Run, Théoden, Run

New York? Again? Just my luck.

2011-11-08T19:00:00.002-05:00

I'm probably not the luckiest man on the planet, but as the New York City Marathon lottery goes, I've got a pretty good batting average.

First year I applied, boom. In. Ran NYC 2009 as my first 26.2. Second year I applied, no dice. Was just trying to rack up the rejections, anyway, so I could do it again in 2013. But I applied again this past year, and -- boom -- my number came up again.

So I'm standing there Sunday on the base of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, Staten Island side, surrounded by thousands of other runners from all over the world. There's an NYPD helicopter circling above, and a TV news chopper, and a couple of single-engine planes dragging banners, and another helicopter, and I get this lump in my throat and I think to myself: I can't believe I'm fortunate enough to be able to do this race. Again.

Then New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg addressed the masses over the P.A. system, a woman sang "The Star Spangled Banner," the cannons fired, and Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York" rang out as we started heading up the two-mile-long bridge.

Going into the race, I wasn't completely sure what was realistic. In 2009, I ran Charlotte's Thunder Road Marathon just five weeks after NYC, and last year, I did Thunder Road six weeks after the Ridge to Bridge Marathon in western North Carolina. This time, though, I had booked a date with the Big Apple just 15 days after the 2011 Ridge to Bridge race, in which I ran as hard as I could and posted a 3:13.

I did tell many people that I was doing this one for "fun," that it wasn't a race but an experience to soak up. So I figured somewhere in the neighborhood of 3:30-3:40 was a nice, safe goal for the notoriously challenging course in New York. But as many of you competitive types probably know, the temptation to "go for it" can sometimes be overwhelming.

The week of the race, I had successfully convinced myself and my coach that my legs were feeling great, and we agreed that I could try to run 7:45s, which would get me in under 3:25 -- a great time for a runner like me on a course like this. The day before the race, though, as she and I were walking in midtown on the way to catch the shuttle to the expo, she suddenly said, "So I was thinking that maybe you should run 8s for the first half, and then if your legs feel good at that point, you can start to turn it up a little bit and see what happens." This sounded like a good idea ... until I got to the starting line, and greed started seeping into my psyche.

I ignored the cardinal rule of marathoning: You don't ever, ever, ever, ever, EVER take the distance for granted. Things can turn in an instant. One moment you feel like you're in complete control, the next moment your race is spinning out of it. (Just ask Mary Keitany.)

My fastest mile of the race was the second, a 7:38 coming down the mile-long, 225-foot plunge on the far side of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. My fastest mile of the second half was the 18th, a 7:52 along First Avenue in Manhattan, which typically draws the biggest and loudest crowds of the entire race -- at times 6 to 8 people deep for more than a mile on the west side of the street.

This is ironic because I had spent weeks, months even, warning friends of mine who also were running that those were the two spots where they most needed to keep themselves in check.

My race was by no means a disaster. My slowest mile was No. 24, a 9:01 coming up the long incline on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, alongside Central Park, where two-thirds of the runners around me seemed to also be running in slow motion. I soldiered through, without walking, on not-fully-recovered legs, on a course that does everything it can to chew you up and spit you out. (Those bridges were steeper and longer than I remember them, and the climb up Fifth Avenue is agonizing.)

After I ran New York two years ago, I wrote a recap that started slowly and was WAY too long -- but I also really feel it captured the experience of running the race about as well as I could have captured it.

That blog entry provided a lot of specifics about the unique qualities of the various areas that the course runs through. This time, I'll just make a blanket statement: To me, Marathon Day in New York is a day that's full of so much hope. Runners hope to get a PR. They hope to spot someone they know in the crowd. Friends and family members hope their runners see the sign they've made for them. Children hope they can get a runner to give them a high five.

Race officials estimate that 2 million spectators line the course every year. Maybe that's a wildly inaccurate guess. And, sure, tons the fans have a vested interest in the event (i.e. are out there to support someone running). But I think there are lots of people, especially in Brooklyn and Queens and the Bronx, who just come out because it's fun to cheer. It's fun to gawk. It's fun if you're, say, Italian, or Japanese, or Ethiopian, to go bananas when you see someone running past flying the country's colors on his or her clothing.

Seeing people who might not otherwise give a hoot about running take time out of their day to be a part of the event in some small way is so awesome, so inspiring, so awe-inspiring.

Purely from a numbers standpoint, I did OK on Sunday. I ran a 3:35:54 -- 1:44:07 for the first half, 1:51:47 for the second half. Not great, not a complete meltdown. These are numbers, though, and as much as I love numbers, this weekend was about the power and the pleasure of bonding experiences.

One of the many unique aspects of this event is that unless you have remarkably fast or charitable friends, you can't just say to your spouse or your brother or your neighbor or your college roommate, "Hey, let's go run the New York City Marathon." Your number comes up, you do the detective work to find out who else's number has come up, then social plans begin to formulate. After spending a night with a couple who lives in New York but wasn't running the race, I shared a room Saturday and Sunday with a guy I barely knew before the trip and now would consider a good friend. I had a great dinner with some Charlotte Running Club members on Friday night, a fun lunch with my coach and her sister on Saturday, and a delicious feast with friends from the University City Road Runners group I belong to on Saturday night. Each crew was a motley one, many of us thrown together by chance -- but I couldn't have asked for better companions.

Now, as fantastic as the entire experience was ... this time around, the inconveniences stood out a little bit more. New York is, of course, expensive; my hotel room was -- after taxes -- more than $900 for two nights. Manhattan is a city geared toward walking and standing around waiting in lines, and one of the worst things a marathoner can do the day before a marathon is a lot of walking and standing around waiting in lines.

Race morning is a long ordeal that involves walking, then a subway ride, more walking, then a ferry ride, more walking, then a bus ride, more walking, then a whole lot of standing around. You could get a ride from someone across the bridge, but the Staten Island Expressway must be cleared by 6:45 a.m., so if you go that route, you're in for three-plus hours of waiting around in the start village.

The course is very crowded. There were 42,000+ runners when I did it in 2009, and 47,000+ this past Sunday. They're sent off in three waves so it's really kind of like three races with 15,000-16,000 runners in each, but it's still a ginormous number of runners. Worse, occasionally fans, locals, or cops will try to cross the street.

After finishing, it's a long, cold march to the baggage trucks containing your warm clothes and your cellphone. It's a virtual certainty that you won't see a friend or loved one for at least 20 to 30 minutes after you cross the finish line, at a time when a hug would feel like the greatest thing in the world.

The whole thing sounds pretty awful, doesn't it? Well, go ahead and be scared. If you don't enter the lottery next year, the chances of my number coming up again only get better.

Nope, I'm not disappointed with a 3:13!

2011-10-22T19:33:00.004-04:00

I didn't really come very close to qualifying for the Boston Marathon today.

I mean, I wasn't way off. Missing by 3.5 minutes is much closer than missing by 35 minutes ... but it's still 3.5 minutes. It's not 3.5 seconds.

You might ask me (and some have): "Are you disappointed?" And the answer is: Maybe a little bit. Mostly, in truth, because I wanted so badly to hit the mark to honor my coach, who has been molding me and pushing me and prodding me as an athlete for the past several months.

But don't ask me whether I'm disappointed. Ask me whether I am totally and utterly psyched. And the answer is: absolutely. Positively.

Almost exactly two years ago, I ran a 3:49 in my first marathon. My progression since has been 3:42, 3:49, 3:43, 3:26, 3:28, 3:20, 3:46. So this is a huge, earth-shattering breakthrough for me -- a 7-minute marathon PR and a full 13 minutes faster than my time on the same course one year ago.

I ran a 3:13:26 at the Ridge to Bridge Marathon this morning, and here -- in lieu of a more traditional race report -- are the things that stand out to me about after this experience.

1. 26.2 miles is a loooong #$&@ing way. I usually manage to forget this fact about 24-48 hours after I run a marathon; there's no other way to explain why I keep signing up for these things. I got to Mile 18 today and my head almost fell off of my body when a quick check of the math revealed that I still was going to have to run for another hour at my then-current pace. The early miles fly by like they're nothing, but I would describe the perceived distance between Miles 22 and 23 to be about six miles. It's just a long race.

2. A downhill marathon does not mean an "easy" marathon. I picked this race -- which starts in the tiny town of Jonas Ridge and drops down into the Pisgah National Forest before winding its way to Brown Mountain Beach Resort -- because as many of you know it features almost 3,000 feet of descent. Here's the thing: The bulk of the downhill is set between Miles 6 and 13.5. There are two significant uphills within that stretch. The five-plus miles that precede the downhill are wildly rolling. The final 12 or 13 miles are often flat, but have several gradual inclines. The truth of the matter is, the first half of Ridge to Bridge is quite easy. I think my 13.1 split was 1:34-something, and I could have gone faster. On its own, the second half can best be described as easy to moderate. The challenge, though, is managing the three parts of the course so that they all balance each other out and produce a solid time. It's all about tactics. If you hit the first section too hard, you'll pay for it later. If you hit the downhill too hard, you'll pay for it later. If you are too conservative in either spot ... you might pay for it later. People who've never done Ridge to Bridge can easily look at the elevation chart and go, "Well, I could run a huge PR there, too." And they might. They might also crash every bit as hard as I saw many runners crashing out there today. It's fast if you run it correctly. But ask any R2B vet, and I guarantee you they'll say the course is far tougher than it appears to be on paper.

3. I had a game plan, I went for it, I just came up a little short. So my strategy was to go out slowly, warm up through the rolling hills without getting down to goal pace, then hit the downhill section hard -- without killing it. At the bottom, I planned to try to maintain at or just below goal pace through 23, then I had built a gradual slowdown through the last 3.2 that would still get me to 3:09:30. Everything went according to plan until late in the game. Rolling section up top: 7:46, 7:34, 7:23, 7:27, 7:25, 7:28. Downhill section: 6:58, 6:59, 7:01, 7:12, 6:57, 7:05, 7:10, 7:01. Bottom section: 7:24, 7:15, 7:13, 7:14... Between 18 and 19, I felt a ripple through my right calf muscle that had me backing off just slightly. At this point, I felt like I was still in good shape. 7:23 for Mile 19. And then things started to slowly unravel. The pounding from the downhill was taking its toll, although aerobically I felt good and I still had energy (i.e. I wasn't feeling a bonk coming on). 7:46 for Mile 20. I tried to push through and managed one more halfway-decent mile -- 7:28 for No. 21 -- but then my calf seized up in Mile 22, so I had to back off and clicked an 8:04. The rest is history, or, if you need numbers, 7:53, 8:14, 8:11. About 50 yards from the finish, my hamstring locked up completely and I had to stop to rub it out, but I pulled it together enough to run it in without looking wobbly.

4. When the margin for error is small, one false move can cost you. I knew I'd be cutting it close. I was in shape for a sub-3:10 attempt. I was not in shape for a sub-3:05 attempt. So it wasn't a case where I could shoot for the moon and then just land among the stars if I missed. Everything had to go perfectly. And one thing didn't. For some reason I can't explain, I took only water at aid stations through 18 miles. When I got the first hints of cramping, I knew immediately that I should have been taking some Gatorade throughout the morning. I'm no sports medicine doctor, but I do know that the most common belief is that we will experience muscle cramps if we run low on electrolytes. I was low on electrolytes. I think I was suffering enough in the late-going that I still likely would have missed my mark; by my unscientific estimates, the cramps cost me a minute or two tops. We'll never know.

