In the few weeks leading up to the Eugene Half and Full Marathon, we’ll be featuring our Team Run Hub athletes on the blog to give you a peek into their backgrounds, goals and training. Enjoy!
Karla Snyder is a 43-year-old certified nurse midwife/nurse practitioner. She has been running for over 30 years.
When and why did you start running?
I started running when I was 12. I was the fastest girl in the presidential fitness mile and I wanted to try track in middle school. I ran the 800m, 1500m, and did the 1500m race walk. I did well at all these events, but I was especially good at race walking. I mostly race walked through my Sophomore year of high school. I would run at meets, but would otherwise train and compete at a high level with race walking throughout the summer. I started so young that it is odd to think about, but I have been competing and mostly running for 31 years and injury free! I must be doing something right.
Why did you sign up for the #teamrunhub training program?
I mainly wanted the camaraderie of a group. I really enjoy running and training with other people and meeting new friends through this. My other reason was to try to break my PR in the Eugene Half marathon. Running with a group is one way of holding myself accountable to train in a consistent and strong way.
What are your goals for the Eugene half/full Marathon? What pace(ish) are you planning to run during the race?
I touched on this in the last question. My main goal is to have fun and run strong! I also want to beat my PR. This is going to be a challenge since I set this eight years ago after working at an IHS hospital in northern AZ. I was at Fort Defiance, by Window Rock, on the Navajo reservation. The Hospital is on the AZ and NM border and is at 9000 ft elevation. My contract lasted for six weeks and I was training for a marathon while I was there. Two weeks after returning to Eugene I ran a PR at the Cascade Half Marathon in Sublimity, OR!
My PR is 1:37.36. I would like to run at a 7:25 min/mi pace or close to that. I will be happy if I break 1:38, but I’d really like to beat 1:37.36. I think I can do it, but I have to run well!
What has been your favorite part of being a member of the training group?
There are two main things I have enjoyed in this group. I have met some new runners! It is fun to see others training and pushing themselves towards a goal. There are quite a few folks who have never done a half or full marathon and it is inspiring to watch them work towards this feat! In addition, having something or someone that keeps me accountable to train well is another favorite thing. Dustin has been fun to work with and is great at giving gentle direction and insight.
What has been the most challenging part of your training?
The most challenging thing of training seems to always be getting out there when life gets stressful and busy. There were a couple of weeks where I just wasn’t able to do exactly what I had planned due to other commitments. That’s okay. In the end, I think my training was solid and I am set up to do well and go after that PR.
Tell us: Are you running the Eugene Half or Full Marathon? What are your goals? How do you adapt your training when life gets in the way?
