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 Trail Runs and the Thursday Evening Solano Avenue runs. In his spare time he enjoys working at the store.
Chantel accidentally became a triathlete when she started cross-training while nursing an injury. She found that she excels at each discipline: run, bike, and swim; and loves to combine the three. Her favorite is cycling because she can “go really fast.” When she’s not running, cycling, or swimming you can usually find her sleeping. Chantel’s other passion is traveling; she recently had the experience of a lifetime as she spent a year traveling throughout Southern Africa. Admittedly, her training dropped off a bit during her travels but the tradeoff “was worth it.”
Michael started running when he was eight years old, inspired by his dad who was a dedicated runner himself. Michael’s love for running only increased into high school, eventually leading him to being recruited to run track and cross country for Cal. As a golden bear, he has had tremendous success, helping lead the cross country team to NCAA nationals for the first time in school history. He has also excelled on the track, and hopes to qualify for the 2012 Olympics in the 1500 meters. Michael is a passionate sports fan, and enjoys playing golf, basketball, and road biking to balance his running.
Matteo began running in his sophomore year of high school due to the drive to beat one of his close friends in a mile race. Once he started, Matteo became a promising member of both the Albany High School distance squad and Cross Country team. Now a student at UC San Diego, Matteo divides his time evenly between running, surfing, and...err… studying?
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.
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.
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!”
Christi ran the 100 and 300 hurdles for her Sacramento area high school…with limited success. By her senior year she switched over to her comfort zone: the distance events. At UC Berkeley she found her true calling on Cal’s Triathlon team. She loves to train in each discipline (she will not miss a workout) and compete as much as possible. Christi recently completed her second marathon and plans to do her next one in Paris. “If you’re going to run a marathon, why not Paris?”
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.
Heather started out as a competitive swimmer at 8 yrs. old. At 14 she joined the prestigious Los Angeles Lifeguard program where she learned the mechanics and skills for open water swimming and competing. At the same time she joined a local track & field club where she was a sprinter, high jumper, and hurdler (her forte). Currently a student at UC Berkeley, she has picked up cycling and has switched her focus to triathlons and competes on Cal’s triathlon team.
Jenny has been running for as long as she can remember. Back in the old days she could be seen burning up the roads in Pennsylvania; more recent years have found her doing the same in the Bay Area. She has completed 8 marathons and plans to add to that total. Her favorite? “L.A., it’s the most fun.” Jenny’s hobbies include running, thinking about running, and talking about running shoes to anyone who will listen.
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.
Dwight, a native of Pleasant Hill, has been involved in fitness pursuits since he was a little kid. Throughout his youth, he participated in soccer, baseball, swimming, track, and finally ended up playing football for College Park High School. Over the past 4 years Dwight has been involved in the Bay Area’s Triathlon community and enjoys training, racing, and coaching. He currently competes as a member of the Cal Triathlon team where his preferred distance is the Half Ironman. His goal: Completing a full Ironman in the next 3 years.