A decade on the run

Ten years ago today, I completed my first-ever endurance event – the 2002 Country Music Half Marathon in Nashville, Tenn. I really didn’t know what I was getting into when I signed up for the race (after all, who makes a half marathon their first road race of any kind?!?), or realize the profound impact running would come to have on my life.

Running the 2002 Country Music Half Marathon.

I still remember the tremendous feeling of accomplishment that overcame me when I crossed the finish line for the first time. Later that day, seeing my friend Scott (who convinced me to run the race in the first place) finish the full marathon left an indelible impression on me. At that moment, I told myself that I wanted to do a marathon one day. Almost four years later when I toed the line at the Walt Disney World Marathon in January 2006, Scott was there to support me.

While training for my first 26.2-miler, someone told me that after you finish, you will either get hooked on marathons or never want to do another one. I got hooked, and set a goal to become a “50-stater,” that is, run a marathon in all 50 states. I’m up to 13 so far.

Shortly thereafter, I met my friend Brad, who encouraged me to participate in more local events. So I did, including running at least one race (sometimes more) every weekend from Memorial Day to Labor Day during the summer of 2007. That sparked a notion to try to run a race in every county in North Carolina. Brad liked the idea too, so together we’ve embarked on “Chad and Brad’s 100 County Countdown.”

Running all these races hasn’t been easy, and I’ve certainly had to deal with issues all runners deal with like life, injuries, fatigue, lack of motivation, etc. Along the way, I’ve also learned about things like goal-setting, discipline, sacrifice and chafing (ouch!). Running has taught me a lot about myself, taken me to some wonderful places and introduced me to some amazing people (like my wife, for one. I even managed to squeeze in a 5K on our wedding day!)

But when I think about my the experiences that running has afforded me over the past 10 years, the thing I think about the most is how blessed and thankful I am just to have the ability to run. The late American distance runner Steve Prefontaine once famously said, “To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.”

Running is a gift that I’ve come to appreciate over my decade on the run. Chance are, there will come a day when I will no longer have the ability to run, but today is not that day. So in the meantime, I’ll just keep running, and hope the next 10 years are as fun and fulfilling as the last 10 have been.

Glazed and Confused -- The Krispy Kreme Challenge Race Report

The late American distance running phenom Steve Prefontaine once said, "A lot of people run a race to see who is fastest. I run to see who has the most guts." "Pre" probably never ran an event quite like the Krispy Kreme Challenge, but it's a race that definitely puts his adage to the test.

Part race, part eating contest, the challenge is the ultimate test of gastrointestinal fortitude. Run two miles from the NC State University Belltower on Hillsborough Street to the Krispy Kreme store on Person and Peace streets in downtown Raleigh. Eat a dozen glazed doughnuts, then run two miles back to campus – all in under an hour.

Since the event combined two things I absolutely love – running and doughnuts – I joined the 3,000 other participants this past Saturday to take part in the challenge.

When I first heard of the challenge last year, it seemed like the perfect kind of quirky running event that I look for when searching the local race calendars. The Krispy Kreme Challenge became a must-run event for me on my 2008 racing schedule. And besides, the student-organized fundraising event helped raise $20,000 for the N.C. Children's Hospital, so I was doing it for the kids.

My year's worth of anticipation and excitement gave way to a case of the nerves in the days leading up to the race. As an avid runner, I figured the four miles wouldn't be a problem. Stopping in the middle to eat a dozen doughnuts? That's where the anxiety came in. How exactly do you train for an event that combines a runner's high with a sugar rush?

In preparing for my first marathon two years ago, I researched all the available information about staying properly hydrated and fueled over the course of 26.2 miles. I practiced drinking fluids and consuming energy gels on my long training runs until I knew my preparation would get me through the marathon. But there wasn't a tried and true training method for the challenge, as eating doughnuts while running isn't a technique you'll find in a copy of Runner's World.

So I showed up on Saturday confident in my legs, but uncertain about my stomach. I was more nervous prior to start of the Krispy Kreme Challenge than I had been before any of the other 52 previous road races I'd run.

At the sound of the starting gun, the mass of runners sprinted down Hillsborough Street, led to the Krispy Kreme store by – what else? – an escort from the Raleigh police. I set a leisurely pace, arriving at Krispy Kreme in a little over 20 minutes. I confidently grabbed my box of doughnuts, tossed open the lid, and was confronted by 12 innocent-looking, glazed rings of dough. A dozen Krispy Kreme glazed doughnuts contain 2,400 calories. This was carb-loading taken to a new level.