5. I toughed it out, though, and I got my toughness from Kelly Fillnow. I think a year ago, I would have bagged the race at Mile 22 and figured out a way to salvage a 3:20 by taking some walk breaks and coming up with excuses in my head. Instead, I busted my rear end to try to stay on task as much as possible because my coach said to me the day before: "You can endure so much more pain than you think you can." I wanted to test the theory. She also told me to use mantras to focus myself, and I did, and they worked. On the downhill, it was "Lean into it; don't brake. Lean into it; don't brake." In the final miles, it was "Stay within yourself. Stay within yourself." I am proud that I was able to manage the cramps as best I could by slightly changing my cadence and leg lift, applying just enough gas to keep me moving at an OK clip without rising into the red zone and locking up a muscle. I knew I was not going to hit my goal by Mile 23, which in the past would provided me with an excuse to give up. Instead, I kept hammering as hard as I could hammer. It hurt. But I discovered that Kelly is right: I can take a lot more than I thought I could.

6. It's great to have a goal, but it's even more gratifying to have great people to help you work toward it. I mentioned this on Facebook, but I am just so thankful to have had the love and support of my wife and daughter through an intense training period, and to have had Kelly there to push me. I self-"coached" myself to a 3:20 in March 2011, just 16 months after my 3:49 debut. But I knew going from 3:20 to 3:10 -- a mark that fewer than 1 in 12 marathoners will ever get to -- was going to take more motivation and effort than I was used to. It's kind of like what they say about losing weight: "The last 10 pounds are the hardest." Anyway, as many of you know, Kelly kicked my butt this summer. I ran more quality miles than ever, did more workouts and speedwork than ever, more core, more strength, more swimming. I got through the training plan without a single injury, without a single injury scare. So this run was for her, and for my wife and daughter.

7. You've gotta celebrate the small victories. A Boston qualifying time, of course, was the big goal (sub-3:10 for me). But there are still plenty of positive takeaways, not the least of which is the substantial PR. Perhaps the statistic that makes me smile the most: Nineteen of my mile split times today were faster than my fastest split in the same marathon last year. Oh, and I finished 24th overall out of more than 300 runners. Also, if you look at my result another way, it shows that I missed a BQ by just six seconds per mile -- which makes it sound like I came a lot closer than I actually did!

8. Ridge to Bridge is an amazing event. Mind-blowingly good. This is a small race that gets all the big things right. Exceptional organization. A beautiful and challenging course, one that can bring you a big PR if you play your cards right. Pristine weather both times I've run it, with amazing fall colors and breathtaking vistas. The best post-race food spread I've ever tasted. Halloween candy and throwaway gloves in your welcome bag. Heated luxury coach buses to take you to the start (you can sit in them right up till a few minutes before the gun goes off). It attracts the friendliest runners you can possibly imagine. There's acold river to soak your legs in at the finish. A race director who knows you by name. A truck that brings discarded clothing to the finish area so you can get it back if you wanted it. Great volunteers. Nice medals. Marathon experiences do not get any better.

So that's it. No. 9 is in the books. Marathon No. 10 is two weeks from Sunday. I'll write again, after New York...

Chat live with a sports medicine expert

2011-10-13T14:47:00.002-04:00

Just a quick heads-up about something cool Presbyterian Healthcare is offering from 5-6 p.m. TODAY. Dr. Keith Anderson, sports medicine expert, will chat live with folks on the Presbyterian Healthcare Facebook page.

Fresh off a trip to Kona, Hawaii, where he served on the medical team for the Ironman World Championship, Dr. Anderson will answer questions about distance running, including topics such as nutrition, hydration, mileage progression and injury prevention/treatment.

It’s free to participate, though Presbyterian is asking people to register in advance by clicking on this link.

Area finishers at the Chicago Marathon

2011-10-10T18:19:00.006-04:00

One hundred seventy-two Charlotte-area residents are probably a little sore this evening. OK, maybe a lot sore. But they all can say they finished the Chicago Marathon on a day when abundant sunshine and temperatures that climbed into the upper 70s took their toll on runners.

The fastest Charlottean was David Przybyla, 29, who recently moved here from Lafayette, Ind.; if the warm weather got to him, it didn't show -- he ran a steady pace of just over 9 mph (6:35-6:40 pace) for most of the race. The top area woman was Leslie Gentile of Huntersville; the 27-year-old ran a 3:16:20 and slowed only slightly in the final few miles.

Here's a complete list of finishers. If I missed someone, please let me know and I'll add them. Congratulations to all who ran.

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David Przybyla, Charlotte: 2:53:55
Scott Kennedy, Rock Hill, SC: 2:59:43
Josh Lemke, Charlotte: 3:02:45
Jason Martin, Charlotte: 3:09:13
Tim Friederichs, Charlotte: 3:12:10
Paul Shamansky, Midland: 3:15:10
Leslie Gentile, Huntersville: 3:16:20
Julie Przybyla, Charlotte: 3:19:58
Karin Nentwig, Charlotte: 3:20:04
Mark Ulrich, Charlotte: 3:23:11
Mark McGeough, Huntersville: 3:24:31
David Templeton, Fort Mill, SC: 3:26:14
Stefan Fencl, Fort Mill, SC: 3:27:03
Koine Kinyua, Charlotte: 3:30:31
Sarah McGeough, Huntersville: 3:33:51
Brian Moroz, Charlotte: 3:34:56
Kay Bruegmann, Charlotte: 3:35:30
Sean Anderson, Charlotte: 3:35:49
Margot Brinley, Charlotte: 3:36:43
Westley Webber, Charlotte: 3:36:46
Steven Brown, Indian Trail: 3:38:18
Laura Oberbauer, Charlotte: 3:41:06
Siobhan Grant, Charlotte: 3:43:11
Rhett Benner, Huntersville: 3:44:07
Nicole Smith, Charlotte: 3:45:26
Robert Steere, Waxhaw: 3:47:24
Zoe Brennan, Charlotte: 3:48:01
Kerry Peterson, Charlotte: 3:48:06
Anand Ekambaram, Charlotte: 3:48:21
Mike Sullivan, Charlotte: 3:48:26
Manuel Pimentel, Charlotte: 3:48:50
Shannon Emery, Weddington: 3:52:10
Melissa Johnson, Charlotte: 3:53:29
Joseph Anastasi, Matthews: 3:54:52
Jodi Batista, Stallings: 3:55:23
Daniela Wilburn, Huntersville: 3:56:08
Timothy Vest, Huntersville: 3:56:33
Keri Crews, Charlotte: 3:56:38
Gary Chesson, Charlotte: 3:57:40
Jonathan Rosen, Charlotte: 3:57:58
Jean Hargett, Mooresville: 3:59:12
Erica Joefreda, Rock Hill, SC: 3:59:14
Katherine Earle, Waxhaw: 4:01:00
Katie Harbold, Charlotte: 4:01:50
Christi Cranford, Charlotte: 4:03:57
Marty Albrecht, Concord: 4:03:59
Hazel Tapp, Charlotte: 4:04:07
Scott Sharp, Cornelius: 4:05:00
Anne Ratcliffe, Charlotte: 4:05:35
Diane Derkowski, Charlotte: 4:07:26
Michael Ham, Concord: 4:07:32
Brooke Smith, Charlotte: 4:07:38
Mike Tamberella, Gastonia: 4:08:06
Sarah Ryan, Charlotte: 4:08:29
Mike Schank, Huntersville: 4:09:20
Wade Miller, Charlotte: 4:10:16
Darryl Strack, Harrisburg: 4:10:33
Kristen Backeberg, Lake Wylie, SC: 4:11:18
Pamela Almeida, Charlotte: 4:12:31
Greg Scharff, Matthews: 4:12:40
Michael Adams, Mooresville: 4:12:59
Jason Bria, Charlotte: 4:13:17
Jennifer Challis, Fort Mill, SC: 4:13:17
Joseph Roche, Concord: 4:13:18
Kyle Coates, Charlotte: 4:14:16
Jason Silverstein, Charlotte: 4:14:23
Gautam Oza, Charlotte: 4:14:46
Cliff Jarrett, Charlotte: 4:15:15
Sivakrishna Uppalamethi, Charlotte: 4:16:02
John Bennett, Clover, SC: 4:16:55
Marcia Risi, Davidson: 4:16:56
Peter Wysong, Charlotte: 4:17:16
Craig Novick, Gastonia: 4:18:12
Sara Dumond, Charlotte: 4:19:29
Philamee Bennett, Charlotte: 4:19:49
Daniel Strong, Charlotte: 4:19:55
Andrew Coffey, Charlotte: 4:20:45
Scott Snyder, Charlotte: 4:21:11
Mark Guenther, Charlotte: 4:24:28
John Hasner, Charlotte: 4:25:11
Michael Barilla, Charlotte: 4:25:52
Jay Johnston, Charlotte: 4:26:34
Mary Ann Kennedy, Rock Hill, SC: 4:28:03
Ryan Anthony, Gastonia: 4:28:29
Nikunj Damani, Charlotte: 4:28:29
Toby Holloway, Matthews: 4:28:34
Katy Brown, Charlotte: 4:29:32
Niki Koesel, Charlotte: 4:30:13
Christopher Zagar, Concord: 4:31:33
John Allen, Charlotte: 4:32:48
Elizabeth Westerberg, Charlotte: 4:32:53
Jason Brett, Charlotte: 4:34:43
Heather Enlow Novitsky, Charlotte: 4:34:51
Elsie Briley, Huntersville: 4:35:11
Dominic Salomone, Charlotte: 4:36:38
Shelley Dugas Thomas, Davidson: 4:36:53
Amy Pittenger, Charlotte: 4:37:34
Alex Dolphin, Charlotte: 4:38:12
Alexander Gunn, Davidson: 4:38:42
Emily Knudson, Concord: 4:43:15
Steven Bugica, Charlotte: 4:44:47
David Hulbert, Charlotte: 4:45:13
Jonathan Czarnecki, Charlotte: 4:46:14
Tom Becker, Waxhaw: 4:47:28
Eugenia Sosa, Charlotte: 4:47:56
Hylton Early, Charlotte: 4:47:57
Sara Vest, Huntersville: 4:48:06
Charles Waikwa, Charlotte: 4:48:43
Christopher Maffucci, Waxhaw: 4:51:44
Andrew Markners, Fort Mill, SC: 4:52:50
Anne Koester, Huntersville: 4:53:38
Matthew Deiger, Charlotte: 4:53:44
Emily Harris, Charlotte: 4:53:55
Brian Adams, Cornelius: 4:55:46
Michael Fink, Cornelius: 4:56:32
Praveen Rathee, Charlotte: 4:56:44
William Linnane, Indian Trail: 4:57:02
Jessica Cohen, Charlotte: 4:57:16
Shawne Carew, Charlotte: 4:58:28
Amanda Vander Haar, Denver: 4:58:36
Hal Keener, Charlotte: 4:58:46
Brendan Beirne, Cornelius: 4:59:40
Gigi McNinch, Charlotte: 4:59:42
Andy Market, Charlotte: 5:00:08
Sandy Campuzano, Mooresville: 5:00:12
Kevin Hofer, Charlotte: 5:00:39
Amheric Hall, Charlotte: 5:01:35
Jennifer Brown, Charlotte: 5:02:24
Evan Wolkofsky, Charlotte: 5:03:39
Stacey Hien, Concord: 5:04:12
Scott Jackson, Charlotte: 5:05:22
Heidi Giffin, Charlotte: 5:06:18
Meredith McCormick, Charlotte: 5:06:18
Jeffrey Frelitz, Charlotte: 5:06:37
Alecia Taylor, Charlotte: 5:07:04
Alison Stanford, Waxhaw: 5:08:43
Lesley Williams, Huntersville: 5:09:12
Bill Miller, Concord: 5:13:29
Mark Burnham, Gastonia: 5:14:34
Gatewood Campbell, Huntersville: 5:14:47
David Smoots, Charlotte: 5:15:12
Kyle Rippey, Charlotte: 5:18:15
Stephanie Poludniak, Charlotte: 5:18:26
Pani Maddi, Charlotte: 5:21:00
William Robinson, Charlotte: 5:21:12
Tracey Scheid, Huntersville: 5:23:34
Dawn Maschhaupt, Charlotte: 5:23:36
Thomas Hornick, Indian Trail: 5:24:56
Quyen Tran, Charlotte: 5:27:03
Stephen Price, Charlotte: 5:27:52
Dana Slagle, Huntersville: 5:28:00
Betsy Myers, Charlotte: 5:28:29
Robert Prestininzi, Fort Mill, SC: 5:30:04
Christopher Otte, Fort Mill, SC: 5:34:45
Laura Reed, Charlotte: 5:38:44
Allen Wyatt, Charlotte: 5:39:56
Melyssa Fleming, Charlotte: 5:42:35
Heather Gerhart, Charlotte: 5:42:58
Sharon McGowan, Cornelius: 5:44:28
Larry Hunt, Charlotte: 5:47:33
Vivek Kumar, Charlotte: 5:52:38
Charles Ellerbe, Charlotte: 5:54:42
Courtney Market, Charlotte: 5:54:58
Michael Shade, Charlotte: 5:57:01
Nathaniel Romance, Charlotte: 5:57:37
Cheryl Emmerich, Charlotte: 6:06:23
Joseph Rinaldi, Matthews: 6:07:49
Martine Kusiak, Huntersville: 6:10:16
Stephanie Yewcic, Huntersville: 6:10:16
Anna Pasterz, Charlotte: 6:20:04
Michelle Wyatt, Charlotte: 6:20:18
Jodie Strong, Charlotte: 6:30:45

You? A cross-country coach? Why not?

