We asked you via Run It Fast’s Twitter (@runitfast)for examples of some of the worst things you’ve witnessed other runners do during races and many of you replied.

The list of things ranged from cutting courses to numerous mentions of runners leaving bodily fluids and excrements along the course, in front of you, or too close for comfort.

Take a look below and see if you agree or have an experience that can top these:

Worst Things You’ve Seen Other Runners Do During Races

Storified by Joshua Holmes · Wed, Jun 06 2012 13:31:06

About 25% of Run It Fast – The Club members have submitted their race data (January-April) to be tabulated into the Extreme Runner/Racer Standings.

The overall leader is Hideki Kinoshita (RIF #88) with 442.2 race points.  Second place goes to Joshua Holmes (RIF #1) with 380.6 points and David Wingard (RIF #101) is in third with 365.4 points.

Runners are awarded a point for every mile of a race they complete. (Example: marathon = 26.2 pts, half marathon = 13.1 points, 50K = 31 points, 5K = 3.1 points, etc.).  More details HERE

The male and female leaders at the end of the year will be named RIF’s Extreme Runner/Racer(s) of the Year.

Top 10 Overall Extreme Runner Point Standings

1. Hideki Kinoshita – 442.2 (RIF #88) – @runkino
2. Joshua Holmes – 380.6 (RIF #1) – @bayou
3. David Wingard – 365.4 (RIF #101)
4. Emily Conley (F) – 276.4 (RIF #24) – @trailjunke
5. Rick Jarvis – 245.1 (RIF #18)
6. Scott Stader – 222.4 (RIF #40) – @scottstader
7. Alvin Lee – 172.0 (RIF #30) – @aleedds
8. Laura Raeder (F) – 160.3 (RIF #20) – @lauraraeder
9. David Donald – 143.9 (RIF #54)
10. Trent Rosenbloom – 141.6 (RIF #57) – @hhflyingmonkey

Extreme Racer Male Leaderboard 

1. Hideki Kinoshita – 442.2 (RIF #88)
2. Joshua Holmes – 380.6 (RIF #1)
3. David Wingard – 365.4 (RIF #101)
4. Rick Jarvis – 245.1 (RIF #18)
5. Scott Stader – 222.4 (RIF #40)
6. Alvin Lee – 172.0 (RIF #30)
7. David Donald – 143.9 (RIF #54)
8. Trent Rosenbloom – 141.6 (RIF #57)
9. Rick Thiounn – 125.4 (RIF #111)
10. Jonathan Bobbitt – 97.2 (RIF #3)
11. Nicholas Norfolk – 84.1 (RIF #116)
12. Naresh Kumar – 83.4 (RIF #2)
13. Brian Wooldridge – 74.8 (RIF #141)
14. Jason Howard – 71.7 (RIF #150)
15. Stewart Crouch – 64.8 (RIF #89)
16. Perry Ligon – 33.0 (RIF #146)
17. Scott Lochridge – 62.4 (RIF #32)
18. John Hudson – 57.9 (RIF #63)
19. Dennis Arriaga – 47.9 (RIF #140)
20. JD Leman – 39.3 (RIF #139)
21. Wade Anderson – 26.2 (RIF #22)
22. Kevin Ronayne – 19.3 (RIF #11)
23. Chris Nelson – 19.3 (RIF #135)
24. Mark Sikkila – 16.2 (RIF #108)
25. Scott Gorski – 12.4 (RIF #107)
26. Josh Liggett – 9.3 (RIF #147)

Extreme Racer Female Leaderboard

1. Emily Conley – 276.4 (RIF #24)
2. Laura Raeder – 160.3 (RIF #20)
3. Michelle Mitchell – 137.4 (RIF #133)
4. Mikki Trujillo – 134.1 (RIF #13)
5. Heather Shoemaker – 128.6 (RIF #44)
6. Lisa Gonzales – 119.9 (RIF #5)
7. Alicia Eno – 117.9 (RIF #126)
8. Nicole Knutson – 104.8 (RIF #47)
9. Daniela Obregon – 55.5 (RIF #49)
10. Christy Bowers – 54.1 (RIF #60)
11. Marj Mitchell – 30.2 (RIF #4)
12. Natalie Torres – 29.3 (RIF #72)
13. Debra Jacildo – 17.4 (RIF #98)
14. Meredith Yox – 15.5 (RIF #128)
15. Lisa Edwards – 15.1 (RIF #122)

Thanks to all 41 members who have submitted race data to date. This should become a lot of fun as the year goes on and more members start to participate.

