By Philip L. Watness For Peninsula Daily News
PORT TOWNSEND — Shannan St. Clair of Federal Way didn’t let a heel blister stop her from finishing the 33rd annual 12K Rhody Run on Sunday.
Like many other participants in the run that drew 2,284 participants, she had plenty of family and friends supporting her as she walked a brisk pace under calm but cloudy skies.
She also had the memory of her late mother, Trudi Southard, to propel her weary legs.
“It’s the first anniversary of my mother’s death, and I wanted to do something positive and invigorating to honor her memory,” St. Clair said.
“And these people are my second family,” referring to the three generations of the Maude family who invited her to join them.
That family includes matriarch Nancy Maude, 72, of Buckley, her son, Mike Maude, 47, of Bothell and daughter, Kelly Von Volkli, 46, of Port Townsend, as well as their offspring.
Mike Maude piloted a stroller carrying his 21-month-old twin daughters, Margaret and Abigail, while his sister, Kelly, was joined by her daughter, Jessie, 12, to walk the 12-kilometer route through rural Port Townsend.
Patriarch Roger Maude, 77, decided to sit out this one out while his wife ran in her fourth Rhody Run.
St. Clair’s twin 11-year-old sons, Nathan and Benjamin, also trod the long route with their mother and her friends.
The Maude clan has made the annual event — the end event of the weeklong Rhododendron Festival — a family and friends affair for the past seven years.
So they decided this year to rent one of the accommodations at Fort Worden State Park, where the race began and ended.
They planned to retire to their quarters following the race for a hamburger barbecue.
“It just keeps growing,” Nancy Maude said of her family’s annual get-together.
Von Volkli ran her first Rhody Run eight years ago, then invited her brother, Mike Maude, to join her.
A few years later, mother Maude joined her offspring, and father Maude ran/walked two years.
“It’s a community affair,” Von Volkli said.
That’s how race organizers promote the Rhody Run, which has been held for the past 33 years.
The event website states the event is “one of the Northwest’s best-loved races.”
“And although we’ve grown a lot since the first Rhody Run in 1979, this race is still very much a community event,” it says.
Far outpacing the Maude family were men’s division winner, Joseph Gray, 27, of Newcastle, who won his third consecutive Rhody Run and women’s division winner, Sarah Porter, 21, of Bellingham.
Gray sliced 11 seconds from his 2010 winning time to finish in 36 minutes, 38 seconds, while Porter finished in 42 minutes, 45 seconds for eighth overall.
Ian Fraser, 37, of Port Townsend was the first local man to cross the finish line, placing fifth in 41 minutes, 32 seconds.
While the pace-setters were enjoying the limelight, the Maudes and St. Clairs gathered to reflect on their participation.
“It was a great, great experience,” Shannon St. Clair said of her first Rhody Run.
“The kids did really well, too, though we had to do a lot of motivational talk from milepost 5 to about 7.”
“I thought I wouldn’t get through the run,” said her son, Nathan. “I was so tired and sore. But it was a fun family run. I recommend it to any family.”
The run wound its way from Fort Worden State Park west on 49th Street, then turned southwest on Cook Avenue before reaching Hastings Avenue, where runners and walkers found themselves going east before hitting Discovery Road, then east on F Street, then north on Cherry and Redwood streets before cutting back on W Street.
The final leg entered the park off Admiralty and looped around the parade grounds before finishing where it began.
The first hill along Cook Avenue took the wind out of many runners and walkers, but that wasn’t the worst part for Von Volkli.
“Hastings goes on forever,” she said. “Once you get to the top of the hill [on Cook Avenue], you realize you’re half done, so you just keep trudging.”
Her mom, Nancy Maude, said the route, though challenging, also provided plenty of scenery.
“It’s always pleasant,” she said. “The north end of Hastings is beautiful. It’s a great route.
“The long hill [on Cook Avenue] is at exactly the right spot. You’re already warmed up, and the long uphill is over before you’re too tired.
“The first time, it’s very intimidating, but after the first time [running], you know you can do it.”
Runners/walkers from 15 states participated in the 33rd annual Rhody Run, with 60 percent women and 40 percent men, race director Jen Little said.
The average age was 40 years old with seven people older than 80 — including one 89-year-old participant — and 287 younger than 18.
There were also 22 Canadians and one German.
“I just love seeing people running and getting healthy,” Little said, who was serving her fourth year as race director.
“It’s become a tradition for families. It promotes health and well-being. That was the purpose of the race when Dr. Bill Scheyer organized the first race.”
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Philip Watness is a freelance writer and photographer living in Port Townsend. He can be reached at whatnews@olypen.com.