2011-09-13T09:49:00.000-04:00

Do you get a lot out of running? Would you like to give something back?

Here's an opportunity: It's called Cross-Country for Youth, a 10-week after-school running program designed to combat childhood obesity and promote character-building among middle schoolers. More than 325 students participate in the five-year-old program run by Reggie McAfee, the first African American to break the four-minute mile barrier.

What does this have to do with you, and with "giving back"? Well, the program -- which is in about 22 Charlotte-Mecklenburg elementary and middle schools and three Mecklenburg Parks -- needs coaches and character presenters.

In addition to practices, held on Mondays and Wednesdays from 4:30 to 6 p.m., student participants will be competing in a series of cross-country meets. The estimated weekly time commitment for coaches is two hours over the 10-week period; all materials and training will be provided, and it's OK to buddy up and coach with a friend.

For details on Cross-Country for Youth, click here. If you are interested, contact McAfee via e-mail (reggie.mcafee1@gmail.com) or phone (704-634-4688) this week -- the program's fifth season is just about to begin.

Inaugural 5K to support Let Me Run

2011-09-12T11:13:00.004-04:00

Fix 4 the Day -- a local "network of people inspiring each other to live a healthier lifestyle by exercising their bodies, minds, and spirits" -- has announced it will sponsor and coordinate a 5K run/walk that will benefit Let Me Run of Charlotte.

The Fix 4 the Day 5K will be held at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 19, at McAlpine Creek Park. The out-and-back course is on a gravel footpath that is 10 to 15 feet wide; there'll be a water station at the 1.7 mile mark. Former Carolina Panthers safety Leonard Wheeler will speak before the race, and plans to hang out afterward. Post-race food and refreshments will be available.

Let Me Run is a non-profit "aimed at strengthening boys in body and spirit," which "use(s) the power of running and lively group activities to equip boys with tools to lead a balanced and fulfilling life.

For more info and to register, click here.

Also: Volunteers are needed to assist boys, and to cheer them on as they run. Anyone interested in helping out can contact volunteer coordinator Kirsten Wrinkle at kwrink@bellsouth.net.

Want to race on Sept. 10? Take your pick

2011-09-02T17:04:00.003-04:00

Lots of Charlotte's fastest runners will be out of town next weekend for the Blue Ridge Relay, so consider one of several races happening next Saturday -- each offers a chance to snag that elusive age-group award before summer ends. Read on for details.

Hog Jog
The Time Warner Cable BBQ & Blues Festival has moved locations to the NC Music Factory for the event’s ninth year. The Charlotte Sports Commission’s Hog Jog has" piggy-backed" that move and will also begin and end at the NC Music Factory. In addition to the change in location, numerous new components will be included this year. The Hog Jog will extend in length to a 10K while partnering with a 5K, the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Run. The overall male, female, and "squealchair" winners of the Hog Jog will receive a prize pack worth $450, including $300 cash, a pair of Adidas sneakers, and a gift certificate from Dick’s Sporting Goods. Once again, the first 200 runners who sign up for the Hog Jog 10K and Finlandia Bloody Mary contest will participate in a tasting competition between five local bars and restaurants. The post-race Piglet Fun Run will take place at approximately 9:30 a.m. and include mascot appearances from Chubby, Norm the 49er, Lug Nut, Monkey Joe, Rex and Bruggie. The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers began in New York City in the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001, to honor firefighter Stephen Siller -- who ran eight miles in full gear from the Battery Tunnel to the Twin Towers that morning. For the 10th anniversary of the tragedy, race managers and the Stephen Siller Foundation decided to extend the race to take place in several U.S. cities, including Charlotte. To register for the Hog Jog 10K ($30 in advance, $35 day-of), the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Run ($25) or the Piglet Fun Run (free), visit www.hogjog.org.

Piedmont HealthCare Historic Mooresville 5K
In addition to the 5K, organizers are hosting a one-mile event. The One Mile Challenge starts at 8 a.m. and offers prize money for the first- ($150), second- ($100) and third-place ($50) men and women. The cost of this race is $10 (no T-shirts for this one). The 5K will start at approximately 8:20 a.m. There are awards and prizes for top overall and masters finishers, plus age-group awards. Male and female winners receive a free pair of running shoes from Fleet Feet Huntersville; masters winners get shoes from McLelland Family Shoes in Statesville. Cost for the 5K is $20 (includes T-shirt). Runners can enter both races for $25. There is registration and packet pickup on race day at the race site: Mooresville Public Library, 304 S. Main St. in Mooresville. Prices for registration increase on race day. There will be door prizes, including a free mattress from Sweet Dreams Mattress Company. All proceeds from the race are going to help children learn to read who are struggling in school; the YMCA and the Mooresville Library are the beneficiaries in this effort. Details: www.historicmooresville5k.com. Register: www.queencitytiming.com.

Rock & Read 5K
The Friends of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library once again will host the event, which supports the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library system. Last year, at the inaugural race, more than $13,000 was raised for the library as more 500 runners participated. The race again will feature bands and music at every mile, and a festival atmosphere following the event in front of one of the city's finest library branches: Scaleybark Library Branch (101 Scaleybark Road). The Friends of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library is a non-profit organization established to champion the efforts of the Public Library System. Details: Click here.

Tyler’s Treehouse 5K
The sixth annual race will be held in Charlotte at the Olde Georgetowne Swim Club (located off Sharon Road near the Harris YMCA). This event is being organized in memory of Tyler Scott. Tyler’s parents (Howard and Dana) and brothers (Chase, Bryce, and Aidan) live in Charlotte. Tyler was just 5½ years old when he was diagnosed with brainstem glioma on Jan. 30, 2006. He did not show any symptoms of this deadly disease until a week before his devastating diagnosis. Tyler died 9 days later on February 8, 2006. The goal of Tyler’s Treehouse Inc. is to find a cure for brainstem glioma with the help of researchers at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Info on the foundation: www.tylerstreehouse.org. Registration: www.sportoften.com. Runners and walkers of all ages are welcome; there's also a 1 Mile Fun Run/Walk. A family-friendly post-race party will be held at the OG pool until 1 p.m.

Big Red Shoe 5K
The Cornwell Center at Meyers Park Baptist Church (2001 Selwyn Avenue, Charlotte) is host for this eighth annual event, which supports the Ronald McDonald House of Charlotte. The carefully mapped road race will appeal to runners of all levels; kids are able to compete in their own fun 1k run/walk as well. This year, the family-friendly festival tied to the race includes a pancake breakfast, a rock climbing wall, a moon bounce, a petting zoo and sport massages.
All proceeds benefit the Ronald McDonald House of Charlotte. 5K run begins at 8:05 a.m.; 5K walk and 1K event both begin at 9. Festival and celebration begin at 9:20. Parking is available behind the Cornwell Center on Roswell Avenue and adjacent streets; restrooms and locker rooms are available in the Cornwell Center. Registration: Click here.

Charlotte marathon seeks noisy neighbors

2011-08-29T10:24:00.001-04:00

Charlotte's 7^th Annual Thunder Road Marathon is calling on area neighborhoods to take part in its “Neighborhood Association Challenge” to support the thousands of runners who will take to the streets of Charlotte on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011.

Geared toward neighborhoods along the course – Eastover, Foxcroft, Myers Park, Dilworth, South End, Wilmore, Gateway/Third Ward, NoDa and Plaza Midwood – Thunder Road Marathon will award two $500 checks to two neighborhoods that put on the best event and showed the most support for the marathon. The winning neighborhood associations are free to utilize the cash as they please.

Participants in the “Neighborhood Association Challenge” are encouraged to be as creative as possible to get the runners pumped up. Requirements for the challenge include: making it public and open to all residents of the neighborhood; promoting it to all neighborhood residents; keeping it outside and along the marathon course; incorporate a racing theme; cheering on the runners; and taking photos. Residents are encouraged to lead the charge with their respective neighborhoods if they would like to be involved in this opportunity.

“Thunder Road Marathon is a community event that draws in runners from all over the country and Canada so we have a great opportunity to show off the spirit and camaraderie of Charlotte,” said Tim Rhodes, race director of the Thunder Road Marathon. “We encourage all neighborhoods, residents and businesses along the course to come out and cheer the runners. Powerful crowd support is incredibly motivating during all stages of the race.”

To register for the “Neighborhood Association Challenge” or for any questions, contact Ashleigh Lawrence at Ashleigh@runforyourlife.com.

Registration for the 2011 Marathon is open and is available online at www.runcharlotte.com. Both the 7^th Annual Thunder Road Marathon (a Boston Marathon Qualifier) and Amica Insurance Half-Marathon will take place on certified courses starting at 7:45 a.m. The Presbyterian Hospital 5K will begin at 8:15 a.m. Entry fees are as follows: Now thru Nov. 4: Marathon - $95, Half-Marathon - $65 and 5K - $35; and at the pre-event Expo (Nov. 10-11): Marathon - $125, Half-Marathon - $90 and 5K - $45. There is also a double medal opportunity for those who run the Dowd YMCA Run Half-Marathon (Oct. 22, 2011) and the Thunder Road Marathon or Amica Insurance Half-Marathon.

Attention Blue Ridge Relay participants

2011-08-09T10:57:00.002-04:00

Reposting this announcement from TrySports' website:

Blue Ridge Relay Information Meeting and Discussion Forum, plus BRR Team Gear Deals
9-10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 13

Whether you are brand-new to the crazy sport of running or you’re a seasoned veteran with thousands of miles of pavement, concrete, and dirt in your wake, you will probably want to go ahead and put this race on your “to-do” list.

The 208-mile Blue Ridge Relay (BRR208), which is one of the longest running relay races in the United States, takes place in the picturesque Blue Ridge and Black Mountains of Virginia and North Carolina and has been named the second-best road race (behind the Susan G. Komen Race Series) in the Best of 2010 edition of Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine. Here’s the best part: There are still a few spots left for this September’s race.

Due to the fact that an exceptional number of this year’s participants hail from the Charlotte area, the kind folks directing this year’s race will be visiting TrySports to hold an information meeting just for you. Believe us when we say coordinating 12 people (among 120 teams of 12 people) to move across 208 miles of the scenic North Carolina High Country -- on foot, sometimes in the dark -- is no easy task. Knowledge is equal to safety and speed in this fantastic adventure. So come join us at TrySports on Aug. 13 to learn more about this great event as well as to ask questions, share experience, or swap stories with the people who know all about this race. TrySports will also offer one-day-only specials to participants in this year’s race to outfit your team ... . Please email justinbreland@trysports.com with questions or to RSVP for this event.

