Run America

The Run America team is an amazing group, with some of the names listed below having participated in every step of all three previous events.  The combined efforts of the participants and friends who show their support with donations, has resulted in over $325,000 being raised for research since 2002.

For Run America IV, each participant has the obligation to raise at least $1,000 and cover the expenses for managing the relay (e.g., renting vans, paying for daily gas, food, drinks, etc.), allowing all proceeds to be donated to our cause.

Organizers

Craig Johnston is a professor of law at Lewis and Clark Law School and has known Barry since high school. Craig is an avid runner, participating in over a dozen marathons and countless relay runs such as Hood-to-Coast, Bay-to-Breakers, and around Mount Hood. Craig conceived of the first Run America back in 2002 and has been the tireless organizing force behind each of the events. The success of Run America to date is directly attributable to Craig’s hard work!

 

Barry Wald is the participating honoree of Run America. He was diagnosed with myotonic dystrophy in 1986, and, since that time, ran in eight Hood-to-Coast relays before turning to biking. He competes in “Cycle Oregon” annually and participated in all three of the prior Run America events. Barry helped found the Myotonic Dystrophy Foundation and has also participated in an experimental drug study for treatment of the disease, run by our research partners at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, NY.

 

Runners

Josh Allen is a soon-to-be graduate of Lewis and Clark Law School. Kevin Cassidy encouraged Josh to attend L&C several years ago–largely in the hope that Josh could be trained by Craig to pick up a few miles on future Run America events. It has been an expensive training program but it does come with a law degree.

Kevin Cassidy is a graduate of Lewis and Clark Law School.  His career has taken him to the United States Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., where he practices environmental law.  RA I, III.

Justin Gericke is a Lewis & Clark Law School alum who lives in Portland, OR and works as an attorney at Jordan Schrader PC.  Justin is a former member of the Endangered Species relay team with Barry and Craig.  RA I, II, III.

Tony Green is managing partner of The Pinehills, a 3000 acre new community with a traditional New England village feel in Plymouth, MA. 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 all prior Run America events as a “bi-athlete,” routinely going from running shoes to a bicycle seat with ease.  RA I,II,III.

Andy Hanson is a graduate of Lewis and Clark Law School and is now a trial attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.. Andrew grew up swimming in Lake Michigan and is totally psyched about running around the lake for Run America IV. RA I, III.

Andrew Hawley is graduate of Lewis and Clark Law School and originally from Pennsylvania. Andrew works for Defenders of Wildlife in Washington, D.C. and was a mainstay in the first Run America effort, setting the pace from coast to coast. Andrew will run and bike this time around. RA I, II, III.

Tom “TJ” Johnson is a boyhood friend of CJ and was a Harvard classmate with Barry.  TJ hosted the salmon bake and celebration after the team finished up in Fenway in 2003 and participated as a “closer” the most recent Run America.  We hope to see TJ for a couple days this August as a runner as well.  RA I, III.

Ken Larish Ken is Executive Vice President of GBT Realty Corporation, a Nashville-based real estate development firm, and former lawyer at Bone McCallister in Nashville. He is also a Lewis and Clark alum and an Endangered Species and Run America veteran. Ken has “wheels” and his specialty is running downhill as though being chased by a wild animal, a skill that was frequently needed on the Blue Ridge Parkway! RA I, II, III.

Melissa Malott is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Law School and is an environmental attorney in Madison, WI. Melissa was persuaded to sign up for Run America both because of her love for running around lakes and by Andrew Hanson’s enthusiasm for previous Run Americas.

John Martin is a close long-time friend (and fellow Kellogg alum) of bikers Jane Bieneman begin_of_the_skype_highlighting     end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting     end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting     end_of_the_skype_highlighting and Liz Wald. While they normally hang out on ski slopes, John moved to Chicago in 2009 and has agreed to leg out some miles for us at the start and end. He might even be wearing those funky new barefoot running shoes!