For information on joining Run It Fast – The Club click HERE.

Club Members be sure to read more about ERS and enter your races -> Extreme Racer Standings Program (details).

Complete Run It Fast – The Club Member Directory

 

 

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:)

—-

When we launched Run It Fast – The Club ten weeks ago, we promised a brand-spanking-new Garmin 310xt would be given away to one of the first 150 members to join.

We got to 150 members pretty quickly, and it’s time now to select which RIF-Club member will win the Garmin.

The drawing is going to consist of two drawings. In the first drawing, I’m going to use Random Number Generator to select 10 different Run It Fast – Club numbers. These ten members, along with their RIF #’s, will be listed below.

Tomorrow I’ll use the Random Number Generator again using the #’s 1-10 (as labeled below) to decide who the winner will be.

And the 10 Finalists Are…

1. RIF #64 – Leah Harrison
2. RIF #90 – Marcia Larsen
3. RIF #23 – Jennifer Lazar
4. RIF #32 – Scott Lochridge
5. RIF #141 – Brian Wooldridge
6. RIF #61 – Amanda Cottingham
7. RIF #18 – Rick Jarvis
8. RIF #15 – Amber Goetz-Bouchard
9. RIF #85 – Brett Beckham
10. RIF #36 – Bryan Snyder

So these are the lucky ten that will have their name in the hat tomorrow for the Garmin 310xt.

For information on joining Run It Fast – The Club click HERE.

Members be sure to check out (and submit your info) our Extreme Racer Standings Program (details).

Complete Run It Fast – The Club Member Directory

We are pleased to have the following Run It Fast – The Club members running the 116th Boston Marathon on April 16, 2012.

Best of luck to RIF-Club members and readers of Run It Fast that are running the most prestigious marathon in the United States.

Run It Fast Club Members Running Boston:

Kenneth Williams – RIF #28

Scott Stader – RIF #40

Trent Rosenbloom – RIF #57

Jonathan Harrison – RIF #65

Nadia Gonzales – RIF #69

Marathonjunkie – RIF #70

Dallas Smith – RIF #79

Stewart Crouch – RIF #89

Ashley Hook – RIF #97

Kathy Shirley – RIF #105

JOIN Run It Fast – The Club – Details HERE

(These are the RIF-Club members we’ve heard mention they are running Boston. If you are in the club and we omitted you then please just leave a comment below with your name and we’ll edit the list above to include you.)

 

We asked on Twitter (@runitfast) where you were running this weekend and 49 of you responded!

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

Joshua Holmes – Rest and recover from #Umstead100. Might ease back in with some elliptical

Lisa Gonzales – Doing a little trail running in my home town. #thankful

Peggy – #Hollywoodhalf this Saturday!

Camille Breckenridge – I’m running my second 5K this weekend in Sardis, MS. I’m hoping to beat my last time.

Arturo Moreno – Abe Lincoln Presidential Half Marathon in Springfield,IL

RunningMixes.com – taking this weekend off to go to our first Chicago Cubs game then Easter on Sunday! Are you going to run on Sunday?

HECTOR RAMIREZ – Orizaba Veracruz, Mexico !

Mrs. Kaci – Downtown Fairfield, Sat AM, Run For Good 5K!

Deloras Shubert – I’m running a half in Plainview Texas

Matt Johnson – @MRR_Siouxland #SpringThaw 10 miler!

Crystal – Cedro Peak! #Tijeras #NM

Chris Haynes – Oak Barrel half marathon, Lynchburg, Tennessee, this Saturday!

c c – I’m running the @RunUSHalf in San Francisco! Beautiful weather and beautiful city=beautiful run

Justin Barden – a 5k in Jackson, first short race in a while, looking forward to it

Jeff Thies – Arcadia Invitational!! I’m in the mens 3200 rated 2 and the seeded DMR where I’m doing the mile!!! so excited!!

Clint Randall – running up in Maine!

Lena Moman – Oakland hills, 15 mile training run. #running

Timothy Gore – traveling to Knoxville, TN and will run there

NaomiPipes – @MemorialPark #4theParks in Houston.

