By Felicia M. Tomasko
Photos by Tai Kerbs
Molly Paterno
Molly has run six marathons: Los Angeles three times, her hometown of Portland twice and Boston once (with a personal record of 3:09). She’s currently training for her second run of Boston in April by training accompanied by the ocean breezes of her current hometown of Venice, California. She feels blessed to live in LA where she can take Yoga from some of the world’s best instructors. On a Saturday afternoon, you can find her on Abbot Kinney sipping her favorite cup of coffee. She has loaded on her iPod everything from Bob Dylan and Cat Stevens to Beyonce and Coldplay. As she says, “There’s nothing like a little Eminem’s ‘Lose yourself’ to get in the zone.”
{LA YOGA} When was your first marathon?
First time: Los Angeles, 2007. I spent the first mile second guessing myself and thinking I might be crazy for attempting to run 26.2 miles. Then I saw an old man hobbling alongside me (he must have been close to 80) waving and smiling to the crowd. In that moment I felt the inspiration of running—especially the marathon—the moment when you see that with true dedication and passion we are all capable of anything.
For that first marathon, my dad came out to run the last six miles with me. When it comes to practice, patience, and true athleticism, he is one of my greatest inspirations.
{LA YOGA} What do you tell yourself to get psyched up before a run?
Training for a marathon requires a combination of speed, strength, and endurance. When it comes time to actually run the marathon, all that is left to do is to put one foot in front of the other, enjoy, and give as many high fives as possible.
{LA YOGA} Do you train alone or in a group?
One of the main reasons I love running is because you can run with anyone, anywhere, anytime. I love to run with friends and family. It’s a time to enjoy good company and a good sweat. Even training alone, I always feel a part of a larger group community. Saturday mornings I’ll go for a long run along the Santa Monica Bluffs where you can see people from all walks of life running, biking, and doing Yoga with a view of the ocean. On weekend runs, I realize no matter who we’re with or what we’re doing, we’re all connected.
{LA YOGA} What do you eat after a run?
Molly: I’ll re-fuel with vegetables, protein, and something that I love; my favorites include omelets, salads, juices, sushi, and almond butter on anything. It also depends on what time of day I finish. If it’s morning, I’ll go for my favorite cup of coffee or if it’s past 5 PM, a good glass of wine.
{LA YOGA} How do running and yoga support each other?
Molly: As a runner, Yoga has given me incredible physical benefits of strength and flexibility. As a yogi, running brings endurance to the body and mind. Both have taught me how to practice nonjudgment and compassion. Some days it’s okay to lay in child’s pose or slow your run to a walk during sunset. Linking breath to movement, focusing on alignment, and bringing awareness to the body are present in both Yoga and running. Combining the two allows me to appreciate a healthy mind and body and fills me with an overwhelming feeling of gratitude.
Molly can be found traveling the world between lululemon stores working in community relations: lululemon.com.
Ted McDonald
Ted McDonald owns 5 Point Yoga and Point Dume Yoga, both in Malibu, where he teaches a variety of classes; he also founded Adventure Yoga Retreats, which organizes adventures for people around the world. In March, Ted McDonald is running the March LA Marathon as a fundraiser for Real Medicine, an organization that provides humanitarian support to people living in disaster and poverty-stricken areas, and that continues to help communities long after the spotlight of the world’s attention on the region has faded.
Part of Ted’s current training regimen includes running the four-mile loop in Temescal Canyon every Wednesday and Saturday morning at 7:15AM accompanied by both his girlfriend and Steve Glenn of LivingHomes. Even though the 950 foot elevation gain is a tough climb, Ted says “the sense of heightened reality and being in the moment is one of my favorite things about trail riding.” While on the trail, “We always bump into Charlotte, an 87-year-old ray of light who walks the loop, hunched over, with her walking poles six times a week—always with a big smile. When I’m 87, I want to be like Charlotte.”
{LA YOGA } Tell us about your first race?
Ted: My first official run was the Rock n’ Roll Marathon in San Diego, June 6, 2000. I remember the date because it was one of the most profound experiences I’ve ever had. I had been practicing Yoga for over three years and my Yoga teacher was anti-running and especially anti-marathons because of the damage marathon running can do to your body. I had this elitist yogi point of view that Yoga is the best and nothing else could be as good. Boy, was I missing out.
I always say I was “suckered” into running my first marathon. When I heard that my friends were training by running three minutes and walking one minute, I thought, “Anyone can do that!” Cut to five weeks later, when I was checking into the hotel and heading to the expo to pick up my race packet. It was so exciting, all the people; all the energy. This was a fete for Olympians, not a little guy from Long Island.
Race morning, we’re surrounded by banana stations, bagel tables, coffee pots, and some group stretching. I looked around thinking, “There is no way all these people are going to finish.” They looked overweight and out of shape. I could not have been more wrong; not only did 99.9% of them finish, but they did so with a smile and a sense of accomplishment.
Mile 25, I was rounding a corner to see an arch of balloons over the final water station. As I ran beneath the balloons, I began weeping, overcome by joy (thankfully no one noticed). I realized that no matter what, even if I walked the final 1.2 miles, I was going to finish a marathon.
Thousands of people I didn’t even know were cheering me on as I approached the finish line. A team of volunteers handed me my well-deserved finishing medal, a Mylar blanket, and some ice cold wash cloths. After a few moments of disbelief, I thought, “If I can do this, I can anything!”