Odds + ends for my running friends

2011-06-15T18:08:00.000-04:00

Here's a rundown of several upcoming local races and events that might interest you:

The sixth race of the 2011 Run For Your Life Grand Prix Series is the Summer Breeze 5K, which is set for this Saturday, June 18, at Freedom Park (1900 East Blvd.). Women's start is set for 7:30 a.m., with the men going off at 8. The staggered start allows men to cheer for the women as they finish, and vice versa. Cost is $25 in advance or $35 or race day. The event will double as the Carolina's Club Championship. See the race website for all the details.

On Saturday, June 18, the Home Run 5K Run/Walk will be held on the McAlpine Creek Greenway 5k Cross Country Course at 8711 Monroe Road in Charlotte. If you're unfamiliar with the trail, "there's a challenging hill in the middle, a beautiful lake at the end, and both straight shots and curvy parts." The 5k run will start at 9 a.m. and the 5K walk will start at 9:10. Register for $20 in advance or $30 on race day (walkers pay $15). Proceeds benefit the Carolinas CARE Partnership, which provides comprehensive AIDS resources and education for people living with and at risk for HIV and AIDS in the Greater Charlotte region. More race details: Click here.

The new Run For Your Life Summer Track Series (formerly the Charlotte Track & Triathlon Club's Trenton Guy Sr. Summer Track Series) continues Tuesday, June 21, at the Myers Park High School track. Registration begins at 5 p.m., with the first event at 6 p.m. All ages and abilities are welcome. The entry fee is $8 for adults for a single-night pass, or $25 for a season pass (series runs every Tuesday through June). The events in order are: 50m, 100m, 1 mile, 4 x 100m relay, 400m, 800m, 200m, and 2 mile. For details, click here.

If you're looking for a fun smaller race this month, consider the Upgrade 5K & Kids Fun Run at Birkdale on Saturday, June 25. The 5K is at 8 a.m., and the Kids Fun Run follows at 8:45 a.m. It's being put on by UpGrade Lifestyle Inc. of Huntersville, and will start at the Birkdale Resident's Club, 8915 Devonshire Drive (also in Huntersville). Cost is $20 in advance or $25 on race day (kids' race is $5). Proceeds will benefit the Rheumatoid Arthritis Foundation. UpGrade employs a couple friends of mine as trainers -- professional triathlete Kelly Fillnow and two-time Olympic Trials marathon qualifier Megan Hovis; both of them will be there supporting runners on race day. Details: Click here.

Charlotte Running Co. and Carolina Sports Clinic are launching a new evening race for Independence Day weekend: the first annual Charlotte Firecracker 5K, set for 7 p.m. Sunday, July 3, on a fast loop course through Charlotte's Olde Providence neighborhood. This family-friendly race will be followed by a pool party featuring music, food and drinks. Cost is $20 through June 26. Race website: Click here.

10Ks are rare in Charlotte, so it's nice to see that the OrthoCarolina Classic is back for its second summer after a successful inaugural event last August. The race's 2011 date is Saturday, Aug. 20, and the official starting area again on the corner of Randolph Road and North Colonial Avenue. The 10K starts at 7:45 a.m., plus there's a 5K that goes off 15 minutes earlier. The events are designed "to promote and encourage active families and healthy lifestyles ... while raising awareness for the OrthoCarolina Research Institute." Cost for the 10K is just $25 through July 31. Last year, 186 runners completed the 10K (170 ran the 5K). Race website: Click here.

New River had ups and downs. Mostly ups.

2011-05-09T14:08:00.000-04:00

Just over a mile into the New River Marathon on Saturday, I hit a wall.

Then I hit another one at Mile 5, and another one at Mile 13, and another at Mile 16, and another at Mile 17.

I guess this is what I get for signing up for a marathon that runs through the Blue Ridge Mountains.

To give you some sense of the hills that confronted me and the approximately 200 other brave souls that tackled the course this past weekend...

...OK, so you've heard of (or run up) the Boston Marathon's legendary Heartbreak Hill before, right? Set between the 20 and 21 mile marks, it is the last and most difficult of the four famed "Newton hills." Heartbreak rises 88 feet over four-tenths of a mile.

The first of the climbs at New River comes 1.3 miles in. The ascent lasts a mile and is 308 feet. The second of the hills starts at Mile 5 and goes up 122 feet over seven-tenths of a mile. Hill No. 3 is 12.9 miles in and climbs 187 feet over seven-tenths of a mile.

But it's the final two hills -- mountains, actually -- that are the real doozies. The first starts just after Mile 16 and features a 174-foot ascent (more than twice as much elevation gain as Heartbreak) over about 320 meters (less than half the length of Heartbreak). The second climb, at Mile 17, is virtually identical. In one section, there is a 16.1 percent grade.

Boston has Heartbreak Hill, but this was Bodybreak Hill. Mindbreak Hill. Soulbreak Hill.

Of course, all of this is information I could have pulled right off the NRM website months before I actually ran the race. And I mean, it's not like I didn't look at the elevation profile before signing up, or after signing up, or the day before the race. But looking at spikes and dips on a graph and turning a corner to find a strip of road that seems to disappear up into the clouds are two very different experiences.

Anyway, I'll spare you the typical details about the ride up, what I had to eat the night before, packet pickup, pre-race prep, etc., except to say that the place my buddy Shawn Matthews and I stayed in was adjacent to a complex that could have stood in for Camp Crystal Lake from the "Friday the 13th" movies. And our room? It had no TV, no phone, no fridge, and no indoor plumbing. (OK, I'm joking about that last part.)

The only thing worth noting about the 35-minute drive to the start Saturday morning is that I tried and failed several times to get my Garmin to power up. But to make a long story short, my friend Emily Knudson came up to me right before the start and offered me hers. I set it up to pace me to a 3:30. I'm laughing thinking about that now (spoiler alert: I ran a 3:46).

So if you're reading this, you're almost certainly a runner, and if you're a runner, you're almost certainly competitive.

Not competitive in the sense that you are fast and you train with Jordan Kinley or Caitlin Chrisman or any of the other local elite runners whose names you routinely see at the top of the results after a big Charlotte race.

What I mean, rather, is that you have a competitive streak. Whether you run 4-1/2-minute miles or 14-1/2-minute miles, you have a strong desire to be more successful (i.e. faster) than others. You enter races, and more often than not, you are trying to set PRs.

Run enough races and you will tend to see the same faces -- or the same backsides, at least -- during them. Similarly able runners who you'll run by, or who will run by you, or who will run next to you. Runners who you use as targets. Runners who you want to beat.

For me, one of those runners is a young woman named Jinnie Austin.

The first time we met, at the Corporate Cup Half Marathon in 2010, we actually ran together and chatted for awhile, but she faded in the late going and finished in 1:40 to my 1:36. A couple months later I beat her by 9 seconds in a 5K. Then the tide started turning. She beat me by more than half a minute at a 5K in August, and by 12 seconds during a 15K in the fall.

So when we bumped into each other at the starting line on Saturday, I added another goal to the list for the race: Don't let Jinnie beat me. It's funny -- it wasn't so much "I have to beat her," it really was, "I don't want her to beat me." Does that make sense?

It was nothing personal; it's just, she's a very good runner, and beating her would feel like an accomplishment.

She said she was sort of shooting for 3:40... I told her I was sort of shooting for 3:30. Then the gun went off. She was about 15 or 20 meters ahead of me for the first few minutes, then I caught her and we made small talk until we hit the first hill.

This was no small hill, as I mentioned. Before the race, most of the focus was on the big elevation spikes in the second half of the course. No one had mentioned this one -- and they should have. It included several switchbacks and blind curves, so one of the worst things about not being ready for it was I had no idea it was A MILE LONG.

I left Jinnie behind maybe halfway up it, and wouldn't see her again for 2-1/2 hours.

Every time the next section came into view, after rounding a corner or cresting a steep rise, I'd mutter a "Are you kidding me??" (with maybe an obscenity or two added in there for effect).

Then we hit the top and plunged straight back down, 246 feet down over just seven-tenths of a mile according to the elevation map. So three miles in and already my calves, hamstrings and quads were complaining mightily.

I knew this was not going to be a 3:30 kind of a day.

Still, with the exception of the brief but aggressive climb at Mile 5, most of the first half really was amazingly flat. For me, though, it had become a psychological battle of sorts. That first mountain had sapped my legs a bit, but because it also had surprised me so much, it had me constantly fearing what might be around the next corner.

The course was designed, loosely, as a figure-eight. It traverses some beautiful sections of the Blue Ridge, the New River Valley, and winds through a picturesque landscape of farms and forests. As you might imagine, it's in the middle of nowhere. At Mile 11, we looped back past the start/finish (hosted by the family-owned Riverside Restaurant), and the size of the crowd here -- maybe 100 people cheered as we ran through -- was about 25 times the size of the second-largest crowd I saw along the course that day.

This being a small race, I was pretty much passing no one and pretty much no one was passing me. Every half-hour or so I'd glance back fully expecting to see Jinnie not far back; but if she was there, she was in a blind spot.

Then around Mile 12, I ran into Jinnie's husband, Stan, a 3:03 marathoner who I figured would be good for a Top 10 and maybe even a Top 5 finish. I was surprised to see him heading in the opposite direction. As we passed each other I asked him, basically, "What's going on?" and that he replied, basically, "I'm done." We didn't get much off other than that, and as I continue on of course now all I can think of is "These hills that are coming up must be killers." I'd later find he dropped out because of stomach issues, but at the time I had scared myself into thinking he had had hill issues.

And then I had hill issues.

Suffice it to say, between the time we started climbing at Mile 13 and the zenith of the course just after 17, I walked several times for several minutes at a stretch. Not because I had hit the wall in the glycogen depletion sense, but more in the these-hills-are-so-steep-I-can-walk--them-as-fast-as-I-could-run-them sense.

I'll never forget this: I was walking up the last quarter of a long stretch of paved road in Mile 15 that seemed to go forever. Near the top, I saw the 16th mile marker on the side of the road, just before the course hung a right. I got to it, made the turn, and immediately was faced with a dirt road that would have benefited from a ladder (or an escalator, at least). I kept walking.

It got so steep in sections that I almost lost my balance. And had I fallen backward, I probably would have rolled all the way back down to the bottom. One guy plodded past me, but -- although I kept expecting Jinnie to pass me -- no one else made a move anywhere in this section.

The quad-pummeling began again after cresting the mountaintop at 17.4 miles in. Gravity did most of the work for the next three miles, although I was still way off my goal pace. By this point, I was just hoping to come in under 3:50 and avoid setting a personal worst.

Shortly after the 19th mile marker, right in the middle of yet another hill, a Jeep came down the road toward me and slowed. It was Stan. He told me I was on the last hill, and it was all flat the rest of the way (I was hopeful but skeptical). I basically replied "Thank GOD," and that I felt like toast. I think I asked if he'd seen Jinnie, thinking that maybe I missed her pass me. He said, "Nope, but here she comes."

It wasn't long after that that Jinnie passed me.

I tried to stay with her. But I was struggling. It was now nearing 11 o'clock, and the sun was feeling warm. Miles 20-26 seemed like they weren't shaded at all. Aid stations had been set up every two miles, on the even numbers. Because of the heat, that wasn't enough. Two miles is a loong way that late in a marathon, a looong way when you're thirsty.

Fortunately, I was able to stay not too far behind Jinnie. And the best part about staying with her was also the best part about Stan dropping out of the race: He had come prepared with bottled water and cups, and parked his Jeep in front of the marker at 21 to hand out water to Jinnie, to me, and to several other runners; he did it again at 23.