South East Striders – 10k in south east Kent with the ladies of @SEStriders

Michelle Mitchell – ez 2 mi xc race -Sri Chinmoy xc series (Moscow) followed by last long run b4 100k Worlds in 2 weeks

John O’Regan – 10K in Ballybunion, Co.Kerry, Ireland. Speed session during Ultra Taper.

Mario Luevanos – I’m going to be at the @HollywoodHalf Marathon, I really want that star and hoping to finish injury free!

Kiki – Running in the Bunny Hop 5K in Westerville, OH on Saturday morning. Sunday morning is my long run for my 1/2 marathon training.

Jade Blackford – Wichita, KS @EasterSunRun 🙂

Laura Raeder – Lincoln Presidential 1/2 marathon in Springfield Illinois. With brother in law…must beat him!

melissa reeves – Atlanta- Color Run!!

Kevin Ronayne – Training runs in the Boston area this weekend

Ed Roshitsh – Marin Headlands, San Francisco!

White Rock Lake – White Rock Lake in Dallas. Ready for Big D Marathon around the lake next week!

RuddyHajiMohammadAli – Stadium Hassanal Bolkiah, Brunei Darussalam. Standard Chartered Run for a reason, seeing is believing.

Jay – round Scenic St Neots (UK).

Lauren S. – 48th annual Lincoln Presidential Half Marathon in Springfield, IL!!!

Michael Sullivan – Roanoke river run 5k

Frank Cepero – Running the Glass City Half oon the 22nd of April In Toledo

Stephen G – Muddy Trails Bash 10K

Ryan Malesevich – second half marathon in 7 days! South Shore Half Marathon in Milwaukee.

PedrosRevenge – the Aug!

Eric Steuck – Cobber track from MN running in lynchburg VA

Cameron Adamson – taper time boys! Boston 2012 sub 3 !

Larissa – along the Hudson!

Jess – SML 5k and 1 mile with my kids on Saturday a.m., Jacksonville. Shannon Miller’s organization is combating obesity in children.

Larry Keister – nothing fancy. just doing 13.1 around the neighborhood in prep for Kentucky Derby Festival mini-Marathon on 4/28

Angie Gerber – Another training run in beautiful Helvetia, OR. Ready for some hills!

The Mama Runs – just a training LSD run with my Sun am group at the Eau Claire #Running Room #runchat #runningaddict

Matt Ambos – running in the sting 5k! Going to go sub-22 for the 1st time!

Brendan Shearn – Arcadia invitational!!

Taylor Ray – Cumming ,GA! Gonna run my face off this weekend!!!

Deb – local trails….training

 

We asked on Twitter (@runitfast) where you were running this weekend and 32 of you responded!

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

Joshua Holmes – Umstead 100 Mile Ultra in Raleigh, NC. #runitfast

Monkey Trent – #Umstead100 Cripes

Lisa Gonzales – easy run or 2 around town this weekend for me. After 3 weeks off, I’ll take it. #crossingfingers

Robin Robbins – Andrew Jackson 1/2 Marathon

Amber Goetz – running the Human Race 5K in Greensboro, NC on Saturday 31Mar12 🙂

Marcia Larsen – Chicago Spring 10K on Sunday

Can’t Stop Endurance – Long trail runs in Shelby Farms!

Stewart Crouch – Texas Independence Relay

Kevin Ronayne – Loooong training runs in the hills of Central MA

Alvin Lee – Cherry Blossom 10 miler Washington, DC #runitfast

lillianflores – Memorial Park Houston TX 🙂

Mike Gilmartin – Chi-Town Half-Marathon on Sunday.

Charity Chitiyo – I’m running the @nyrr Colon Cancer Challenge – 15K, this Sunday. Looking forward to this race.

Jordan Weber – @CRBridgeRun Cooper River Bridge Run in Charleston, SC!

MassGal00 – #runforthetroops! Great cause!

Suzanne Erickson – #Umstead100 in Raleigh, NC!

Matt Conn – Heading south to the Knoxville Half Marathon. Ran it last year, an absolutely beautiful course.