I learned a deep lesson from this day: The mind is limiting. Although we use it to create our lives, we are capable of so much more than our mind often believes. What lies beyond the mind? What is out there that I can do that my mind can’t yet conceive? I believe that we must go out into the world and create those things. Living in the space of the unknown, in what Deepak Chopra calls Pure Potentiality; that is the place where I strive to live in a daily basis.
{LA YOGA} How does Yoga impact your practice of running?
Ted: Since my first marathon, I’ve competed in triathlons, adventure races, trail runs, 5Ks, 10Ks and yes, more marathons. I’ve become a pseudo-endurance athlete and while competing against top athletes, I’ve noticed a huge difference in my endurance which I directly attribute to Yoga practice. Yoga has taught me to stay calm in challenging situations.
Find Ted McDonald’s schedule or contribute to his race efforts to support Real Medicine at: 5pointyoga.com.
Carolanne Lowe Rohrs
Carolanne fell in love with trail running during her junior year at North Carolina State University. “I listened to the sound of my breath and the leaves crunching under my feet. For the first time I felt in tune with the Earth.” And even though Carolanne’s first Yoga class was in a sweaty college gym scented by stale socks with the soundtrack of the basketball team in the next room, she was hooked. Currently, she’s training to qualify for the Boston Marathon, teaching Yoga, and leading Yoga for Runners workshops at Yoga Vibe in Los Feliz.
{LA YOGA} How do your practices of yoga and running complement each other?
Carolanne: Yoga teaches me how to align properly, build strength, and maintain balance, essential tools to avoid injury as a runner and a yogi. And I use the same breath in both running and Yoga: Ujjayi enables me to stay centered on a run. Through Yoga I open, stretch, release, and soften, four things that are so important to keep going, especially as a distance trail runner
{LA YOGA} What do you do around mile 19 to maintain focus?
Carolanne: The morning of the San Diego Marathon in 2010, I woke up with a nasty cold and I had to use Yoga just to keep going. Then miles 19-26.2, I repeated the mantra, “You’re stronger than this.” The words followed the rhythm of my shoes as they hit the pavement; they reconnected me to my breath, and allowed me to drop into a meditative state. I crossed the finish line proud and connected.
{LA YOGA} Do you have a favorite run in LA?
Carolanne: My absolute favorite run is kind of nuts. I run from my house in the hills of Silver Lake, to Griffith Park, up to Mt. Hollywood, back down the mountain, past the Observatory, out of the park through Los Feliz, back into Silver Lake, up a massive hill and then I’m home after 14 miles. If I’m upping the mileage, I’ll finish the 14, run past my house, up another decent hill and make loops around the Silver Lake Reservoir until I reach my target mileage.
My favorite part of the run is reaching the top of Mt. Hollywood after seven miles of incline. On a clear day you can see Catalina Island, where I was married last September.
{LA YOGA} What’s on your playlist?
Carolanne: I love to listen to NPR’s This American Life podcast as well as Fresh Air. Right now, I’m listening to the audio version of Christopher McDougall’s book Born to Run. I teach with music at Yoga Vibe and I test my playlists while running; a recent mix ranged from Sigur Rós to the Flaming Lips, a Neil Young mash- up, a splash of New Order, a bit of Zeppelin, and a lovely piece by M83.
Learn more about Carolanne Rohrs’ workshops at: yogavibela.com.
Bruce Bair
Bruce Bair frequently seen at the community studio he owns, Santa Monica Yoga on Ocean Park Boulevard. When he’s not at the studio, he’s running, biking, or swimming, or traveling the country to compete in marathons, triathlons, or other races. In past years, he’s run the Los Angeles Marathon, but this year he’s training to compete in the Boston Marathon. Yoga is an important part of his practice for recovery and connection to the breath.
{LA YOGA} What is your favorite run in LA?
Bruce: The trail at Will Rogers State Park, and up the Backbone Trail. If you keep going past the bridge you might just forget you’re in L.A.
{LA YOGA} How does your yoga practice support your running/training?
Bruce: Runners tend to have tight hips and hamstrings, and I am no exception. Yoga helps counteract that.
{LA YOGA} When you’re on the road traveling to races, how do you incorporate your yoga practice into your routine?
Bruce: Yoga after the race to try and recover.
{LA YOGA} What is your favorite pre-run meal?
Bruce: A banana just before a run, or sushi the night before.
{LA YOGA} Do you have a favorite running playlist? If so, what’s on it?
Bruce: I have never listened to music while I run. But I recently started to run on the treadmill at the gym a bit, and I found that it was fun to listen to music. Recent music: Phoenix, Foster the People, RJD2, and The Descendants soundtrack.
Find Bruce Bair at Santa Monica Yoga: santamonicayoga.com.
Felicia Tomasko has spent more of her life practicing Yoga and Ayurveda than not. She first became introduced to the teachings through the writings of the Transcendentalists, through meditation, and using asana to cross-train for her practice of cross-country running. Between beginning her commitment to Yoga and Ayurveda and today, she earned degrees in environmental biology and anthropology and nursing, and certifications in the practice and teaching of yoga, yoga therapy, and Ayurveda while working in fields including cognitive neuroscience and plant biochemistry. Her commitment to writing is at least as long as her commitment to yoga. Working on everything related to the written word from newspapers to magazines to websites to books, Felicia has been writing and editing professionally since college. In order to feel like a teenager again, Felicia has pulled out her running shoes for regular interval sessions throughout Southern California. Since the very first issue of LA YOGA, Felicia has been part of the team and the growth and development of the Bliss Network.