West Seattle’s 2 reasons to run today

Two running notes:

SALTY HALF: Found out belatedly that this small half-marathon happened this morning in West Seattle, so if you saw runners on a shore route (between Don Armeni and Lincoln Park) and were wondering – as was the case for one WSB commenter – that’s what was up.

WEST SEATTLE RAGNAR: Athena Frederick of We Sweat-West Seattle (WSB sponsor) sent the photos and note:

We Sweat is hosting a virtual ragnar relay today at Alki and Lincoln Park. 12 west seattle mom’s, we have run 10 Ragnar’s together and missed this year due to COVID. We planned a socially distanced event with 12 ladies running over 120 miles!

We are calling it the West Seattle Island Ragnar with tanks from Alair. If you see ladies in pink and blue running today, that’s us!

11 Replies to "West Seattle's 2 reasons to run today"

  • Alki resident October 17, 2020 (12:25 pm)

    Running outside with masks. Completely unhealthy and sends the wrong message. 

    • WSB October 17, 2020 (3:37 pm)

      No, that’s not true. Here is the exact CDC passage
      https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/cloth-face-cover-guidance.html
      “People who are engaged in high intensity activities, like running, may not be able to wear a mask if it causes difficulty breathing. If unable to wear a mask, consider conducting the activity in a location with greater ventilation and air exchange (for instance, outdoors versus indoors) and where it is possible to maintain physical distance from others.”

      Otherwise, you can find a variety of credible references advising usage if you are going to be running in a populated area – which events in parks and on sidewalks certainly are.
      https://health.clevelandclinic.org/should-you-wear-a-face-mask-when-running-outdoors/

      is just one example.

    • JD October 17, 2020 (5:52 pm)

      I run with a mask, and the message I’m sending is that I care about my neighbors and the people I pass by! If I’m around no one, then I sometimes take it off, but with the colder weather, I actually enjoy something keeping my face warm (I get cold very easily.) I don’t mind wearing it at all, it’s my choice, my freedom to wear it! And for crying out loud, high performance athletes wear training masks that restrict their breathing. Even with a mask on, I’m still getting more oxygen than I did while running in Boulder, Colorado.

  • sb2780 October 17, 2020 (1:18 pm)

    This event should have made it mandatory that participants wear masks and face coverings. It was scary and unacceptable to be dodging and ducking these maskless runners converging and overtaking the sidewalks and bike sharrows all along beach drive between Me Kwa Mooks and Lincoln Park this morning. I don’t understand how large sanctioned events like this are even allowed to take place right now. 

    • WSB October 17, 2020 (3:42 pm)

      I assume you are referring to Salty Half participants as the ragnar runners numbered 12 in all and the events were completely unrelated. I don’t know how many participants the Salty Half had since as mentioned, we didn’t get advance notice of it. Haven’t yet found the state guidance for this kind of event.

      • Sb2780 October 17, 2020 (8:54 pm)

        I don’t know what event it was for but the runners had numbered race bibs, so I’m assuming it was the half marathon. I would also like to hear from the race organizers about what guidelines they followed because masks either weren’t mandated, or participants didn’t comply if they were. 

        • DXL October 17, 2020 (11:30 pm)

          I ran the Salty Half on Saturday. It is always a well-organized race, and this year the race organizers took extra precautions, including: a wave start (10 per, which dramatically reduced the amount of racers passing each other on the course), mandating masks at the start/finish, a much smaller field (about 70 participants), and asking all racers to wear masks whenever they passed others. Most racers I saw complied with this (but not all). 

  • Confused October 17, 2020 (4:04 pm)

    Everyone here seems to be wearing a mask and one of them is a freind and I know she’s been very careful. Where are we getting info on people not wearing a mask? I guess because I wasn’t there I didn’t see the non mask wearing humans. Did they run 6 feet apart without them?  I guess if you’re wearing one you shouldn’t be too worried about yourself.

    • WSB October 17, 2020 (4:25 pm)

      I believe the commenter was referring to the first event mentioned here. I’m going to change the headline in hopes that helps make it clearer this is about two events…

  • Angela October 17, 2020 (4:19 pm)

    I enjoyed seeing the Salty half runners this morning. It is much safer outside than inside, from what I have read. Glad we have some normalcy and people can still find ways to enjoy their lives. 

  • Yes October 17, 2020 (4:19 pm)

    Running with masks on. Great job gals. It’s no easy task while breathing that hard. And great job Athena continuing getting moms out to exercise all these years. Totally rad! 

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