Drie Molenloop 10,5k - the Three Windmills Running Race 10.5 K

On a gorgeous, and I mean gorgeous second Easter day (the Dutch celebrate the first and second Easter days - ask someone else for an explanation....), Michiel joined me for a running race through the polders and the village of Aarlanderveen, a sweet little place where his sister and her family live.  The sunshine, the windmills, the green fields, the lambs, geese, cows and their little ones, the paragliders overhead and the spirit of the crowd made for a perfect race day.  Getting water during the race from our niece, Marilyn May and enjoying an after-race brunch in Almamia and Perry's garden were additional perks.

Most importantly, my pace was a respectable 5:52 per kilometer with a finish time of 1:01:40.  I'm fine with being a slow runner as long as I'm not last!  In this case, though my slow start had us in last place for the first 3 kilometers, we passed 18 people along the route and I managed to get 121st out of 141 (20th in the ladies division).  To be fair, though, Michiel was 122 and I'm sure he would have run faster if he was by himself.  Thanks for the support, Michiel!

Sorry...no photos except for those on the official website.  Here is a link to the results:  Results
Scroll down to the 10.5K results or do Ctrl F and type "Sheri" to find me.

Breath of Life / Lost Lake Run

16 miles (26 kilometers) of cross-country running through beautiful peaks (highest point on the trail is 2100 ft (640 meters) and valleys of the Lost Lake area near Seward. 16 miles of running in a slow drizzle on a very, very muddy (it had been raining for days) and slippery trail.

August 26 was the day of Breath of Life / Lost Lakes Run. This is a run that donates all of its proceeds to the CF foundation (Cystic Fybrosis). This year was probably the last year of its existence as the 2 main organizers are calling it quits after 16 years of hard work. They went from raising $1,200 in their first year to $ 44,000 (if I remember correctly) this year.

Running a race is always fun because there are so many people running together; running in beautiful surroundings is even better ; knowing that your entry money goes to a good cause makes the enjoyment complete.



I didn't bring my camera so this picture isn't my own, but comes from their website http://www.lostlakerun.org














Dirty and tired, but satisfied and on my way to hamburgers and beer. My finishing time was 2:47.

















Brad "Chugach" ; I ran with you in mind. I hope you are doing well.

Why January 8 is the best day of the season for Michiel! (Marathon!!!)

I have completed my first marathon ever!

For a very long time, I have had a latent desire to run (at least once in my life) a marathon. Knowing that there was a marathon in Antarctica facilitated both my decision to come and to run a marathon. Training in Alaska was an adventure because of possible wildlife encounters but training in Antarctica was an adventure because of the weather. Dressed with long underwear, gloves, hat, sunglasses and vaseline on my face I would set out on my daily run to Scott base, a 4 mile round trip with some little hills and one steep hill. Once or twice a week I would go for a long 14 mile run towards the airfield out on the sea ice. Sometimes I would run in the middle of the night because we are on nightshift and have constant sunlight anyway.

The race was organized by the Recreational Department and was open to skiers or runners. Along the course were several (unmanned) aid stations with water and some food. Seeing as this is Antarctica the racers were advised to also bring their own water as the water from the aid stations could freeze. In view of these changeable weather conditions there were also a couple of support vehicles which stored our extra clothing and several people from the Rec department who cheered us on. To our great fortune it couldn't have been a better day; not much wind and temperatures around freezing. Fortunately these last few days have been cold and that stopped the sun from making the snow all mushy.

I ran with 2 women who went for the same slow starting pace as I did and who also opted for the Jeff Galloway Walk Break method; 10 minutes of running interspersed with 30 seconds walking breaks. We had lots of fun, felt great and reached the finish in a leisurly time of 5:21 with a big smile on our faces and no pain in our legs. Even now, one day after the race, I still have no pain whatsoever in my legs and feel great (and still can't believe that I actually ran a marathon).

A big "thank you" goes out to Sheri who has been very supportive and who even came out to run with us for the last 10 miles of the world's most southern marathon and to Pam for telling me I could do it.