Seeing a female runner in that country was rare, something Nina hoped to change.
These words come from Maggie Lloyd’s 2016 RunWashington remembrance of Nina Brekelmans, a runner, scholar and activist who was killed four years ago in an apartment fire near Dupont Circle.
Several distance runners with local connections will compete in the NCAA Track and Field Championships June 5-8 in Austin, Texas.
3,000 meter steeplechase – Fitsum Seyoum – Virginia Tech / Tuscarora High School
Name: Daniel Ahern
Self – described age group: 50-54
Everyone knew Wendy Martinez as a runner. It was a huge part of her identity. So much so that when she wanted to meet her friends at a trendy brunch spot in D.C., she would run to the restaurant “and show up all sweaty. She didn’t want to miss a run,” said her best friend Kristina Moore.
“I think through running she found power and strength and serenity — it showed her dedication and mental strength, and so it was an integral core of her life,” Moore said.
In a way, Ariel Laguilles has been preparing for this week all of his adult life.
Since his freshman year at Gonzaga College High School, his education and work have all been at Jesuit schools. Now he is in the midst of what he plans to be a eight-day run along the 406-mile path in Spain walked by St. Ignatius, the founder of the Jesuit order, nearly 500 years ago.
Name: Madeline Shepherd
Self-described age group: 30-34