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Runners remember their fallen friend

Paul Danzer: Community sports

By Paul Danzer, Columbian Soccer, hockey and Community Sports Reporter
Published: January 19, 2010, 12:00am

The Vancouver Lake Half Marathon inspires runners and walkers in many ways.

For some, it is a measuring stick, a way to see if they are on track on with their fitness.

For some, it is a motivating event. It’s place on the January calendar a beacon of sorts that keeps them moving forward through the damp days of fall and early winter.

And, yes, for some it is a race: a chance to compete at a time of year when many runners are cooling their heels.

But for the group in the tie-dyed shirts, Sunday’s 13.1-mile run and walk will be about honoring a special friend who isn’t there.

Katie Nolan was looking forward to this run. She was following a training plan with support from friend and running partner Jorge Villavicencio.

But a December climb on Mount Hood claimed the life of the 29-year-old Portland woman, along with Anthony Vietti of Longview and Luke Gullberg of Des Moines, Wash.

As sad as it will be to run the race without Katie, Villavicencio is heartened to be able to keep alive his friend’s memory.

News reports at the time of the events on Mount Hood described Katie Nolan as an adventurous woman who worked to help less fortunate — especially women — at home and abroad.

Villavicencio, who met Nolan at a Catholic Charities event in 2008, described his friend as a remarkably generous woman whose dedication to social good — from humanitarian missions around the world to trying to establish a Portland shelter for those enslaved in sex trafficking — was unmatched.

Her presence is deeply missed in many places noted friend Rita Hansen, who organized the group to run the Vancouver Lake Half Marathon in Katie’s memory.

Katie Nolan will be missed on Sunday. But her vibrant spirit will be visible in the colorful shirts her friends wear.

“It will be hard to miss us,” said Hansen, who will wear one of Katie’s own tie-died shirts during the race.

The Vancouver Lake Half Marathon is the major source of funding for the scholarship money the Clark County Running Club gives to local runners. As usual, the field is full so there is no day-of-race registration.

While it’s too late to enter the Vancouver Lake Half Marathon, there are less strenuous ways this week to make a contribution to the sports community. For example:

• On Wednesday, the Clark County Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame will hold its annual scholarship dinner at Hudson’s Bay High School. For the 18th year, the local NFF chapter will hand out $15,000 in scholarship money among six high school seniors who played football, but were selected for academic and community involvement.

Delivering the keynote speech will be Fran Ganter, an assistant coach for three decades under Joe Paterno at Penn State.

Tickets, which cost $30, are available at the door or by contacting Richard Biggs at 360-882-3712 or rich.biggs@biggsinsurance.com. Biggs said that middle school coaches who buy a ticket will receive an additional three tickets to give to middle school football players.

• On Saturday at the Clark County Fairgrounds, former major leaguer Tom Lampkin will throw another Western Night with the Stars to raise funds for his Clark County Youth Sports Foundation. Among the sports figures expected to attend is former Mariners’ manager John McLaren, who is now the bench coach for the Washington Nationals.

The event costs $55 and includes dinner, an auction, and entertainment. Proceeds will be used to put scoreboards on baseball and softball diamonds at Evergreen School District high schools.

Tickets are available through www.ccysf.org or at the door of Exhibition Hall B.

Paul Danzer covers Community Sports for The Columbian. He can be reached at 360-735-4521 or paul.danzer@columbian.com.

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Columbian Soccer, hockey and Community Sports Reporter