Up hills without a paddle
Redondo firefighter Joe Bark leads a group of fellow Catalina Classic paddlers in a race from one end of the mountainous island to the other, and back
Aimee Spector makes her ascent from Two Harbors, at the Isthmus, during the Avalon Benefit 50 Mile Race on Catalina Island. Photo by Joe Bark
Years after the Greek soldier Pheidippides made his legendary run from the Battle of Marathon to Athens, lengthy runs became aptly known as marathons and the standard for modern day distance runners.
Almost double the official marathon distance of 26 miles and 385 yards, include a course that reaches approximately 1,500 feet in elevation and throw in unseasonably warm weather and you have the 30th Annual Avalon Benefit 50 Mile Run.
Last Saturday, 29 athletes from the South Bay — the majority being paddlers whose physical prowess is better demonstrated in ocean waters rather than on terra firma – met the challenge head on. And, like Pheidippides, the runners delivered a message that benefited a community, even if it was 26 miles across the sea.
All proceeds from entry fees and sponsored mileage benefited the Avalon Lion’s Club. Recipients included the Avalon Hospital, Avalon High School scholarships, Catalina Conservancy and the Bill Putnam Health Care Fund.
“Paddlers always have great community support,” said Redondo Beach dentist and veteran paddler Will Weston, who placed 47th out of 241 finishers, completing the course in 9 hours, 24 minutes and 35 seconds. “The island is not a hotbed of industry or business and Catalina has always been heavily supported by the South Bay.”
Weston runs Club Ed, which was also well represented in the race. Will Longyear of Manhattan Beach was the top Club Ed finisher (19th, 8:32:01), followed by Annie Seawright-Newton of Hermosa Beach (30th, 8:58:29), Weston and Jeff Cohn of Hermosa Beach (49th, 9:24:35).
Many in the aquatics community were inspired to run the endurance race by Rancho Palos Verdes resident Joe Bark. The Redondo Beach firefighter and famed board shaper modestly said all he did was get the word out for a good cause.
“I wanted paddlers to get involved and I think we ended up with about 20,” Bark said. “Anything in Catalina is so much fun. I figured two marathons would double the fun. Unfortunately, it was about 10 times the pain.”
Bark, who finished 180th (12:05:07), described the race as more of a survival hike.
“The second half was pretty painful,” Bark admitted. “The highlight of the event, besides finishing, was seeing so many paddlers there. That was very special.”
The Avalon Benefit 50 Mile Run starts and finishes at the downtown Avalon Pier. The course follows a fire road to the Isthmus, near the west end of the island, and then back, providing runners a view of the island’s interior along with wildlife such as buffalo, deer and fox.
Joe Bark takes a short break to stand next to a banner by island residents, encouraging Bark and his fellow paddleboarders. Photo by Charlie Hutchens
Runners go from sea level to 1,500 feet in the first seven miles, run another 10 miles at about 1,200 feet, then run downhill for five miles to the Isthmus. The middle of the race includes running up and down two hills with elevations to 800 feet (approximately five mile each). In one stretch, runners must endure a 12-mile ascent to 1,400 feet before returning to sea level in a demanding two-mile descent.
Fabrice Hardel, of San Diego won the event with a time of 6:44:16, well off Peter Park’s record of 5:48 set in 2002.
Ironman Triathlon World Champion Heather Fuhr, of Encinitas, finished second overall while shattering the women’s record. Fuhr’s time of 6:52:14 set the new women’s mark, eclipsing Julie Arter’s previous record of 7:22:45 set in 2000.
The top South Bay finisher was Christian Burke, of Hermosa Beach, who placed 10th with a time of 7:44:29.
“This was my first time competing in a race on Catalina and I could not have been more excited,” Burke said. “The race is always on the calendar but I had never run in it before. Most runners take the end of the year off and begin training again in January but I’ve been going non-stop for about two years so I was ready for Avalon.”
Burke said training in the sand helped him but during the steep decline at the end of the race it felt like daggers were stabbing him in the quadriceps muscles in both legs. Yet he vowed to return next year.
“I misjudged the last 15 miles or so which hurt my time a little,” Burke said. “But there were a lot of good runners there and, racing against elite athletes like that and seeing what I had to do to compete against them was a highlight for me. There were the nicest people there and just hanging out at the finish line was fun. It was a great day.”
Burke is no stranger to fundraising runs. He won the Operation Jack Marathon on December 26, completing the course, which started and finished at Dockweiler Beach in Playa del Rey, in 3:06:21.
The event marked the final marathon for Operation Jack, an endeavor where Sam Felsenfeld ran 61 marathons in 2010 in honor of his 7-year-old son, Jack, who is severely autistic. Operation Jack raised money and awareness for Train 4 Autism, a non-profit that helps people raise money for the local autism-related charity of their choice.
In September, Burke broke a long standing world record for running distance during a 24 hour period. The run was called Hermosa24.com and raised more than $10,000 for Hermosa Beach schools. Burke ran from the Hermosa Beach Pier to the Manhattan Beach pier and back over 22 times from noon September 5 to noon September 6, 2010, to etch his name in the Guinness Book of World Records.
The previous world record was 62.14 miles in a 24 hour period. Christian smashed that record by logging 83.04 miles in just less than 24 hours.
Burke said his record-breaking run in September was only Phase 1 in his endeavor to help Hermosa Beach schools. He plans to hold another 24-hour event June 18-19 which will feature team relay competitions consisting of elementary, middle and high school students.