A Season! – Cooper River Bridgerun-Charleston, SC

Gina Farrell– Gulfstream runway 5k. Mile one on the runway.

alex castillo – Benbrook Flower Power 5k

David Monett – The Beast – St Francisville LA

David W – Knoxville Marathon with my daughter. It is her first marathon.

aimee bellwood – Richmond park.

Lee Beebe – GoldenGateHeadlands26.2 TrailEvent! =^D

Kiki – I’m running in the Papa John’s 10 Miler in Louisville, KY. It’s the last event in the Louisville Triple Crown of Running.

Jaime Cabello Vivar– well I am going to do a 10k of running with hills…#onlyforvolunteers

Brian L – I’m not racing but @HeidiRuns is racing Ironman Texas 70.3 this weekend her first HIM.

Ben Keefe – going to do a ten mile trail run at Wyandotte County Park in Kansas. Should be sloppy. #trailrunning

Janie Crouch – No official races, just ready to help my brother run from his wedding if he changes his mind! We’ll really have to #runitfast !

Scot Britton – Running the @WarriorDash in Lake Elsinore #runitfast

SKORA Running – just running around The Black Hills National Forest this weekend!

BeardRunJax – Tour De Pain EXTREME, 2 day race series. 10k/5k/Half – Jacksonville, FL

Angie Gerber – Twenty miles on the beautiful Portland, OR waterfront. Prepared to get drenched. 🙂

Good luck to everyone and especially those running the Andrew Jackson Marathon and Umstead 100.

 

We asked on Twitter (@runitfast) where you were running this weekend and 40 of you responded!

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

Joshua Holmes – Some easy training as taper down for Umstead 100 next weekend.

Naresh Kumar – Run a bit of trails at FHSP.

stephanie – 8 mile trail run Saturday. Can’t say I’m too excited though.

Victoria – Dallas ! 🙂

Christine Altland – freehold NJ!!

Anthony bednarz – Ocean Drive Marathon (10 mile race for me) in South Jersey

The Naked Runners – Melbourne @parkrun @parkrun_au (free, weekly, timed 5K). Can’t wait!

Siddharth Thakkar – I may get a 10mile run on Saturday. Hope the temperatures stay low. #runitfast

Don Newman Kazery – Starkville, Ms Historic Starkvegas run 5k/10k.#wishmeluck

Edith Hurt – 32km (19.88m) around Sydney Harbour with @CanTooRunSwim – very scenic

Amy Auner – Running on Daytona Beach baby!

Brian Burns – the @roadracersaz south mountain 20k #weekendworkout

Aaron Johnstone – Bearathon (half marathon) in Waco TX. Put on by Baylor University

Pauline Albiges – I’m not , next weekend Bournemouth! Yeah!

Angie Gerber – Thirteen miles in beautiful Helvetia, Oregon. #runitfast

Rai Mills – RnR Dallas!! Can’t wait!

Megan N – Leawood, KS!

Jess – getting muddy at the MS Muckruckus…this ought to be fun!

Domenick P. Addesi – Rachel and Troy 5K Run (benefits Laurel House and Mission Kids) – Sunday, March 25, 2012 Colonial Elementary Plymouth Meeting, PA

Alvin Lee – Ocean Drive Marathon Cape May, NJ…I’ll try my best to#runitfast

Brian L – Rock and Roll Dallas Half Marathon. Half Marathon #10 in under a year for me.

Erin – 1/2 Marathon at the Charlotte Motor Speedway! #runitfast

Michelle Mitchell – Solnechnogorsk (Moscow burb) trail marathon on snowpack/ Will be run as training run for the 100k.

Marcia Larsen – Training runs for my 4/1 Chicago 10K and then 5/6 Pittsburgh 1/2 marathon.

Fat Ass to Bad Ass! – Cap10K!

Ryland Clark – Broward County Finals tomorrow!

Kiki – I’m running in the Durbin Classic 5K in Nobelsville, IN this weekend.

HAWK – No races this weekend but just some good solid training runs in sunny Florida.

Maria – Doing 2 different halfs (or is it halves?) on Saturday. Woot!!

Nolan Holloway – embrace our green 5k, deatur GA

Melanie Gomez – #Austin @cap10k

MassielSm – I’ll be Running the @RunRocknRoll 1/2 marathon Dallas

NaomiPipes –  #RunfortheRose Houston, TX

Nancy Torres – Track meet this Saturday! Mile and 2 mile!

elizabeth v rehmer – willow creek in Livingston MT. 9 miler.