I downed my first doughnut by squeezing it into a compact mass, a technique I'd heard described as timely and efficient. This technique wasn't for me, however, so I opted for a more traditional approach – eat them one at a time, try to enjoy them and try not to think about the run back.

The first five or six went down surprisingly easy. After the first half-dozen though, I felt the mass of dough and glaze settling and growing in my midsection. With time and space running out, my bites became smaller and more laborious as my insides became larger and more expansive. It felt like a helium balloon was being blown up inside my stomach. I still don't know how I got the last three down.

After downing a bit of water, I proudly showed my empty box to a race volunteer who checked my race bib as proof that I'd completed my dozen. As I took my first feeble steps back to the Belltower, I glanced at my watch and learned that I only had about 10 minutes to make it back in order to complete the feat in under an hour. That wasn't happening. My new challenge became keeping the doughnuts down.

"Oh, I didn't need to see that!" I exclaimed just a short ways past the Krispy Kreme on the return route. I'll spare you the description, but it was the first of several such patches of pastries that were scattered (and splattered) along the road.

By design and necessity, I settled into a slower pace on my trek back to campus. Despite some rumblings, I kept the load of lard down for the two miles back, joyfully ascending the Belltower steps with an unofficial time of 1 hour and 12 minutes.

In the final analysis, I underestimated how long it would take to consume a dozen doughnuts. Mentally, I divided this race into thirds – allotting 20 minutes for the run down, 20 minutes to eat the doughnuts and 20 minutes for the run back. I was close on the running, but eating the doughnuts took me closer to half an hour.

So looking ahead to next year, I'll be eager to take 12 minutes off my finishing time to earn the coveted challenge finisher shirt. I'll just need to shave off one minute for every doughnut consumed. That's doable, right? Besides, no guts, no glory. "Pre" most certainly would agree.

See you at next year's challenge, a race that certainly puts the "nuts" in doughnuts.

For more on the Krispy Kreme Challenge visit my friend Ashely's blog, my coworker David's on-the-spot reporting, the official race Web site or search "Krispy Kreme Challenge" on YouTube for no shortage of video accounts.

Five on the Fifth

Posted my first run of the New Year this morning with a 5.61 mile effort at the American Tobacco Trail....five leisurely miles on the fifth of January. It seems like forever since I had been on a run, but in reality it's only been two weeks. Still, that's the longest period of time of taken off in a while that wasn't because of an injury. I had a harder time than usual training through the holidays this year. Perhaps it's because I didn't have a January marathon staring me in the face like I've had the past two years. I think the rest was beneficial, however, and it sure felt good to get my legs back under me.

Chicago Marathon Race Report

The 2007 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon will likely go down as one of the most memorable marathons in history, but for all the wrong reasons. By now, the heat-related havoc wreaked on the runners participting in the 30th running of this event has been well-documented.

In most years marathons, even the major ones like Chicago, Boston and New York, receive scant coverage in the mainstream press. But when a runner dies, hundreds others are treated for heat-related illnesses and the race is called off some three-and-a-half hours in, the race suddenly becomes front-page news and a lead story on CNN.

I was there in Chicago on Sunday, and it's with mixed emotions that I pen this report. I want to be proud of the fact that I was able to finish, yet be sensitive to those who didn't get that opportunity. I want to be thankful that I was not among those who suffered any ill-effects from the record-high temperatues, yet be considerate of those who did. I sympathize with those runners who reported not having water available to them at aid stations because I was able to consume ample fluid at each station to remain hydrated. Yet I also empathize with the race officials, who despite their best efforts and planning, had no control over the brutal weather conditions that ruled the day. And, of course, my heart goes out to the family of Chad Schieber, the 35-year-old Michigan native who died while running, as well as the hundreds of other runners who were treated for heat-related illnesses.

When I first registred for the Chicago Marathon in the spring the race's reputation for having a flat, fast course coupled with cool fall temperatures gave me visions of running a personal best time at the 26.2 mile distance. All that changed when I read the race-day forecast in the Chicago Tribune while eating breakfast Saturday morning at my hotel. The forecast read, "Sunday's 30th annual LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon will most likely be run under the warmest conditons ever with runners advised to guard against potential overheating, cramping or other heat-related maladies." Unfortunately, the weather man got this forecast right on all accounts.