Dan Mensher is a graduate of Lewis and Clark Law School and spearheads the Pacific Environmental Advocacy Center’s water quality and pollution control work.  Dan is an avid and competitive bicyclist and runner who joined us with his equally athletically gifted wife, Joanna, on the Blue Ridge.  RA III.

Jamie Saul is a 2007 graduate of Lewis & Clark Law School and an environmental attorney currently based in Madison, Wis.  A native of Virginia, Jamie gave up fighting Craig’s running fanaticism in order to prepare for RA III on his home turf in the Blue Ridge Mountains.  He recently picked up triathlon racing but based on recent experiences may put it down again very soon. RA III.

Tyson Smith is a Lewis & Clark Law School alum who began his regulatory career at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in Washington, D.C.. Tyson is now an attorney at Winston & Strawn in San Francisco.  He became a running enthusiast while at Lewis & Clark and it has now become a true passion.  RA III.

Rachel Wald and Rebecca Wald, Barry’s amazing daughters,  will be joining us around the Lake.  Rachel just finished her sophomore year at Lincoln High School in Portland, Oregon. Rebecca just finished her freshman year at Johns Hopkins University in Batimore, MD, where she is studying medicine and public health.

Bikers

Jane Bieneman went to graduate school with Liz Wald at Northwestern’s Kellogg and is a long time friend of the Wald family. Jane lives in New York City and works at BlueOrchard, a microfinance investment management company. She’s looking forward to her second Run America. RA III

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 and third Run America relays and has a fancy new road bike to take around the Lake. RAII,  III.

Dave Cummings earned an L.L.M. degree in environmental law from Lewis and Clark and is a leading Tribal Attorney with the Nez Perce Tribe in Idaho, working primarily on salmon recovery and treaty right issues .  Dave is a long time friend of Barry and Craig and a former member of the the Endangered Species team.  After surviving relays like the Hood to Coast and the Rainier to Coast (in Washington), he is now easing up on his knees and focusing more on cycling than biking.  RA I, II, III.

Joanna Mensher is married to Dan Mensher and works at at METRO, a regional planning agency in the Portland, OR. She is also an avid bicyclist and runner whom the Run America team first met on the Blue Ridge.  She will likely do more biking than running, but we’ll take any miles she can give!  RA III.

Liz Wald, Barry’s sister, lives and works in New York City. Liz has participated as a biker in all the Run America events to date, logging more than 2000 miles. She has worked in the internet space since 1995 and helps manage Run America’s online presence. RA I, II, III.

Friends Along The Road

Jim and Carol Bieneman know Liz Wald through their daughter, Jane.  They are long time cyclists and first came out to support us on the Atlanta to DC ride.  They have a home near Lake Michigan, and, for the past 25+ years on the Friday before Labor Day, Jim and Carol have hosted a 55-mile bike ride in southwestern Michigan for about 30 friends and family.  Jim has controlled Multiple Myeloma, a blood cancer, since diagnosis in 2003, and we’re glad he can join us for some miles along the shores of Lake Michigan! RA III

Jim Ossyra, Barry’s former college roommate, and his wife Carol, are providing our Chicago-based local HQ/support operations. We hope they will be able to join us for a few miles after hosting us for a kick-off BBQ on Friday evening, August 6.

Ruthie Matinko-Wald has been married to Barry for 24 wonderful years and joins RA IV as a participant for the first time. A native of Western Pennsylvania, she will be contributing some key miles as a walker and utilize her communications expertise as RA IV’s Director of Social Media, blogging and twittering our progress around the Lake.

Jim Lofton works in Washington, DC, for the Environmental Enforcement Section of the Department of Justice. He lives in Harrisonburg, VA, in the Shenandoah Valley where he enjoys biking the backroads of the valley. Jim was recruited by runner Andy Hanson but quickly found a Run America family with the daily bikers. We hope he’ll return for future Run Americas.

Andrew, Amber and (14-yr-old) Jake Kroeker, friends of Josh Allen, pitched in for a few miles at the end of the trip as we closed in on Chicago. The young family shot over from Ann Arbor to join the team.