Run, Karla, Run!

(Photo: Matogo97/Wikimedia Commons via Creative Commons license)

So much running news this week. It must be fall marathon season! Here’s a rundown on some of the big stories I’ve been following:

Pamela Anderson Running The New York City Marathon

Everyone has seen images of Pamela Anderson running on “Baywatch.” Now she’ll be running a marathon.

From the sounds of the New York Daily News article, she’s not doing a ton of training. But Anderson is running to raise $500,000 on Crowdrise for Sean Penn’s J/P Haitian Relief Organization.

“The charity wanted her to simply hug their elite runners crossing the Central Park finish line, but Anderson, who has visited Haiti twice since the devastating disaster, suggested taking it a step further,” the New York Daily News reports.

Read the New York Daily News article here.

Meb Keflezighi chases down Kenya’s Robert Cheruiyot at the 2009 ING New York City Marathon. (Photo: Randy Lemoine).

ING New York City Marathon Sets Professional Field

Pamela Anderson isn’t the only famous name running the ING New York City Marathon. A big list of professional runners are in it to win it.

Meb Keflezighi and Ryan Hall are still in. Kara Goucher is out. Geoffrey Mutai of Kenya and Ethiopia’s Firehiwot Dado are returning once again to defend their crowns from the 2011 ING New York City Marathon after the 2012 race was cancelled in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

Altogether, the race will include 23 Olympians from 23 countries and will serve as the deciding showdown in the 2012-2013 World Marathon Majors series. Here’s a look at the professional field in both the women’s and men’s races. Read the rest of this entry →

Rachel Booth wins the 2013 Disney Princess Half Marathon. (Photo: Preston Mack/runDisney)

When it comes to winning Disney half marathons, no one does it better than elite runner Rachel Booth. The 32-year-old mother of two won her fourth Disney race this morning at Disney’s Princess Half Marathon in course record time. It was her second consecutive Princess Half victory. She also won the Disneyland Half Marathon in 2010 and 2011. At four wins, she owns the most runDisney victories of any woman.

“It never gets old, for sure,’’ Booth said after the race. “As I got to Mile 7 and 8 and through Mile 10, I got to see some people [cheering] and that definitely gave me extra incentive.’’ Read the rest of this entry →

Rachel Booth wins the 2011 Disneyland Half Marathon. (Photo: runDisney)

The Disneyland Half Marathon on Sunday, Sept. 2 will put more than 17,000 runners to the test on the streets of Anaheim, Calif., as they charge through Angels Stadium, Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure theme park in an attempt to run Disney. Among those runners will be a mix of Disney fans, celebrities like Sean Astin, and former Olympians like Suzy Favor-Hamilton and Jeff Galloway.

But when it comes to winning Disney races, no one knows better than Rachel Booth. She won the 2010 and 2011 Disneyland Half Marathon and 2012 Disney Princess Half Marathon in February, becoming the first woman to win events at both Disneyland in California and Walt Disney World in Florida. Her fastest time on a runDisney half-marathon course? 1:15:19.

Like many Disney runners, Booth juggles raising two children, a part-time job and training. Read the rest of this entry →