When I woke up Sunday morning to ride the El train to the starting area downtown, the temperature was already 70 degrees at 5 a.m., three hours before the start of the race. Less than a half mile into the race, I was already working up a sweat. While watching for some of Chicago's distinctive landmarks such as the Board of Trade, the famous Chicago Theatre and the Chicago River in the early stages of the race, I was also on the lookout for temperature readings. Shortly into the race the first one I saw read 73 and another shortly thereafter read 77.

After getting the first few miles behind me, running a steady pace and staying hydrated became my orders of the day. Although the aid stations were crowded, I had no trouble getting both Gatorade and water. Some runners deeper in the pack said they didn't receive any fluids until around mile eight. After crossing the halfway point in front of the Sears Tower, I was already dreading the second half of the race with the heat bearing down. Near the United Center around mile 15 I noticed a shirt that read something to the effect of "the first third of the race is run with your legs. The second third of the race is run with your mind. The last third of the race is run with your heart." I liked the thought.

They say the real race in a marathon begins at mile 20. So how do you think I felt when I saw a temperature reading on a bank sign that read 91 degrees? Six miles to go with the sun bearing down. Where I could I ran the shade provided by the buildings that lined the streets. I'm also thankful for those spectators who provided runners with water and ice of their own accord.

After plodding along for the final six miles, I finally turned the last corner and with the finish line in sight I heard a firefighter or police officer yelling to the runners, urging them to walk, saying "The race has been cancelled." What did that mean, I wondered? Did I hear him right? Well, stubbornly I told myself I didn't run 26 miles to walk the final two-tenths. That's if you consider the pace I was going at that point actually running. So I decided to finish what I started and run the rest of the way in. And making that final turn is when I saw my first runner collapsed on the ground. Medics were tending to him, giving him water.

After crossing the finish line, other runners were dropping. "Runner down," I heard spotters repeating, prompting medical staffers to tend to the runners and get them medical attention. I hung around the finishing area for a while, getting some food and water before heading back to the train station to head back to my hotel. As I made my way back, that's when I saw the runners who were forced to stop being routed down Jackson Street to the finish area.

It wasn't until later in the day that I heard reports of Schieber's death, the 300 heat-related illnesses, and the shortages of water and Gatorade at the aid stations. From my position on the course, I saw nothing that would lead me to think that conditions were so dire out on the course. But apparently they were.

The heat issues and the cancellation of the race actually overshadowed exciting and dramatic finishes in both the men's and women's races. The men's race came down to a photo finish as Patrick Ivuti of Kenya edged Morocco's Jaouad Gharib at the finish line by five one hundredths of a second -- the closest finish in Chicago Marathon history. In the women's race, Berhane Adere of Ethiopia sprinted past the apparent winner Romania's Adriana Pirtea in the final two-tenths of a mile to claim victory.

I left Chicago with mixed emotions about the marathon. I'm thankful that I was able to finish the race, but I can't seem to take as much satisfaction in the accomplishment knowing what befell my running bretheren. One thing I've learned from participating in endurance events is that runners, particularly marathoners, share a kindred spirit. There's just something about the shared experience of putting in hours of training, logging hundreds of miles, overcoming obstacles and then going the distance on race day that creates a common bond among runners. And because of that connection, I share in those hardships that my fellow runners experienced in Chicago.

T-Minus 30 and Counting

The countdown has begun. The Chicago Marathon is a mere 30 days away. Time to put in two more long training runs -- a 14 miler and a 20 miler -- and then it's taper time. It's also time to pay better attention to my diet, which has been up and down of late.

In honor of the 30th running of the Chicago Marathon, the event's official Web site is sponsoring a feature titled "30 Runners in 30 Days." From now until race day, the site will profile a different participant in this year's race. Today's spotlight is on country music artist Jo Dee Messina, who'll sing the national anthem before joining the field for the 26.2 mile run through the Windy City.

Summer of Runnin'

Summer is a time for rest and relaxation. For me, the summer of 2007 was a summer of runnin' and racin'. In early June, I decided to see if I could compete in at least one road race per week for the entire summer -- from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

This crazy quest began at the Bare Bones 5K in Salisbury on Memorial Day weekend and ended this morning at the Cancer Services Labor Day 5K in Gastonia. During the 15 weekends, beginning May 26 and ending Sept. 3, I ran 19 total races in three states, in 14 North Carolina cities, in 12 North Carolina counties. The races included one mile run, 13 5Ks, one 8K, two 10Ks, one marathon and one sprint triathlon, and at some point during the streak, I set a new personal best in each distance.

