Marlene Sivyer at the Boston Marathon finish line. Photo from Marlene Sivyer.
It’s about time we introduced you to another runner from the NoPo Run Club! Everyone that we’ve talked to from the club is more than happy to tell us what they love about it, because they are a very welcoming bunch. They want YOU to come run with them!
Marlene Sivyer was kind enough to share her story with us, which is a great story because she was “not a runner” until she was over 40. “I actually hated it,” she says. Read on …
At age 57, Marlene has only been running for 10 years. “The only reason I started was because the man who I was dating (who then became my husband) was a runner. So I thought I’d give it a try.”
Her first race a big one, the Shamrock 5k. How did it go? “I thought I was going to die,” she recalls. The distance of “3 whole miles” seemed daunting to this “non-runner.” (Perhaps it was because she finished with an average pace of 9:53 – that’s really fast, especially for a first-time 5k runner.) But, she stuck with it – her husband ran in a number of local races, so she got involved through him. After a year, she decided to see “just how far [her] body would let her run” and she tackled her first 10k and longer distances.
Since then, her body has let her run pretty darn far – and pretty darn fast! Her first marathon was the 2005 Portland Marathon, which she finished in 4 hours and 11 minutes. In 2012, she ran a Boston Qualifier and completed the race in 2013. Lately, she’s enjoying 10ks and half-marathons, running with an average pace around 8:20/mile.
Sivyer found out about NoPo Run Club through meetup.com – she and her husband enjoy socializing but “Happy hours … don’t get you up and moving.” Working at a desk job, that need to get “up and moving” is one that Sivyer responds to with running and cross training. Running helps her stay “active and in shape,” and it’s “quick and doesn’t require equipment.” All great reasons to run – and picking a race provides some motivation to get out the door.
Even though much of the NoPo Run Club does center around great Oregon beer (their logo is a running pint glass), for Sivyer, going to the group runs is much more about spending time with fun people than about the beer. She says most members are about 15 years younger than her, but the group helps her be “more social and being stagnate.”
“NoPo has all ages and abilities of runners,” Sivyer says. “First, you’re never “too slow” and you’re never too old to start. The group as a whole is very inclusive.”
This, my dear readers, is what the NoPo Run Club is all about – so if you’re on the fence about attending a group run – check this out! Need a little push? Read Marilyn Tycer’s account of a first group run, where she knew no one and still had a great time.
The NoPo Run Club runs on Thursdays year-round from Amnesia Brewing at 832 North Beech St. in Portland. The group meets at 6:30p and heads out for 3+ miles at 7:45p every Thursday. Get to know them better on their facebook page.
