Christie Pastalka

CHRISTIE PASTALKA

by Barry Spitz

When Roger Bannister ran the first sub-four minute mile, he got worldwide acclaim and ultimately a knighthood. When Belvedere’s Christie Patterson Pastalka became the first woman to run Marin’s brutally rugged, 14-mile Double Dipsea Race in under two hours, in 1987, she got a few high-fives and a t-shirt. In the decades since, there have been thousands of faster miles but not one other sub-two woman’s Double. So who has the last laugh?

            Christie’s memorable Double came just 13 days after winning the Dipsea Race, and almost didn’t happen. For one, she was committed to Ride & Tie, a two-person, horse riding/running event whose national championship always conflicted with Double, except in ‘87. Then, on her drive to Stinson Beach—where the Double Dipsea begins and ends—a fallen tree slowed traffic and she barely made it to the start line.

“I rushed up, tossed my money down to register and set right off,” Christie says. “After the first turn I stopped to tighten my shoelaces, pin the change I got from registering to my shorts and tie back my hair, which was then quite long. I also hadn’t time to drink and then there wasn’t any water delivered yet to the Muir Woods station. I didn’t think this was a good race. But when I started running back from the turnaround in Mill Valley, I saw people that should have been ahead of me and realized I was going well after all.”

            Leading most of the race, Christie was finally passed by winner Russ Kiernan, but finished seven seconds ahead of third placer Darryl Beardall. Her actual time of one hour, 58 minutes, 42 seconds broke the Double record of Peggy Smyth (who still holds the Dipsea women’s record) by nearly three minutes. Christie again had the fastest woman’s time in the 1992 Double.

            Christie (nee Bellingall), who turned 65 in April, grew up in Belvedere. She played field hockey at Dominican Convent High, which moved from San Rafael to Sleepy Hollow and changed its name to San Domenico during her senior year. She earned her bachelors degree at U.C. Berkeley, then trained as a nurse at the College of Marin.

            Christie married in college, changing her name to Patterson. In 1975, she had a daughter, Kim, now a mother of two. For years after the marriage ended, Christie was a busy single mom, working full-time as a nurse in San Francisco.

            In 1980, a friend, Toby Pickett, suggested a walk over the Dipsea Trail, which Christie had never seen. It was cool so the group started jogging. At the end, her companions encouraged Patterson to start training.

            Christie ran her first Dipsea in 1982 and won a top-35 finish black shirt. The following year she was fourth and won the Women’s Best Time award with her 1:01:32. She sat out ’84 with an injury--“I was doing too much too soon”—then came back a year later with a fifth place, and a sixth in ’86. In 1987, Christie ran a sensational 57:06—then the fifth fastest ever by a woman--and won by 18 seconds over defending champion Gail Scott, who had mistakenly followed a longer trail that now bears her name.

            But at the peak of her athletic success—she would also win a national Ride & Tie championship, earning $6,000--Christie stepped back. Her parents took ill and, as a nurse, she assumed care responsibilities. In 1990, she had a second child, Tommy, with husband Tomas Pastalka. And her back, an issue since first going en pointe in classical ballet as a child, was flaring up.

“Doctors told me that if I didn’t stop running I would compress my spine and end up in a wheelchair,” she says. “I did my own long-term therapy, built around yoga, plus biking and cross-country skiing, and healed myself without drugs or surgery.”

            Her back healthy, Christie ran her first ultramarathon, a 50K (31 miles), at age 62.

“Christie joined our ultra-running training group,” says veteran Marin runner Janet Bodle. “She can not only run forever, but can discuss books, current events and other interesting topics while pulling us uphill, then leave us in the dust on the downhill.”

“That Christie can keep running and competing on a pretty high level for almost 30 years is a testimony to her balanced approach to training,” says Tomas. “She has a smooth, relaxed running style that keeps her from injuries.”

            In 2011, Christie won her first Dipsea Race black shirt in 18 years, and this year finished holding hands with Tomas. She was 27th in last year’s Double.

“Most people who talk to me about my Mom, complete strangers or family friends, typically bring up something about her running accomplishments,” says Tommy. “But I know all she does for our family when there is no trophy or medal involved.”