Sarah Robarts long dreamed of doing a long run in Kenya, where she was raised.
Robarts, the founder of Pacific Palisades public relations firm Ballantines PR, finally made her dream come true in June when she ran the Safaricom half-marathon through the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in northern Kenya. Robarts completed the 13.1-mile run in two hours and 15 minutes, and finished 331st out of 900 runners. She also raised about $4,000 for Tusk Trust, a conservation charity in Africa.
“I have wanted to do this run for years,” Robarts said. “But I had a relatively new business and little kids.”
Robarts, 41, originally planned to complete a full marathon but because of the demands on her, she didn’t have time to train for the 26.2-mile run.
During the race, Robarts ran through the African bush alongside giraffes, elephants and gazelles at an altitude of 5,500 feet. The height and the heat made for a difficult run.
“I was short of breath and my legs were a bit heavier,” she said. “The altitude is tough and the heat is tough, but it’s the most beautiful setting.”
And she wasn’t afraid of the wildlife.
“I was too busy thinking about my run,” Robarts said. “And I didn’t worry about it because there were armed rangers.”
Catalina Java
Michael Brown, co-founder of Weaver’s Coffee & Tea, usually misses his son’s weekly Boy Scout troop meetings, so he has tried to find a way to make up for his absence.
Brown, 47, lives with his family in Pacific Palisades but spends his workweeks in San Rafael, at the headquarters and production facility for his coffee bean roasting company.
The solution? He decided to provide coffee for the troop at its various campouts. Of course, the coffee isn’t for the Scouts, it’s for the parents. Last week, he was able to join his son, Alexander, and the troop on Catalina Island for a weeklong trip and Weaver’s coffee was flowing. In fact, the first 30-pound allotment he sent in advance of his arrival wasn’t enough for all of the assistant Scoutmasters and staff at Camp Emerald Bay.
“I got an e-mail on Monday that said, ‘Yes, the coffee has arrived but can you bring more?’” said Brown, a former Warner Bros. executive. “We roasted up and shipped over another 35 pounds and everybody seems very happy.”
Now, 65 pounds of coffee may sound like too much. But it takes a lot of caffeine for parents to keep up with boys set free on Catalina. And, Brown said, the same with the camp staff.
“I know that a good amount of it has gone from the kitchen up to the staff cabin,” said Brown.
Staff reporters Alexa Hyland and Daniel Miller contributed to this column. Page 3 is compiled by Editor Charles Crumpley. He can be reached at [email protected].