I may have taken this challenge a bit too far because in some weeks, running more than one race in a single week and, on one occasion, more than one race in a single day. Early on during the streak, I ran two night-day double-headers -- traveling for a nighttime race on a Friday then returning for a morning race on Saturday. I did this during back-to-back weeks in June. Once during the streak (June 30), I ran a true double-header -- a 10K in Greensboro in the morning and a 5K in the small town of Oakboro that evening.

The streak nearly came to an end about halfway through. I had trouble finding a race during the weekend of Aug. 3, and I seriously considered not running in the Beat the Heat 5K in Winston-Salem on July 21. At the last minute, I decided to go do the race, and the following week I found a race for the weekend of Aug. 3 -- the Draper Mile in Blacksburg, Va.

In thinking back over the streak, each race brings back special memories, but the one that stands out the most is this morning's Cancer Services 5K in Gastonia -- and not just because it was the last race in the streak. At this morning's run, I got to share the experience with my longtime friend Eric, who was competing in this first race of any distance. I think it's safe to say the race exceeded his expectations.

When Eric kicked in the afterburners in the final stretch of the race, a spectator yelled, "Look at him go!" Eric cruised to a strong time of 26:42 in his first 5K. I think he caught the racing bug this morning so look out for him in the future.

As for me, I can say I've definitely become a race junkie. I don't know what kind of quirky challenge I'll come up with next. It will be weird not doing a race next weekend. After all, I already have races planned for the 15th, 23rd and 30th of September. And then the Chicago Marathon is the following week on Oct. 7. I might just have to find a race next weekend to keep the streak going just a bit longer.

Following is a summary of the races completed in the "Summer of Runnin'"

• Sat., May 26, Bare Bones 5K, Salisbury, N.C., 21:32 (New 5K PR, Placed 2nd in age group)
  
• Sat., June 2, Sunburst Marathon, South Bend, Ind., 3:54:46 (New marathon PR)
  
• Sat., June 9, Race for the Cure 5K, Raleigh, N.C., 25:26
• Fri., June 15, Tour de Kale 5K Night Run, Denton, N.C., 23:57
• Sat., June 16, St. Francis of Assisi Run for Peace 5K, Raleigh, N.C., 24:55
• Fri., June 22, China Grove 5K Main Street Challenge, China Grove, N.C., 22:49
• Sat., June 23, Law Enforcement 5K Torch Run for Special Olympics, Selma, N.C., 22:27 (Placed 1st in age group)
  
• Sat., June 30, Freedom Run 10K, Greensboro, N.C., 53:23
• Sat., June 30, Freedom Run 5K, Oakboro, N.C., 22:28 (Placed 3rd in age group)
  
• Wed., July 4, Kernersville Rotary July 4 5K, Kernersville, N.C., 23:08
  
• Sat., July 7, 2007, Tri-Span 10K, Wilmington, N.C., 50:53 (New PR in 10K)
  
• Sat., July 14, Paul Hale Memorial 5K Run, Raleigh, N.C., 24:20
  
• Sat., July 21, Beat the Heat 5K, Winston-Salem, N.C., 23:14
  
• Sat., July 28, Mission Man Triathlon, Burlington, N.C., 1:41:13 (Swim: 15:01; T1: 2:40; Bike: 57:43; T2: :48; Run: 25:02) New PR in Sprint Triathlon
  
• Fri., Aug. 3, The Draper Mile, Blacksburg, Va., 5:58
  
• Sat., Aug. 11, Hoppin' Fun Superhero Run 5K, Greensboro, N.C., 24:48
  
• Sat., Aug. 18, Ramble Trail 8K, Troy, N.C., 39:09 (First trail race, PR in 8K, placed 2nd in age group)
  
• Sat., Aug. 25, Run with Lions 5K, Oxford, N.C., 23:01 (Placed 2nd in age group)
  
• Mon., Sept. 3, Cancer Services Labor Day 5K, Gastonia, N.C., 26:45
  

No Rest for the Wounded

Despite the lingering soreness from yesterday's fall in the Ramble Trail 8K, I had to get out the door this morning for my weekly long run. With the Chicago Marathon seven weeks away, I'm entering the peak portion of my training program in which the distances of my weekly long runs build to the 20-mile mark. This morning, I went 16.1 miles in 2 hours, 45 minutes for an average pace of 10:14 per mile. In two weeks, I'll go 18 miles. In four I'll go 20. Then it's a three-week taper before heading to the Windy City.

