Author attempts world record run for salmon
Steve Hawley, environmental journalist and Run Wild for Salmon athlete, has upped the ante: On October 7th, his Portland Marathon run will include an attempt at the world record for the fastest marathon time in a full business suit.
"Running a marathon in a suit is only as ridiculous as the perils that Snake River salmon face," said Hawley, "A deadly gauntlet of eight large dams, warming water in the reservoirs, invasive predators that benefit and thrive in a slower river, and maybe even a disorienting ride in a semi-truck to the mouth of the Columbia River. Salmon that survive against these odds deserve a lot more than a listing in the Guinness Book of World records. They deserve a river that runs more like an actual river."
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Snake River salmon travel more than 900 miles inland and climb almost 7,000 feet to reach their spawning grounds – the highest salmon spawning habitats on earth, and the largest and wildest habitat left in the continental United States. No other salmon species on this planet goes higher and farther, making them truly one-of-a-kind. All runs of salmon and steelhead on the Snake River are listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Scientists point to dams on the lower Snake and main-stem Columbia River has the primary cause of population decline over the last several decades. Wild salmon and steelhead remain at roughly 2% of their historic abundance.
Hawley, a self-described "renewed runner after a few years riding the couch," is the author of the recent book "Recovering a Lost River: Removing dams, Rewilding salmon, Revitalizing communities." Recovering a Lost River delivers a powerful argument for why lower Snake River dam removal makes good scientific, economic, and environmental sense—and requires our urgent attention.
To break the record for fastest marathon in a suit, Steve Hawley will have to run the Portland Marathon in under 3 hours, 24 minutes, and 46 seconds. Paul Buchanan set that record at the 2009 Dublin Marathon in Ireland.
Run Wild for Salmon - Fundraiser Thank-you Gifts
- The first 25 donors at the $60 level will receive a $30 gift card from Mountain Khakis!
- A $100 donation gets you a set of 6 awesome steel Klean Kanteen pints with SOS' 20th Anniversary logo.
Please take a moment to support our runners: Steve Hawley, Jennifer Trunkey, and Jennifer King.
