This is part of a series on Albany runners who took part in the San Francisco Marathon event last weekend.
Name: Natalie Kay
Age: 25
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Profession: I'm a server at a brewery, I do taxes and I'm a freelance administrative assistant.
Albany Connection: I live in El Cerrito but I went to Marin Elementary and Albany Middle and High schools. My dad has a dentist's office on Solano. He's been a dentist in Albany for 30 years.
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Why did you run: I was turning 25 in May and I decided the goal for my birthday was to run Bay to Breakers. After that I thought, "Well since I'm in shape right now, I might as well keep going." Also my great aunt was 97 and had dementia, and when you run the race you can choose to race for a cause, so I did it for Alzheimer's. So, in addition to doing it for me, I did it for Minna. She passed away at the end of May.
How did the race go? At first I was basically excited and nervous when we were driving there. I told myself, I will have accomplished something when I'm done. It was cool for the first part. Around 10 miles, my hips really started to hurt. The last three miles were pretty rough, but I finished it and I was excited and happy. My goal was 2:20, and I made it in right under that.
How did you keep track of how fast you were going? Basically, they have super experienced runners who do the race and hold up a sign that says what the goal time is. That lets you stay on the right pace to make it so you finish in that amount of time. They're just kind of there as guides. They have pace groups at 10-minute intervals for people who run really fast or medium or slow.
What was your favorite part of the race? It was really nice because there were people who stand along the routes and cheer you on in different sections. It gives you a little boost when you run by and people are cheering and clapping.
How do you feel now? I've just been feeling really healthy, because I feel like I'm probably in the best shape I've ever been in my life. It feels really good to accomplish something like that for myself and to have raised a little bit of money, $260, for Alzheimer's research at UCSF.
What was your training routine? I had run Bay to Breakers in the middle of May, that's 7.62 miles. This was 13.1. I knew I had about two months, so I looked up training schedules online. I had never been a runner prior to Bay to Breakers. I did shorter runs during the week and I did yoga on the other days. Basically, I did one long run every Sunday. Every week you basically increase a mile. It took a while and it was hard. Around eight and nine and 10 miles, my hips were really hurting. I think my body was telling me that its limit is around 10 miles.
Are there places around Albany that are good to run? Under the BART tracks from my house in El Cerrito, from Potrero to the North Berkeley BART, there and back is eight miles. I also ran on the frontage road from Gilman by the race track to Powell Street in Emeryville. The BART track kind of boring because there's nothing to look at, but it's a good long flat run. You can also run up Marin for a long steady incline. It's a good running area.
See profiles of other Albany runners here:
- Harold Lueders
- Erik Charp