Ramble Trail 8K Race Report

Prior to the start of this morning's Ramble Trail 8K in Troy, N.C., race director Tim Long offered a few words of advice for the trail running novices like myself. "Road runners be sure to pick your feet up a bit more than you're accustomed to, or you might fall."

This being my first trail race, I heeded Long's advice...but still fell. Hard. It could have been worse, however. After stumbling and losing my balance earlier, I nearly face planted in some gravel before catching myself. That would have been bad.

After thinking, 'OK. That's my close call with the fall," it happened about a half mile later and about halfway into the race -- I fell on a stretch of uneven, rocky and rooted terrain. I suffered a nasty gash on my palm, some scrapes on my knees, a swollen right knee and a bruised ego. After all, why did I have to fall while running alongside Sara Neumann, an attractive young lady from Charlotte who had befriended with some words of encouragement just before the fall? Oh well. Nothing hurt but my pride.

I'm proud to say, however, that despite the fall, I brushed myself off, pulled myself back together and rambled to the finish with a personal best 8K time of 39 minutes, 9 seconds, good enough for seventh overall and second in my age group. Following the race, a fellow runner who must have witnessed "the fall" approached me and said, "Good recovery." Those words pretty much summed the race up. As the ancient Chinese proverb says, "Failure is not falling down, but refusing to get up."

Complete Results: 2007 Ramble Trail 8K

The Longest Mile

Driving four hours and 233.5 miles one way is a long way to go just to run a mile. But that's exactly what I did on Friday when I made the trip from Raleigh, N.C., to Blacksburg, Va. for the 26th annual Draper Mile road race.

Crazy? Probably so, but having run at least one road race per weekend since Memorial Day, I needed to find a race to keep my streak alive. There were a couple races closer by on Saturday, but obligations during the day would prevent me from running those. The Draper Mile was only other option I found.

I set out for Blacksburg around 7 a.m. and arrived just before 11 a.m. for the 6:40 p.m. race. So what did I do all the time before the race? The Draper Mile is actually part of the annual Steppin' Out arts and crafts street festival held every summer in downtown Blacksburg. So I spent the day checking out the vendors, listening to some music by area musicians and strolling around the campus of Virginia Tech.

While visiting the town and campus, I could not help but think back to the tragic events that took place there just four months before. I had the sense that the community, while trying to move forward, is still healing from the tragedy, and that an event like the Steppin' Out festival aided in that process by bringing people from the community together.

That reflective, yet forward-looking attitude was on display in the message "We are Virginia Tech" or "We are the Hokies: We Will Prevail" that appeared on signs, in storefronts and on T-shirts throughout the town. During the festival, the Lyric, downtown Blacksburg restored, 1930s era movie theater, showed a slideshow of the events of April 16, 2007.

On campus, a memorial to the 32 victims who died in the shootings that day is still present on the campus Drillfield in front of the main administrative building, just a short distance from Norris Hall, where the incident occurred. Thirty-two stones -- each marked with the name of a victim -- were arranged in a semi-circle. Flowers, Virginia Tech flags and other items left for the victims rested among the stones. A placard among the memorial indicated the university administration's plans to erect a permanent memorial to the victims on campus in the near future.

After seeing the memorial and reflecting on the tragedy, running was, in a way, therapeutic. How blessed I am to experience life when these lives were tragically cut short. How blessed I am with the ability to run when there are many who can't. I decided just before the start of the Draper Mile to run the race all out and treat it as a time trial of sorts. I could push it hard for a mile, I told myself.

Aided, no doubt, by a downhill course, I posted my fastest ever recorded mile time, finishing in just under six minutes with a time of 5 minutes, 58 seconds. Then I made the trip back to Raleigh.

Eight hours and more than 467 miles was a long way to travel for a 5 minute, 58 second run of just one mile, but it was worth every minute.

Crazy Eights

I've been rolling up the miles in June, both on foot and in the car, as I've criss-crossed the state participating in various road races. Starting with the Sunburst Marathon in South Bend, Ind., on June 2, and ending this evening with my second race of the day in Oakboro, N.C., I've completed eight, count 'em eight, running events this month. I've become a race junkie!

By scouring running calendars on the Internet and getting creative with my schedule, I was able to run at least one race on each of the five weekends in June. The past three weekends have included multiple races with a pair of Friday night/Saturday morning race doubleheaders and today's double-dip with a morning 10K and evening 5K. Along the way I've met some friendly people in the running fraternity in quaint North Carolina towns like Denton, China Grove and Oakboro.