The water saved me. After the drink at 23, I ran with Jinnie for a bit; we talked about what hurt and not much else. In hindsight, I wish I could have been more encouraging to her, but I was just trying to hold it together. She got ahead again as I walked through the aid station at 24, but I caught back up to her fairly quickly. I could tell she was fading fast as we neared Mile 25.

And then she was gone.

I pulled in at 3:46:43.

I am really very proud of the fact that I never bonked in the race, that I was able to cling to about a 9-minute pace in the last four miles of a marathon that was both brutally hilly and warmer than I would have preferred down the stretch.

Jinnie came in at 3:47:55, finishing second in her age group and was the fifth woman overall. This seems like a good time to reveal some important information about her that I've been withholding: She has been having a pretty painful hip flexor issue over the past few weeks and hadn't done much running leading up to race day. Oh, and this was her first marathon -- so she doesn't have near the experience I do with marathon pacing and marathon-pain management.

In other words, as gutsy as I think my performance was Saturday, hers was 10 times gutsier.

Frankly, it was the misfortunes of Stan and Jinnie Austin saved me on Saturday. If Stan hadn't been having issues that forced him to drop, I would have completely wilted late in the race, and it would have turned into a death march. If Jinnie had been healthy and fully trained, she would have left me in the first half-mile and gone on to beat me by 5 minutes in this one, maybe more. The mere presence of someone I consider a (friendly) rival helped to push me through the final miles.

In other words, I could have skipped all of this race recap business and gone straight to the punchlines: The New River Marathon is super-hilly, and I owe the Austins dinner.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The splits from my -- er, Emily Knudson's -- Garmin, for those who care about such things:

Mile 1: 7:49
Mile 2: 8:27
Mile 3: 8:09
Mile 4: 7:46
Mile 5: 8:01
Mile 6: 8:38
Mile 7: 8:13
Mile 8: 8:12
Mile 9: 8:03
Mile 10: 8:04
Mile 11: 7:59
Mile 12: 8:00
Mile 13: 8:25
Mile 14: 9:05
Mile 15: 8:58
Mile 16: 9:54
Mile 17: 10:58
Mile 18: 9:53
Mile 19: 8:23
Mile 20: 8:13
Mile 21: 8:41
Mile 22: 8:44
Mile 23: 8:55
Mile 24: 9:05
Mile 25: 8:55
Mile 26: 8:55
Last 0.2: 8:22

125+ area runners finish Boston Marathon

2011-04-18T21:37:00.000-04:00

More than 125 Charlotte-area residents ran from Hopkinton, Mass., to downtown Boston Monday as participants in the 115th Boston Marathon, the oldest annual marathon in the world.

About 27,000 runners representing 90 countries were on hand for the race, which featured perfect weather, a generous tailwind, and stiff competition that led to the fastest men's marathon time ever - 2 hours, 3 minutes, 2 seconds.

The Charlotte area's fastest finisher was Nathan Stanford, 32, a Huntersville resident and South Carolina graduate running his first Boston Marathon.

"I thought that the weather was nearly perfect with a strong swirling wind that was never really at your face but at the same time not the constant tailwind that was predicted," Stanford wrote in an e-mail tonight. "The event was, in my opinion, flawless from start to finish, and it's obvious that the people of greater Boston truly embrace this race and all of the runners who toe the line in Hopkinton. This marathon experience is one that will remain permanently etched in my memory."

Danielle Crockford, 30, was the top local woman; she crossed the line in 3:14:49. Area participants ranged in age from 19-year-old college freshman Timothy Marquardt of Denver (3:38:30) to 62-year-old Ken Partel of Troutman (3:45:22).

Area finishers, with age:

Nathan Stanford, 32, Huntersville 2:41:14

Scott Woodbury, 29, Charlotte2:42:11

Bill Shires, 46, Charlotte 2:42:39

Michael Beigay, 32, Concord 2:44:21

Chad Crockford, 29, Charlotte 2:47:07

Michael Kahn, 31, Charlotte 2:50:41

Lance Hutchens, 33, Charlotte 2:55:54

Pete Kaplan, 54, Charlotte 2:56:36

Mike Moran, 35, Denver 2:57:59

Tom Ricks, 37, Charlotte 2:58:44

Adrian Stewart, 40, Charlotte 2:59:15

Daniel Rutter, 36, Charlotte 3:00:52

Clayton Venhuizen, 39, Charlotte 3:01:43

Christopher Bradle, 37, Charlotte 3:02:13

Chris Cummins, 37, Charlotte 3:03:22

David Price, 38, Charlotte 3:03:41

Joseph Korzelius, 42, Albemarle 3:04:19

Stan Austin, 35, Matthews 3:06:14

Rasmus Pedersen, 35, Charlotte 3:06:22

Keith Smith, 43, Charlotte 3:06:36

Bryan Allf, 53, Gastonia 3:06:54

Matthew McGuire, 27, Charlotte 3:07:11

Tony Brown, 50, Davidson 3:07:12

Robert Harbaugh, 32, Waxhaw 3:07:22

Sean Mayo, 42, Charlotte 3:08:51

Andrew Golomb, 31, Charlotte 3:09:02

Terrance Robinson, 30, Huntersville 3:09:28

Joshua Pinyan, 28, Salisbury 3:09:41

Justin McGuinness, 31, Charlotte 3:09:52

Todd Patterson, 34, Charlotte 3:10:07

Mark Cox, 41, Charlotte 3:12:18

Eric Reiner, 38, Charlotte 3:12:43

Todd Joefreda, 35, Rock Hill 3:12:47

Lee Bradley, 40, Charlotte 3:14:10

Robert Mooring, 50, Gastonia 3:14:17

Danielle Crockford, 30, Charlotte 3:14:49

Brian Sammons, 44, Charlotte 3:15:02

Robert Macki, 40, Fort Mill3:15:23

Susan Wallace, 25, Charlotte 3:15:36

Shenna Kevorkian, 28, Charlotte 3:15:44

Aregai Girmay, 51, Gastonia 3:16:31

Richard Heinrich, 48, Mooresville 3:18:55

Derek Blalock, 42, Albemarle 3:19:11

Jackie Savage, 31, Charlotte 3:20:26

Jill Rauso, 39, Concord 3:23:31

Mark McGeough, 41, Huntersville 3:24:14

Kay Brugmann, 48, Charlotte 3:24:40

Mary Dare Mayeux, 34, Charlotte 3:24:57

Lisa Sickman, 23, Fort Mill 3:25:31

Sarah Fox, 35, Charlotte 3:25:51

Joe Schlereth, 61, Pineville 3:27:54

Paul Gonzalez, 40, Pineville 3:28:11

Meredith Byrne, 26, Charlotte 3:29:00

Elizabeth Randolph, 39, Matthews 3:29:00

Andrew Quartapella, 46, Charlotte 3:29:48

Edward Morse, 47, Concord 3:30:31

Tom Patch, 51, Charlotte 3:33:12

Johanna Remes, 43, Charlotte 3:33:21

Colleen Angstadt, 34, Charlotte 3:33:32

Lisa Mire, 31, Charlotte 3:34:00

Michael Morris, 48, Matthews 3:34:39

Lisa Landrum, 39, Charlotte 3:35:56

Adrienne Rosenbloom, 43, Charlotte 3:36:13

Amanda Fleishman, 31, Charlotte 3:37:12

Frederic Levy, 50, Gastonia 3:37:32

Timothy Marquardt, 19, Denver 3:38:30

Henry Ijams, 49, Charlotte 3:39:00

Kathleen Russo, 51, Salisbury 3:39:19

Hunter Purdom, 39, Charlotte 3:39:36

Kimberly Leatherman, 37, Concord 3:39:59

Richard Belcourt, 52, Waxhaw 3:40:02

Meredith Dolhare, 37, Charlotte 3:40:18

Lori Dawson, 45, Waxhaw 3:40:33

Christi Cranford, 42, Charlotte 3:41:07

Sharon Davis, 37, Albemarle 3:41:23

Laura Centofanti, 29, Charlotte 3:41:30

Chad Chambers, 35, Charlotte 3:41:39

Laura Smith, 40, Charlotte 3:42:34

Rhett Benner, 39, Huntersville 3:42:58

Brian Ratte, 47, Davidson 3:43:09

Sarah Hart, 39, Huntersville 3:43:28

Joe Howell, 55, Harrisburg 3:43:43

Henry Peelle, 55, Mooresville 3:43:45

Michele Britt, 45, Charlotte 3:43:50

Naim Bouhussein, 47, Davidson 3:43:56

Vance Beck, 51, Davidson 3:44:08

Kristi Harris, 37, Huntersville 3:44:50

Ken Partel, 62, Troutman 3:45:22

Susan Watts, 41, Charlotte 3:47:48

Jeffery Cloninger, 53, Lincolnton 3:47:54

Robert Jordan, 37, 3:48:40

Bruce Davis, 54, Matthews 3:49:06

Douglas Mays, 46, Charlotte 3:51:12

Beverly Kastel, 41, Huntersville 3:51:45

Kimberly Eagens, 30, Charlotte 3:52:12

Sarah McGeough, 38, Huntersville 3:52:25

Julia Engel, 48, Charlotte 3:54:03

Boriana Bakaltcheva, 25, Charlotte 3:55:19

Melissa Johnson, 47, Charlotte 3:55:44

Denise Derkowski, 45, Charlotte 3:57:41

Justin Andrews, 34, Matthews 3:57:58

Carolyn Hoopes, 51, Charlotte 3:59:13

Elizabeth Maner, 46, Charlotte 4:00:16

Diane Derkowski, 45, Charlotte 4:00:24

Tamyra Meletiou, 43, Huntersville 4:00:56

Charlton Armstrong, 34, Charlotte 4:01:25

Dianne Allen, 55, Charlotte 4:01:42

Frances Bendert, 40, Mooresville 4:02:05

Terry Farmer, 62, Charlotte 4:04:59

Sarah Schweppe, 23, Charlotte 4:05:20

Sharon Cleveland, 55, Waxhaw 4:06:18

Lisa Vogel, 40, Charlotte 4:08:30

Holly Townsend, 41, Charlotte 4:08:49

Gregory Foxx, 46, Charlotte 4:12:56

Lana Torkildsen, 45, Matthews 4:14:03

Talia DeGennaro, 30, Charlotte 4:19:27

Tom Torkildsen, 55, Matthews 4:20:16

Jeffrey Valerio, 49, Fort Mill4:24:18

Robert Frazer, 30, Charlotte 4:28:21

Arthur Scott, 51, Mount Holly 4:29:31

John Crombez, 45, Charlotte 4:29:39

Catherine Hunter, 37, Charlotte 4:33:39

Karen Lamb, 48, Charlotte 4:35:28

Diana Hoxie, 56, Salisbury 4:45:22

Brian Foote, 50, Charlotte 4:53:32

Darryl Taylor, 33, Charlotte 4:55:33

Eileen O'Flaherty, 48, Davidson 5:13:55

Brandon Russo, 28, Salisbury 5:20:13

Vinny Yakoobian, 43, Huntersville 5:34:48

For me, a smoking time at Tobacco Road

2011-03-21T15:33:00.006-04:00

Ask running pundits how often you should run a marathon, and you'll get a response along the lines of this one (from Runner's World contributor Jenny Hadfield):

"Runners who want to race a strong marathon and improve performance and speed should focus on no more than two marathons a year. Running many more than that is pretty hard on the body and mind, increases your risk for injury and slower times are usually the end result. Two per year allows for a full training and recovery cycle to optimize performance and reduce injuries. This is why you don't see the elite runners racing more than two marathons in a year."

I can only surmise that her advice is good and sound. She's got a master's in exercise science, is a certified personal trainer and coach, and has authored books on running. I'm a moron who three years ago probably couldn't have run a 9-minute mile without collapsing onto the asphalt.

