Christopher Barry

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Christopher’s results (M23)

One fateful day in May a pack of wolves came across an abandoned child, alone and cold in the woods. With no parental figure in sight the wolves adopted the child and he was shown the ways of mountains, listening to breath of the tress and hearing the silence of a stream……..that child was not me. I was born in a middle class home next to a trailer which at one time had goats as the main residents and another time stole a dog of ours and took it to Canada! Coming of age in the greater Seattle area, Bothell to be exact, the woods where my jungle gym the blackberries my fortress. As a child I was bullied for wearing to big of clothes, i thought if i could grow into them i would be cool, grow into them i did. By the time i reached 6th grade i weighed somewhere in the range of 200-230 pounds, at the time I did not care about my weight in a health way – i just wanted a girlfriend and to be cool, the bulling never stopped. I became full of rage at my situation, looking at other kids,  they all seemed happy but I was just not. I would escape some nights to the woods or desert (Moved to Tucson in 6th grade) with just a tent- to be alone. I did not know how to fill the void so I ate, then I ate more. Ballooning to 260 pounds by 9th grade I began to numb in other ways. I skated for hours on end- the beginning of endurance.  In 11th grade i was high on something at some house, looking over at a mirror on the wall I noticed ………”me” I’ll never forget that day, i got up and walked 18 miles through the desert to get home. The next day I bought a gym membership and that was it. I dropped 110 pounds in a little over a year. Some time that year i began running 30miles a week because i read in magazine it was good for you to run 20 miles a week, i thought 30 would be better. I found friends among the rocks, roots, cacti, the dirt they did not call me names or leave me with a headache. I began buying books on animals and plants to better understand what i was seeing on the trail, I became a bit obsessed. One day I remember well: i stepped out of the front door at 5 am to a desert sun rise, i set off into the desert running toward the Catalina’s, 12 hours passed I ran, hiked, and crawled up those mountains till my water ran out. 2 years later I retraced those steps, 56 miles i traveled that day- My first Ultra marathon. The road to Running for me has more kinks, bends, loops, and road blocks then I can write down, more then you want to read :). I can’t say running saved my life but it made it a hell of a lot better. After high school I went to CCC and NAU studying environmental studies and zoology. I enrolled in Coast Guard and after a brief stint there I found my self back where it all started in Seattle. I have been working in shoe stores on and off for 5 or 6 years. I pride myself on extensive knowledge of shoes, not only features but trends, technologies, and Functionality.

Favorite things in the world:

Animals, My Autumn, Karma Dog, Baking, Movies (shawshank redemption is my favorite), My mother Rosemary Hart- Barry and my Brother Sean.

 

Favorite shoes:

Altra Lone Peak 2.0, Hoka Huaka, Altra Torin 

2015 Schedule:                                                                    

 Capitol Peak Mega Fat Ass

Orcas Island 50k – Feb. 1st

Gorge Waterfalls 100k-  March 28th

Yakima Skyline 50k – April 20th

  Sun Mountain 50 mile – May
  River of no Return 100k – June 20th
  White River 50mile -July 26th
  Angles Staircase 60k – Aug
  Run the Rut 50k – Sep- 4th
  Crystal Mountain Sky marathon – Sep. 20th
   Cle Elum ridge 50k – Sep 26th
   Cougar Mountain 50k – Oct – 27th
   Carkeek 12hr – Nov 1st

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Photos by Glenn Tachiyama