Owen Bard earns ticket to Junior Nationals
By Marlene Farrell RunWenatchee.com A lot of runners hang up their shoes in the winter, or at least pare their training back to a maintenance level. Younger runners wrapped up their cross country seasons weeks ago. Not so for Owen Bard. This wiry 14-year-old, who calls Leavenworth home after transplanting from Twisp two years ago,…
My romance with running
By Marlene Farrell RunWenatchee.com My relationship with running changes over time. Sometimes I feel the height of passion, when running takes precedence and monopolizes my thoughts. Other times the relationship is very platonic, like I could take or leave it, and runs are a version of “going through the motions.” I can’t predict what will…
Sharing the trail with middle-school runners
By Marlene Farrell RunWenatchee.com Coaching middle schoolers in cross country running requires a delicate hand. Every year Coach Eric and I have a band of thoroughbreds ready to hit a trail. They’ll run, with little wasted motion, on and on. The vast majority of these young runners, however, need guidance every step of the way….
Stirred by a storm
By Marlene Farrell RunWenatchee.com After a day of mostly sitting (three hours in a car and all-day conference sessions), a window opened — a chance to leap away from my warm drowsy stillness. To run! The weather happened to be crazy. Gales were bombarding the Puget Sound. Being inland by about 15 miles as…
Racing a champion
By Marlene Farrell RunWenatchee.com My daughter, Alice, beat an Olympian the other day. It might be hard to imagine a girl just over a decade old trouncing a four-time Olympian, but that’s what she did. What does it matter that it was all in her head? That day we were at the Icicle River…