Stars of the Hollywood Half Marathon

Greetings!

Can you believe that we are exactly 3 weeks away from the Hollywood Half Marathon? In just 21 days the streets of Hollywood will be packed with runners, volunteers and curious spectators who will come together to celebrate the Inaugural Hollywood Half Marathon. We are now longer months away, but now just a few weeks. Can you feel the excitement growing within you?

Earlier this week I interviewed a woman who is well known in the acting world. I was immediately at ease as I interviewed this particular young lady. She has an easygoing and laidback personality that no doubt fits her perfectly for her profession.

Everybody, meet…

Tanna Frederick

Tanna Frederick is a 32 year old actress from Iowa who is currently residing in Southern California. You may recognize her as Maggie Chase from the film Queen of the Lot in which she won best actress at WorldFest-Houston in 2011. Tanna’s greatest accomplishment is that she has become a “stage and independent film actress who rose to prominence for her title role in Henry Jaglom's film Hollywood Dreams for which she received the Best Actress Award at the 2008 Fargo Film Festival.” But it won't stop there. This beautiful and energetic young actress has a promising future ahead of her. For those of you that will be hitting the pavement with us next month, you may get lucky and spot Tanna on the track with you.

Aside from being an actress, Tanna has a lot of commitments she is part of. Tanna has her own nonprofit organization called Project Save Our Surf. The organization is committed to keeping our oceans clean. “Surfing is my other passion” Tanna said as she shared the heart of her organization with me. Tanna holds a 24 hour surf-a-thon every year in Huntington Beach, CA. Pro surfers, celebrities, kids, and members of the community come together to raise funds to keep the oceans clean. I was amazed that Tanna who is more than an actress and a leader of her organization is also a surfer! Busy woman eh? Can surfing help runners? Tanna said “Surfing helps as far as cross training. Surfing helps to stretch my torso and legs.” So for those of you, who are looking for a new hobby besides running, try surfing!

Tanna is a woman who values education. She graduated as valedictorian from the University of Iowa class of 1999. Tanna spoke proudly of her accomplishments, “graduating with honors in political science and theatre was a great goal. They are two different fields but so similar in many ways. I learned just as much from both. I learned a lot about behaviorism in politics and acting.” Tanna is a talented and educated actress who enjoys running and surfing and making sure she is doing her part to make the world a better place through her organization.

The young actress started acting when she was 8 years old and has appeared in several films. Next, I asked Tanna what she gained from being awarded the Best Actress Award at the 2008 Fargo Film Festival. “I gained a real sense of support. I gained a real sense of encouragement. I think people who don’t live on the coast think it’s an overnight thing in acting. Either you make it or you don’t. It took me a long time to get there. It was like a breakthrough time for me. Once I got that award I started getting a number of awards in film festivals. There is so much competition out there. What people think of me is important to me. Whether they’re inspired by me or not is important to me as well. I was so happy. It was like winning an Oscar for me. It was a sign from my grandparents from heaven saying you’re on the right track don’t give up.” Pretty inspirational huh?

So where did Tanna get her running feet from? Tanna comes from a family or marathon runners. As a child, Tanna was exposed to the track and developed a passion for running while watching her parents compete in their own marathons. With an ease in her voice, Tanna said, “I started from A to Z and only running marathons. My parents have run 5 marathons and they will be out for the Hollywood Half. I’m so excited to run in the Hollywood Half Marathon.”

To my surprise, I learned that Tanna Frederick has never run in a half marathon. She has only competed in marathon races. In fact, the Hollywood Half Marathon will be Tanna’s first half marathon in which she will compete. Her estimated time to complete the half marathon is 1:45. She will be competing in the LA Marathon during St. Patrick’s Day weekend and shooting for a 3:40 finish time. This will be Tanna’s 3rd marathon and she is hoping to qualify for the Boston Marathon. We wish you the best Tanna. Go get’ em girl!

Marathons are not the only places where you will find Tanna getting her run-on. Tanna enjoys running along the ocean to catch the energy the ocean offers. “There is a path that goes from Venice Beach to Malibu. That’s my go-to place. I never get tired of running that. I have seen some of the same runners for the past several years. I can drink in the outdoors, relax and not think about anything. It’s calming to me. It’s kinda like my form of yoga being in that familiar territory away from all the distractions of my cell phone, computer and auditions.”

Tanna’s running buddy is Ron Vignone who is also Tanna’s creative partner, “He ran the last marathon with me so he and I are running this next marathon together. It’s important and smart to have running partners. It’s such a journey. It’s almost like going to Disneyland. You can’t describe it to anyone else unless they’re doing it with you or they’ve trained with you. We have a lot of fun doing it. I wouldn’t want to train by myself.”

I asked Tanna what her experience was like running her first marathon. Her response was “My first marathon was the Chicago Marathon. I moved to LA after graduating from the University of Iowa. I flew out to Chicago to train with my friend Crystal. I had never been to Chicago. I was happy with my 4:08 time. It was a blast and got me addicted. It was a great excuse to bond with a girlfriend. It was neat and worked out well.” There you have it ladies…gather up your best girls and hit the track and field.

So how does the young actress train for her races? Tanna trains with the Hal Higdon Marathon Training program. She has been using the training program for quite some time and finds it to be “very resourceful.” The training is very specific and clearly spelled out. Referring to Hal, Tanna said, “He is my hero. I base my schedule off of his. He’s awesome. He’s my dude.”

Just like our last blog on Superhero Events Vice President Sabrina Nwadike, both of these runners agree that loading up on carbs before the race is essential. Tanna expressed how much she craved bread while training for a marathon. Usually she is a meat eater but during marathons, all Tanna wants is “bread bread bread!” Rest assured because those of you who are like me and love your carbs, you now have an excuse to load up on all the carbs you want in preparation for your next running event.

Potential marathon runners, what advice does Tanna have for you? Tanna laughed as she shared with me what her mother always taught her. Tanna’s mother continuously told her that while running she needed to “smile the whole way through. My mom told me she didn’t care what I did as long as I smiled through the whole race.” Tanna went on to say, “your receptors in your body will think you’re having a really good time. It will change your entire attitude. Smile through your training. Smile through everything even if your body doesn’t feel right. It will make a world of difference.” I do not want to see anything but smiling faces on those running through the streets of Hollywood. J

My final question is always the most important question I ask all our runners because we all have a story of that special someone or somebodies that helped us get to where we are today. So who does this successful young actress credit all her success to? When I asked Tanna that question there was a sense of surety and adoration for someone much loved in her voice. Answer? First and foremost, her parents! “I credit my success to my parents because they are forces of nature. They both grew up in large families with hardly any income. They are hard hard hard workers. They were the only two out of their siblings to go to college and get masters degrees. They have an undying belief in me and without them I would never have been able to keep going in the film industry. And Henry Jaglom gave me a chance with my first film, Hollywood Dreams. Him giving me the opportunity and seeing something in me and allowing me to shine, I could never have done that without him. He truly is my David Selznick.”

And there you have it folks! What a talented and down to earth young lady Tanna Frederick is. I really enjoyed interviewing Tanna. She is a remarkable young woman that will no doubt get a heavy draft under her wings and she will take off in the film industry with a bright and promising future.

Thank you for reading our blog friends.

See you at City Walk!

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