Medal Monday brings many stories of achievement for our members. Here are recent stories from the Marathon Maniacs and Half Fanatics, as told by you, as posted on the Marathon Maniacs/Half Fanatics Facebook pages.
Marathon Maniac Family Photo At the Cowtown Marathon & Half Marathon
Marathon Maniacs seen at the Ventura Marathon.
Chip Boggs (MM 1485) and Sathy Gunawardhana(MM15385) finished the Ventura Marathon 2025, in sunny Ventura California today.
Sue Moller(MM16177) , Matt Adler (MM16055)- 2 races down, 2 more to go tomorrow!! Run Gasparilla 15k and 5K ✅ – half marathon and 8k up next! 🦜
Marathon Maniac Family Photos At the Wilmington Marathon in Wilmington, North Carolina on February 22, 2025.
They also gathered in celebration of Charlotte Corriher(MM3514) & Christelle “Smiley” Douillet’s(MM8771, DA3794, HF441) 300th Marathon distance or longer race! Congratulations Charlotte & Christelle !
Featured Club Member: Jose Eduardo Garcia MM 9662
What a spectacular year! 2024 reserved some surprises, some positive, others not so. There were 15 marathons, fewer than the 22 in 2023, but with several unforgettable moments.
Among the main races, I had planned to run one that was on my bucket list: the Great Wall Marathon. It was an experience I had been trying to make possible for several years. However, about 2 months before, I had a stress fracture during a marathon in southern Brazil, which made me stop until the trip to China. I had to cancel two races in that period to focus on recovery and at least arrive clinically recovered. It worked out, and I completed the race, despite being completely unprepared to perform well. This day became even more special as, during much of the course, I had the support of a friend who later became my girlfriend and future wife.
And the surprises of 2024 did not stop there. Shortly before board for China, I had received confirmation to participate in the Olympic Games Paris Marathon. For the first time in history, amateur runners could run the same course as the Olympic athletes. There were few runners selected from Brazil, who had to complete challenges and accumulate points in an app for almost three years, besides counting on luck for the draw. The race had a challenging course and high temperatures in the European summer, but it is another experience I will take with me for the rest of my life.
To end the year of strong emotions, I received another special confirmation. I had qualified for the World Marathon Majors Age Group Championship, to run the Sydney Marathon in Australia, and the possibility of winning the seventh star, as I had already participated in the other Six Majors: Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York. Once again, I crossed the world to run a marathon in a country I had never been to before.
There is no doubt, I was privileged and very grateful for the year, the best I have ever had in my almost 20 years as a runner.
Jose can be found on Instagram @joseedugarcia
Photo and Post Credit Marathon Maniacs Newsletter
Featured Club Member: Katie Jung W, Maniac #16080
In 2004, something I never expected in my life happened: I moved to America. There were only a handful of things I knew about the United States of America–North Carolina was not one of them.
I want to give you a quick rundown of how my life was in Korea. I was an emotional child. I lived in Korea for about 15 years and was bullied for a half of those years but despite the fact that I was disliked for so long, leaving where I was born was not something I imagined myself.
Luckily, getting used to this country for me was not a hard thing. I was able to learn both language and culture very quickly; on top of that, I learned how to “swing” things around. Whenever I was put on the spot but did not know what to exactly say back, I knew how to get out of that situation.
“Haters, you made me strong. I thank you for that,” I said it over and over again for my entire life.
Surprisingly, I get along very well with some of those haters; however, when I first began running back in 2022, they were haunting me. It felt like they were in my head with a 6-pack of cans of beer while watching a Netflix TV show. I was the star of that show, and the title was, “We Could Still Make Fun of You.”
