New Flyer Profile: Shark Runner Karin
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| Karin A |
I took up running in the fall of 2008, and I quickly realized that to stay motivated and to continue developing my running skills, I would need to race. My first organized race was the Pasadena Half Marathon in February 2009. After that I was hooked. I soon signed up for full marathons in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and eventually out-of-state in Sedona, Arizona.
Having tackled the marathon, I became thirsty for even longer races and ran my first ultra in December 2010. I ran 50km races in the deserts and forests of Southern California at the OTHTC High Desert 50K and the Leona Divide 50/50 Trail Race Alas, 50km was not quite enough to satisfy my appetite for mileage, so I signed up for a 50-miler on Catalina Island called the Avalon Benefit 50 Mile Run and successfully completed the race in January 2013.
My next adventure? A 55km race in Iceland -- the Laugavegur Ultra -- in July 2013.
My second love is scuba diving, and I have a particular affinity for sharks. I’ve been diving with Great Whites (from the safety of a cage) off the coast of Guadalupe, Mexico. Recently I swam with Oceanic White Tips. No cage. It was one of the most memorable experiences I’ve had. I’d like to share a few excerpts from a blog I wrote about the encounters:
The seas were rough, the swells were swollen, and there was not a shark in sight. We were on the boat for a good long while waiting to spot an Oceanic White Tip. Finally, after waiting and baiting for nearly two hours, a 5-foot Silky shark appeared out of nowhere. She was fast and sleek with a golden sheen, and she darted around playfully in the water picking up scraps of bait. Soon, she was joined by another silky. They were very curious to say the least. They would come within inches of my face and body for a closer look at this foreign "thing." I turned around at one point to see THREE silkies approaching me gangsta style, with an underwater swagger like they meant business. They soon joined the others until we had a big mix of sharks, snorkelers, and waves all conjoined in an undulating underwater dance.
The group I joined for the shark dives is called Epic Diving. They host tours once a year during peak season, which usually runs from the end of April until mid-June. They bring shark enthusiasts such as myself, but they also attract professional journalists from Discovery Channel and National Geographic.
The next day, the sea was still rough, but navigable. Only two hours into our trip we sighted an oceanic white tip. We quickly geared up, ready to plunge into the deep blue sea. It’s so comical to be hanging out with a group of people that when somebody yells "Shark!" everyone jumps INTO the water. But there we were.
They would boldly swim towards us and directly at us from any direction. We were warned by the staff to always keep an eye out on all sharks because as soon as you let your guard down, they move in. And it was true. As soon as I lost sight of one shark, I would turn around and more often than not he or she was there, coming at me from behind.
We must have looked very odd, these black and bumpy creatures making all sorts of splashing and breathing noises, not to mention wielding large, foreign objects that continuously click and flash in their direction. How annoying we must have been. But they were graceful and elegant, slow and steady, curious and engaging.
It was such a privilege to swim with these sharks. I’m grateful for the experience and I have a new-found respect and sense of awe for these animals.
You can click HERE to see a video that includes me swimming with the sharks off of Cat Island in the Bahamas.
-Karin A
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