIF #225, a special number to me as 25 has always been one of my two most favorite numbers.  You will always be a part of the club no matter what transpires from this day forward between any of us.

I’ve always wanted you to be a part of the club because you embody EVERYTHING that Run It Fast was created to become. Run It Fast is a club full of members that have this deep down desire to overcome obstacles in life and limitations that most others let hold them back or down. Run It Fast members don’t let their situation or hardship in life dictate their life for them.

Instead they go out and conquer life by digging deep to train hard, run races, and forge friendships along the way that inspire others to do things that perhaps they didn’t think were possible either.

Also, I want to announce that starting this year, at the end of the year, the Run It Fast – Club will annually give one member the honor of being named the Hope Shull Inspirational Runner of the Year!

I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the example you’ve set for me not only with running but with life.  I’ll never forget sharing the car ride back to the start of the Labor Day 5 Miler with you a couple of years ago. That was a beautiful day and a lot of fun.

With my utmost love, respect and admiration, 

Joshua Holmes

Run It Fast ® (RIF #1)

I’m proud and honored to announce that the ‘2013 Hope Shull Inspirational Runner Award’ goes to RIF #5 Lisa Gonzales from Alta Loma, California.

Lisa has inspired all of us with her bravery, courage, and tough inner fortitude in battling cancer over the last few months while never losing faith and being extremely positive and supportive of every member of Run It Fast, as she recovered from surgery and continues to go through chemotherapy.

Lisa insisted upon crewing me at the EC 100 just two weeks after her surgery. She has yet to deliver me a good cheeseburger during a 100 miler when crewing me, but she did a great job that day crewing me to a Top 5 finish.

She has been vital to the growth of Run It Fast over the last two years and has a true passion and desire for the club to become the best.

She is one of the toughest people I know. I draw inspiration from her, not only during my races, but in life in general. My worst days are nowhere near what she has gone through and survived in the past year.

Lisa gives ‘Hope’ to hundreds of runners in the running community across the globe every day!

I’m very proud of Lisa and honored that she is the 2013 recipient of ‘The Hope Shull Inspirational Runner Award.’

RIF 244 Susan Warcholak & RIF 270 Kevin Warcholak

Our first RIF Club profile of 2014 is a great couple of runners from Canada! Meet the Warcholaks! RIF #244 Susan and RIF #270 Kevin are one of the few married couples that we have in the club. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting them when they were in California last year and they are awesome (and have cool accents).

Meet Susan and Kevin:

INFO
Name: Susan & Kevin Warcholak
RIF #: Mrs 244 & Mr 270
Blog: http://www.dothingsalways.blogspot.com/
Twitter: @dothingsalways & @KevDoesRunning
Facebook: Susan Warcholak
Instagram: sue_dothingsalways

STATS
Years Running: Both – 2.5
Favorite Race Distance: Both – 26.2 (only done 1 so far though!)
Favorite PR: S – Edmonton Half 2012, took 12 mins off my previous Half time K – San Luis Obispo 2013, second day of back-to-back Halfs (& back-to-back PRs)
Favorite Race: S – Kauai Marathon K – Detroit Half or Hollywood Half (S- think it’s because he met Lisa & Josh!)

With RIF #1 Josh & RIF #5 Lisa at Hollywood Half

Favorite Bling: S – Kauai K – Detroit
Next Race: Pittsburgh Marathon May 4 followed by Calgary Marathon June 1 (marathons 2 & 3 for us)
What Makes You FEEL Fast?: S – Keeping up with Kev when we run together (this may have happened once) K – an unexpected PR on a tough course

FUN RUNNING QUESTIONS
Why did you start running?
S – I started running because I never ever thought I could. Losing 20lbs & working with a trainer at the gym gave me confidence. Kev started running to support me. Now he’s much faster than I am.

Who inspires your running and why?
S – Everyone in RIF, I have never seen so many amazing people push themselves to achieve so much. It’s so inspiring to be a part of. When Brennan (RIF #274 ) ran back to back races in Edmonton this year his dedication inspired me not to give up on my marathon even though I’d lost a lot of training after an IT Band problem.

Which of your running routes makes you the happiest and why?
We mostly run in Fish Creek Park, it runs through Calgary but is still remote, we often see coyotes and deer. There’s a path at the bottom of our garden that leads right out. Every season is different and this year we had a huge flood in June which changed everything. It’s more of an adventure now with bridges out and pathways eroded or gone.

Have you ever worn a costume during a race? What was it and for what race? If not, would you?
We ran RnR LV in 2012 with Team Running Elvi, it was crazy hot in the Elvis jumpsuits! So much fun being around 200 other Elvi (secret – some Elvi had beer).

Running Elvi

If you can’t run, you’re ________?
Hiking, snowshoeing – anything outside! We get up to the mountains as much as we can.

One last thing Susan & Kevin would like the rest of us to know:
Running arguments: In our first year of running Kev was very encouraging and took a lot of action pics during our races, mostly from behind me. This resulted in a great number of horrifying shots of my backside. Since then, the secret we’ve found is to run our own races at our own abilities, we have our individual space but still experience the race together. We make an exception for fun races like RnR LV or races in which we might expire like the -33°F Santa Shuffle this year! You would think with him being English and myself Scottish (auld enemies) we’d argue more but that isn’t the case.

