Anna's Washington Miles 13 & 26 Sponsors

Roxanne Olvera & Greg Hall

Where is your hometown?
Greg-Dallas, TX
Roxanne-Laredo, TX

Where do you live now?
Dallas, TX

Are you a runner? If so, what is your next race? What is your favorite post-run treat?
Yes. Greg's next race is the Dallas Rock n Roll 1/2. Our next race is the Hervis Prague Half Marathon. Our favorite post-run treat would be Carnation Instant Breakfast - Chocolate.

What is your occupation?
Roxanne-attorney
Greg - classified

What is your favorite breakfast food?
Migas (aka chilaquiles)!

What was the last book you read?
Greg-Ted Kennedy - The Compass
Roxanne- Front Porch Tales

Tell us one thing you want to be sure to do in your lifetime.
To continue to live honestly and love endlessly

What is the first thing you associate with Seattle, Washington?
Greg - fish n chips
Roxanne - Say Anything (the movie)

Why did you want to become a marathon mile sponsor to support the Susan Mortensen Turley Foundation?
Because we love Anna! And we wanted to help Anna honor Susan.

Anything else you'd like to add?
Thanks for being a great friend! :)


Note from Anna: Thank YOU both for being such great friends Greg and Roxanne!
Your continued support means so much to me. You are two of the most loyal, committed and good hearted people I know. My life is better because you are part of it. It will be so good to run these miles for you in Seattle!

Anna's Marathon Mile 1 Sponsor Spotlight

Max & Denise Davis

Where are your hometowns?
Max - Victoria, Texas
Denise - Colombus, Wisconsin

Where do you live now?
Little Forest Hills Neighborhood in Dallas, Texas

Are you a runners? If so, what is your next race?
Yes, Avenue of the Giants in Eureka, California.

What are your favorite post-run treats?
Denise - Breakfast tacos and Diet Coke
Max - Coke and bagels

What are your occupations?
Max - HR Manager
Denise - Global Advisor

What are your favorite breakfast foods?
Max - sausage and scrambled eggs
Denise - French toast

What were the last books you read?
Max and Denise - John Grisham's The Partner

Tell us one thing you want to be sure to do in your lifetimes.
Well, we have already run a bunch of marathons, sky-dived and kayaked in Hawaii. I think our next endeavor might be zip-lining in Costa Rica.

What is the first thing you associate with Seattle, Washington?
Max - rain
Denise - the Space Needle

Why did you want to become a marathon mile sponsor to support the Susan Mortensen Turley Foundation?
Anna is a good friend and an even better salesperson! We wanted to sponsor Mile 1, because a marathon starts with the first Mile!

Anything else you'd like to add?
Who knows, we might just join you in Seattle!
(Note from Anna: Yes, please do!!!) :-)

Note from Anna: Max and Denise have been dedicated marathon mile sponsors for my past few races. I cannot think of a much better way to get Seattle started off on the right foot than thinking of Max and Denise. They have such a passion for running, and even moreso for life! They always have some exciting trip planned or project in the works. You can't help but smile every time you see them. For example, this last December, they officially tied the knot while running the Las Vegas Marathon!! Congratulations Davis family, and thank you again for your support!

Anna's Training Update

Yes...just some brief assurance that I am still training! Though I have to admit these past few weeks have been a blur. I started working with a new research lab at school, and I absolutely am loving the experience! It is also really keeping me on my toes- so I'm having to get creative to get runs in some weeks. There is part of me that is tempted to cut out running altogether and just focus on getting off to a flying start on my research. However, I've learned from past experience that commiting a reasonable amount of time to maintain running each week benefits me all the way around-- from reducing stress, increasing health and quality of life, and making me a more effective student...therefore, the running workouts are here to stay in spite of the time crunch I feel most days.