Eight races in a single month may seem a bit extreme, but with two races already on the schedule this coming week, it looks like I'm going to continue to feed this addiction in July.

Following is a summary of my "Crazy Eight" races in June

• Sat., June 2, Sunburst Marathon, South Bend, Ind., 3:54:46
• Sat., June 9, Race for the Cure 5K, Raleigh, N.C., 25:26
• Fri., June 15, Tour de Kale 5K Night Run, Denton, N.C., 23:57
• Sat., June 16, St. Francis of Assisi Run for Peace 5K, Raleigh, N.C., 24:55
• Fri., June 22, China Grove 5K Main Street Challenge, China Grove, N.C., 22:49
• Sat., June 23, Law Enforcement 5K Torch Run for Special Olympics, Selma, N.C., 22:27
• Sat., June 30, Freedom Run 10K, Greensboro, N.C., 53:23
• Sat., June 30, Freedom Run 5K, Oakboro, N.C., 22:28

One down

One down, one to go in my attempt to run races on back-to-back days this weekend. Following the two-hour drive from Denton, I arrived home in Raleigh from the Tour de Kale 5K around 11:15 p.m. I finished in 23 minutes, 57 seconds. I'll have a longer report later this weekend. Now though, I'm off to bed because in about eight hours I'll toe the line to run the second half of this weekend stunt at the inaugural St. Francis of Assisi Run for Peace 5K here in Raleigh.

Back-to-Back, Back-to-Back

As much as I enjoy participating in various road races, I've reached a point in my running life where I'm looking for quirky races or something interesting to add some spice to my experiences. Like New Year's Day when I ran two races in one day, just a few hours apart. Well, over the past few days, I've created another running stunt that I'm calling "Back-to-Back, Back-to-Back." That means running races on back-to-back days on back-to-back weekends. Here's how it came about.

I had already planned on running in the inaugural St. Francis of Assisi Run for Peace this Saturday in Raleigh. I had also planned on running the Law Enforcement Torch Run next Saturday morning in Selma. But while perusing various running calendars for additional races this summer, I came across two Friday night 5Ks this weekend and next. Then I got to thinking.....why not just do them all?

So my plan is to drive to Denton, N.C., tonight to participate in the Tour de Kale 5K, drive back to Raleigh and run in the St. Francis of Assisi 5K tomorrow morning. Then next weekend, drive to China Grove after work next Friday to run in the China Grove 5K Main Street Challenge, then drive back and run in the Law Enforcement Torch Run 5K next Saturday morning in Selma.

That's a lot of driving just to run and pull off this crazy stunt, but it will certainly make for a memorable experience.

Roger and Me

Runners are a friendly bunch, and share a kindred spirit with one another. One of the highlights of doing road races is meeting and conversing with fellow runners at these events, be it a local 5K or a marathon several states away. During last weekend's Sunburst Marathon, I had the pleasure of meeting a nice gentleman from England named Roger Biggs, a humble man closing in on a tremendous accomplishment.

I ran alongside Roger for about a mile, beginning around the 9-mile marker. After exchanging pleasantries, our conversation turned to typical runner talk related to the course, goals for the day and other races we'd done. Turns out Roger is the chairman of the 100 Marathon Club in the U.K. and had completed a whopping 404 marathons. That wasn't a typo -- four hundred and four marathons.

Of his 400 marathons, Roger had run one on all seven continents (including Antarctica), and he is attempting to become the first person from Great Britain to run a marathon in all 50 states while living in his native England. Based on his research, Roger said other Brits had completed the 50 state marathon quest, but those individuals had lived in the U.S. during parts or all of their quest.

Roger said he simply uses many of his holidays to come to the United States and do races, sometimes doing a marathon in one state during one weekend and then traveling to another state to do another race the next weekend. Other times, he takes a long weekend, jets to the U.S., runs a race and jets back.

Roger had 44 different states down on his list (I'm assuming the Sunburst in Indiana made 45), and he said he plans to finish his 50 state quest at the Honolulu Marathon in Hawaii this December. I enjoyed sharing a mile with Roger on his journey, and I wish him well the rest of the way.

Back in the Saddle

Following four days of recovery, I went on my first post-marathon run at lunchtime today, an easy 2-miler at around a 10-minute per mile pace. It felt good to get my legs back under me. Now I need to get my diet back on track. I've been partaking in some post-marathon indulgences this week in the form of pizza and ice cream.