This isn't a "So THERE!" moment, but for those keeping score at home: On Sunday morning I ran my eighth marathon (Tobacco Road in Cary, N.C.) in less than a year and a half; since running a 3:43 in San Diego last June, I have lopped about 22 minutes off my best time; I've had no injuries to speak of; I don't feel like I'm suffering from burnout.

Well, OK -- I guess it is a So THERE! moment.

Again, though, I have no leg to stand on. I'm no expert. I just a doofus who signs up for stuff and then goes out and runs. Maybe I could be even faster and stronger and more efficient if I was running 26.2 once every six months instead of once every two. Maybe I'm doing long-term damage to my body that I won't know about till I need to get both knees replaced when I'm 55.

It's an interesting topic, though. I have a friend, Todd Hartung, who's going after all 50 states and runs a marathon roughly once a month. His philosophy is that sometimes runners set challenging goals for the one or two marathons they do a year, stress out over the training mightily, then agonize if they have a bad race. He would never recommend his regimen to others, but he does believe that the more marathons you run, the less mentally stressful they become. Plus, you don't put all your eggs in one basket. In other words, if he has a bad race, he can easily put it behind him a few weeks later -- as opposed to letting it roll around in his head for the next year.

Now, I fully understand that not everyone can afford to run a ton of marathons, and that not everyone wants to. But my point is simply that I was able to view Tobacco Road on Sunday as "just another marathon" -- and I was able to crush it.

Didn't train particularly hard for this one. Did a couple of 20-milers late last month in anticipation of doing a marathon in late March, but didn't actually sign up for the race until two weeks ago. Didn't even look at a course map beforehand.

I ran a 3:26 in October and a 3:28 in December, then ran a 50k in January. It was just time for another one.

My BQ time, for a few more months, is 3:15:59 or faster. Though I figured that that was still out of reach for me, I decided a week out that maybe I'd try to run Boston pace (7:28 per mile) until the wheels fell off, simply as a fitness test. And this is the whole reason why I used all those words up above as a setup: It was just another marathon. There was nothing at stake. I didn't spend a lot of time or money on this race, and if I had to take a DNF, I wasn't going to get all worked up about it.

Anyway, forgive the anticlimactic nature of what I'm about to say, but for the most part I bailed on this idea in the starting corral. Instead, I just gave myself one simple directive: Be aggressive, B-E aggressive. Last two marathons, I ran conservatively and finished with gas in the tank. This time, I hoped to cross the line with nothing left.

The Tobacco Road Marathon is now two years old, and experienced fairly significant growth in its second year thanks to good word of mouth (including high marks here). Numbers for Sunday's full weren't too far below numbers for Charlotte's Thunder Road Marathon, which is now in its seventh year. (1,292 ran Charlotte in December; 1,052 ran Cary this past weekend.)

It's easy to see why it's popular: The course is flat, is mostly on the forgiving packed dirt and finely crushed gravel of American Tobacco Trail, and for many miles follows a dead-straight/turn-free path. (Another interesting fact: Nineteen runners broke three hours at Thunder Road, 28 were under 3:00 at Tobacco Road.)

If you clicked on the link in the previous paragraph and looked at the course for the full, you also can see that it doubles back on itself twice. This is cool because if you have friends running it -- and I had several -- you could exchange high-fives and "good job!" comments with them multiple times along the way. This is for obvious reasons both motivating and fun.

Weather on Sunday was perfect. 40s at the start, 50s at the finish. The entire trail is lined with trees, so save for the last couple miles, wind and sun were virtually non-issues. The only problem with the 20+ miles of trail is that it's pleasant and serene, it's also pretty boring. A road crossing every few miles with a small but vocal throng of supporters. Otherwise, a bazillion trees, and not much more. Sometimes it seemed like you could see a mile down the trail (although, wouldn't you know it, the mile marker always seemed to be just around a slight bend).

Really the only thing to look at was other runners. So that's what I did. And for the first three miles, leading from the USA Baseball National Training Complex to the trail, I looked at the back of Jonathan Savage's head. He was pace leader for the 3:30 group, and he'd announced beforehand that he planned to take his charges through the half at a 7:53 average pace, slowing at that point to 8:00. I figured three 7:53 miles would be a good warmup, so I tucked in with his group. (Runner congestion was so heavy for the first three miles anyway that I didn't have much trouble holding myself back.)

Less than a mile and a half in we started needing to dodge a lot of folks walking the half marathon (they'd started 15 minutes earlier); fortunately, the halfers and full marathoners went in opposite directions at the trail head. Right after the split, I surged past Jonathan and never looked back.

I wish I had some exciting things to say about the next 20 miles, but it was really just a long series of dime-store race "tactics" to help me break up the monotony of the scenery and terrain: I'd find a runner, sit right on their shoulder for maybe 400-800 meters, then move past them to focus on the next runner. I did this dozens of times, and only got passed by a few people. (The most memorable was a Galloway run-walk dude who passed me probably close to a dozen times. I commend anyone for running any marathon in any fashion, but between you and me I found it mildly annoying to overtake/be overtaken by the same person repeatedly and methodically.)

The fun part, as I said, was seeing many of my friends twice along the way. Kelly Fillnow (she was the women's winner!), Mo Campbell (she broke 3 hours for the first time!), Bobby Aswell, Kathy Rink, Troy Eisenberger, Bobby Grigg, Jamie Dodge, Peter Balletta, and Mark Ulrich (who was a huge personal help to me this weekend -- he picked up my packet since I missed the expo, and saved me an hour-plus of tedium by shuttling me to and from the satellite parking lot pre- and post-race).

Beginning shortly after the first turnaround at Mile 8, I spent the next couple hours alternating between confidence and concern. A few of my splits were in the 7:28 (i.e. BQ range), so I fleetingly wondered if I should go for it. I also worried at Miles 11 and 12 when I started feeling the first very-mild pangs of fatigue.

After seven marathons, I've generally found that if I don't hit the wall around Mile 20, I'm not going to. I have no scientific proof that this follows any logic whatsoever and I would never try to convince you that this will hold true for you. But personally, I was really antsy to get to 20 so I could see how I felt. I came through the half at 1:39:38. That was the split I was looking for. My friend Brian Sammons qualified for Boston by going 1:40 for the first half and then 1:35 for the second.

The confidence returned. And then it started fading again. So I refocused on my energy on locking onto a runner ahead of me, easing onto his or her shoulder, hanging there for a couple minutes, then overtaking them. Around Mile 16, I keyed in on an older woman who was wearing a bright Cowtown Marathon finisher tee and looked strong, and she was slowly picking people off, so I hitched a ride with her through the second turnaround. Finally passed her as we went up a long, gradual incline near Mile 21.

My goal was to not get passed in the final 6.2 miles. At this point I was satisfied I was going to avoid a bonk, and was feeling tired but OK as we moved back onto surface streets just after Mile 23. There was a little roll to this final section, and there were some turns to negotiate. The sun was also giving off some heat. A bit of a breeze now, too. Nothing killer at all, but after so much peace on the trail, it inserted a degree of difficulty.

This is the point where you start to break the marathon up into smaller increments in your head. Mile 24 = I've just gotta go eight times around the track plus the point-two. Cowtown Marathon woman comes surging past me. And now it's one foot in front of the other time. I'm also -- and I know others out there use the same "trick" -- thinking about friends and family who've battled cancer and people suffering great tragedies (like the Japanese tsunami victims right now). Thinking that what they've had to deal with is real pain, that this is child's play. In other words, Suck It Up.

Mile 24 was 7:57, and though it was my slowest mile of the day, I'm happy because I've run several marathons where my average pace wasn't that fast.

I keep my Garmin on the Virtual Partner screen, which tells me how far or behind my hoped-for pace I am, so as I neared the final turn into the parking lot of the baseball complex, I honestly was not at all sure what numbers I was going to see on the clock. I knew I had a big PR, but sensed I could be flirting with the teens -- so there was a twinge of disappointment when I came around and the display read 3:20 and rising. But that disappointment disappeared almost as quickly as it had come.

3:20:43. This was a six-minute PR. This was 29 minutes faster than the first marathon I ran, in November of 2009. This was an aggressive move on my part after a couple races where I wanted to run smooth and steady and finish feeling strong.

This, to me, was a clear sign that I can run a bunch of marathons a year, and get away with it. So there.

----------------------------------------------------

If splits interest you, here they are:

Mile 1: 8:03

Mile 2: 7:35

Mile 3: 7:53

Mile 4: 7:24

Mile 5: 7:34

Mile 6: 7:27

Mile 7: 7:28

Mile 8: 7:42

Mile 9: 7:39

Mile 10: 7:17

Mile 11: 7:31

Mile 12: 7:38

Mile 13: 7:37

Mile 14: 7:27

Mile 15: 7:36

Mile 16: 7:30

Mile 17: 7:36

Mile 18: 7:31

Mile 19: 7:40

Mile 20: 7:32

Mile 21: 7:30

Mile 22: 7:32

Mile 23: 7:38

Mile 24: 7:57

Mile 25: 7:47

Mile 26: 7:53

Homestretch: 7:43

Asana Activewear is closing

2011-02-21T09:43:00.002-05:00

Asana Activewear -- a SouthPark retailer focused on fitness, yoga, pilates, and running since 2007 -- will close its doors for good within the next month.

In an e-mail, co-founder/co-owner Gary Schwake wrote: "It was a tough decision, but ultimately the best given the circumstances."

Schwake says the store will stay open for another two to three weeks, during which time he'll try to sell its remaining inventory. Prices are currently 50 percent to 80 percent off.

Also, Schwake said that "the intellectual property of Asana ... the brand, websites (both local and e-commerce) and 5,000-person customer list" are available for purchase. "The structure of the sale will enable the buyer to re-open the store in any location they choose." If interested, e-mail Gary at gary@AsanaActivewear.com.

Review: 'Hood to Coast' worthy of a toast

2011-01-11T13:25:00.002-05:00

The very first scene in the movie will stick with you long after "Hood to Coast" ends.

It's the dead of night, you can hear only heavy footfalls and labored breathing, then a middle-aged female runner appears alone in the darkness. Behind her, a couple of dots of lights jiggle and gain ground quickly. Almost without warning, a lithe young man blitzes past her like she's standing still.

"Whoa!" she says, to no one in particular.

It's an amazing bit of atmosphere, and sets the stage the stage for the next 100 minutes, which follow four of the more than 1,000 12-person teams that competed in the 2008 Hood to Coast. Held annually in Oregon in August, the race spans 197 miles -- from Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood, elevation 6,000 feet, to a coastal city aptly named Seaside -- and is the world's most popular relay race.

If there's any question as to whether this is worth the $13 asking price for individual tickets to the Charlotte screenings on Tuesday night, hopefully I can lay them to rest. Director Christoph Baaden, a University of North Carolina at Greensboro alumnus, and his wife and producing partner Anna Campbell have created an absolute gem of a sports documentary.

The featured teams were well-chosen: There are the Dead Jocks, old pros who provide context and comic relief; Thunder 'n Laikaning, the goofball team of slacker-underachievers who provide comic relief (one: "I think what we should do is train as little as possible, like don't do any training, just drink and eat and do no training, and then if we do accomplish the race, all the better"); Heart -N- Sole, a group of older women; and Team R-Bowe, consisting of the family and friends of a young man who died of a rare heart attack a month before the previous year's Hood to Coast.

Stars emerge, including Jason and Rachel (of the slacker-underachievers), who before the race could barely run three miles, and Kathy, a veteran of 75 marathons who had triple-bypass surgery after collapsing and nearly dying during her third leg at the 2007 H2C. Several members of Team R-Bowe also stand out. (A warning to those who cry easily: bring tissues. Some of the interviews with the mom, dad, brother, and widow are heartbreaking, and may catch you off-guard.)