Santa Shuffle

***

I love their story of how they started running and that they run their races together but still run their own race. They have a lot of fun as you can tell from the photos. I admire them for being able to run in -33 weather! But I see they also like warmer places like Kauai. Who wouldn’t!

Thank you for sharing Susan & Kevin! Good luck with your Canadian winter running and the Pittsburgh Marathon!

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 Susan Warcholak]

This is the fun finisher’s “medal” for the Yankee Springs Winter Challenge 25K that was held on January 4, 2014 in Middleville, Michigan.

How fun! But per RIF #108 Mark, it is “not true representation of the amount of snow”. 🙂

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

These are the medals for the New Years Double Half Marathon and 5K races that were held on December 31, 2013 and January 1, 2014 in Allen, Texas.

If you run races on both days, you not only get a medal each day but a plate to combine them in! Love the steampunkness of the gears! Congrats to RIF #60 Christy who ran the half marathon AND 5K on BOTH days!

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[medal photo submitted by RIF #60 Christy Bowers – follow her on Twitter @run2bake]

RIF #190 John Kent Leighton

There is a new leader in the Extreme Racer Standings! Here are the November 2013 Extreme Racer Standings:

RIF #190 John Kent Leighton is our new Extreme Racer Leader with 1845.7 points and RIF #159 Diane Bolton is now in 2nd with 1731.05 points. RIF #1 Joshua Holmes rounds out the Top 3 in 3rd with 1655.9 points.

There was no change in the Top 3 of either the Women’s or Men’s Leaderboards. On the Women’s Leaderboard, Diane is in 1st, followed by RIF #218 Carol Goslin in 2nd with 1261.6 points, and RIF #287 Carol Earles in 3rd with 1043.59 points. On the Men’s Leaderboard, John is in 1st followed by Joshua in 2nd and RIF #279 George Southgate in 3rd with 1408.07 points.

Through November, our RIF Club Members have raced 32,972.23 miles! That total is made up of 1315 races, including:

-20 100 Milers
-27 50 Milers
-68 50Ks
-503 Marathons
-157 Half Marathons
-71 10Ks
-244 5Ks
-225 races of non-traditional distances.

77 of our 300 club members have reported races through November. In total, 79 RIF Club members have submitted points and/or monthly miles so far for 2013 (only points count in the standings so only 77 RIF Club members are listed below).

Here are the full standings through November:

Top Ten Overall
1. John Kent Leighton – 1845.7 (RIF #190)
2. Diane Bolton – 1731.05 (RIF #159)
3. Joshua Holmes – 1655.9 (RIF #1)
4. George Southgate – 1408.07 (RIF #279)
5. Carol Goslin – 1261.6 (RIF #218)
6. Denis McCarthy – 1074.4 (RIF #263)
7. Carol Earles – 1043.59 (RIF #287)
8. Kerri Haskins – 987 (RIF #261)
9. Rob Distante – 979.63 (RIF #259)
10. Elaine Bickel Green – 769.1 (RIF #217)

Men’s Leaderboard
1. John Kent Leighton – 1845.7 (RIF #190)
2. Joshua Holmes – 1655.9 (RIF #1)
3. George Southgate – 1408.07 (RIF #279)
4. Denis McCarthy – 1074.4 (RIF #263)
5. Rob Distante – 979.63 (RIF #259)
6. Hideki Kinoshita – 727.4 (RIF #88)
7. Danny Staggs – 705.9 (RIF #186)
8. Jeff Le – 582.16 (RIF #248)
9. Eric Waterman – 408.7 (RIF #289)
10. Houston Wolf – 400.9 (RIF #254)
11. David Wingard – 333.9 (RIF #101)
12. Billy Cannon – 306.8 (RIF #169)
13. Anthony Ohrey – 293.6 (RIF #27)
14. Arland Blanton – 293.41 (RIF #290)
15. Kevin Brandon – 265.7 (RIF #214)
16. Nathan Bass – 250.2 (RIF #174)
17. Nicholas Norfolk – 238.9 (RIF #116)
18. Mark Ogletree – 234.9 (RIF #247)
19. Jeff Liu – 231 (RIF #275)
20. Steven Reagan – 215.9 (RIF #157)
21. Mark Watson – 194 (RIF #173)
22. Dennis Arriaga – 181.3 (RIF #140)
23. Jason Scott – 176.5 (RIF #265)
24. Rodrigo Jiménez – 158.32 (RIF #203)
25. Josh Liggett – 142.5 (RIF #147)
26. Robin Robbins – 139.6 (RIF #33)
27. James Krenis – 126.8 (RIF #67)
28. Kevin Ronayne – 108.4 (RIF #11)
29. Bill Baker – 106 (RIF #196)
30. Nikiah Nudell – 94.8 (RIF #234)
31. Charles Carmen – 89.63 (RIF #255)
32. Stephen Griffin – 89.6 (RIF #48)
33. Rick Thiounn – 79.5 (RIF #111)
34. Neil Dryland – 57.2 (RIF #252)
35. Naresh Kumar – 50 (RIF #2)
36. Stewart Crouch – 29.3 (RIF #89)
37. Brian Wooldridge – 26.2 (RIF #141)
38. Chris Haynes – 26.2 (RIF #223)
39. Brennan Thompson – 25.5 (RIF #274)
40. Daniel Escue – 22.4 (RIF #187)
41. Austin Coates – 22.4 (RIF #241)
42. Al Edwards – 13.1 (RIF #291)

