The Team

Daily Run America Updates During the Relay!

Most of the runners involved in this effort have some connection with Lewis and Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon. This is due to the fact that the main organizer of the team, Craig Johnston, is a professor at Lewis and Clark. Craig also went to high school with Barry Wald, in whose honor this relay is being run. The other runners and bicyclists are friends or relatives of other participants.

Runners: Craig Johnston, Ken Larish, Dave Cummings, Justin Gericke, Bill Hodge, Dan Mensher, Joanna Mensher, Jamie Saul, Andrew Hawley, Kevin Cassidy, Tyson Smith, Tony Green, Nick Burns

Bicyclists: Barry Wald, Liz Wald, Jane Bieneman, Mark Chandler, Jennifer Colville, Jim and Carol Bieneman

Taking Part All Eight Days: Atlanta to Washington, D.C

Craig Johnston is a professor of law at Lewis and Clark Law School and has known Barry since high school. Craig has run fourteen marathons and run in both of the prior Run America relays. He is 50 years old.

Ken Larish is a lawyer with Bone McCallister in Nashville, Tennessee.  Ken is a Lewis and Clark alum and a Run America veteran.  He has run two marathons, and has beaten Prof. Johnston in both of them.  In the last Run America relay, Ken set the record for most hours billed during a Run America event.  He is 40.

Dave Cummings is a Tribal Attorney with the Nez Perce Tribe in Idaho.  Dave received an LLM from Lewis and Clark in 1995.  He was a clutch performer in the first Run America, agreeing to extend his stay for three extra days when it looked like the team might otherwise have been shorthanded during its third week.  He was also a beginning-to-end participant in the second Run America Relay.  Dave is 41.

Justin Gericke is a lawyer with Jordan Schrader in Portland.  He participated in both of the first two Run America relays, and has run three marathons.  He was part of a team that won The Relay, a Bay Area race, in 2006.  Justin is 38. 

Bill Hodge is a professor of law at the University of Auckland, in Auckland, New Zealand.  Bill has run more than 100 marathons, and was a coast-to-coast participant in the first Run America relay.  Bill is 67.

Dan Mensher is a third-year student at Lewis and Clark Law School.  He is an avid bicyclist and runner, and was also part of the team that won The Relay in 2006.  This is his first Run America relay.  Dan is 30.

Joanna Mensher is a planner at Metro, a regional planning agency in the Portland area.  She is also an avid bicyclist and runner.  She has run end-to-end on Portland’s Wildwood Trail (31 miles) twice.  This is her first Run America relay. 

Jamie Saul is a third-year student at Lewis and Clark Law School.  He is relatively new to running, but has been doing hill work to prepare for the Blue Ridge.

Bicyclists:

Barry Wald was diagnosed with myotonic dystrophy when he was 30.  Since that time, he ran in eight Hood-to-Coast relays before turning to biking. He completed “Cycle Oregon” three times and participated in both of the prior Run America events. In the past year he helped found, and serves on the Board of, the Myotonic Dystrophy Foundation. He also participated in the IGF3 experimental drug study for treatment of myotonic dystrophy, run by our research partners at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, NY. Barry is 50 years old and works for Intel.

Liz Wald is Barry’s sister, and has her own importing business, Economic Development Imports, based in New York City.  Liz has been an all-star performer in both of the first two Run America events, riding virtually every mile of both.  Liz is 40. 

Jane Bieneman is a business school classmate of Barry's sister Liz and a long time friend of the Wald Family.  She lives in New York City and has been a supporter of Run America I and II.  Jane is excited to be biking with Barry and Liz throughout Run America III and even convinced her parents to join for part of the trip!

Taking Part for Portions of the Relay

Runners:

Andrew Hawley graduated from Lewis and Clark in 2003, and is now a lawyer with Defenders of Wildlife in Washington, D.C.  Andrew was the backbone of the first two Run America relays, running for the full length of both endeavors.  He has also completed an Ironman triathlon.  Andrew is 30. 

Kevin Cassidy graduated from Lewis and Clark in 2002, and is now a lawyer with the U.S. Dept. of Justice in Washington, D.C.  Kevin was a star participant in the first Run America relay, taking part from coast to coast despite an impending bar exam.  He also ran part of the second Run America run.  Kevin has run one marathon, was part of the winning team in The Relay, and is 37.

Tyson Smith also graduated from Lewis and Clark in 2003, and is now a lawyer with Winston & Strawn in Washington, D.C.  Relatively new to running, Tyson has taken to it with a passion, having run three marathons and several shorter races in the past few years.  He also was part of the team that won The Relay. 

Tony Green is managing partner of The Pinehills, a 3000 acre new town in Plymouth, Massachusetts. He has known Barry since grade school and Craig since high school. A former wrestler and rugger, Tony ran the 100th Boston Marathon in 1996 and has participated in both of the prior Run America events.

Nick Burns is the Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs.  He is an old friend of both Craig’s and Barry’s.  He has been trying to squeeze training time into his very busy schedule.  Nick is 51.

Bicylists:

Mark Chandler is the General Counsel for Cisco Corp., in San Jose, CA.  Mark has known Barry since junior high and Craig since high school.  Mark participated as a bicyclist for part of the second Run America relay.

Jennifer Colville is a good friend of Liz Wald, and a big fan of Run America.  She participated as a part-time bicyclist (twice) in Run America I, and is looking forward to reprising that role on the eastern seaboard.  Jennifer lives in New York City, works for the United Nations Development Programme, and aims to keep to her “training” schedule on as many continents as possible. 

Jim and Carol Bieneman know Liz Wald through their daughter Jane.  They are long time cyclists though this will be their first Run America.  For the past 25 years on the Friday before Labor Day, Jim and Carol have hosted a 55 mile bike ride in southwestern Michigan.  On average about 30 friends and family bicycle the route each year.  Jim has controlled Multiple Myeloma, a blood cancer, since diagnosis in 2003.  Jim and Carol look forward to riding and providing some sag services as well.