a
I’m Proof That...
I’m Proof That…
I’m Proof That…
You never forget how to ride a bike. AG E :
Bonnie Osborn
30
Booking agent for photographers and stylists JO B:
H O BB Y:
Racing bikes
Stay “with the pack” for a whole racing season. C YC LI N G G OA L:
FAVO R I T E WO R KO UT RO UT I NE :
Warming up pre-race with 45-minute interval routines created by Velo Girls coach, Lorri. A must! My dad, who raced bikes in the 1970s M Y I N SP I R AT I ON:
PRO U D E S T CYC LI NG MO ME NT:
Telling my father I was going to follow in his footsteps. I always use the same safety pins for my race number; they’re my lucky charms. OT H E R :
BA D H A BI T:
Biting my nails
Strawberry Clif Shot Bloks—They’re like candy! FAVO R I T E R I DI NG S NAC K :
“Keep cycling fun.” My dad Charles always said that. He was a racer, but he just loved to ride his bike. M Y FAVO R I TE Q UOT E :
The jump between beauty queen and ultra-runner is smaller than you think.
F
riends from my Las Vegas childhood would never guess it, but, at age 30, I’m an athlete and I race bicycles.
Riding was always pretty independent for me, then a friend recommended a local riding group, Velo Girls. I rode with them every weekend for 6 months. When I graduated to a “real” road bike, Velo Girls founder and coach Lorri Lee Lown invited me to join the racing team. Racing? I’d never really considered it, but it spoke to my competitive nature, so I joined the team last spring. The toughest aspect of competing is making time to train. New professional ventures filled my schedule, so I rode to the office and trained before and after work. Even with all the effort, I fell behind the pack in every race and thought I’d never be as fit as other Cat-4 racers. My goal in the Timpani Criterium last August was just to keep up with the group for at least three laps. I did—until a crash brought me down. I ignored the post-crash pain and finished in seventh place. Later, I discovered I had a chain-ring puncture in my shoulder, but that race was the highlight of the season for me.
Stay Upright,
n Sophia age 13
Ran half a mile in middle school PE and a full mile in high school after the summer.
n Bonnie age 10
I mostly ran from boys, and I learned to swim.
Pedaled alongside my dad while he trained.
1970s
24 WAM • SPR | 2011
Bonnie
JOB:
Territory Manager for Mizuno USA
n Bonnie age 16 Stayed away
from sports and made art, went to school, and worked instead.
H O B B Y : Trail running RU N N IN G G OAL : Complete a 100 miler FAVO R IT E WO R KO U T RO U T IN E :
Running 20+ miles in the woods followed by a microbrew with my fiancé or coffee with the MudBabes. Braden Hofen, a 6-year-old with neuroblastoma who fights and succeeds against the odds. M Y IN S P IR AT IO N :
P RO U DE S T RU N N IN G M O M E N T:
Running through the finish line of my last 50-miler at an 8:30 pace. My musical background benefits me as a runner; having good rhythm makes me steadier and less likely to bonk. OT H E R :
Bonnie and Mel Waves
I ignored the post-crash pain and finished in seventh place. Later, I discovered I had a chain-ring puncture in my shoulder, but that race was the highlight of the season for me.
First career change (from musician to news anchor). I exercised inconsistently but ran 5k races, took spin classes, and learned how to lift weights. age 24
Rode for the first time in 15 years.
n Sophia age 35
Got hooked on distance running and completed my first marathon.
fun and upping the ante as a Cat-4 racer for the Velo Girls. I want to get fitter, be faster, and have even more fun next year.
40s Make more money so I can buy lighter gear and hopefully be as fast as I was in my 30s.
Half Marathon & 10K Adventure
n my 1980 middle school gym class, I was chosen last for a team—again. It seems a strange start for a person who now excels at ultra-running, nevertheless, it is my story. I started running to look fit for beauty pageants, but despite my talent with a fiddle, I never actually won the title of a beauty queen. As a 20-something with a master’s degree in music, I made money playing gigs with local orchestras and only exercised sporadically. When music stopped being fun, I worked as a broadcast reporter until my passion for news died too. Finally, I traded in my microphone for a pair of running shoes. I got hooked in 2004 when a friend said, “If you can run 8 miles, you can run 10. If you can run 10, you can do a marathon.” I could run 8, so I tried a half marathon that summer and a year later I finished the NYC Marathon. I’ve since completed ten marathons and five ultra-marathons. Now, I direct races, do trail maintenance, and work as a sales rep for a sporting goods company that makes running gear. The highlight of my job: encouraging people like me to let running transform their lives. I’m off to a good start with that already. The all-female running group I started, MudBabe Mondays, is so popular that men beg to join. We let them run— but they do the course in the opposite direction so that we have a relaxed environment where women can chat and keep a comfortable pace.