Women’s Leaderboard
1. Diane Bolton – 1731.05 (RIF #159)
2. Carol Goslin – 1261.6 (RIF #218)
3. Carol Earles – 1043.59 (RIF #287)
4. Kerri Haskins – 987 (RIF #261)
5. Elaine Bickel Green – 769.1 (RIF #217)
6. Heather Zeigler – 763.9 (RIF #246)
7. Laura Raeder – 565.9 (RIF #20)
8. Christy Scott – 483 (RIF #231)
9. Robin Mancinelli – 480.8 (RIF #134)
10. Suzanne Spiceland – 468.2 (RIF #280)
11. Michelle Walker – 422.3 (RIF #124)
12. Katrina Mumaw – 399.5 (RIF #268)
13. Donna England – 370.5 (RIF #277)
14. Alicia Eno – 329.7 (RIF #126)
15. Amanda Staggs – 327.2 (RIF #210)
16. Lisa Gonzales – 319.26 (RIF #5)
17. Sandy Staggs – 274 (RIF #220)
18. Michelle Mitchell – 262.6 (RIF #133)
19. Heather Shoemaker – 261.8 (RIF #44)
20. Beth Hosick – 251.37 (RIF #219)
21. Marj Mitchell – 237.9 (RIF #4)
22. Shannon Burke – 236.8 (RIF #171)
23. Christy Bowers – 204.82 (RIF #60)
24. Michelle Lenahan – 192.08 (RIF #283)
25. Donna Pittman – 188.9 (RIF #181)
26. Jennifer Wood – 183.4 (RIF #243)
27. Melanie Casey – 144 (RIF #202)
28. Jennifer Whitley – 82 (RIF #160)
29. Natalie Torres – 81.7 (RIF #72)
30. Leigh Marsh – 61.7 (RIF #192)
31. Jill Hassen – 57.2 (RIF #242)
32. Marlene Deem – 52.4 (RIF #189)
33. Debra Jacildo – 28.3 (RIF #98)
34. Trisha Leonard – 26.2 (RIF #144)
35. Martine Kincade – 26.2 (RIF #260)

What a year we’ve had so far! I’m sure December was just as strong and just as amazing. Check back next month to see how the 2013 Extreme Racer finishes. Will John keep the lead? Will Diane take it back? Will Joshua be the dark horse in all this? Check back to see!

Now for some RIF Club business…

This month’s random drawing winner is RIF #134 Robin Mancinelli! We will be sending her a Gone For A Run sign and we are sure it will get a lot of use!

Don’t forget to submit your points/monthly miles next month for a chance to win! Anyone who submits races or miles or even to say they didn’t race/run because life got in the way is eligible for the drawing. We just want to hear what everyone is up to and it’s fun to see the race miles add up. 

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 medal the finishers of the Houston 12K of Christmas received on December 21, 2013 in Houston, Texas.

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[medal photo submitted by RIF #48 Stephen Griffin – follow him on Twitter @stepheng73]

Run It Fast – Club on Strava Club Leaderboard from the week ending December 1, 2013.

Here is a look at how Run It Fast – Club members stacked up against each other on our Strava club page:

Total Distance:
1. Joshua Holmes – 107.5
2. John Leighton – 79.0
3. Nathan Judd – 43.3

Total Running Time:
1. Joshua Holmes – 16hr 42min
2. John Leighton – 14hr 13min
3. Nathan Judd – 9hr 39min

Fastest Pace
1. Natalie Torres – 8:12
2. Dennis Arriaga – 8:19
3. Alex Barrientos – 8:45

Longest Run
1. Joshua Holmes – 49.5 mi
2. John Leighton – 49.5 mi
3. Jenny Wood – 26.2 mi

Most Elevation Gain:
1. Nathan Judd – 5,726 ft
2. Joshua Holmes – 2,364 ft
3. John Leighton – 1,637 ft

If you are a Run It Fast – Club member then join our club on Strava (free) and see where you compare week to week: http://www.strava.com/clubs/run-it-fast-the-club

Join Run It Fast – The Club HERE

This is the fun finisher’s medal for the Walter H. White Sr. Memorial Marathon that was held on December 1, 2013 in Jackson, Tennessee.

This was a fun themed marathon! Congrats to RIF #4 who went sub-5 hours there and set a new PR!

Here is another view of the medal:

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[Medal submitted by RIF #4 Marj Mitchell – follow her on Twitter @marathonmarj and by RIF #1 Joshua Holmes – follow him on Twitter @bayou]