Sunburst Marathon Race Report

Outlined against a sunny, blue June sky, a marathoner ran again. In dramatic lore, his name is Phidippides. This is only his alias. His real name is Austin. He formed the crest of a South Bend cyclone which swept through the streets of that Indiana city on Saturday morning with 500 other runners to set a new personal best at the 2007 Sunburst Marathon.

OK, so it wasn't that dramatic, but venturing to what is arguably the epicenter of college football history for my sixth marathon, I couldn't help but channel my inner Grantland Rice in recounting my experience at the Sunburst race. It was Rice who penned what is considered the most famous piece of sportswriting prose (and the source of my parody above) when he dubbed the Notre Dame backfield quartet of Harry Stuhldreher, Jim Crowrey, Don Miller and Elmer Layden as "The Four Horsemen" in his account of the Fighting Irish's 13-7 victory over Army on Oct. 18, 1924.

But in the land where the legends of Fighting Irish figures like the Horsemen, Knute Rockne, George Gipp, Paul Hornung, Ara Parseghian, Tim Brown, Lou Holtz, and yes, even "Rudy" Ruettiger grow larger each autumn, and in the shadows of famous Notre Dame landmarks such as the Golden Dome, "Touchdown Jesus" and Notre Dame Stadium, I added my own memorable moment by setting a new personal marathon best in the Sunburst race, finishing in 3 hours, 54 minutes, and 46 seconds.

The race is more than a marathon. In fact, it's a town-wide running festival with a marathon, half marathon, 10K run, 5K run and 5K walk. Although there were only 525 runners in the marathon, the race was a nice break from the mega-marathons I've participated in that draw tens of thousands of runners. The entire event from the packet pick-up to the conclusion had a festive atmosphere. There weren't a lot of spectators lining the course but the ones who were out, as well as the volunteers staffing the water and aid stations were very enthusiastic.

The Sunburst Marathon is billed as a route from "the Hall of Fame to Notre Dame." The race started on the street in front of the College Football Hall of Fame in downtown South Bend, Indiana, traveled through several neighborhoods, in some of the local parks, on portions of the greenway trail and along the town's river walk before a climactic finish on the 50-yard-line inside Notre Dame stadium.

The marathon got under way at 6 a.m. and based on my early mile splits, I thought I might shatter my pervious marathon best. I consistently registered mile times under 8 minutes, 30 seconds for the first half of the race, crossing the halfway point in 1 hour, 49 minutes -- which would have been a new personal half marathon best.

As the sun rose in the morning sky, however, so did the temperature, the humidity and my mile times. By mile 19, my split times were up to more than 9 minutes per mile. They were more than 10 minutes by mile 22, and more than 11 minutes by mile 25. My legs were throbbing, but I kept plodding along, putting one foot in front of the other.

I passed the 26-mile marker with Touchdown Jesus looking down and entered the stadium for the final stretch run to the finish. With the Notre Dame Victory March fight song emanating from some loudspeakers, I felt like Rudy or one of the other members of the Fighting Irish sprinting from the locker room to the field on game day. With each step the darkness of the tunnel gave way to the sunlight shining down on the field in the expansive stadium.

Running up the far sideline, I counted down, well up actually, the distance to the finish.

He's at the 10...the 20...the 30...the 40...the 50....TOUCHDOWN AUSTIN!

Crossing the finish line actually did feel as if I'd scored a touchdown, so I struck my best Heisman Trophy pose right there at midfield.

With my official time of 3:54:46, I eclipsed my previous marathon best of 3 hours, 58, minutes, 11 seconds, by 3 minutes, 25 seconds. I placed 154th out of 525 overall, 127th out of 374 among all the male competitors and 20th out of 46 in my age group of 30-34 year old males. With the finish, Indiana became the sixth state to get checked off my list to run a marathon in all 50 states.

I guess you could say, I ran this one for the Gipper.

Race of Grace Race Report

I hadn't heard of the Race of Grace 5K until my friend Steve Worley called me late last week and asked me if I were planning on running it. Despite coming off a 17-mile marathon training run on Saturday, I figured what the heck, and decided to run this afternoon's Race of Grace, sponsored by Edenton Street United Methodist Church.

