Run, Karla, Run!

The Walt Disney World Marathon (Photo: Marathon Foto)

Last week marked the sixth anniversary of my very first race back in 2007. Last fall, I chronicled how I went from a person who loathed running to someone who loves it. How much do I love it? Over these last six years, I’ve run 53 races with number 54, the UnitedHealthcare Providence Half Marathon, in one week and numbers 55, 56 and 57 already on the books.

Looking back at six years of racing, it occurred to me that certain races have a special place in my heart. Every runner has that race they look forward to every year, the race they’ve always dreamed of running, the race that moved them in unexpected ways. These are mine.

So without further ado, here are my “Races to Remember,” the running races that left the biggest impressions on me, culled from my six years out there on the road.

Races To Remember Read the rest of this entry →

Running toward New Year’s resoultions (Photo: Phil Hospod)

2012 was a notable year in running. The pros dazzled at the London Olympics, the New York City Marathon was canceled for the first time in its history, and a vice-presidential candidate’s not-quite-true claims of marathon glory brought running into the national conversation.

On a personal level, it was a meaningful year for me too. I married my Prince Charming, who proposed after a half-marathon; I ran for my cousin Laura, who died from cancer in June; and I started hosting a web series about running. I also knocked out four personal records in the marathon, half-marathon and triathlon, and ran 10 races total to reach a personal milestone of over 50 “career” races.

Running Goals for 2012

Every year, I like to look back at the goals I made the year before and see how I did. Read the rest of this entry →

A triathlete is born. (Photo: Tania Haas)

On June 17, 2012, a triathlete was born. She emerged from the waters of the Long Island Sound, swathed in a wetsuit, and said to anyone who would listen, “I am triathlete. Watch me swim, bike and run.”

The Long Island Gold Coast Triathlon was only my second attempt at the crazy art of mashing three sports into one. The first was last summer at the Peterborough Sprint Triathlon in the Subaru Triathlon Series in Ontario, Canada. I did the race with my triathlon partner in crime, Tania, a Toronto-native. We had so much fun that we decided to make it an annual ritual.

Come Sunday morning at 5 a.m. we departed New York City to do it all over again: a half-mile swim, 11.5 mile bike and 3 mile run. Read the rest of this entry →

(Photo: K-Swiss)

Runners raise $650 million annually to fight cancer. Now California Sports Company K-Swiss is getting in the spirit too. They’ve teamed up with Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C), an initiative to accelerate groundbreaking cancer research, to create a line of footwear and apparel built to help every athlete fight cancer. K-Swiss will contribute $5 from the sale of each product in the collection to Stand Up To Cancer through Dec. 31, 2013.

“Collaborating with Stand Up To Cancer gives us a valuable opportunity to support and help inspire a movement to save lives,” said David Nichols, executive vice-president of K-Swiss. “We are excited to create a unified front across the running community and encourage people, from their first 5K or first triathlon, to race for a world without cancer.”

The collection features running and lifestyle shoes, and performance, running and triathlon apparel including shorts, tanks, reflective jackets and more. Read the rest of this entry →

Laura holds me on her lap when we were kids in the early 1980s. Now she has two kids of her own.

Thanks to the support of friends, family and the kindness of strangers, my cousin Laura is leaving for a cancer center in California on Sunday, May 13 for a new round of treatments for clear cell sarcoma, the rare cancer that she has been battling for over a year.

Sunday is Mother’s Day and it will be a bittersweet one for Laura–she’s leaving her kids in Florida with her mother and sister (who has flown in from Oklahoma), while she and her husband head West for her treatments. But Laura knows that seeking more treatments to fight for her life is the the best thing she can do for her kids.

Laura has also been taking a new cancer drug that won’t cure the cancer, but can slow its progress. She and her doctors are hoping that with a multi-prong approach, she will overcome! Read the rest of this entry →

My cousin, Laura Densmore, and her children while she was going through chemotherapy. (Photo: Pam Saxon)

Whenever I have a small problem that I can’t solve or I’m angry or frustrated, I go for a run. Running helps me clear my head, blow off steam, and find a few moments of Zen in an otherwise hectic day.

But what about big problems, the real problems in life like hunger, disaster, and disease? Runners have been fighting to solve those too. In 2011, the top 30 exercise fundraising programs in the U.S. raised $1.69 billion for charity, according to the Run Walk Ride Fundraising Council. That doesn’t include smaller programs and charities that place runners in races like the ING New York City Marathon, which raised $34 million for 210 charities in 2011. According to Runner’s World, $650 million of runner fundraising annually goes to fight cancer alone.

Back in 2007, I ran my first marathon for Team Continuum, a charity that provides financial, educational and moral support for cancer patients. Now, I’m doing it again. But this time the cause is much closer to home.

My cousin Laura Bruning Densmore is fighting for her life, and I’m helping her the only way I know—by running. Read the rest of this entry →

The author before her first triathlon.

Firsts are special because you only get one of them: your first kiss, first car, first job, and of course, your first triathlon.

The Peterborough Sprint Triathlon in the Subaru Triathlon Series was my first triathlon, and after completing the race on Sunday, July 10, I’m guessing it won’t be my last. My training for the 750-meter swim, 20K bike and 5K run was less than ideal. So I didn’t wear a watch. I just wanted to go out there and have some fun, with one main goal in mind: just finish. Sure, I wanted to finish under two hours, or better yet, under 1:45. But with my namby-pamby training, I knew that might be a tall order. Read the rest of this entry →

The author prepares for her training swim. Photo by Phil Hospod.

When my good friend Tania, who helped cheer and pace me to a personal best in the 2009 Chicago Marathon, suggested we do a triathlon together, I figured now was as good a time as any. I could swim, bike and run, right?

The Peterborough Sprint Triathlon, part of the Subaru Triathlon Series in Ontario, Canada, was the appointed race: 750-meter swim, 20K bike and 5K run. I put myself to the test on Sunday, not entirely sure what to expect. I’d set out with the best of intentions, but my training had been less than stellar largely because training for a triathlon takes a lot of time—a lot of time. Read the rest of this entry →