For the love of running

By Maggie O’Neill
moneill@rgj.com

Perhaps you’ve seen Carmel Papworth-Barnum, 44, of Reno, around town.

One of her favorite things to do is run. She was a runner in Melbourne, Australia, where she is originally from, and she competed in the 2005 World Masters Championships in Track and Field in Spain.

She won a bronze medal there in the 40-to-45-age group for a time of 17:29 in the 5K.

Because she loves running, Papworth-Barnum launched a Web site, www.women-running-together.com, earlier this year to motivate female runners. It’s not that she has anything against male runners, it’s just that she feels in tune to female runners and their stories.

“I feel very connected to the running community all around America because of this (Web site),” she said. “I’ve met local women here and I’ve heard some of their stories. (The Web site) has given me a lot in terms of meeting new women, new runners and understanding what the running community is like over here.”

Papworth-Barnum has lived in the United States for two years. She moved to Reno after she fell in love with Reno psychotherapist Larry Barnum, whom she married in 2007. She met Barnum, also a runner, at the World Masters Championships in Spain, where she ran her winning time.

“I met the love of my life, ran the run of my life and it changed my life,” she said.

A peek into her running life

“(Running) is not something I’ve done all my life,” she said. “I started, really, to get fit. A woman saw me running along the river (in Australia) and invited me to come down to the running club, and they looked after me and took me out on their runs. I could hardly keep up with anyone.”

She started running in her 20s in Australia. She now runs six out of seven days a week, either solo or with friends. One of her favorite trails goes through Bartley Ranch Regional Park, but she also runs on high school tracks.

“I love running track,” she said. “In Reno, we’ve got so many tracks to run. In Melbourne, high schools and colleges don’t have tracks. I come here and I’m surrounded by them. I normally go to the Reno High School one. They allow you to run there.”

There are some differences between running in Reno and running in Melbourne. The altitude is higher here than Melbourne, which she described as “right on the Bay” and similar to San Francisco in terms of donning fog.

She said Reno is an excellent running town where there are nearly always “blue skies.”

“We’re at sea level in Melbourne,” she said. “I have found it’s a lot harder (here), and I still huff and puff. … Melbourne is a great running city, and you don’t have the cold and the snow you’ve got here, but you also don’t have the amount of sunshine you’ve got here either.”

She prefers short runs to long ones, like half-marathons and marathons, and has completed the RGJ’s Journal Jog, Washoe County’s Run for Education, Scheels’ Spark-a-delic 5K and others.

“I love to run with others and for the friendships and the reason to meet somebody, but I’m also so disciplined that I just go out for a run,” she said. “I love to run. It’s not hard for me to just go out the door and run by myself.”

A peek at her Web site

Anyone can peruse Papworth-Barnum’s Web site. There is no log-in and no registration. The site features running tips, blogs, nutrition, training advice and more.

“The Web site? That’s really where I’ve spent my last 12 months,” she said. “What I’m trying to do is encourage other women to get running and to support them. I love reading people’s stories — what drives them, why they run and what they’ve learned.”

The site also features running quotes, such as this one from British marathoner Priscilla Welch: “Running made me feel like a bird let out of a cage, I loved it that much.”

Papworth-Barnum also writes a blog. It is through the Web site that she met sprinter Maryline Roux, 43, of Davidson, N.C. They caught up in actuality in June 2009 at the USA National Championships in Oshkosh, Wis.

“It was lovely to finally meet Maryline; there were lots of hugs,” Papworth-Barnum said. “We’ve kept in contact; we telephone and e-mail each other regularly. The Web site was been a wonderful opportunity for new friends to flow into my life.”

Roux said she likes Papworth-Barnum’s Web site for its “great information on running, great inspirational stories and very appealing stories.”

Sacramento and more: the World Masters

Papworth-Barnum has never broken her 5K time from 2005.

“That blew my mind to go there and run my personal best and 5K on that track,” she said.

The World Masters Championships occur on an annual basis and in a number of athletic genres, not just running. Generally, the championships are for people 35 or older, or “masters.” Those interested must submit times for events to be selected.

“Everyone gets to run, but if you have a fast time you are put in the fastest final for a 5K, or a heat that isn’t stacked with really fast runners for the shorter events,” Papworth-Barnum said.

There is no prize money. Participants run for love – and competition.

“You are grouped in five-year age groups, 35-39, 40-44, 45-50, etc., all the way to 100 or beyond, depending on who enters,” Papworth-Barnum said. “There are not many 90-plus women at the moment, but that may change with people living longer and more women staying active.”

Papworth-Barnum is looking forward to the World Masters Championships scheduled for Sacramento in 2011 where she’ll move up into the next age category.

“If you had told me in my 20s that in my 40s I would have been competing in the World Championships, I would have said there was no way,” she said. “I just would have laughed.”

Additional Facts