Men’s USATF National 50km Race Walk Championships (Confirmed entries as of 1/23/19) #1) Nick Christie, 27, El Cajon, CA. PR: 4:09:32. Nick has become the dominant U.S. male race walker at all distances, having won the 2018 USATF National Championships at the Indoor Mile, 3,000m, and 5,000m and 10km, 20km, and 50km outdoors, and then capturing the Silver Medal at the 2018 NACAC Championships at 20km, He took up race walking after being a California State HS Championship qualifier in the hurdles and pole vault, and quickly became a 5x NAIA All-American and 3,000m Collegiate Record holder at Missouri Baptist Univ. In his quest to become the best, he competed in Russia, Mexico, China, Chile, Australia, Italy, Canada, and Great Britain in 2018. #2) Matthew Forgues, 26, Boothbay, ME. PR: 4:23:28. A graduate of Goucher College, Matthew is currently living in Chula Vista and training with Tim Seaman. He was 4th in the 2016 Olympic Trials, third at the 2017 Nationals and 2nd last year. Matt is a 10x high school All-American, who also was a Teach For America Corps member, who taught 5th grade math and coached high school track and cross country on South Dakota’s Standing Rock Indian Reservation. #4) Pablo Gomez, 46, Evanston, IL. PR: 5:05:14. Originally from Mexico City, Pablo, who was 8th in the 2016 Olympic Trials, got his PhD from Northwestern and now is a Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at DePaul University. #5) Ian Whatley, 58, Greer, SC. PR: 4:14:48. Originally from England, Ian was 6th in the 2016 Olympic Trials at age 56(!) and he has represented the U.S. at distances from 3,000m to the 50km. This will be Ian’s 34th 50km, and in 2018 he became the oldest man or woman to ever win a USATF National Senior / Open Championship in any event when he won the USATF National 40km Championships in Owego, NY. Ian is a consulting bio-engineer and an expert on athletic footwear and technology who holds 20 patents, and was brought to the U.S. by Nike to help set up their first sport research lab. He and his wife, Susan, use their 24-acre pecan farm in South Carolina as a race walk training center. #6) Steve Harper, 68, Helena, MT. PR: 5:50:40. Steve is a Computer Science teacher at Carroll College with 2 grown daughters, who played football in college and didn’t start race walking until he was in his 50’s. Yet his PR of 5:50:40, set here in Santee was a World Record for 64 year-olds. #8) Adrian Zamudio, 43, Santa Maria, CA. PR: 6:08:09. A former cross country runner at San Diego State, he was 4th in the 2016 National 15km Race Walk Champs. A married father of twins, he is a Deputy Probation Officer for Santa Barbara County, and the Head Cross Country Coach at Orcutt Academy High School. #10) Dimitry Babenko, 46, Burnaby, Canada. Dmitry has 2 children and is Mobile Architect (software development) with a Masters Degree in Computer Science from Moscow State University who was the 2016 World Masters Champion at the 5,000m and 20km Race Walk. #11) Charles Tucker Brugh, 63, Long Beach, CA. Debut 50km. The CEO of Bell Hospital, he has a PhD in both Psychology (Stanford) and Business Administration (England’s Hayword University). He has been running Ultra-Marathons since he was 14, and has run a sub-3 hour marathon. He “retired” from race walking for 2 years and gained 40 lbs! Started training again in July 2017, and in 2018 he won 4 USATF Masters Race Walk Championships at distances from 3,000m to 40km! #13 or #113) Andreas Gustafsson, 37, Las Vegas, NV. PR: 3:50:51. Long a member of the Swedish national Team, Andreas became a U.S. citizen by marriage in 2015 and has 2 sons and a business creating multi- vitamins for runners in the U.S. He has applied to represent the U.S. in international competition. The IAAF had frozen all “Representation Change” applications world-wide, but has now begun to review the applications and if not this weekend, we should soon see Andreas wearing the U.S. red, white, and blue. He took a hiatus from racing for the past couple of years, but his PR’s will put Andreas at the top of the U.S. lists when he gets back in racing form. #14) Allen James, 54, Torrance, CA. PR: 3:55:39. Allen is a 2x Olympian, walking the 20km in 1992 and the 50km in 1996; who was the dominant U.S. walker in the mid-1990’s setting 5 American Records and winning every major U.S. Championship multiple times. After moving back to Southern