Amy Elson

I'm Amy Elson, and I'm a 2010 Carleton grad. At Carleton I ran track
and field--my favorite event was triple jump. Otherwise I did the
pentathlon/heptathlon. My favorite events in the multis were high jump
and 800m.

Then I graduated and signed up for the Nike Women's Marathon in SF.
Quite the leap from sprinting 90 feet and jumping into the sand to
26.2. (To be fair, I ran cross country in high school, but even so
before I started training I'd never run longer than maybe 8 miles at
one time in my life). And now here I am, a year after graduation, and
I've run two marathons!

What I'm doing with my life: I work with K-3rd graders at Four Seasons
Elementary in St. Paul, and hope to be an elementary school teacher
one day! Kids are the best. I also do some volunteer coaching at St.
Kate's--it's fun to still be a part of the MIAC even if my meet gear
has changed from maize and blue to purple.

Favorite Running Locations: Lake Calhoun in the summer, so I can end
my run with a jump in the lake and walk home. And you just can't beat
the Carleton Arboretum.

Favorite Post-Run Snack: Chocolate-Peanut Butter-Banana Smoothie

My i-Pod Playlist is: Ridiculously random. Right now I'm loving Girl
Talk but you can always find a bunch of 80s music on there.

Favorite Workout(s): Repeat 200s, like the sprinter that I am (was?)

Goals: Right now I want to get used to racing again/learn how to
actually race longer distances so that next year I can focus on
getting faster. So I don't have any expectations right now for times.
And if, and whenever my next marathon is, it'll be to break 4 hours.

Grandma's Marathon 2011

The Scene

Fog City the day before the race.
We stayed on the lake, less than 2 miles from the start line.

The Not-So-Secret Secret Weapon

They promised PRs for everyone if we got the rhubarb raspberry with whipped creme. Thanks, New Scenic Cafe. You do not disappoint.

The Results

Keren Gudeman: 3:18.51 chip; 3:19.28 gun.
Jessica Deutsch: 3:17.24 chip; 3:18.01 gun.
Kelsey Barale: 3:17.38 chip; 3:18.16 gun.
Amy Elson (the awesome sign for Amy): 4:01.23; 4:05.15 gun.

USATF Team results to come.

Half-Marathon
Shauna Overgaard: 1:38.45; 1:42.07

Jessica Deutsch

I began running 100 and 200 m dashes in the 7th grade and then became a mid-distance track & field athlete and cross-country runner in college. Now I race everything from the mile to the marathon.

In 2007, after three years of running on my own, I missed having a team and competing but wasn't quite elite runner material, so I started the Mississippi River Road Runners with Sarah Margoles. The 2011 season is our fifth year competing on the USATF MN Team Circuit. I love this team! I am impressed by the talented, smart, and interesting group of women who are my teammates.

My favorite places to run are on the Mississippi River, on the quiet gravel roads of Finlayson, and in the Arb in Northfield. Recently, I have enjoyed running on the public tracks of New York City and a rustic gravel trail cutting through the pastures between Ripon and Berlin, Wisconsin.

Personal bests include: ING New York City Marathon, 3:25:07 (7:49 pace); New Prague Half Marathon, 1:31:xx (watch time, 6:56 pace); City of Lakes 25K in 1:48:08 (6:58 pace). New goals: sub-1:30 in the half marathon, sub-1:08 in the Twin Cities 10 Mile.

East River Park in May

If you're like me, then you're squeezing in your run after those last precious moments of sleep and the mad dash to the bus stop, between official work hours and unofficial drinking hours, before meals with friends and family.

It's especially difficult to find time for a run when one is traveling for work. I've been lucky enough to have had many glorious days in New York this May. I took these photos on my first trip at the beginning of the month. Originally I had planned to buy a one-month gym membership to get me through my two stays in New York, but then I discovered the East River Park, a short but scenic route along the river that looks out at Brooklyn.






New York continues to impress me with its parks and public spaces. And what you don't see here is the public track on East 6th Street & FDR Drive. That's right: New York City Department of Parks and Recreation maintains this track for anyone to use. (But be warned, early birds: the bathrooms don't open until 7 or 8 am.) And it's not the only one. I stayed in Williamsburg with a friend and discovered another one in McCarren Park.

(I know, I know: we basically have access to the university and college and high school tracks around town. But I love love love the idea of a public track, and immediately began to wonder if Minneapolis or St. Paul has ever considered building a public track.)

Over the last four years, thanks to work trips and friends, I've been able to run quite a bit in New York. I did the Brooklyn Half Marathon and the NYC Marathon in 2007, and I've done quite a few runs in Central Park and Prospect Park. I also hear that there is also a route along the perimeter of Manhattan.

What are some of your favorite runs away from home?