Faith Dority – Inaugural NC 1/2 Marathon @Lowes Motor Speedway!

Sarah Malaney – 10 miles with an early morning training group! #BTG#HalfMarathon

MDA Brain and Spine – Houston, Run for the Rose #Runfortherosehttp://www.runfortherose.com Sunday, March 25. Benefits brain cancer research @DrMarnieRoseFdn

Kathy Shirley – This weekend’s run is 23 miles around Lake Hodges in Escondido — last long run before Boston!

eric vanzee –  #6hoursnakerun this weekend. #tulsaOK

 

We asked on Twitter (@runitfast) where you were running this weekend and 30 of you responded!

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

Joshua Holmes – MS 50 Miler on Sat and RNR NOLA marathon Sunday. #runitfast

Lauren Stone – 9 mile birthday training run tomorrow! Hopefully in the park and not on the treadmill!

Jeff Cook – @tamshaw331 @Twitchaloupka We are all running the LR Half Marathon!

MsPump&Run – Columbus Ohio, @ArnoldSports #5kPumpnRun #LiftRunRepeat

BOTPP – Home sweet home, but some pals are doing a 10k in Holyoke, MA on March 18.

Betty Pecas – #YoCorreréElMaratónLala2012 @MaratonLala

Anji Nussbaumer – will be slopping through the mud and rain at the Umstead Trail Marathon in NC

Pilar Laurido – #NikeSunsetRun Pta Carnero Ecuador @Nike_Ec

Robin Thomas – planning a long run through the #EastSussex countryside starting in #Uckfield

Victor Fleitas – You know it, the Carl Touchstone Memorial Mississippi 50 Trail Run 50k! #Mississippi50

Stephen G – The Woodlands (TX) Half Marathon.

Lisa Gonzales – I’m doing 25 miles tomorrow w/lots of hill repeats! And 13 on the trails on Sunday. All local.

Kevin Ronayne – Looooong runs in Central Mass this weekend #marathontraining

James Meredith – Little Rock. The weather is shaping up to be perfect, so we’re hoping for an all-around great weekend.

Kevin Leathers – MS Trail 50 Mile with Run It Fast & Can’t Stop Endurance friends!!

ChrissyCarroll1– Hopefully a 10 mile training run in prep for some upcoming half marathons, if my hip chooses to cooperate!

Jon Yezerski – Black Cat 10 miler in Salem Ma

Stephen Cox – UNF Spring Break invite in Jacksonville, FL. 5000m tonight. #stoked

Arturo Moreno – running the #RnRNOLA marathon on Sunday

Damian Foley – Running the #RnRNOLA 1/2 – can I finish 13.1 before @bayou finishes 26.2? lol

Disneywifey – #rnrnola half 🙂

April Werling – Running the Mountain Marathon in Olympia, Wa! My 2nd marathon!

Jonathan Stewart – 12 today, 14 Saturday and 13 tempo Sunday, all in the prettiest town in Madison county Tennessee!

Will McDonough – Hey @runitfast : racing the final leg of the @BostonBuildup winter series on Sunday — 25k @ Silvermine, CT #weekendruns

wrytersview – Les Bois 10k Trail Run http://t.co/bxx39Hvg

Ike – running on school track. Have 800s ahead of me today. Should be interesting. #getitdone

Gregory Wilson – On Saturday, Hellyer 5k in San Jose, CA. On Sunday, the Napa Valley Marathon.

Fernanda De Hoyos – beautiful san Diego bay, and ski beach

Alvin Lee – B & A Trail Marathon Severna Park, MD. Marathon 7 and still luvin it!

Scott Stader – Heading down to New Orleans for the #RnRNOLA marathon! Who’s ready to #runitfast with me? @runitfast

 

Run It Fast was recently able to catch up with veteran marathoner Nadia Ruiz Gonzales from Los Angeles. Nadia is 27-years old and ran her first marathon at the age of 14. She has now run a total of 71 marathons to date.

Here is a quick rundown of why Nadia runs and who inspires her:

When did you start running?
In middle school, my mom enrolled me in boxing so I can learn self defense. Yes, cool mom. 🙂 As part of training, the coach had us run and run some more in circles around the gym. It was then I learned I had a thing for endurance.

