Noke Bio: Richard - Van One's Foundation Runner

This is Richard.

We call him Cali. 

...because he lives in California. (We're both brilliant and original...)

Cali has run, like, 1 billion marathons. (Or maybe he's going for numbers 20 and 21 this fall, but still...if you've run a marathon you know that there is little difference between 1 and 1 billion...) 

He ran his first full marathon at the age of 15 in Anchorage, Alaska. Which I find odd. Because cold. Plus, at 15 I was just trying to make it through Algebra class. But to each his own.

He literally just ran his 100th half marathon. And who doesn't love a good half marathon. If I could math, I'd offer you some fun mileage facts about running 100 half marathons. But...no.

Cali has been running since he was a child, but has never had the opportunity to run a Ragnar Relay. So, of course, when random Chad Zahner suggested he travel to the other side of the country to spend two days locked in a van sweating away miles with a bunch of strangers, he said yes. 

Cali has a beautiful little girl named Jupiter. Odd name for a child? Stop judging. She's a Golden Retriever. He also plays uncle to two nieces and six nephews, like actual human children. 

We're all very excited to welcome Cali to Virginia this September. We've had a lot of communication with him (because really, this team is all about over-communication) and it's clear that he is one of us. 

I feel like Cali is going to be the runner that keeps Van One afloat. It's certainly not going to be me. So, we're excited to welcome him into our pack as we run to have fun and raise some funds for Girls on the Run.

And I'm pretty sure he's going to come back for the Blue Ridge Marathon in April. So treat him nice, Virginia.