Heather Perry, an environmental engineer in Environmental Health and Safety competes in the 100-mile Western States Endurance Run, which started in Squaw Valley and ended in Auburn, Calif. Here she's seen on Cougar Rock at mile 12. (Photograph courtesy of Heather Perry)
When your cell phone lights up and it’s Stanford Police Chief LAURA WILSON, there’s a good chance it won’t be good news, but a few weeks ago, she called to relay just that. Her scoop? On June 28, HEATHER PERRY, an environmental engineer in Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S), had completed the 100-mile Western States Endurance Run, which started in Squaw Valley and ended in Auburn, Calif. The trail takes runners across rugged and mountainous terrain through high altitudes and extreme heat. “I arrived in Auburn 29 hours and 3 minutes after I set off from Squaw Valley, tired, dirty and totally elated,” said Perry. What made the accomplishment even sweeter was that Perry had trained, qualified and survived the lottery for the 2008 race, only to have organizers cancel it due to wildfires and bad air quality – three days before the event. “My car was already packed!” Perry recalled. This time she was joined on the home stretch by husband KEITH PERRY, emergency manager in EH&S, and their daughters Sarah Jo, 6, and Shannon, 9. “I owe a deep debt of gratitude to Keith and our daughters for allowing me the latitude to train and prepare not just once, but twice.”
Keith Devlin, a consulting professor in mathematics finishes the Death Ride, a 129-mile ride through the Sierra Nevada mountains on July 11, 2009. (Photograph courtesy of Keith Devlin)
…Going 129 miles, this time on wheels. KEITH DEVLIN, a consulting professor in mathematics, also known as the “Math Guy” for his appearances on National Public Radio, endured one of the toughest bike rides around, the Death Ride in the Sierra. The route is uphill, and then uphill again, and again, for 11 hours. “Beautiful but grueling,” he said.
…And speaking of folks on the move, last weekend four university administrators were among the more than 40 runners carrying a solar-powered torch through campus to inaugurate the 2009 Summer National Senior Games. They were PATRICK DUNKLEY, senior university counsel; PAUL GOLDSTEIN, director of financial and strategic studies in the University Budget Office; RANDY LIVINGSTON, vice president for business affairs and chief financial officer; and TIM WARNER, vice provost for budget and auxiliaries management.