People often say that the first season of any TV show is the best one to watch but I wanted to make sure that was not the case, so I pushed myself–I pushed myself to run longer and longer each week which led to my first marathon. I chose this race because due to a personal issue, my first marathon had to be a local one. Until I ran this race, Raleigh seemed so small but it felt much bigger and more interesting during my first race. It took me over 6 hours to finish, and I was injured during the race but the fact that I, somehow, finished a full-distance marathon gave me hope that I can rewrite the show in my head.
After my first marathon, I was on fire and took off to all different places–from Atlanta for a half marathon without realizing how humid and hilly the city is to Mexico City where I thought everyone in the city came out to cheer for -the runners. Both ups and downs existed in my running journey but overall, every single race I participated in was not only a joyful moment but also a learning experience.
I was listening to a song during my long run today: Boston by Augustana. The verse of the song goes like this: “You don’t know me, and you don’t even care.” People who caused my traumas never made me strong. If I can share one thing I learned from learning with everyone who is reading this: running taught me how I made myself strong.
She can be found on IG as @runmeowrun
Photo and Post Credit Marathon Maniacs Newsletter
Robyn Larkin(MM12339, DA2768, HF15809) – I ran the Malta Marathon for #44.
A few minutes faster that Split last weekend, even with tired legs and a cold. Not sure what was in me today, but happy with my run!
Amy Michele Lambert(MM12578)- Marathon or greater #192 this weekend. Sandhills 30 hour, the plan was 100 miles but high wind closed the course at 22 hours. Always a lot of fun.
Tina Torun (HF16109, MM15672, DA3665) – Oak Island Half (West route) to check off North Carolina! I had heard about the Coastal Race BAM- BigAssMedals! Their medals got me interested in this race, but they have a series. Too bad, I don’t live closer or I would do the BAM 3 race series. I met one of the RD Jojo at the end of the race and heard her story about how she is runner with her son in law had a bad race experience and they decided to make a list about what runners want at a race! This was the 10th year for Osk Island. They have a ultra 26.3, full, Half, 10k, 5k, mile. I chose the west route because the time limit was 6.5 hours. The east route started with the ultra and full, but had 3.5 hour time limit. The west route started 15 minutes later with the 10k. We had to get to the race 1 hour ahead to get parking on the island, but my parking lot was about 0.5 mile walk to race area. It was dark still at 6am arrival. 48F, windy at start, but would warm up to 63F. Sunrise at 6:53am. Pretty flat route, just a bigger uphill up the bridge, which is about mile 9. The east route didn’t go on the bridge, but back half of Full did. The full winner passed me at mile 8.5 or so because he finished in about 2:45. I knew I would get passed, but didn’t know when! I enjoyed seeing the full speedy runners! Aid stations every 2 miles, but really limited spectators. I just kept looking at all the beach houses. After race, water, banana, bbq, and beer garden or soda was nice! I hung around to see some on my Marathon Maniac friends finish. I didn’t really know that anyone was going to this race, except for Pascal Radley and Michael Hall , but I met more Marathon Maniacs and Half Fanatics there! I just missed seeing Gregory Rouson , but I see he had another race today! We closed down the beer garden! Successful finish of Half Marathon 81 and state 35! I kept myself entertained, only took 436 photos during the race, and beat my 3:30 time goal! I didn’t hit the wall, which was a win. I didn’t get blisters. It didn’t rain. The weather was perfect for me, because after 30 minutes of running I got warm. But others were wearing so many layers because of the wind and 48F-63F. But at home it was 20F. HF16109 MM15672 DA3665
Sue Stevens(HF8593, DA2452, MM12891) – On Sunday night I ran the Las Vegas Rock’n’ Roll Half Marathon – part of an amazing weekend Christmas gift from my wonderful husband, Dave Stevens! It was an incredible experience to run down the Vegas Strip at night!
Pre Race photo for the Half Marathon/Marathon, Mississippi Blues in Jackson MS.