This training season I have the fantastic experience of volunteering as a DRC pace leader for one of the half-marathon training groups. Most of the runners in my group are fairly new to the sport, or are brand new and are training to run their very first half-marathon. There are few things that inspire me more than getting to run with this group each week. To see their excitement and determination to go just a little bit farther each week is incredible. I feed off their enthustiasm and excitement and am making many new friends. The above picture was taken at one of the group runs. (NO idea why we're all leaning the same direction. lol. As far as I remember we were not standing on a hill and it was not windy).

Two weeks ago my group ran a 4 mile warm-up and then ran the DRC Tal Morrison 5k race (pic above- thank you Roxanne). The warmup was great!! For some crazy reason, I decided to see how fast I could run this even though I hadn't run this pace for quite awhile. In other words, I felt lousy most of the race!! It was also FREEZING- and given that I STILL have not worked winter running clothes into my budget, I never was able to warm up. I have one pair of pants that come close to working for runs, although they're not ideal. I spent most of this race worried they would fall off and kept trying to pull them up. LOL. Here's a pic (below- thanks EW) of my group pre-race...
Last weekend's run was really rough. Okay-- it was awful! There were a few things that did make it good, namely my group members (who I always enjoy), and the fact that Dallas got 12 1/2 inches of snow 2 days prior so running around the lake was absolutely beautiful! The bad news, however, is that I'd had a very tough week health-wise. I take a medication every weekend that makes my stomach very unhappy, and the entire week prior to this run I had really been struggling getting my stomach to tolerate getting enough calories in to support running. Many days of that week I was just too lightheaded, and didn't run on those days (In spite of being a marathoner, I do have some common sense after all. :)) By Friday and Saturday I was feeling better, so I didn't think the 8 mile run (a distance I'm very comfortable with usually) would be a problem. Well, it was. I was having a very difficult time keeping pace, and by mile 7 I was starting to get dizzy- so made the tough choice to send my group ahead and walked back to the clubhouse.
It is always disappointing to have a bad run- but it's something that every runner goes through sometimes (chronic health problems or not). So I was trying not to get too discouraged over the experience, but it was tough. I suppose I should have seen it coming, but thanks to several truely wonderful friends, I ended up having 4 Washington marathon miles sponsored that afternoon. Although this is my 4th time running a marathon for Susan's Foundation, I still can't get over how touched I am every time I get the message in my email that someone wants to sponsor a mile. It reminds me of the bigger picture of why I'm running, and keeps me going.

So a very special thank-you to the Washington Marathon mile sponsors!! I'm not sure you'll ever truely comprehend the impact your kindness and generosity continues to have both on me, and the young adults out there fighting cancer and needing our support.

Anna's Marathon Mile 16 Sponsor Spotlight

Kristi Madden

Where is your hometown?
I graduated from high school in Snyder, TX. My parents moved the day after graduation, so while I consider it my hometown, I have been back there a total of 5 times in 19 years.

Where do you live now?
Dallas

Are you a runner? If so, what is your next race? What is your favorite post-run treat?
I am a runner. My next race will probably be the Trinity River Levee Run (if I can forget how dirty it was there last year). That will be followed by the Dallas Rock 'n Roll Half, the Oklahoma City Marathon Relay and the Eugene Half. It is going to be a busy spring. My favorite post-run treat is brunch (see #5).

What is your occupation?
I am a CPA specializing in tax post merger integration.

What is your favorite breakfast food?
Oh, this one is tough. I love anything with a fried egg and I just discovered french toast (a little late in life, I know - I have a lot of years to make up for). If I have to pick just one, it will be a breakfast sandwich, with bacon of course.

What was the last book you read?
This question is actually why it took me so long to answer the spotlight questions. I was hoping I would read something that was worthy of mentioning or really just not embarrassing. It didn't happen. I essentially will read anything and don't remember it about 5 minutes after I am finished. I lean toward thrillers and am a sucker for any sort of chick lit that has a a single object on the cover. I hate to admit it, but I just finished the Twilight series at the recommendation of my best friend's 15 year old daughter. Harry Potter may be next.....

Tell us one thing you want to be sure to do in your lifetime.
There are so many things I want to be sure and do, it is hard to pick just one. At the top of my list is going on African safari.