Did you start with races or just running recreationally or for school?
After middle school, my sister suggested I try out for the high school Cross Country team. Afraid and timid, I trained my first summer hard as a Freshman because it was a fear that I would be left behind. In our first school’s Cross Country meet, I came in first overall for our school. I was hooked. I remained undefeated at any long distance for four years at SFHS.

What distance(s) were your first races?
Standard distance in Cross Country was the 3 mile event. In Track & Field, I was placed in the 4x400m, 800m, 1600m, and 3200m. I was so hooked to the running high, I started running 5Ks and 10Ks on the weekends with my family as training to make myself a stronger racer. Ten years after graduating, my high school records for the 3 mile, 2 mile and 3200m still remain at SFHS.

Who inspired you or inspires you to run? Who got that ‘bug’ activated within you?
I first learned about running as a sport and the marathon distance as a 6th grader from my middle school math teacher who ran marathons for “fun.” Noticing my interest, my father took me with him to cheer on an Ecuadorian runner in the 1996 Los Angeles Marathon who went on the win the race making my dad be a proud Ecuadorian that day. Witnessing such amazing strength and will, I then decided as a little 12 year old girl that one day I would run the marathon to hopefully make my parents proud but most importantly prove to myself that I could do it. My father and I ran our first marathon together when I was 14 years old hand-in-hand crossing the finish line together… in tears. My parents had immigrated to this country with nothing leaving behind everything to allow for their children to seek greater opportunities. This was an opportunity I was taking to discover what I had inside me to run my first marathon. My father and mother to this day continue to be the largest source of inspiration for me.

How many marathons have you run?
After 13 years running, I have now completed 71 marathons as a 27 year old.

What is your fastest marathon to date? Fastest half marathon?
The past three years have been great racing years for me in running and triathlons where I have ran a 3:20:04 marathon PR and a 1:26:45 half marathon PR both in 2011. I hope and will work hard to surpass those marks this year.

How many states have you run marathons in?
I have ran marathons in 15 different states and 4 different countries. I hope to run marathons in as many countries as I can and in every continent.

Have you run an ultra marathon yet? If not, do you want or plan to?
I ran my first ultra in 2011 at the ET Midnight Marathon and 51K at Area 51, Nevada on 8/14/11. With a focused mind and the help of an ultra runner friend, I won first female overall at my first ultra despite how much it hurt my legs to go passed 26.2 miles. It was a great first experience!

What is your favorite race to date?
As many races as I have ran, it is always difficult to narrow it down to one favorite. I can say though my favorite top 5 marathons are: Los Angeles, Big Sur, Rome, ING New York, and Pikes Peak.

What is your dream race that you haven’t run but hope to one day?
The Antarctica Marathon. I’m wait listed for 2015. It is an absolute dream to run at the end of the world!

What shoes and gear do you run in?
I have tried a variety of brands. Currently, I run in Brooks.

What do you eat on race morning?
I have experimented with a variety of combinations and try to mix it up when I can to keep it exciting. I have had in the past: peanut butter and almond sandwiches, granola with almond butter, Greek yogurt with granola, oatmeal with apples, or bananas with honey.

Do you belong to any running clubs?
I am a part of an amazing online running community called the Marathon Maniacs member #1791, Tri Lunatics  #3 (site), and Run It Fast – The Club member #69 (details HERE).

What other runners do you look up to admire?
My father
My mother

Have you ever been seriously injured from running? If so did you have to take off a lot of time from it? How did you cope?
Thankfully, I have not been seriously injured but I did develop tendonitis of the knee once where I stopped running for 6 weeks. That taught me to not ignore what my body needs again. Too much, too soon, too fast is asking for trouble.

What advice do you have for someone looking to improve their time/speed in a half marathon or marathon?
Every little thing helps. If you want it bad enough, you have to adopt a marathon lifestyle. Love and listen to what your body needs and you can demand anything from it. Dream big.

What helpful tips can you give to the newbie runner that has no running experience and knows nothing about running?
The running community is one of the most welcoming groups you can find. No matter what distance, no matter what pace, always aim to have fun and you may just become a lifelong runner.

• Nadia’s Blog
• Nadia’s Facebook Page
• Nadia’s Racing Schedule
• Nadia’s Marathon Results