Lea Reyes(MM13731, DA2891, HF16015) – Mississippi blues marathon complete. Started out feeling ok the first half, but found myself breathing a little too heavy probably because my body was freaking frozen. My heart rate was up trying to keep my body warm. Hands were frozen. My legs were just not feeling it today with the cold and tightened up significantly. This was a much smaller race so traffic got a little crazy. There were lots of cones and signs but cars were weaving in and out of the runner’s area. I almost got hit twice and the second time a police officer saw it and pulled the lady over and gave her a ticket. I literally had to put my hand on her hood and looked at her like the dumbass that she was. She just kept on driving along and didn’t care less about the runners. There were lots of potholes, and the roads were not very even so footing was difficult. I was not landing correctly, so my feet are very sore. Met another runner from Laguna Niguel that lives right down the street from me so that was awesome. This is definitely not a race for spectators and lots of interaction or events along the course. It is though a great run to get some hills and elevation in. I had almost 1,200 ft of elevation gain today. Two loops of hills and hills.
Glad this one is over. LOL!
Next up. So Cal River Marathon 3/1.
Pascal Radley(MM2051) – Cool medal from today’s Oak Island Marathon! 8th marathon in North Carolina raising the total for Fifty States – Round 8 to 37. Lifetime #494
Karen Gordon(MM12170, DA2028, HF13486) – Praise God for helping me every step of the way to complete marathon #75! Sometimes you BQ and sometimes you don’t. Disappointing not to reach my goal, but lots of lessons learned along the way. One would think after 75 marathons, I’d not make rookie mistakes like going out too fast and paying for it on the back end. But grateful to finish and to wear my top with the verse: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13 Many runners said that helped them, so I guess I was where God wanted me to be, even if it was slower than I wanted.
Jennifer Clark (HF16743,DA3643,MM15623) – Half 326, We Run This Beach Half Marathon
Gulf Shores, Alabama
February 23, 2025
Radar showed steady rain today in Gulf Shores. Not very appealing for a 13.1 run!! Fortunately the waeatherman was wrong! Today was cool with occasional light rain in Gulf Shores for We Run This Beach.
The start and finish were at the Gulf State Park Pavillion. From there we crossed over Beach Blvd and into Gulf State Park. The race was run entirely on hike and bike trails in the Park. Most of the Half Marathon course was on asphalt paths, but there were 3 boardwalks, 2 of which were over a mile.
The course was flat, and made up of two side by side loops. The first one went around Lake Shelby and the second went through woods and over marshland before crossing over Beach Blvd on a pedestrian bridge back to the finish.
The course was marked with colored arrows on the path for both the half and full. There were aid stations about every 2 miles and they were well-stocked with water and PowerAid. Some also had GU gels. The stop at Mile 8 had a unique group of volunteers… a mom and her secen daughters!! Cool!!
The after party had pulled pork sandwiches (yum!), chips, beer and soft drinks. There was also live music.
Packet pickup (along with a small expo) was Friday and Saturday at The Lodge and limited pickup before the race at The Pavillion.
We Run This Beach has a 5k and 10k on Saturday and a Half Marathon/Marathon on Sunday, and offers multi-race challenges also. There were about 500 runners in the Sunday races.
This was my second year to run this race and I look forward to doing it again.
Scott Pearson(HF18577) – Cowtown half marathon today. I loved the race. Very well organized . It was great to run through the historic stockyards and to run through their fallen veterans tribute. Not so great to run up and down the hills. The course really kicked my butt today. I really love the medals. Races need to embrace their theme. The steers on the medals have running shoes on. State number 22 today. Half 61.
Karen A Flynn(MM4024, DA158, HF1043), Dan Delino(MM4049, DA161, HF1058) – My 212th lifetime half marathon at the Palm Desert Half Marathon & 5k Sunday 02/16/25. I had no goal for this race besides just enjoying the beautiful desert scenery as I am just barely recovering from a half marathon just 2 weeks ago & a full marathon 4 weeks ago so I was pleasantly surprised to have my body feel as good as it did & subsequently placing 2nd in my age group which was the highlight of my race weekend! Once again I learned/was reminded that you just need to show up, do your best on any given day and you may just surprise yourself like I did!
