Runs With Mascara: On the Move

Sunday, June 5, 2011

On the Move

It's been a busy week for RWM as we close out a strong stretch of running starting with the Western States 100 training camp last weekend. It was 48 hours of beautiful views along the American River; laughter, groans; upbeat, encouraging volunteers; and the usual friendly, fellow trail runners. Add in the hot tub, a beer sampler and some hot dogs and it was solid gold. If only we could've answered yes when people asked "Are you running Western States?" Not this year, people, not this year.

While it seems like it's been raining almost every weekend here in California, we've managed to squeeze in some long runs between the rain (and hail) and again today, after a deluge saturated the area Saturday.

Not that RWM is afraid of a little rain. Yesterday, half of us went up into the hills of Marin to train in the mud and half of us paddled in an outrigger boat before jumping ship for the treadmill. There is no shame in a treadmill workout. We learned a lot about Rugby 7's and in particular, a handsome young Cal player by the name of Blaine Scully. We watched the Nike Prefontaine classic and felt lighter, faster on our feet as the 100 meter women's race went off and Carmelita Jenner destroyed the competition. Is it ever too late to dream of running in a sports bra and bun huggers? We think not.

RWM also logged some couch time over the weekend watching a BBC documentary called Why Thin People Aren't Fat (On YouTube in 7 segments) and the classic chick flick meets Vin Diesel movie, G.I. Jane. Yes, our tastes, like our running speeds (sort of), run the gamut.

All in all, things are good in the RWM camp. We're honing in on our gear list, checking our bodies at the massage door, trying out shoes and outfits and nutrition and mascara; maintaining our mileage and our aplomb; sending out letters to our lucky endorsements and doing what we set out to do: have fun and enjoy the journey leading up to TransRockies.

Good luck to RWM friends racing in the next few weekends at the Silicon Valley International Triathlon and the San Diego 100 Mile endurance run. And a special shoutout to our future mascara-wearing adventure glamazon - Rawlings Riley Skelton - born last weekend to long-time mascara-wearer, Jennie, and her husband Chris.

Now get out and run, jump, twirl, bend, flex, peddle, spin and do what you do in the great outdoors.

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About Runs with Mascara

Who is Team Runs with Mascara?

Runs with Mascara is Dana Katz and Samantha Pinney - training partners and friends for the past 3 years; adventurers with a flair for musicals and running skirts, and a generous respect for looking good when sweating hard. While they’ve had many adventures across the West, one of their more epic spans was a week they spent racing from the Bizz Johnson trail marathon in northern California to rappeling in Arches National Park, to biking the White Rim Trail in southern Utah to running the Moab Half Marathon. This is their first race endeavor as a team under the name RWM.

Samantha Pinney overcame the malls of her New Jersey youth for an obsession with the outdoors that carries her from skiing to ultra running to outrigger canoeing and whatever adventures she can find. She can’t imagine life without running skirts, flip flops or beanies and wields a kettle ball as deftly as she does a mascara wand. She competed in the 2010 Crossfit Team Games, has multiple top 10 finishes to her name but can’t throw a softball to save her life. She’d like to be a better surfer.

Dana Katz is a recovering triathlete and cyclocross racer turned ultrarunner. She eats hills for breakfast that she doctors with homemade concoctions of flaxseed and ginger granola in her ongoing quest to create ridiculously healthy and delicious meals. Dana is a globetrotter who in a recent span ran a ½ marathon in Brazil, a trail run in Sweden, a marathon in northern California and a harried loop amongst the monuments of Washington D.C. before boarding a plane. She doesn’t leave home without her running skirt and snacks. Don’t let Dana’s easy-going, amicable personality fool you: she trains like a warrior and competes with a vengeance.