With a fall start in its 45th year, Alaska Heart Run and Walk continues mission of cardiac health

Rob Speight and John Birchfield were first-timers at the Alaska Heart Run and Walk on Saturday. The two met in rehab after recent heart procedures, and were walking with the Pacemakers team from Providence Alaska Medical Center’s cardiac rehab unit.

Wayne Pichon was running his 27th Heart Run on Saturday, nearly three decades after a quadruple bypass that saved his life.

All three mended heart participants reflected on Saturday about the importance of the event, not only as fundraiser but, perhaps more importantly, as an education tool for heart health.

“This is the big deal,” Pichon said. “Over the years, I’ve seen the number of red hats grow, in terms of the number of people that have had procedures.”

Both Speight and Birchfield had heart valve procedures in the last two years and, while they’ve graduated out of rehab, are still together in a cardiac maintenance group.

“We have a fantastic maintenance class and exercise two or three times a week,” Birchfield said.

The operations and resulting therapy had both feeling grateful as they were about to embark on their first Heart Walk.

“I feel like everything from here on out is a bonus,” Speight said.

[‘A whole new meaning’: Travis Mills will mark first anniversary of heart transplant at Saturday’s Alaska Heart Run]

The Pacemakers team was made up of a number of medical professionals from the rehab unit, such as nurses and exercise physiologists. Of course, there were also patients like Speight and Birchfield plus plenty of friends and family members.

“The nurses are unbelievable,” Speight said. “The nurses who are in the maintenance (program) are the same nurses that got us through rehab. We’re absolutely going to miss it.”

The team’s captain was undeniably hard to miss on Saturday. Maureen “Mo” Peterson was enveloped in an inflatable unicorn costume topped with a colorful bucket hat.

“I wanted to make sure all of the team members could see me,” she joked.

There were plenty of teams with costumes and plenty of laughing and camaraderie. Saturday marked the 45th year of the Heart Run. Although teams and individuals fundraise for the run, there is no entry fee, which has helped generate big crowds over the years.

“Absolutely, this is all about supporting a healthy lifestyle and getting the word out there,” Peterson said.

Pichon was sporting his shirt from his very first Heart Run and Walk in 1998. Now in his late 70s, Pichon said he walked the first one but has run every one since and finished the 5K on Saturday.

“I’ve only missed one year when it snowed and they had to cancel it,” he said. “But I literally have the running shirts from every year.”

Lifestyle changes were a major part of what Pichon did to maintain his health after surgery. He was a heavy smoker and hadn’t regularly exercised until he started participating in the Heart Run.

His surgeon gave him a list of changes he needed to make. It included quitting smoking and altering some of his intake. It also mandated exercise.

“Walk or die,” Pichon said, repeating the words of his surgeon.

The Heart Run has historically been held the third week of April. But organizers moved it to the fall this year. Pichon, who now splits his time between Alaska and New Mexico, flew up specifically to run.

“This will not be missed,” he said. “I don’t care if they put it in December.”