Sivabalan Pandian(MM13150) – Dear Well Wishers
Memorable Marathon of first Edition
THIRISSUR CULTURAL CAPITAL MARATHON 2025 .
I was the last full marathon finisher out of 99 and the volunteers and organizers took so much care that I never faced any problem in running last 7 KM the route was totally opened to the traffic . There was 2 Mts width maintained on the road traffic free for last few runners
14 Cyclists were on the route and were giving support to the last 12 runners till end and all aid stations and timing mat was on.
The Thrissur Collector Mr. Arjun Pandian also ran the Full Marathon of 42.195 K in just 4:06:53 and he was one of the main organizer of this marathon and please know about him in the following link
https://www.thehindu.com/…/arjun…/article68422809.ece
Enjoyed the refreshments after the run and was happy to meet a lot of friends in this marathon .
Happy to finish the 42.195 M @ 6:39:15 hours with STRESS FREE .
883 FULL & ULTRA MARATHON COMPLETED AND ONLY 117 WAS REMAINING TO TOUCH 1000 BY AN INDIAN OF 66+ YEARS OLD .
Michael Hall(MM14514, DA3242, HF16228) – Ventura Marathon 2025 #BeastPacing #halffanatics
Donna Marie Kilmurray(HF18817) – Miss seeing you all at the Cowtown health and fitness expo. what a race!!! I did the Cowtown challenge 5K Saturday half on Sunday. one of my favorite races above all and couldn’t have been better weather! thank you Cowtown see you next year.
Brenda Folkerts(HF18068, MM15695, DD3674) – MEDAL MONDAY
The Rock ‘n’ Roll Vegas Half Marathon was half #84! 🎉
HF#18068 MM#15695 DD#3674
Suzie Gayhart Coker(HF11134) – Cowtown Half Marathon My number 56 Half Marathon. This completes the four years series for this medal 🤠
MedalMonday #HalfFanatic #HF11134
Marathon Maniac/Half Fanatic Family Photo At the We Run This Beach, Gulf Shores AL!
Gregory Rouson(HF8068, MM12723, DA2354) – Lifetime half marathon #237 (and Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon #6)…DONE!!! #Roustance
Amy Sea(HF18410, DA3652, MM15648) – Today I finished half #166 NYCRUNS Central Park Half Marathon in NY. This is a repeat race and state. The race consisted of 2.5 loops in Central Park. It’s a bit boring with the loops especially if you’ve done a lot of races in Central Park and Central Park has some hills. But this race is well produced and has nice swag. It is back of the pack friendly as well. These central park races aren’t my favorite races but they are a good excuse to visit NYC. There are definitely better races in NY state but if you want to do a race in NYC that does not involve a lottery and won’t break the bank this is a solid option.
Charlene Board (HF7024) – God is Amazing 🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽
Wow! God is Amazing but I knew that already🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽
This may not be a BIG DEAL to some of you but it sure is to me.
Today I ran my 126th Half Marathon in Tampa, Florida, my time is nothing to brag about but the fact that I ran the entire 13.1 is AMAZING to me.
I haven’t ran an entire race without taking walking breaks since 2012 but God🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽
It was a cold morning for Tampa, Fl thus the reason you see me with a jacket on. Two years ago when I ran this race it was nice and warm. Not this day!
If you look at my shirt you will see that it says BELIEVE, that has been my church’s motto since the Lord told our Pastor to start building our new church prior to COVID. Truthfully when I decided to wear it for this race I should have had No Doubts. 🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽
Today I ran 13.1 miles at 2:49:53, yes I’ve done the Galloway method of run/walk faster than this but I ran the entire race without walking-only stopping at water stations.