But the real star is the event itself. The footage is phenomenal, thanks to crews both on the ground and in the air, and to camera operators with street cred (one is a veteran of TV series like "NCIS" and "JAG," another worked on Michael Moore's "Sicko"). On a good-sized HDTV, Mount Hood looks amazing, the brief glimpses of Portland make the city sparkle -- the scenery in general is breathtaking, and will be absolutely stunning on the big screen. If you've never been to the Northwest, you likely will want to after seeing this film.

"Hood to Coast" is a celebration of camaraderie, of teamwork, of support groups, of fortitude, of doing more than you thought you were capable of. It's somewhat similar to 2007's "Spirit of the Marathon" -- following diverse subjects, building up to big race, providing perspective afterward -- but is cut together more interestingly, more smoothly paced, and just much more polished in general. You always have a clear sense of where each team is at in the race and what's at stake.

You'll also marvel at the immense logistical challenges the race must present to the organizers, and I'll bet you lunch that by the end, you'll be at least halfway considering putting a team together for at least the Blue Ridge Relay, if not the actual H2C (which already was difficult to get into but now will be generating even more interest).

I've never run a relay myself, although it's safe to say people who have will appreciate the film even more. At the same time, my wife -- who is not a distance runner and who generally would be absorbed in the iPad while a movie like this was on at home -- was engaged throughout the whole thing.

And that's actually what makes "Hood to Coast" a success, in my mind. On the surface, it would seem to be a movie about running, for runners; it is that, of course, and I can't imagine a runner who will come away from this unsatisfied. But I think it will very quickly creep up on non-runners, too -- like a lithe young man who comes up from behind in the darkness, it could surprise the heck out of them.

- - - - - - - -

On Tuesday night, "Hood to Coast" will screen in 360 theaters nationwide, including AMC Concord Mills 24 in Concord and Stonecrest 22 @ Piper Glen at Charlotte. Tickets are $13.50 in advance for the Concord Mills screening and $13.75 in advance for the Piper Glen show. (AMC and Regal use different online-ticketing agencies.) The NCM Fathom Entertainment event also will feature a "live red carpet" from Portland, Ore., and a pre-taped panel with celebrities from the running world shot at Nike headquarters. Total running time is said to be 2 hours, 20 minutes. For more information about the event, click here.

And Charlotte's Runner of the Year is ...

2010-12-21T09:41:00.018-05:00

There are several very good runners in and around Charlotte who have done lots of great things to make the running community in this city better, faster, stronger.

So when you sit down to figure out who’s most deserving of recognition, the first thing your head does … is explode. It’s just very hard – even after weighing all the evidence and giving dozens of different people long, careful thought – to narrow down the list, to pick a certain individual over another.

Last year, I picked one person as my Runner of the Year and then named two honorable mentions. This year, in a celebration of wishy-washiness, I’ve selected five honorable mentions (encompassing eight people; read on to see how I pulled off that trick), and decided to go with two people in the top spot.

It’s not a huge stretch, though, to lump Larry and Kathy Seavers together. As one nominator put it, “they really are a package deal.”

Even those who don’t personally know the husband-and-wife team have probably noticed them out at local races because – well, frankly, it’s because Larry and Kathy are obviously older, and you just don’t see that many older runners out there (Larry is 66; Kathy turned 65 last Saturday). At least, not older runners who are as fast, as consistent, as prolific, as friendly, as social, as supportive, and as upbeat as they are.

Photo by Bill Weimer

Larry – instantly recognizable in his dark sunglasses and a Boston Red Sox ballcap that covers a shock of white hair – ran 33 races in 2010, winning his age group 13 times and posting times that are quick for any age. (He ran a 23:56 at the Cupid’s Cup 5k last February, for example, and – most recently – a 1:58:48 at the Kiawah Island Half Marathon). Kathy, meanwhile, completed 18 races and got age-group wins in 14 of them, including at the Santa Scramble 5k in Concord last month (24:30).

In almost any other year, Kathy and Larry would have run a roughly equal number of races. But Kathy began the year recovering from a femoral fracture she suffered in October 2009. She slowly eased back into running, but while doing hill work last winter, she sustained another injury: An MRI revealed that she had four bones broken internally in her hip area, a result of osteopenia and osteoporosis.

While others her age might have decided to retire from the sport, Kathy just waited patiently for the healing process to take place. In early May, she decided that she wanted to try to compete in the Run For Your Life Grand Prix Series. Three of the 10 series races had already been run, and she would have to miss one of the remaining seven. She needed to run six to qualify for awards … and she did just that. She walked the Great Harvest Bread Co. 5k in 54:04 and did the remaining five GPx races, improving with each one. Despite playing catch-up all season, she finished third in the rankings for her age group.

One nominator wrote: “Most people with broken bones would be sitting on the couch watching TV. Not Kathy Seavers. As soon as she could walk again, she was back on the 5k scene this past spring. She couldn't even run yet, but was crossing the finish line and clearly having fun. And those few races she actually had to miss? I wonder how sick Larry got of answering, ‘Where’s Kathy?’”

Both Larry and Kathy are active members of the Charlotte Running Club and the Charlotte Track & Triathlon Club. They volunteer at road races and triathlons, which is something all of us should do but most of us don’t. They helped Lois’ Lodge – which provides support for women experiencing unplanned pregnancies – become a beneficiary of Run For Your Life’s Run For Your Cause race last summer. And they are amazing cheerleaders.

“When you’re at one of Larry and Kathy’s races, you can count on seeing them making the rounds before the race, and then doing it again long after everyone’s finished,” a nominator wrote. “They don’t hop in their car and go. They wait to congratulate everyone, and ask they how they are doing. You can tell that people are always excited to see them. But this sort of support isn’t limited to the starting line and the post-race party. Spend some time trolling the running community on Facebook. Whether it’s a ‘congratulations/good luck on your out-of-town marathon’ or a ‘hope that knee gets better,’ Larry and Kathy are keeping up and genuinely caring about the goals, accomplishments and roadblocks of their running friends.”

(To put this all into a little bit of context, my 67-year-old father stopped running 25 years ago and doesn’t “get” Facebook.)

Says another Larry and Kathy fan: “They are the most supportive couple ever. If they are out of town for two weeks, they still find the time to look up results from the past two weekends and to congratulate their fellow running friends on their accomplishments. Also, they are pretty much what every runner should aspire to be; they love running just as much as they did when they ran their first steps who knows how many years ago.”

(Kathy began running in 1983 after she quit smoking; Larry took up the sport around 1985. They also, by the way, love cheering for each other. Says Kathy of her husband of nearly 42 years: “Larry is my best supporter. Always looking out for me, always encouraging me. He gets behind me in all the races at the start to make sure I don’t trip or that no one bumps into me.”)

I’m not saying there aren’t others out there who are ultra-supportive, or fast for their age, or adept at using Facebook. What I am saying is this: If you get to your mid-60s and you’re still as vocal and as passionate and as positive about the sport as Larry and Kathy Seavers are, if you’re still running dozens of races a year and finishing with a smile on your face every time, if you make an effort to befriend the plodders as well as the elites … please, drop me a note and I’ll make sure you get an award, too.

Simply put, their love of the sport is pure and without agenda.

Says Larry: “Kathy loves running because it is great exercise and fun. She loves racing because she gets to see great friends and meets new ones every week. … For me, a race each week is like some who enjoy meeting their foursome to play golf each Saturday. It’s an opportunity to meet friends who you enjoy, and to compete against them and others. In racing, you see a different course each week. Each event benefits a great cause. There is wonderful food, prizes and great friendship. What could be better?”

Honorable Mentions

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Ashley Armistead and Lori Klingman
In less than three years, the duo behind Let Me Run – sometimes referred to as “Girls on the Run for boys” – have turned a dream of empowering boys through running into a reality. The program started as one fledgling after-school club in the spring of 2008; today, Armistead (founder and president) and Klingman (vice president) are projecting that 400 fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade boys will participate next spring. Wrote one nominator: “Ashley and Lori have devoted countless hours to teaching boys about having confidence in themselves, experiencing the joy of setting goals and accomplishing them, and embracing healthy lifestyles.” Clearly, it’s an idea whose time has come: The nonprofit organization is fielding calls or e-mails almost daily from people inquiring about how to get a program in their school. In the coming year, Klingman says they’ll be developing an expansion plan that will help Let Me Run go nationwide. Both women are strong runners, too: Klingman, 37, ran a 3:59:40 at the Marine Corps Marathon in October (“It was most definitely not my best marathon, but I enjoyed the journey more than I ever had in the past”), while Armistead, 41, nailed a Boston-qualifying time of 3:50:09 this month. She did it at Thunder Road in Charlotte, where a band of boisterous Let Me Run boys manned an unforgettable water stop at Mile 14.

Armistead and Klingman

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Bevin Jett
With lots of tender loving care, Jett has in just three short years helped the Charlotte Runners Meetup Group grow from a handful of people into the biggest running group in Charlotte – so big that today she enlists the help of 10 assistant organizers. Together they organize a wide variety of regular group runs, and Jett personally hosts the city’s largest weekly group run, a Thursday-night event that routinely draws several dozen runners (the growth of the event prompted a recent move from tiny Common Market in Plaza Midwood to The Philosopher’s Stone in Elizabeth). Wrote one nominator: “She injects more fun into a simple weekly four-mile run than I ever thought possible.” Another noted that “along with the regular weekly runs, Bevin will sprinkle in themed runs during the year for a change of pace – for example, we had over 100 runners in costume for the Halloween run, with prizes going to different categories … and none of them were for fast people.” The 48-year-old mother of two teenagers led contingents of Meetup members at events like Miles of Mooresville, the 24 Hours of Booty cycling event, and the Marine Corps Marathon; she also qualified for Boston 2012 with a 3:52:13 at Thunder Road. Yet none of this has gone to her head. Says Jett: “Even today I still find other runners a bit intimidating. They always look so much cooler, faster, and skinnier than me. … I can only wonder what it must be like for someone just starting out and trying to run, especially someone who maybe has always been told all his or her life for one reason or another that they can’t run. I don’t want to be the runner who scares people off when I tell them I have run a marathon; I want to have them believing they can run a marathon, too.”

Photo by Kai Linn

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Chad Randolph
With his Davidson Area Running Team, the 45-year-old has inspired and unified both serious and casual runners in Davidson (and the surrounding areas) in a way in which no other suburban city has been able to. A strong Facebook presence and cool-looking team T-shirts have helped, but the group’s success primarily is the result of Randolph’s ambassadorship. Says one nominator: “He organizes people to go to races, and then drives them there and back. He blogs running. He takes runners – no matter how fast or slow – and encourages them and sticks with them on DART runs to just talk running.” You might also see him filling in from time to time at Run For Your Life, or at small marathons and ultras around the region (this year he ran the Iron Horse 100k in Florahome, Fla., the Gator Trail 50k in Wilmington, the Bethel Hill Moonlight Boogie 50-Miler, and the Ridge to Bridge Marathon, among others). A stress fracture has him laid up at the moment, but he still showed up at the Elf 5K in Mt. Mourne Saturday on crutches, and cheered in runners in the freezing cold until the last one finished. Oh, and did we mention he's completed numerous loong races – including a marathon and that 50k – in a pair of Vibram FiveFingers?

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Tim Rhodes
Simply put, “Tim is the reason we have a racing series and a local marathon,” says one nominator. The 49-year-old owner of Run For Your Life also ran some excellent races, including a 3:07:51 at the Route 66 Marathon in Tulsa last month and a 4:50:16 at the Augusta 70.3 Half Ironman earlier in the fall. (He’ll do his first full Ironman, in Wisconsin, next year.) But it’s the behind-the-scenes work that landed him on this list. Under his direction, Run For Your Life made charitable contributions of more than $100,000 once again, providing aid to everything from a homeless men’s ministry to a local community school for impoverished girls. He and his wife Robin are closely involved with Samaritan’s Feet, donating approximately 100 pairs of shoes per week to needy children in Western Africa. And this fall, Rhodes was given the Ubuntu Award for “outstanding leadership, commitment, and service to their local community” by Balega, a sock company with a rich South African Heritage. (Ubuntu is an African concept, “a humanistic philosophy focusing on people’s allegiance and relationship to others,” according to Balega.) When asked for 2010 personal highlights, Rhodes mentions his son Grant, who made all-conference as a cross-country star at Mallard Creek High School this year; and his two new adopted children, Rebecca (now 8) and Eli (3), both from Ethiopia. His message for the running community in Charlotte? “Thank you for the privilege of allowing me to do something I absolutely love.”