Alaska Heart Run 5K timed results

Women

1. Melissa Templin, Anchorage, 19:15; 2. Whitney Bennett Bouchard, Anchorage, 19:33; 3. Morgan Ekemo, Eagle River, 20:09; 4. Yvonne Jeschke, Anchorage, 20:26; 5. Julianne Dickerson, Anchorage, 20:38; 6. Samantha Wilson, Anchorage, 20:38; 7. Sylvia Okuley, Chugiak, 22:54; 8. Jane Dayton, Eagle River, 23:40; 9. Haley Dampier, Anchorage, 23:41; 10. Denali Kemppel, Anchorage, 24:01; 11. Sterling Anderson, Anchorage, 24:04; 12. Samantha Johnson, Anchorage, 24:08; 13. Jennifer Anderson, Seward, 24:32; 14. Patricia Foldager, Hope, 24:49; 15. Ashley Mattson, Anchorage, 24:53; 16. Ali Pardini, 25:04; 17. Jubilee Nelson, Anchorage, 25:08; 18. Chrissy Barber, Anchorage, 25:14; 19. Katie Weathers, Anchorage, 25:18; 20. Linda Lee, Anchorage, 25:54; 21. Janet Warner, Eagle River, 26:02; 22. Kathy Jacobsen,AK 26:19; 23. Tasha Powell, anchorage, 26:55; 24. Vanessa Veilleux, Anchorage, 26:58; 25. Jane Raven, Anchorage, 27:05; 26. Ella Fitzwater, Kodiak, 27:03; 27. Janet Johnston, Anchorage, 27:29; 28. Jo Pak, Anchorage, 27:29; 29. Jamey Bradbury, Anchorage, 27:26; 30. Meg Fielder, Anchorage, 27:49; 31. Jessie Erickson, Anchorage, 27:54; 32. Stephanie Phillips, Anchorage, 28:11; 33. Jenny Justinger, JBER, 28:14; 34. Jill Hays, Anchorage, 28:22; 35. Chelsea Burke, Eagle River, 28:23; 36. Audrey Britton, 28:40; 37. Linda Masolini, Anchorage, 29:03; 38. Leigh Keefer, Anchorage, 29:32; 39. Raven Stewman, Anchorage, 29:27; 40. Julie Gallivan, Rochester, NY 29:41; 41. Calley Hall, Wasilla, 29:41; 42. Samantha Williams, Anchorage, 29:51; 43. Nikki Scherer, Anchorage, 30:23; 44. Amy Caverly, Palmer, 29:10; 45. Katie Eakes,AK 30:55; 46. Phillipia Holness, Anchorage, 30:56; 47. April Park, Eagle River, 30:57; 48. Sanjana Greenhill, Anchorage, 31:10; 49. Shawna Bertram, 31:33; 50. Tabatha Weber,AK 31:42; 51. Heather Waite, Anchorage, 32:47; 52. Molly Evans, Anchorage, 33:09; 53. Jane Sullivan, Anchorage, 33:37; 54. Elle Kauppi, Anchorage, 33:49; 55. Jeanine Huston, Anchorage, 34:11; 56. Crystal Samuels, Anchorage, 34:04; 57. Mayra Paniyak, Anchorage, 34:27; 58. Sarah Stanley, Anchorage, 34:42; 59. Pamela Gebert, Anchorage, 35:16; 60. Stephanie Heighton, Anchorage, 35:17; 61. Andresa Reich, Anchorage, 35:47; 62. Jade Statz, Anchorage, 35:40; 63. Katrina Morris, Sterling, VA 36:23; 64. Joan Karcz, Anchorage, 36:31; 65. Kimberly Fischer, Anchorage, 36:43; 66. Jessica Barry, Eagle River, 36:47; 67. Mary Katherine Collins, Lut, FL 36:42; 68. Catrina Smith, AK 37:10; 69. Eleanor Wheelock, Anchorage, 36:56; 70. Tashena Montgomery, 37:25; 71. Eden Rose George, Eagle River, 37:15; 72. Gabrielle LeDoux, Anchorage, 37:06; 73. Emily Garhart, Anchorage, 37:30; 74. Anne Calayag, Anchorage, 37:44; 75. Whitney Wilkson, Anchorage, 37:45; 76. Nancy Lockwood, Anchorage, 38:04; 77. Heidi Hill, Anchorage, 38:16; 78. Caitlyn Avery, AK 38:46; 79. Michelle Brooks, Anchorage, 39:18; 80. Annie Thomas, Anchorage, 39:26; 81. Iesha Jones, Anchorage, 39:48; 82. Kate Brewer, Anchorage, 40:47; 83. Chyll Perry, Anchorage, 44:19; 84. Colleen Wehrle, Sun City, AZ 44:29; 85. Hazel Cotter, Anchorage, 35:08; 86. Rose Strate, Anchorage, 50:19; 87. Julie Veronick, Anchorage, 51:04; 88. Beth Sipin, Anchorage, 51:42; 89. Marleena Merchant, Anchorage, 59:54; 90. Heather Wheelock, Anchorage, 1:04:28; 91. Judi Westfall, Anchorage, 1:13:09.

