Maniac questionnaire Name Fay Westenhofer Maniac # 991 How many marathons / ultra marathons have you run? 6/0 so far What was the first race you ever ran? (Any distance) 2006 Race for the Roses 5K in Portland. My goals were to find out what happened in a race, have fun, finish, not finish last and finish in under an hour. I met all my goals. What was the first marathon you ever ran? What year did you run it? Did you have fun that day? 2006 Portland Marathon. Lots of fun and knew I would do another one before I got to the finish line. How long have you been a runner and why did you start running? Runner? I’m supposed to be a runner? Okay, I mostly walk and started running at every mile marker at last summer. It just takes me longer. Why did you decide to become a Maniac? Or what inspired you? Well, I saw someone in the shirt and wanted one. Then I checked the web site and knew there was no way I would ever qualify. Then my friend wanted us to do the Yakima River Canyon this year and since I was already signed up for Eugene, I just needed to find another marathon within the 90 day time frame. Of all the races out there in this world, which one would you most like to run? Medoc or Bordeaux come to mind, or Antarctica because few people have done it. If you could run a marathon / ultra accompanied by anyone either living or deceased, who would you choose and why? That’s hard to say for sure. What was you most memorable marathon and why? Portland 2006 because it was the first one. Yakima River Canyon because I came within minutes of a PR even though I had to keep stopping going up that hill because I couldn’t take a deep breath without coughing. If someone asked you to pick a race for him or her that they could run a PR at, which race would you suggest? I’d suggest something close to home. Right now I’d say North Olympic Discovery Marathon because it’s pretty flat and I got a PR. Maybe Newport from what I’ve heard about it. I want to do that one next year. What was the furthest you’ve ever traveled for a race? Which is farthest from Portland - Yakima or Port Angeles? Do any of your non-running friends or family members thing that you’re crazy for running as much as you do? What are some of their comments to you? I was careful picking my friends so several of them also do or have done marathons. My family has always thought I was a little bit crazy. I think being a little older when I started this has helped. If personal obligations or finances were not an issue, how many marathons would you run in one year? Probably 10 to 12 From what race did you receive your favorite finishers medal? It’s a toss up between the 2006 Portland Marathon because it was first or the North Olympic Discovery Marathon this year. Where do you keep your finisher medals? They mostly live in a wooden box on a corner of the desk in my office at home after I’ve carried them around for awhile to show off. Do you wear your race t-shirts? What do you do with the ones you don’t wear? Yes. I wear the tech shirts when I train and the cotton ones when casual wear is appropriate. If you could put on a marathon anywhere in the world, where would you have it? Last year we started lobbying for a marathon in Walla Walla. I’m not sure if anything will ever come of it, but we had a certain amount of interest from the locals. Maniac Yellow, or Maniac Black? Gotta be yellow. What is your favorite pre race meal? Post race meal? For the locations where I’ve done races, the day before I usually end up visiting the local wineries and tasting wine. Dinner will be pasta with seafood. Morning before the race I usually have a couple slices or whole wheat toast with butter. After the race I want protein so usually end up with a steak, baked potato, salad and something chocolate. All with a good red wine. Yes, I’m a wineaux. What is your energy gel of choice? Sport drink of choice? Most of the gels taste too sweet so I usually stick to Apple Cinnamon or Vanilla. Brand doesn’t seem to matter. I don’t really like the taste of Gleukos, but that seems to be the drink of choice at most of the races I’ve done, so I’m trying to like it. Which race would you never run again and why? Unless they make some changes to be more walker friendly or I get a lot faster, I probably won’t do Eugene again. What was the most challenging race or combination of races you’ve ever done and why? Probably the Yakima River Canyon Marathon. I worked late the night before we headed for Yakima, and my whole office was suffering from the crud everyone had this spring. I started coughing the middle of the week before the race and considered dropping out, but then decided I would start and could take a DNF if it got bad. Of course once I started I knew I had to finish, but I skipped work several days the next week. What is a typical training week like for you? How many miles do you run? Any cross training? I average 25 to 30 miles a week with about half of it on a long run on the weekend. I’m planning to start some cross training in the next week or so. Do you have a training partner? If so, who is it? I train with Portland Fit on Saturday mornings and on my own during the week. What kind of shoes do you train in? Do you race in a different shoe? I’m partial to Mizuno shoes. What are your short-term running goals? Short term (this year) get faster. Slightly longer term (next year) qualify for Boston or do a 50 mile Ultra before my next high school reunion in 2010. What are your long-term running goals? Keep going and improving. Assuming you have time, what do you do for fun other than run marathons? Visit wineries with friends And I seem to be turning into a foodie. Who is your favorite Super Hero? Superman, Wonder Woman, Main Maniac (with cat on head) I seem to spend a lot of time with a cat on my head so I guess it’s Main Maniac. |