by Niki Cunningham
Sports Editor
Jessica Bamber Ryan (Lassen County Department of Child Support Services Attorney and owner of Jessica Ryan Law Firm) and Bryan E. Eidem (aka Coach BEE, owner of BEE Fit personal training, award winning competition team, set a goal of completing a marathon in each of the 50 states. They kicked off this goal with the American River 50 mile ultra marathon and got the idea while training for INBA (International Natural Bodybuilding Association) bodybuilding competitions.
March 21, 2015 in San Francisco, California Jessica earned the title Northern California Natural Sports Model with the INBA (International Natural Bodybuilding Association) and with the coaching of Coach BEE and alongside her team-mate Joey D. Eidem (who won the title Northern California Natural Mini Bodybuilder at the same competition and is sponsored by Kimmie Candies of Reno, Nevada).
Demonstrating that Sports Model is more than simply a title, on April 4, 2015 in Auburn, California Jessica completed her first ultra marathon (the American River 50 Mile Ultra) with the assistance and support of Coach BEE. (An ultra marathon is any distance over 26.2 miles.) Jessica’s finishing time was 14 hours, 39 minutes and 52.3 seconds. Coach BEE crewed for Jessica for roughly the first half of the ultra marathon and paced her for roughly the second half. By the end of the day, Coach BEE completed over 35 miles.
Both Jessica and Coach BEE were a fit and healthy weight when they were in high school and into their early 20s. Both gained weight and struggled to lose the weight. Jessica lost 50 pounds after donating a kidney to her dad in September 2012 and Coach BEE lost 120 pounds after a motorcycle accident revealed a tumor on his parathyroid and the tumor was removed in November 2010.
Neither Jessica nor Coach BEE consider themselves runners. They are both bodybuilders. Having lost significant amounts of weight they work extra hard to keep the weight off and keep their bodies in competition shape. Jessica competes in the INBA in the Sports Model, Bikini Diva and Angels categories. Coach BEE competes in the INBA Sports Model division and trains INBA competitors in all the bodybuilding divisions. Coach BEE and Jessica co-authored Mini Bodybuilding: Introduction to Children’s Bodybuilding and Fitness, which is an instructional guide for children competing in the INBA Mini Bodybuilders division.
While strategizing for their 2015 INBA bodybuilding competition season and reflecting on their past seasons, Jessica and Coach BEE realized when they competed in a distance run shortly before a competition, they placed well in INBA competitions. In fact, the weekend after Jessica completed her first ever marathon (26.2 miles) in Lake Tahoe, Jessica won the title Ms. Reno Sports Model 2014. Although Joey does not participate in ultra marathons, Joey also trains for INBA competitions by participating in walks and runs (including completing the 2015 Running with Rudolph 10k + in Carson City, Nevada).
The American River 50 Miler is a 50 mile ultra marathon that starts in El Dorado Hills, California leads runners along Folsom Lake, LakeNatoma and the AmericanRiver down to the Nimbus Fish Hatchery in Rancho Cordova, California then up to the fairgrounds in Auburn, California.
The INBA is the only natural bodybuilding association that WADA drug tests all athletes and openly strips competitors of titles and bans athletes from competing for failing drug tests. By WADA drug testing all athletes the INBA holds each competitor to the same standards as Olympic athletes.
If you don’t catch these three athletes hiking around Lassen County or elsewhere in the Sierras, you can see them compete as a team on May 30, 2015 at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe in the INBA Nevada State Legacy Classic Bodybuilding and Fitness Championships.
Pictured: 1) The picture with two people shows Coach BEE and Jessica about 40 miles into the American River 50 Mile Ultra Marathon.
2) The picture with three people shows Jessica, Joey and Coach BEE after completing the 2014 Running with Rudolph 10k+.