I met up with Steve and Brad Broyles, another local runner I met through Steve, before the race. The out-and-back 3.1-mile course started on West Edenton Street in downtown Raleigh, merged with Hillsborough Street, which took us in front of NC State University for the turnaround before heading back to the church. Various bands lined the course providing a mix of encouraging praise and worship music, making this 5K reminiscent of some of the musical marathons I've done in the past. I particularly enjoyed the group that played the handbell rendition of title theme from the movie Chariots of Fire theme. (I'd be surprised if you've never heard this theme since it's now parodied in just about anything related to running, but just in case you haven't, here's a sample audio clip.

It was a beautiful spring day for a run, but with temperatures hovering near 80 degrees, it was a bit warmer weather than I like to run in. Since I was coming off the long training run on Saturday, I hadn't planned on running for speed, but the race atmosphere got the best of me. Although I didn't anticipate doing so, I finished with a personal-best 5K time of 22 minutes, 39 seconds, eclipsing my previous 5K best of 23:09 that I set on Jan. 1 of this year by 30 seconds. Steve finished just over 25 seconds, and Brad -- who ran Saturday's Country Music Marathon in Nashville, Tenn., then flew back to Raleigh in time to run the Race of Grace -- finished in 31 minutes.

The Race of Grace is a well-organized event, plus the crowd support and entertainment provided by the bands before and during the race gives it the feel of a bigger event. Plus, it's for a good cause with the proceeds going to urban ministries and other groups that address social issues such as homelessness, healthcare and hunger. Although this year was only the fourth running of the event, someone said it's quietly become one of the larger races in Raleigh. Judging by the turnout today, I believe it. I'm surprised I hadn't heard of it before this year, but it's a race I'll definitely try to add to my race calendar in the future.

Barely Made It

This morning I saw a note on the Cool Running Web site that indicated the 2007 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon, scheduled for October, had already reached 40,000 entrants. Since Chicago was one of the key races I had circled on the calendar for 2007, I stopped procrastinating and signed up. It's a good thing I did because by 2:47 p.m. this afternoon the race had reached it's capacity of 45,000 entrants. Looks like I was one of the last one's in.

Confirmed: Cary Road Race Was Indeed Short

A message on the results page for this past weekend's 5K and 10K events as part of the Cary Road Race confirmed what the runners thought afterwards -- the course was indeed short. The following note was published along with the results.

"Timer's Note: According to Neville Wood, the state certifier and the man who measured the Cary Road Race courses, the runners in both races ran a short course. Neville should know since he ran both races."

Cary Road Race Report

Of all the road races I've particpated in since taking up running five years ago, I had never competed in an event at the 10K (6.2 mile) distance. And apparently, even after running this morning's Cary Road Race I still haven't participated in a 10K.

Although the advertised distance for the race was 10K, the buzz among just about all the runners I talked to afterwards was that the course was short, perhaps by as much as a half mile or more. That's surprising since this was, after all, the 29th annual running of this event.

I knew something was amiss while tracking my mile splits on the course. My split at mile two read 6 minutes, 47 minutes. I've never sniffed a sub 7-minute mile in my life. The best mile split I've ever run in a race was 7:15, but according to my finishing time of 45 minutes, 6 seconds this morning's, ahem, 10K, I averaged 7:15 minutes per mile for the race. No way that happened.

My friend Steve Worley, who I ran with for a bit, said his finishing time was seven minutes faster than his personal 10K best. We talked to three guys who ran with Garmin Forerunner watches and each of their GPS trackers registered different distances for the course. One read 5.7 miles, another 5.8 and the the third 6.1 miles. Still short by any measure. Another guy we spoke with said a race official told him that the course was indeed short, but didn't say by how much.

Since the course was a double loop, I'm guessing the distance error was somewhere between mile one and two, which was a turnaround point on the course. Perhaps course officials didn't mark the turnaround point far enough out. I'm pretty certain this is where the course was short because this is where my megafast mile occured. My second time through my split at this point was even faster than the first -- 5 minutes, 58 seconds. There's just no way I ran a sub 7-minute mile much less a sub-6! All my other mile splits seemed pretty accurate based on my running history, pace and ability.

Despite the apparent inaccuracies on the course, I still had a good time at the Cary Road Race, and that's the main thing. The distance error won't keep me from doing the race again next year, when hopefully the 10K really is a 10K. In the meantime, however, I still need to find me a real 10K to run.

February Monthly Mileage Checkin

I logged 145.9 miles in February, bringing my total mileage this year to 246.5 after the first two months of 2007.