Redondo Beach resident and Lanakila Outrigger Canoe Club member Aimee Spector exchanged her paddle for running shoes as a new way to celebrate her birthday.
“I’m 38 years old and every January I try to come up with a different way to celebrate my birthday,” Spector said. “This year it’s the Avalon 50. I’m always up for a new adventure and when Joe Bark asked me to participate, I had to say yes. He is the nicest guy and it’s hard to say ‘No’ to Joe Bark.”
Spector is no stranger to running on Catalina Island. She won the Buffalo Run Half Marathon in 2007 and knew what it would take to finish the grueling race.
“My training consisted of running, running and running,” Spector said. “I ran everywhere around the South Bay, I ran before work, after work and even 2-3 hours a day during Christmas vacation in Japan. It was fun running in a new country with different surroundings.”
Spector was joined by Ocean of Hope team members Phil Ambrose and Joel Pepper. Spector used the event to raise money for the Ocean of Hope’s Sarcoma Alliance (www.sarcomaalliance.org/oceanofhope).
Running in honor of Rachelle Ricardo, an outrigger paddler who developed sarcoma last year, Spector raised almost $2,300 in only six weeks.
“The South Bay community, especially paddlers and paddleboarders, are really generous, supportive people who feel the same way I do — that giving back is an important part of being part of a community,” Spector said. “So I am stoked to be a part of that. I don’t think I trained enough, but was just excited to participate in this race, and to do it with a purpose. Despite the thought of being unprepared or under trained, I know I have some of those things it takes to accomplish something big: determination, focus, sheer will, the unwillingness to quit. It also takes a little bit of “crazy”. I have plenty of that.”
Spector finished a respectable 33rd overall, completing the course in 9:01:29. Her goal was to complete in the course in under 10 hours.
“The turn-around was hard for me,” Spector explained. “Knowing that you have another half of the race to go was mentally tough.”
She said that crossing the finish line was the highlight of the event.
“Everyone was clapping and then you get to clap for others coming in. It was really fun,” Spector said. “It just goes to show that ordinary people are capable of doing great things.”
Ambrose, of Rolling Hills Estates, finished 173rd at 12:01:02 and Pepper, of Redondo Beach, placed 179th, finishing just ahead of Bark at 12:06:07.
“When Joe Bark told us about the race I said ‘That’s just a bad idea. But if you’re dumb enough to do, I’ll do it,’” Pepper said. “Twelve hours was a long, challenging day. My feet hurt like never before.”
Pepper said the highlight of the run came nearly two hours after the 5 a.m. start.
“The sun came up on what might have been the clearest day of the year. The channel was glassy and you could see Mt. Baldy and the snow covered San Gabriel Mountains. The purple sky illuminated the entire L.A. basin. You could see everything. I felt so lucky to be out there.”
Pepper said the most difficult part of the race came when Bark informed him that their close friend Charlie Hutchens was forced to drop out of the race because of medical issues.
“It was a dark spot for 2-3 hours,” Pepper recalled. “We didn’t know if we’d see Charlie smiling at the end of the race with a beer in his hand or if he had been Medivaced off the island. It was an uncomfortable feeling and I know it weighed heavily on Joe.”
Fortunately, Hutchens was alright and one of only 18 runners unable to finish the race. The friends were reunited at the finish line.
Hermosa Beach resident Matt Walls said his goal was simply to finish, which he did in 141st place, at 11:15:15. He said the steep hills, the heat and stagnant air in the canyons were the toughest obstacles to overcome.
Walls is the leader of the Donkey Crew, a group of approximately 30 paddleboarders from the beach cities who train together before work and on weekends. He said he was particularly proud of the 17 paddlers, including 15 from the South Bay, who participated in the Avalon 50.
“We were all first timers,” Walls said. “I guess misery loves company but it was really cool to help out the island.”
Walls went on a short run Monday morning and said he didn’t feel too bad. He paused for a moment when asked if he would run in next year’s race.
“I’ve weighed the pros and the cons and the cons aren’t that bad,” Walls exclaimed. “But I won’t do it alone.”
Walls shouldn’t have a problem finding teammates. Other South Bay residents completing the Avalon Benefit 50 Mile Run included Juliet Morgan (Manhattan Beach, 18th, 8:24:52), Danny Westergaard (Rolling Hills, 26th, 8:51:05), Alex Garcia (Manhattan Beach, 37th, 9:08:57), Amy Micheletti (Hermosa Beach, 71st, 9:54:30), Jeff Cutler (Manhattan Beach, 103rd, 10:40:12), Guillaume Reynet (Redondo Beach, 106th, 10:45:26), Dennis Ladnier (Hermosa Beach, 113th, 10:48:26), Craig Schneider, (Hermosa Beach, 117th, 10:49:19), David Powers (Redondo Beach, 123rd, 10:53:05), Christina Powers (Redondo Beach, 124th, 10:53:05), Janet Westergaard (Rolling Hills, 134th, 11:05:41), David Richman (Manhattan Beach, 167th, 11:48:56), Wendy Norris (Rancho Palos Verdes, 169th, 11:52:17), Robert Keating (Torrance, 174th, 12:01:23), Prasanna Santhappan (Hermosa Beach, 181st, 12:06:54), Brian Sturz (Manhattan Beach, 212th, 14:57:41) and Glenn Bland (Manhattan Beach, 213th, 14:57:41). ER