Richie started working at TRANSPORTS in Janurary of 1996 during his last semester at UC Berkeley and never looked back. He ran track professionally for a few years after graduation, and competed all over the US, Europe, and Japan. Now, he runs marathons for fun, and is on his way to completing every major marathon in California. Richie also leads the TRANSPORTS Wednesday Night Runs. When he's not running, he enjoys working at the store.
Forrest is proud to be a Berkeley native son. His athletic career began with soccer, which he started playing long before he could spell it. Like so many runners, he took up running to stay in shape for soccer and found that he loved it. He ran Cross-County and Track throughout high school, where he specialized in the 800m and 1600m. After a brief stint at the University of Oregon, Forrest is back in his old stomping grounds where he enjoys "a classy burrito and going for long walks on the beach.”
Stephanie grew up running and swimming in the Arizona desert. A miler in high school, she was the AZ state champ in the 1600m - and went on to compete for the Cal Golden Bears in both XC and track. She's added cycling to her repertoire and is now fully ensconced in the world of triathlons. Her real challenge is finding enough time to train since she spends most of her waking hours chasing after her kids.
Matt started running as a mere youngster in an effort to keep up with his parents, who were inspired by Kenneth Cooper’s famous book on Aerobics. His first pair of running shoes: Nike Wally Waffles. A Cross Country and Track & Field athlete at Shaker Heights High School in Ohio, Matt excelled at the distance events and Pole Vault. He completed his first marathon a few years ago in Chicago and decided that he could run "farther but not faster" so he decided to give Ultra Marathons a try. He earned a bronze belt buckle by completing the Western States 100 Mile run in under 30 hours. He admits to having buckle fever and would like to do the Western States 100 again………. someday......... maybe.
Kristin's running career goes all the way back to the fourth grade when she ran cross-country and track in the CYO league. The days of her youth were also consumed with her love for basketball and volleyball. Being somewhat vertically challenged in high school, she realized basketball and volleyball were not in her future so she decided to concentrate on running; specifically the distance events. While at the University of Oregon, Kristin could be found running up, down, and all around the famous trails of Eugene. She recently graduated from U of O and is back in the bay.
Michael is a transplant from the great state of Virginia where his high school sport of choice was wrestling. He decided to give running a try, just to see if he could run a marathon; he joined Virginia's active running community and his life has never been the same. He completed the Richmond, VA marathon and now has set his sights on a couple of California marathons. After that: Boston. In his spare time Michael brews his own beer and has no shortage of friends who want to “help.”
Ala recently retired from the U.S. Rowing team and is now enjoying other pursuits of running, cycling, swimming, and, occasionally, simply doing nothing. She currently belongs to a local running club and a local Masters swim group (to prevent that last pursuit from dominating). She hails from New Hampshire, though her rowing career has brought her through all the lower 48 states of the U.S. and some parts of Europe, and currently resides in the Temescal district of Oakland.
Matt hails from Sacramento where he was cut from his freshman soccer team for failing to run two miles under the allowed time limit. This forced him into the pool and a career in water polo, which he played later at Santa Clara University. Matt got into running while living in Boston, when he decided to run the Boston Marathon without any training. He finished. Matt can be found these days swimming at the Oakland public pools, running down by the marina or biking in the Berkeley Hills, but he has yet to do a triathlon, If you want to see him race you can check him out each year at the Sacramento Turkey Trot.
Francis played soccer, basketball, and baseball throughout his youth and only started running cross country his junior year of high school. “To get in shape for soccer.” That XC season was followed by a stint on the track team and the rest is history. After high school, Francis went to City College of San Francisco where he won the 800 meter state championship 2 years in row. He then transferred to Cal and became an NCAA Indoor All-American. Francis is also the premier wakeboarder among his TRANSPORTS co-workers.
Maja, a native of Bosnia, arrived in the U.S. in the 7th grade and began her illustrious running career. Being new to the country and not being able to speak English, she found comfort in running. Since then she has competed at the highest level for UC Berkeley in both Track & Field and Cross-Country. A recent Cal grad, Maja now runs for the TRANSPORTS adidas Racing Team.
Bev has been running since her high school days, when her volleyball coach would make her run in 100+ degree weather in the Central Valley. Since being traumatized, the thought of running for fun did not come easily. She now tolerates it by making it a social activity, running with a group in Piedmont on Tuesdays and Thursday mornings. Following her most recent marathon she has found the water a more natural habitat. Her Masters group keeps her swimming up, although it is harder to visit while doing a swim workout.
Frank started out as a swimmer, dating all the way back to the “8 and under” age group days and continued competing through high school. In college he spent a great deal of time sitting on the bench for his water polo squad. Currently he spends more time running miles than swimming laps. With a couple of marathons under his belt, you can usually find him running somewhere out in Contra Costa County. Frank sez “I’m living proof that you can run in slow motion and still have fun!”
Kei started running in high school to stay in shape for outdoor pursuits such as backpacking and climbing. At the insistence of co-workers at Berkeley Bowl, he ran his first Bay to Breakers in 1977, and has been running road races ever since. Always the gear head, Kei opened TRANSPORTS in 1982 so that he could tell the manufacturers what was wrong with their shoes. He is also trying to keep up with Richie’s California marathons feat although it takes him twice as long to run them. Now with his kids running in high school, Kei is a huge fan of high school cross-country and track.