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New Events
Portland Triathlon, Portland, OR
Contributor - Carrie Worth
I took a trip up to Portland to do the Portland Freshwater Trust Triathlon. It was a GREAT course! I was the brightest participant in my NPS attire and will be sure to submit the newspaper clipping (they snapped a pic of me crossing the finish line with my 6 yr old niece) to the foundation for a laugh. This tri was by far the most accommodating to participants -- for my mere $60 entry, I was given a long sleeved tech-tee, socks, multiple water bottles, discount certificates and in place of a finishers medal was a re-useable stainless steel water bottle (filled with water) handed out at the end. Not to mention free beer and food for everyone at the end (participants and families). I know its a bit of a drive (took me 13.5 hours) but I think it is well worth adding to the potential list of events for the NPS clubs.
San Francisco Marathon, San Francisco, CA
NPS had a great showing at the San Francisco Marathon where eight of us ran the first half. The race had an early 5:30 a.m. start on the cool (but warm for San Francisco) July morning, great for distance runs. After a quick few miles along the wharfs and waterfront, the course climbed the presidio up to the bridge. Although still quite foggy during the out and back over the Golden Gate Bridge, looking out over San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean made those couple of miles exciting. We all watched for the other runners as we passed each other and looked for Sean Krispin and Rebecca Madson celebrating their engagement on the bridge during the same race one year before. The site of the ten-mile-marker just after the bridge made for a nice boost, knowing there was only a 5k left. Katie Hagen and Meredith Thompson said they just attacked the downhill that followed; for me, only having three miles left gave a false hope. As the course turned from the water, the rolling hills into Golden Gate Park posed a new challenge. Only the last mile was a reprieve from the hills, but the finish line beckoned. When the course split we waved good-bye to the marathon runners and looked forward to a hot shower and a nice breakfast waiting at the Marines Memorial Club. Everyone had earned his and her indulgences for the day, and it wasn’t even 8 a.m. The Irish Coffees at the finish line were a nice perk, too. In the end, NPS had a few PRs, and our leaders had done really well. Everyone had a great, safe trip!
Kris Zhea, half-marathon, 1:35:26
Meredith Thompson, half-marathon, 1:44:43
Ronny Kristoffersen, half-marathon, 1:07:13
Ryan Pifer, marathon, 3:16 [dropped 20 minutes from PR]
Courtesy of Andrew O’Connor
Archived Events
Comrades Marathon, South Africa
Congratulations Martin Fajardo on completing the 56 mile Comrades Marathon in South Africa!
Message from Martin: My Comrades experience began after the New York Marathon. With The Marine Corps Marathon behind me, a few of us were talking (Andy Baldwin, Michael Chitwood, BartYasso, Josh Cox) and the idea to run Comrades for the children of World Vision came about. Native as I was, when they asked if I was up to "running the Comrades Marathon" I said yes. Marathons were nothing new and one more would be no big significant achievement. A couple of days later, at home and clear headed, I ‘Googled’ "comrades." Wow! it was 56 miles, altitude, big hills, an 85 year history, famous champions, and more than 20,000 runners.? ?Team World Vision was comprised of Josh Cox (50k record holder, 4 time Olympic qualifier), Bart Yasso (editor Runners World), Andy Baldwin (Navy Doctor), Michael Chitwood (World Vision), Paul Martin (amputee) and 12 other passionate runners. Noteworthy is that fact that Bart Yasso (60% of mobility in right leg is gone due to Lymes Disease) and Paul Martin (lost left leg to a drunk driver) completed the race in great shape.? ?My training weeks reached 110 miles 4 weeks out from the race. Most of my running was at Fort Ord cutting through the "Do Not Enter, Unexploded Ordinance" signs in order to get continuous hills in my long runs. In the six months prior I completed the Marine Corps Marathon, California International Marathon, Phoenix Marathon, Los Angeles Marathon, American River 50 miler, Big Sur, The Relay and a few 5 and 10-k races sprinkled in between.? ?The race itself was monumental. Race day is comparable in energy to the 4th of July. The entire country of South Africa comes to Durban and makes it something more than a race. Thousands of fans rich, poor, disabled, and non runners line the56 mile course and provide the encouragement needed to complete the race. My motivation was the fact that I was running for World Vision. The children and families we sponsor and represent are hungry, thirsty, sick, orphaned and still they fight every day to make it through. For them every day is better than the last. The two days before the race I was able to meet some of these children. We played, ate, and shared stories, songs, dances and the opportunity to make a indelible mark on each others life.? ?Funny thing is that you don’t feel pain until about 18 miles to go, when its ALL down hill. My quadriceps were tight and the hill just wouldn’t end. I was praying for a hill. Then before you know it the stadium comes into sight and all the pain goes away. A feeling of renewed energy filled my legs and I crossed the line running. At the end of the day, all 18 of my teammates had completed the race under the 12 hour cutoff and we celebrated. After a beer and a good meal, the talk around the table was " lets do it next year."?I could not have done this without the help and support of my family and friends. Thanks to the NPS running team for the training runs and races. Although I could not wear my NPS jersey during the race, I did wear my NPS running socks for good luck. THEY WORKED!
Learn more about the race and watch video by following this link (by doing so, you will be leaving the NPS Foundation site) : http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-239-522--13495-0,00.html
Bishop High Sierra Ultra Marathon
Congratulations to the club's newest Ultra Marathoners, Ryan Pifer and Joe Unrah!
On May 15th 2010 Ensign Ryan Pifer (NPS) and Ensign Joe Unruh (DLI) completed their first ultra marathons by taking part in the Bishop High Sierra ultra marathon 50 miler event located in the Sierra Nevadas and Tungsten Hills near Bishop, CA. Prior to the event they raised over $5000 for the charity Wounded Warrior Project, an organization that raises money and awareness for wounded service members. The course was rugged terrain consisting of trails and fire roads ranging from desert climate to mountain top conditions, trekking through 2 miles of snow covered trails. The event saw an overall elevation gain of over 11,200 feet, reaching a maximum altitude of 9,300 feet 20 miles into the course. Ensign Pifer took 10th overall and 2nd in his age group, coming it at 10 hours and 12 minutes.
