Firecracker

Firecracker has been running with Raven since 2002 and is the "Numero Uno" female of all time on the Raven list with over 900 total runs and 146 total swims effective as of May 2009.  She is quickly rising up the ranks and with her dedication and commitment to the run, once she passes Angry Man, she will be #3 on the list.  Quite an accomplishment for such a busy lady!

Since running with Raven, she has won the following awards: Rookie of the Year, Runner of the Year, Athlete of the Year, Favorite Runner of the Year, and Hall of Fame.

Her most prestigious award was won in 2007 when she joined the ranks of the elite few in the Hall of Fame and learned about the "secret hand-shake" that only Hall of Fame winners are privy to.  She is on the way to possibly winning the award of Swimmer of the Year for 2009 unless someone can catch and pass her.

Firecracker has an electric personality with a flair for drama.  Rumored to take on any dare, one year the explosive Firecracker completed the 8 mile run in some uber sexy lingerie.  Chaper 11 captured photos from that momentous event.  According to Raven, she was cut and bleeding from the lace but still went swimming afterwards. There is a character in the book "The Lifeguard Murders" based on her and her character named appropriately "Pyrotechnic".

Karen "Firecracker" is full of energy, dresses with flair, and emanates spirit and spunk.  When not running she spends much of her time belly dancing and has performed at many shows.  But that's not all.  The multi-talented dynamo is also a real estate agent and paralegal.  She also enjoys salsa dancing, bowling, doing volunteer work and spending precious time with her dog Fluffy, cat Raj and her two children - Maria (aka "Sparkler" who has 13 Raven runs and 11 swims) who is a true sparkling gem & Rex, a talented genius currently living and working in New York.  She loves them dearly and supports them totally.  She attended Mia's summer session calculus class to insure her space while Mia was still in Portland finishing her Spring semester.

You can see Firecracker on the run ricocheting around greeting runners, even first-timers, like they were old friends.  In her hyper-charged way she will sing to Taxman his own theme song, she will sing a song for you based on your nickname, and she will sing Happy Birthday to you on your birthday - if you want to hear it or not - in her own Firecracker style.  She really does shine the light on everyone she meets.  With Firecracker, every day is like the Fourth of July!