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Running . Tara Matthews . tára@táramatthews.org

I love running. I have been a distance runner since 1989 (4th grade). I used to watch my mom (also a runner) run around the Kilo Jr. High track and I eventually joined her. I would run 2 miles at a time and 3 or 4 miles for my "long runs." :) 

Beginning in 1991 (6th grade), I ran for the Green River Gliders youth running club. We would practice twice a week and run in meets on the Saturdays. It was my first experience with competition and I wasn't even close to competitive. I felt good if I didn't get last, but even then it was fun.

In 1993 (spring of 7th grade), I joined Kilo Jr. High's Track team and ran the 1600m (1 mile).  For three years in high school, I ran track on the Thomas Jefferson team, and in meets I would run the 3200m, the 1600m, and either the 1600m relay or the 800m. My primary race, however, was the 3200m (2 miles).

I ran cross-country throughout my time at Thomas Jefferson High School. I ran on the Seattle University Cross-Country team for four years and the Track team for for two years as an undergrad (the team didn't exist before my junior year). In Track I ran the 3000m and the 5000m.

I currently train and compete with the Pittsburgh Pharaoh Hounds running team, during my time as a visiting research at Carnegie Mellon University.

I have also competed in two "interdisciplinary" sports: orienteering and triathlons. I've competed in orienteering since 1995 (10th grade) and in triathlons since 2000. Orienteering involves cross-country navigation (with maps and compasses) and it is very fun.

My Personal Records
Distance Time Per Mile Pace Date Comments
1600 m (1 mile) 5:48 5:48 October 2000 The first mile of a 6K cross-country race at Woodland Park. Obviously, I need to do a time trial!
3000 m (1.9 miles) 11:08  5:51 May 2001 Sacramento track invitational. Took 3rd place!
5000 m (3.1 miles) 18:45 6:03 November 2001 Senior season in cross-country at Seattle University. Northwest College Invite at Lake Sammamish Park. This is one of my best races ever!
8K (5 miles) 32:20 6:28 May 2001 Beat the Bridge road race in the U-District, Seattle. I was 4th out of 306 in my age group, 22 out of 1919 women, and 161 out of 3982 total runners.
12K (7.5 miles) 51:50 6:59 October 2002 Bridge to Bridge in San Francisco - my first race after moving to Berkeley.  I was 8th out of 691 in my age group, 14th out of 2281 women, and 161 out of 5112 total runners.
Half Marathon (13.1 miles) 1:23:00

or

1:32:03

 6:21

or

7:01

 November 2003

May 2002

 The first time listed is from the US National Half Marathon in San Francisco, CA. The race was short - only 12.5 miles - but my PR for the half marathon would have been around this time (official race finish time was 1:19:22). Since this is a huge PR, I had to list it, even though it isn't official. I took second place overall and first in my age group.

The second time is from the Capital City Half Marathon, Olympia, Washington. I took first place in my age group and third overall for women. I strained by hamstring at mile 9 and somehow managed to finish. I believe I could have won (or at least gone much faster) if this had not happened. It was an exciting race.
Orienteering Maps

Orienteering involves navigating a course given a map like the ones below. These are interesting to examine, especially if you know the area.

University of Washington: November 30, 1997.
Meadow Creek, Logan Lake, BC: Canadian Orienteering Championships, July, 1998. This picture is only a section of the map-they were very large. You will notice that there are very few landmarks-mostly just open forest and plenty of hills. This makes for some tough orienteering!
 

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