Men

1. Jake Moe, Anchorage, 16:09; 2. Dash Dicang, Anchorage, 16:57; 3. Ryan Olberding, Anchorage, 19:20; 4. Mark Brady, Anchorage, 19:39; 5. Matthew Tompkins, 19:41; 6. Jacob Kelly,AK 19:51; 7. Peter Jaime, Anchorage, 20:05; 8. Tyler Ng, Anchorage, 20:10; 9. Liam Cuddy, Anchorage, 20:22; 10. Brad Hillwig, Anchorage, 21:12; 11. Tim Sorensen, Eagle River, 21:35; 12. Kevin Cuddy, Anchorage, 22:18; 13. Tsuginori Fudge,AK 22:25; 14. David Michael, Anchorage, 22:30; 15. Brett Hull, Anchorage, 22:39; 16. Shaun Moore, Anchorage, 23:22; 17. Kriss Miles, Anchorage, 23:26; 18. Loy Donaldson, AK 23:31; 19. Matthew Hansen, Anchorage, 23:25; 20. Francisco Leon, Anchorage, 23:39; 21. Gabe Holland, Anchorage, 23:44; 22. Isaiah Montoya, Anchorage, 23:53; 23. Ryan Gallivan, Rochester, NY 24:01; 24. Matt Skinner, Anchorage, 24:14; 25. Trent Foldager, Anchorage, 24:11; 26. Mark Edwards, Camas, WA 24:20; 27. Chase Seynaeve, Anchorage, 24:19; 28. Thomas Marchesani, Anchorage, 24:29; 29. Flip Foldager, Hope, 24:37; 30. Duane Chavis, Eagle River, 24:51; 31. Greg MacDonald, Anchorage, 25:36; 32. Jasper Posadas,AK 25:55; 33. Mark Jacobsen, Anchorage, 26:30; 34. John Brewer, Anchorage, 26:45; 35. Martin Almeida,AK 26:56; 36. Gideon Garcia, Anchorage, 26:55; 37. Joseph Delarosa, Eagle River, 27:17; 38. Carlos Lertora, Anchorage, 27:51; 39. Steven Buklis, Anchorage, 27:42; 40. Guilfer Oyao, Anchorage, 27:59; 41. Dave Jones, Anchorage, 28:13; 42. Chuck Williams, Anchorage, 28:30; 43. Bill Fischer, Anchorage, 28:54; 44. Timothy Weise, AK 29:02; 45. Songsay Ratana, Anchorage, 29:55; 46. Robert Forgit, Anchorage, 29:58; 47. Glenn Ruckhaus, Anchorage, 30:37; 48. Robert Doehl, Anchorage, 31:35; 49. Paul Schrooten, Anchorage, 32:55; 50. Ron Evans, Anchorage, 33:10; 51. Robert Barnett, Anchorage, 33:15; 52. Peter Jaime, 33:35; 53. Alexander Jaime, 33:35; 54. Shawn Garnenez, Window Rock, AZ 35:05; 55. Nate Kile, Anchorage, 35:16; 56. Tyler Kosednar, Anchorage, 36:09; 57. Sandy Rabinowitch, Anchorage, 36:47; 58. Kevin Barnsley, Anchorage, 36:48; 59. Conor Smith, 37:10; 60. Tim Wheelock, Anchorage, 36:56; 61. Corbin Wheelock, Anchorage, 36:46; 62. Samuel Berdahl, Anchorage, 37:19; 63. Steven Teeter, Anchorage, 39:32; 64. Ronald Bates, Anchorage, 39:35; 65. Brian Atkins, Anchorage, 40:34; 66. Justin Karaffa, Eagle River, 41:50; 67. Kevin Laemmrich, Anchorage, 42:11; 68. Tom Meacham, Anchorage, 43:07; 69. James Morris, Sterling, VA 43:11; 70. Frank Barber,AK 35:00; 71. Nelsonn Bustarde, Anchorage, 45:10; 72. Hunter George, AK 45:18; 73. Hazen Kazaks, Woodland, CA 47:00; 74. William Theuer, Anchorage, 48:22; 75. Richard Sepersky, Anchorage, 51:36; 76. Christopher Montuya, AK 53:20; 77. Ed Gravley, Palmer, 59:14; 78. Steven Vandagriff, Anchorage, 59:14; 79. Joe Reid, Anchorage, 1:16:49