What is the first thing you associate with Seattle, Washington?
Not very original, but I think of rain and houseboats.

Why did you want to become a marathon mile sponsor to support the Susan Mortensen Turley Foundation?
To support Anna and a great cause.

Anything else you'd like to add?
Have a fantastic time in Seattle.


Note from Anna: I first met Kristi when we were roomies at the Oklahoma Marathon race last April. Although that race holds some very painful windy memories for me, getting to know Kristi was without a doubt one of the highlights of that weekend. Kristi is a paceleader for one of the Dallas Running Club's half marathon training groups. In spite of often traveling cross-country for most of the week, every time I see Kristi at weekend runs she is always full of smiles and enthusiasm. Kristi reminds me of the importance of keeping running fun! Thanks so much for your support Kristi! :-)

Randy and Sarah's Training Update

As Randy and I are not runners (but we will be), we are training using a Couch to Half Marathon training program. We have just entered our third week of training and today was our
longest run of the year, 16 minutes of running. I know it doesn't sound like much, but as a beginner it is NOT easy. We are however getting stronger and able to endure a little more. You should have seen our first run, we could barely run 1/4 of a mile. Now we are running about a mile and a half!

(---Randy and Sarah---) This morning's run was broken up by a less than pleasant sight. Just after the mile mark, I looked up and saw a dog running across the path a bit ahead of me, I looked back down and continued to run. Just then it occured to me that was a weird looking dog. I looked back up and realized that it was not a dog, but a coyote, and not just any coyote. It was a coyote with a cat in its' mouth! I put on the brakes and started to yell and scream. Poor kitty cat! Randy caught up to me and then told me that the cat was already dead. So the coyote ran off with its' breakfast :(, and we continued our run. Thinking of the coyote was enough of a distraction that I didn't even really notice the next half mile and I was able to run that last bit with relative ease.

I am actually looking forward to our next long run (18 minutes) later this week. Compared to how we felt when we first started really training 3 weeks ago with our first 10 minute run (oh it was hard), tomorrow's 10 minute run seems a little too short and too easy. I am looking forward to getting my work schedule for March, hopefully I will have the time off and we can head up to Tempe for the first run of the Susan Mortensen Turley Foundation!

(---Baby Jolee bundled up for her run with Mom and Dad---)

Meet the newest Team Member: Rachel Harris

Rachel Harris

On June 26, Rachel will be running her very first half-marathon in Seattle, WA with the Team supporting the Susan Mortensen Turley Foundation. Here's more on Rachel....

Where do you live?
Aspen, Colorado

Where is your hometown?
Tempe, Arizona

Tell us about your previous running and athletic experience.
I was a complete jock in high school and college. Spandex and t-shirts were my typical classroom garb and days full of sand volleyball, my ultimate weekend plan. Running didn't come into play until after college, mostly because it was pretty much the cheapest sport around....have shoes, will run!

What are the biggest challenges you anticipate coming across during half-marathon training?
I live at an elevation of 8,239 feet. It's the middle of the Winter...in the mountains. 'Nuff said!
:-)

What are you most looking forward to about race day?
Getting to run my very first long-distance race with a great friend. It's been well over a decade since hangin' with my die-hard workout buddy, Anna. I'm so honored to be part of such an awesome team and to benefiting an amazing cause.

What are your biggest fears/concerns about race day?
I plan on having a pocketful of red and clear gummy bears....the ultimate in nullifying fear! :)

Why did you decide to join the Team and run for Susan's Foundation?
Anna is the most die-hard, team playin', family lovin', hope rallyin' cheerleader I know...I am excited to support that in any way possible.

Is there anyone else you like to challenge to join the Team and run in Seattle?
hmm... Tonia, perhaps... Yes, Tonia!!!
(Note from Anna: Yes, Tonia!!!!) :)
SO EXCITED to have you on the team Rachel!! Those Colorado mountains will make those Seattle hills look laughable on race day! I can't wait to see you rock your first half!