Muddy hugs,
Learn to build my own bikes and make them for my family, like my dad did for me.
n Bonnie in her 60s
Continue riding and add swimming to my workouts, I hear it’s easy on the joints.
n Sophia in
her 70s Teach my grand kids to ride.
n Sophia in her 50s
Run faster 100 milers and continue directing Braden’s Miracle Mile and 5k to raise money for neuroblastoma.
Galapagos Marathon Tour May 6-17 2011 Air from Miami • Most Meals, Island Tours, Snorkeling, Private Boat Tour to Islets 4N Quito & 7N San Cristobal/Isabela Galapagos National Park Entrance Fee & Event Entry $4790 Air & Land
Machu Picchu Extension • May 17-27 2011 Hotel Accommodations Lima, Cusco & Aguas Calientes Tour of Machu Picchu & Various Incan Ruins Hike a portion of the Inca Trail from Machu Picchu to Sun Gate Express Vistadome Train from Aguas Calientes to Cusco Optional River Rafting or Horse Back Riding $2700 Air & Land
Great Wall Half Marathon & 10K
May 15-23, 2011 • Beijing BASIC TOUR INCLUDES: Air Fare from San Francisco or Chicago Stay in 1st Class Capital Hotel in Beijing • Run Site Inspection Day Registration Fee for the OFFICIAL Run Optional 2Day Xian Extension Tour Optional 2Day Xian/3Day Shanghai Extension Optional 2Day Xian/3Day Tibet/3Day Shanghai Extension From: $2790 (double occupancy) on American Airlines from Chicago (other U.S. cities available on request)
Victoria Falls Half Marathon & 5K
Sophia
n Bonnie in her 50s
n Bonnie in her n Bonnie NOW Riding for
Galapagos
I
Last spring, my fiancé and I directed Braden’s Race for Life and Miracle Mile, an event benefitting Braden Hofen, a 6-year-old with neuroblastoma. We saw 1,600 participants raise $42,000. This year, it is called Braden’s Miracle Mile and 5k, and we aim to increase our support. When I see people about to bonk during a race I’m directing, I often tell them that, if Braden Hofen can fight and smile and laugh, they can surely run another 20 miles! n Sophia NOW I’m training for my first 100-mile race, and I’m helping to grow the Trail Nerds and MudBabes race series in Kansas City.
n Sophia
n Bonnie age 26
Sophia Wharton
AG E : 40
I’ve always ridden bikes. In my adolescence, I rode a 10-speed Huffy behind my dad while he ran; and 15 years later he built an old hybrid which I rode through the streets of New York City to my entry-level advertising job. I moved to San Francisco during the recession and passed my time exploring on that hybrid until I got a new job and started commuting by bike.
Now, when I’m overwhelmed juggling work and training, my chain-ring scar is proof that I’m tough enough to keep racing my bike.
n Sophia age 4
N AM E :
COURTESY OF: BONNIE OSBORN AND SOPHIA WHARTON
NAME:
Running Tours for Adventurous Women!
n Sophia in her 60s
Retire in the mountains, where I can run, play, and continue race directing.
n Bonnie
in her 70s Make sure I look like I’m still 50.
Victoria Falls, Africa August 19-31, 2011 BASIC TOUR INCLUDES: 14 Nights - Johannesburg & Victoria Falls Air on SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS, Including All Air Within S. Africa Victoria Falls, Zambezi River Cruise, Daily Safari Game Drives, Park Fees, Tips & Most Meals • Official Run Entry Fee From $ 5790.00 (double occupancy) from Washington Dulles (other US cities available) Optional 3 Night Extension to Cape Town PLEASE CONTACT:
Kathy Loper Events • 619-298-7400 www.kathyloperevents.com
2011
womensadventuremagazine.com
2050s
WAM • SPR | 2011 25