California in 2016, he has begun to get the itch to race walk again … #15) Douglas Johnson, 58, Bowling Green, KY. PR: 4:59:41. A Family Physician by day with 4 children, Doug is also a 3x National Masters Race Walk Champion (3km, 50km, and 100km), Ironman Triathlete, Boston Marathon finisher, National Senior Games Champion, and the coach of 12 national youth, high school, and NAIA college race walk champions and All-Americans. #16) Bruce Logan, 54, New York, NY. PR: 5:23. A triplet, with 3 degrees, who is also a Hula & Folk Dancer with over 100 performances, Bruce is a multiple National Age-Group Race Walking Champion. #17) Michael Mannozzi, 32, Toronto, Canada. PR: 4:26:46. Known as “The Italian Stallion” in honor of his father, Mike is a 15x National Champion at various distances. A father of a 2-year old and a footwear advisor at Sportchek (like Dick’s Sporting Goods in the U.S.), Mike was 3rd in the 2016 U.S. Olympic 50km Race Walk Trials. #18) Nathan Vanderwall, 26, Grandville, MI. PR: 4:39:01. A 3x NAIA All-American at Cornerstone University, Nathan has placed in the U.S. National Championships at several distances. Women’s USATF National 50km Race Walk Championship (Confirmed entries as of 1/23/19) #30) Katie Burnett, 30, Bellevue, WA. PR: 4:21:51. In 2017 Katie exploded onto the world stage by first walking a 13 minute PR and setting the American Record at these Championships in Santee, and then lowering it by another 5 min in London to claim 4th place in the inaugural IAAF World 50km Championships!!! She defended her U.S. Championship here last year, and is looking for a 3-peat. A member of the U.S. National Team since 2012, she was a 7x NAIA All-American at William Penn, including once as a javelin thrower. Not a slouch at the shorter distances, she also finished 3rd in the 2016 Olympic Trials at 20k. #32) Teresa Vaill, 56, Gainesville, FL. PR: 5:10:51. One of the greatest and most significant female race walkers in American history, Teresa has won 14 National Senior Championships, winning her first title in 1984. She is the former American Record holder at 20km and was the only race walker on the 2004 U.S. Women’s Olympic Team, making the team at age 41, becoming the oldest female track and field Olympian in history! #33) Darlene Backlund, 73, Palm Springs, CA. PR: 6:26:44. A marvel of time, Darlene started walking at 50, and at last count holds 8 American Masters Records and 2 World Masters Records, and has won 33 National Age-Group Championships. She will again be walking in memory and honor of her husband, coach, and training partner, John who passed just before the 2017 Championships where she honored him by setting a World Record. #35) Stephanie Casey, 35, Reedsport, OR. Debut 50km. Stephanie walked 1:41:47 for 20km and made the 2008 U.S. World Cup Team. Since then she has had 4 children (ages 9, 7, 3, and 10 months!) and become a doctor of osteopathic medicine (DO) and has a family practice. #36) Yolanda Holder, 60, Corona, CA. Yolanda is a professional Endurance Ultra Marathon Walker and a 2-time Guinness World Record holder for “Most Marathons Completed in a Calendar Year”, finishing a staggering 106 marathons/ultras in 2010 and breaking her own record in 2012 by finishing 120 marathons/ultras! She is also the American Record holder for the 10 day race, covering a total of 622 miles, and has finished a total of 545 (!!) marathons and ultras in her life … so far … #37) Carmen Jackinsky, 55, Aloha, OR. PR: 6:27:20. A former resident of Santee, Carmen both competes and coaches race walkers, but is best known as the owner of ReShod Walking Shoes, and has two patents and one pending for midsole technology for performance walking shoes. This is her 5th 50km and she hopes to walk under 5:45. #38) Molly Josephs, 24, Glen Carbon, IL. Debut 50km. A native of Garden City, NY, Molly is a 4x NAIA National Champion at Missouri Baptist, and a 5x member of the U.S. National Team. Molly just got her masters degree from Southern Illinois in Sport and Exercise Psychology. #39) Lydia McGranahan, 42, Keizer, OR. PR: 5:08:16. Lydia is a part- time fitness instructor and recently retired Level 10 USA Gymnastics judge, who home-schools her daughter Mariah, who will be walking in the 10km race today. Lydia has made remarkable progress since she began race walking just 2 years ago, becoming the USATF Master’s (40-44) Race Walker of the Year in 2018.