Burlingame Rotary Club
Founded in 1925

High Gear Bulletin

 

Zoom Meeting - Wednesday, July 8, 2020

High Gear Editor:  Suzanne Juptner

Meeting SummarY

 
Rotary Club of Burlingame
High Gear
 
President Emily Matthews’ Inaugural Meeting
Congratulations to Emily Matthews, who launched her term as our new 2020-2021 Burlingame Rotary President!  We had 36 members attend Emily’s first meeting via Zoom, with the all-virtual format being an obvious first for our club.
 
Pledge of Allegiance and Invocation
Jim Shypertt led the Pledge of Alliance and Jay Miller gave the invocation. On the advent of our new Rotary year, Jay reminded us that Rotary depends on members and is driven by members. Replacing in-person meetings with Zoom meetings will require each of us to step up. We may not know exactly how this year will go, but as Rotarians we know we must step up to continue our community connections and impact. 
 
Guests of the Club and Visiting Rotarians
Cheryl Fama introduced fellow Millbrae Rotarian and husband, Dennis Fama. Joining from his new home in Atlanta, former Burlingame Rotarian Andrew Comstock.  President Emily introduced our guest speaker, Heather Brien.
 
Announcements       
President Emily announced that today is Julius Aries’ 80th birthday. Happy Birthday, Julius!
 
She also thanked all members who were involved in past President Cheri’s debunking, with special thanks to debunking chair Mark Johnson and writer and presenter Jerry Winges for the virtual “A Year to Forget Remember” program.
 
President Emily reminded everyone about our weekly Happy Hour this Friday at 5pm.
 
Suzanne Juptner announced Emily’s President’s Club. You can make your $150 tax deductible donation online at www.burlingamerotary.org or mail a check to our PO Box 313, Burlingame 94010.
 
Newscast
Cheryl Fama gave a stellar newscast on how we are navigating and dealing with shelter-in-place. Among the most “new world truths” is that hair stylists’ are indeed essential businesses. She then turned her focus onto our new leader, President Emily, providing a hilarious and spot-on translation guide of “What Emily Really Means”.
When Emily says…. It really means…
Fine … I’m done talking
Go ahead … A dare, not permission
Nothing … You need to be worried
Whatever … You’re screwed
Wow … Can’t believe how stupid
 
Thank you, Cheryl, for a truly fantastic newscast!
 
Guest Speaker – Heather Brien 
Heather is an endurance athlete who ran the World Marathon Challenge - 7 marathons, in 7 days on 7 continents. Wow! This race is an epic adventure that requires dedication, mental focus and perseverance, plus the ability to adapt and overcome obstacles. Heather is a partner at a Private Equity Firm and also a mother of 2 young children. She credits her husband as being her biggest supporter and says her biggest on-going challenge is time management.
 
Heather competed in the World Marathon Challenge (WMC) in 2018 (it’s 3rd year) with 50 other international endurance athletes. Over 7 days, Heather ran 183.4 miles and flew 24,000 miles, spending 49 hours in-flight. Her race preparation included 7 of everything (running shoes, running clothes, etc.) and had to account for temperatures spanning from 25°F to 95°F. And, she had to bring all her nutrition for all 7 days.   
 
Day 1 – Novolazarevskaya (Novo), Antarctica is the 1st marathon of the WMC. Heather says it was gorgeous and a fantastic 24°F. The marathon took place at Novo’s aircraft ice runway and you still wear regular running shoes while running on the ice.
 
Day 2 – Cape Town, South Africa. It was 85° and the race took place on everyday roads and pavement. Heather stressed that recovery after marathons is super important and that keeping yours legs up while wearing leg sleeves is a must in between races.
 
Day 3 – Perth, Australia was the 3rd race and the first night race. At this point, Heather’s ankles were swollen, and she used the ultra-marathon strategy of alternating running then walking during the race. This was the day Heather experienced nutritional challenges when her body rejected Goo (an endurance athlete supplement) and switched to Coca Cola instead.
 
Day 4 – Dubai, UAE had their marathon course along the ocean. Heather’s pictures showed “faces of fatigue” and intense inflammation swelling among the racers. Fun fact - the Dubai airport gift shop sells helicopters and McLaren sports cars. 
 
Day 5 – Portugal was the race location for the European continent, and it was Heather’s least favorite marathon. She said it was 40°F, raining, and the race surface was cobblestones. Pictures of the endurance athletes show that fatigue is now a major factor.
 
Day 6 – Cartagena, Colombia was the 6th marathon in as many days and it was 95° and humid during that race. Heather said the race went through Old Town and that she’d like to go back and actually spend some time there visiting.
 
Day 7 – Miami, Florida was the final marathon and the athletes were greeted and supported by many of their families and friends. It sounded like that emotional support really helped the runners with their mental game so they could finish the 7th marathon. Turns out all 50 athletes completed the WMC of 7 marathons in 7 days on 7 continents.
 
Additional Q&A topics:
The race fee for WMC was around US$ 37,000 in 2018 when Heather ran the race. The price for the 2021 race is now US$ 47,000, the bulk of the cost due to airline fares.
 
When asked how she dealt with jet lag, Heather said her body was no longer aware of what time it was. So, no jet lag.
 
Heather was asked about the age of the runners – in 2018 the youngest runner was in their late 20s and the eldest was 62 years old. Turns out that the oldest person who every ran in the WMC was a 76 year old man in 2019.
 
Next Meeting
Our next meeting is July 15th at 12:15.
Guest speakers are our very own Michael Kimball and Fritz Brauner.
 
Fun with Fritz
Michael will interview Fritz, but it will not be a typical “Interview a Rotarian”. This interview will cover a wide range of topics with UN-expected insights!
 
Speakers
Jul 15, 2020 12:15 PM
Fun with Fritz
Fun with Fritz

Michael Kimball will interview Fritz Brauner. This will not be a typical "Interview a Rotarian." This interview will cover a wide range of topics with UN-expected insights!

Jul 22, 2020 12:15 PM
Proterra Powered
Jul 29, 2020 12:15 PM
Cheesemans' Ecology Safaris
Aug 05, 2020 12:15 PM
What's happening in Hillsborough
Aug 12, 2020 12:15 PM
District 5150 during these unprecedented times
View entire list
Upcoming Events
July Board Meeting
Jul 15, 2020
4:30 PM - 6:00 PM
 
Program Committee Meeting
Zoom Meeting contact Rotary@nolamarketing.com for access
Aug 04, 2020 8:00 AM
 
Program Committee Meeting
Zoom Meeting contact Rotary@nolamarketing.com for access
Sep 01, 2020 8:00 AM
 
View entire list
Member Birthdays
Jerry Kuehn
July 1
 
Dennis Zell
July 5
 
Joe La Mariana
July 7
 
Julius Aires
July 8
 
James Shypertt
July 11
 
John Delaney
July 11
 
Paul Belzer
July 13
 
Emily Beach
July 27
 
Charles Rosebrook
July 28
 
Cheri DeLacy
July 30
 
Anniversaries
Paul Watermulder
Genie Watermulder
July 3
 
Doug Person
Robin Person
July 8
 
Marianne Kristofferson
David Kristofferson
July 17
 
Russell Hampton
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