My plans this morning was to run 5 miles then start the Galloway method but I was feeling good so I kept telling myself I would stop and walk some at the next mile. Well that didn’t happen, at mile 8 my sister/ BFF Melissa Garrett called me and we started talk ( which is something she normally does during my races to check in on me) well she brought me through the next 5 miles. We finished together 🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽 it’s not the first time she brought me thru but this time it was different.
When your BFF can talk to you for an hour while you are running and not give up on you-THATS LOVE ❤️ ❤️❤️
I never got winded or overwhelmed during this race and since I haven’t ran further than 6 miles since early December, I’m floating on cloud JESUS🙌🏽
I attribute part of this to my new weight training workout I’ve been doing for a little over 5 weeks courtesy of my former Teammate Susie Richards Rodriguez. Thank you Susie, building a strong core changes a lot of things.
I want to dedicate this race to my High School Assistant Coach Tony Anderson who was named the Florida All Sports Association Assistant Coach of the Year. He’s been the Assistant Coach for the FWBHS Lady Viking BBALL for 40 years and I had the pleasure of being on the team his first year.
I always try to make it home when someone is being honored but I had already had this race on my schedule therefore I couldn’t make it so I’m dedicating this race to him.
I love you Coach Tony and thank you for blessing so many young ladies on the court.
Thank you to my family ( Mom and sister) for traveling down to celebrate with me and thank you to my brothers { Charles & Eric Mercer }and sister in love { Fran } for hosting us all.
I’m truly blessed with a GREAT FAMILY ❤️and I don’t take it for granted 🙌🏽🙏🏾🙌🏽🙏🏾🙌🏽🙏🏾
Barbara Rausch(HF16197, DA3430, MM14998) & Jen D’Italia(HF380) –
RnR Las Vegas Half, RnR Las Vegas 5k, & Scale the Strat Stair Climb
Dn Shown(MM8045, DA565, HF4557) – Completed Disney Princess Half today and got my Coast to Coast too! Next up, Tokyo
Gina Forestieri(HF18136, DA3808, MM16172) – Half number 102 done! Lost Dutchman in Apache Junction, probably my favorite Arizona race!, It was a little chilly at the start, but ended up being another perfect sunny race day! Hard to believe I possibly could be living in Seattle this time next year! Oh, and the sunrise picture I did steal from a friend!
Meet some of the SoCal half-fanatics team!
Palm Desert Half Marathon & 5k
Rachel Ross 499!!!!!!
Tonita Rogers Ultra-runner, marathoner, half-marathoner
Emil Cheng
Karen A Flynn
Dan Delino
and
Johnny Lawrence, Cobra Kai
Rhonda Helms(HF18553) – Medal Monday. State #27. Austin Half Marathon.
Marathon Maniac/Half Fanatic Family Photo at Run the Line Half-Marathon, Texarkana, TX
Jorgina Sanders (HF16456) – Half #145. Austin Half Marathon
Teresa Clark Vincent (HF16573) – Ran 19.12 sMiles at the 6 hour Jackalope Jam event on Saturday Feb 15. This is a really great event on a beautiful ranch. Run one mile out, circle the cone and run back. Sounds easy, right? Woof .. like most of my runs, it’s easy until it isn’t. I was thankful to meet so many wonderful people to talk to as my runs turned into walks .. plenty of breaks and I’m pretty sure all 4 seasons were represented. 🤣 I realize these types of events don’t fit the half fanatic criteria, but thought I’d share the medal, shirt, and poster with the group. Since it’s a loop course, 18 miles is the official count, but those trips to my car and to the bathroom count too. 😀
#runningnomad6815
Kristin L Anderson(HF3337) – Oak Island “Ultra” Marathon done! Found another Fanatic before the race 😊 This race never disappoints, no matter what distance you run! And I somehow got second in my age group! 🫣
Coastal Race Productions
Photo and Post Credit Marathon Maniacs/Half Fanatics Facebook Pages and the individual members listed above.
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