Run, Karla, Run!

Our family on our wedding day (Photo: Lev Kuperman)

I’m a newlywed. My husband, Phil, and I have been married for six months and we’ve been together for five years. Running played a large part in our courtship, our engagement, and has been a mainstay of our relationship. We love to run, and whenever we can, we run together. They say that couples who sweat together stay together. I hope it’s true. Here’s to running love.

He’s much faster than me with his 3:03 marathon personal best; mine is 4:28. But that doesn’t stop us. Here’s how we keep on running side-by-side.

Workouts

For workouts, we often do one of four things: 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 →

Photo: Philadelphia Marathon

It’s been an eventful training season for the Philadelphia Marathon on November 18. As always with marathon training, I’ve enjoyed plenty of highs and lows over the course of the last few months. But marathon training comes down to this–how ready you are on race day. I’m ready to tackle Philly with a vengeance and leave all my cares out on the course in an attempt at my marathon personal record. Read the rest of this entry →

Photo: Phil Hospod

The Staten Island Half-Marathon on October 7, 2012 was my 50th race. In my transformation from loather to lover of running, I have culled a fair amount running wisdom as both a runner and a running reporter.

The running life is like any other life—fraught with pitfalls and challenges, but also rewards and joys. And I’ve experienced them all. Some lessons I learned the hard way and others were pleasant surprises. Some are obvious, but not necessarily if you’re a new runner. Some are humorous and some are serious. But all of them are worth heeding.

I hope to keep adding to my trove of running wisdom over the course of my next 50 races and beyond—which begins with the Philadelphia Marathon on Nov. 18. But for now, here are a few nuggets from my running wisdom treasure trove, in no particular order. Read the rest of this entry →

The Philadelphia Marathon is on Nov. 18, 2012 (Photo: Philadelphia Marathon)

It’s that time of year again…dun dun dun! Marathon training starts! This year, I’m running the 2012 Philadelphia Marathon on Nov. 18. In just under 18 weeks, I’ll be at the starting line in the City of Brotherly Love, hopefully prepared to tackle my fifth tango with 26.2. 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 →

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 →

Letting kids race teaches them that fitness is fun. (Photo: runDisney)

When Disney puts on a race, they don’t just plan one running event. As the world’s largest media empire—Disney sits at No. 1 on the Fortune 500 list of entertainment companies—they orchestrate an entire weekend of festivities that everyone in the family can enjoy, from first-time runners to marathon masters, kids to adults, and even spectators. That’s one of the best parts of Disney race weekends: there is something for everyone.

At Disney’s Princess Half Marathon Weekend from Feb. 24-26, my family is putting the Disney races to the test. At least one family member will be participating in every race distance offered during the weekend, including the Princess Half Marathon, Tangled Royal Family 5K and Disney Royal Family Kids’ Races. We’ll also hit the Pasta in the Park Party at Epcot and Disney’s Fit for a Princess Expo. This is my third Disney race weekend, but the first with my nephew and niece. It makes me happy to pass along my love of running to another generation. But more than that, I think it’s important to include kids in fitness events from an early age. Read the rest of this entry →

Making goals for the year can help keep you motivated. Photo by Charles Thompson.

Runners tend to be goal-oriented people. Sure, there are exceptions to the rule, but so many of us have a few dreams hitched to our running shoes. It’s the nature of the sport; when there are hundreds to thousands of us in any given race, the vast majority of us aren’t in it to win it.

We call them races, but we’re really racing against ourselves more than any of the people around us. Unless, that is, you are national class runner who is fast enough to actually win, like some of my friends and teammates who’ve nabbed victories at races all over the globe like the Red Rock Canyon Marathon in Nevada, the Brooklyn Marathon in New York, and the Antarctica Marathon.

But if you’re a mid-packer like me, you’ve probably never won a road race, unless it was in high school. I know the sweet taste of victory as a swimmer and a rower, but it has eluded me as an adult runner. My best finish was 10th in a local race in Rhode Island. I felt like I’d won the Olympics. Which is why making and then chasing down goals is so important to me as a runner. If I can’t win the race, I can still win the goal. 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 →