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Aaron Linz, Caitlin Chrisman and Jay Holder
They’re the three people most responsible for the success of the Charlotte Running Club, which now claims more than 400 members – and at 37, 25 and 27, they’re also the youngest people on this list. A case could certainly be made for each of them as individuals. In October, Chrisman qualified for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon with a 2:41:52 at the Twin Cities Marathon – her first-ever 26.2 – cementing her status as the area’s top female runner after also posting wins at shorter distances throughout the year. Linz “does a lot of work behind the scenes to continue the growth of the club, while juggling work, family and training,” as one nominator points out; he’s also well-known for riding his bike up and down the street during major local races while screaming himself hoarse in support of, well, everyone. Holder spends hours putting together what has to be the most informative and best-looking running club newsletter in the Carolinas, if not the entire Southeast. (Linz and Holder both set PRs at the marathon distance in Boston, then did it again at the Richmond Marathon in November, with marks of 2:41:32 and 2:40:28, respectively). But the three of them together have made the club tick, putting good people in the right positions on the board of directors; using their own money to front the costs for things like the official club tees worn by many members at local races; staging successful fundraisers (a “Run for Haiti” early in the year raised more than $1,500 for the Red Cross) and wild social events; and – when their competitive fires are ignited – fielding incredibly fast and talented teams at races like the Blue Ridge Relay (mixed division winners) and the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler (mixed competition winners here, too). The long-term goal? Says Linz: “We want the club to take on a life of its own so that 10 years from now, when Jay is a big-time TV producer in New York, and Caitlin is living on a vegan farm in California, and I'm attempting to break all Larry Seavers' age-group times, we will be proud of what we helped start.” They appear to be on the right track.

Holder, Chrisman and Linz

The story of my 2010 Thunder Road Marathon

2010-12-14T11:43:00.016-05:00

Splits often tell a story, and can shed plenty of light on how someone's marathon went. So, here are my splits from last Saturday's Thunder Road Marathon in Charlotte, according to my Garmin GPS watch:

Mile 1: 8:00

Mile 2: 8:03

Mile 3: 7:50

Mile 4: 7:53

Mile 5: 7:55

Mile 6 7:40

Mile 7: 7:54

Mile 8: 7:58

Mile 9: 7:51

Mile 10: 7:52

Mile 11: 7:51

Mile 12: 7:58

Mile 13: 8:00

Mile 14: 7:57

Mile 15: 7:53

Mile 16: 7:52

Mile 17: 7:53

Mile 18: 7:51

Mile 19: 7:59

Mile 20: 7:50

Mile 21: 7:53

Mile 22: 7:54

Mile 23: 7:50

Mile 24: 7:52

Mile 25: 7:56

Mile 26: 7:39

Last 0.2 miles: 1:30

But that, obviously, is not the whole story.

A simple race recap certainly tells a story, and can shed plenty of light on how someone's marathon went. So, here is a simple race recap that describes how I did and felt Saturday:

I made it to the start line in plenty of time -- unlike last year, when I had trouble squeezing into the corral at the last minute -- and felt comfortable practically from the moment I broke into full stride, thanks to well-rested legs and good, cold running weather (just the way I like it). I was able to lock into a pace that hovered a few seconds under 8:00, hitting the 10k split at 49:37 and the half at 1:44:23, according to the official timing company. At about Mile 18, I still felt reasonably good and decided that if I could hold pace for a few more miles, I'd have broken through any wall and would easily come in under my goal of 3:30. (In my experience, if you haven't hit it by Mile 22, you're home-free.) At Mile 20, I started counting people as I passed them.

At Mile 22, I felt tired but not depleted and my legs felt heavier but not trashed, so I increased my effort level to compensate and everything evened out so I could stay in the 7:50s pace-wise. At Mile 25, I decided to pick up the pace as much as I could, and when the finish line came into sight with a little less than 400 meters to go, I tried to start kicking. I immediately had to back off when I felt a tiny bit of rippling in my right hamstring, and then -- two seconds later -- in my right calf. I didn't want to have to pull up with a full cramp in front of the largest crowd on the course, so I gave up on any hope of a sprint and settled for a hard gallop. Right before crossing, I counted my 40th passing victim; meanwhile, only two runners had overtaken me in the final 6.2 miles. Official time: 3:28:16.

But that's not the whole story either. The whole story that I have to tell is, unfortunately, a mess. It's a jumble of thoughts and images and moments and people, but I'm hoping if I spit them all out here, there'll be at least one or two good takeaways and you won't feel like you've wasted your time reading this.

The first thing I need to say is that Thunder Road is not a great event. Race director Tim Rhodes is a very smart guy with a huge passion for the sport, the course is challenging but fair, and given that there's a pretty sizable half marathon and a huge 5k going on on the same morning, it's a pretty well-organized race. But the city doesn't embrace the event as it should, media coverage is almost non-existent, and -- minor quibble -- the "Thunder Road" theme seems to be more of an afterthought every year. (Remember in 2008 when there were race cars at certain mile markers? I also was surprised that we didn't see a band along the route until after the half marathoners had split off around Mile 12, despite the fact that live music is often touted in TR advertising.)

At the same time, I believe in this race. I will run it every year I am able. It's not great, no, but it's certainly good -- and I am confident it will get better. Furthermore, I don't think I've ever had more fun during a race than I did last Saturday, and I think locals who refuse to run Thunder Road because they feel it's too lame or too hilly are missing out in a big way. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Charlotte has one of the closest-knit running communities of any major U.S. city. I have no factual basis, no leg to stand on in making this claim, but unless other cities have someone doing what we're doing on Facebook, I think it's a pretty safe bet. I can't take full credit. I just post stuff, then sit back and watch you guys turn it into something. But the social network we've created is unifying individuals and groups and factions in a way that is truly mind-blowing. I hear from runners all the time who've struck up friendships with people after being connected via comments on my page.

This is why Thunder Road is so much fun, and this is why I would encourage anyone who feels connected to the Charlotte running community to run it (or come out and cheer for it) every single year. The New York City Marathon -- which I've run, and it is a great event -- has a huge amount of diversity and jaw-droppingly large crowds. But while they're energizing, they can also be overwhelming. And in my book, quality beats quantity.

On Saturday, I could hear Charlotte Running Club chairman Aaron Linz screaming himself hoarse as he madly pedaled his bike past us on Fourth Street -- "YEAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! GO, GO, GO, GO!! YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME! WOOOOOOOO!!!!" (not a direct quote, but you get the idea). Having sufficiently warmed up, I could toss my Under Armour cap to Jade Laughlin at the turn onto Colville after Mile 2, where she was cheering with Kati Robertson, Emily Barrett and Dalida Amalean -- and I could look down and see where the women had written my name and the names of many others in big chalky letters on the asphalt.

I could spot my amazing family -- my beautiful wife Amanda and my adorable daughter Joie -- from hundreds of yards away (this still gives me a lump in my throat every time, after six marathons); they were sitting on the corner of 35th and The Plaza, between Miles 21 and 22, waiting to give me high-fives and to wish me well. I could raise my arms triumphantly at the sight of Bob Heck standing in the back of his truck at about 24.5, shooting photos and blasting hip-hop out of his totally '80s boom box, which I swear is bigger than him.

Familiar faces were EVERYWHERE. There's Denise Derkowski and Holly Townsend. There's Cheryl Ryan. There's Clinton Fisher. Kara Pettie with her fiance, Adam Vincent; Kara jumps in and runs a little with me. Hey, it's Karen Graboski with her little girl! Dan Barker. Audra Hausser. Dalida, Emily, Kati and Jade again. Denise and Holly again, with Denise's sister Diane (high fives!). Mark Ulrich with his kid. Tracy Rabon. My boss, Mike Weinstein ... then again a mile later, with his wife Kathy. Audra again. Troy Lee. Stephanie Sawyer. Kara jumps in again (she's there helping several runners get over imposing Hawthorne Hill in Mile 24). Allison Vail. Dan Barker again. Tim Friederichs in his fatigues! Peter Asciutto, owner of Vac & Dash in Albemarle, shouting way louder than I realized he was capable. And I think that's Jason Blackwood over there -- we've never met in person, but that's gotta be him...

This list would be twice as long if I had a better memory. But this is the difference between a race like New York and your hometown race.

(By the way: Some of you may not believe this, but plenty of runners out there know as many people as I do. If you don't? Make a concerted effort to become a part of this great running community, and by the time Thunder Road is back, on Nov. 12, 2011, you too can have an experience like this. It's easier than it sounds -- I swear. A good running group and some Facebook maintenance and upkeep go a looong way.)

Now a few shout-outs to some people who ran with me.

Katie Hines. We'd never met before, but had become Facebook friends after adopting the same marathon training plans in the fall (me for Ridge to Bridge, her for Outer Banks). For Saturday, she indicated she wanted to run the half at about the same pace I hoped to run the full at. Katie stayed with me till the cutoff at Mile 12, and then -- since she was trying to get in 20 for the morning -- rejoined me around Mile 23. She kept me on an incredibly even keel for the first 12 (go back and look at those splits), and provided some great motivation in the late going by saying I looked great even though it was probably a lie. She ran the half in 1:43:58.

Mark Ippolito. Mark and I met at the Davidson half this past fall after being running pen pals for awhile. We've since crossed paths at several races, including Ridge to Bridge, where he BQ'd with a 3:20:33 (six minutes faster than my time there). On Saturday, he came up from behind Katie and I at about Mile 10. He'd said beforehand that he also was shooting for somewhere in the neighborhood of 3:30, but based on his command performance at R2B, I figured he might creep ahead of me and eventually ride off into the sunset. But for the next 16 miles, he never left my side. It's amazing what having someone to run with can do for your psyche, even if there's not much talking going on. There was limited chatter, mostly just checking in on each other, or remarking about the weather or a spectator. But to have someone there who knows your pain and with whom there's an equal give and take ... it's just different and in some ways a little better, I suspect, than having a pacer. (Mark and I crossed together, although his chip time was a few seconds slower at 3:28:23.)

That said, there were some great pacers out there. I particularly want to thank Stan Austin and Bjorn Norman, a pair of three-hour marathoners who helped pace the 3:30 group Saturday and -- although they came in a little ahead of schedule -- were incredibly locked in at a 7:57 pace that didn't seem to waver by even a second either way. First saw Stan on Providence Road, and spotted Bjorn in Southend; I never once let them get more than about 100 meters ahead of me after that. Both guys were exceedingly positive and gave me a big final boost by encouraging me to take off when we were about to make the final turn off of McDowell onto MLK Jr. Boulevard. (No, I didn't count them among the 40 people I passed between Mile 20 and the finish. Though if you say it's OK, I will...)

Finally, I mentioned Kara Pettie jumped in at a couple of points, once on Queens and again on Hawthorne. Many of you know her as the store manager at Run For Your Life-University ... I heard she helped out several others in a similar manner, offering GUs or asking if there was anything else we needed. This goes above and beyond.

Me with Katie, Mark, and Kara on Hawthorne.

It was just a great day, full of great people.

I believe the runner's high is real. I don't get there very often, but I got there Saturday during the race. I did things that morning I look back at and go, "What was I thinking?" A goofy running dance for the ladies on Morehead. An exaggerated, leaping high five for my wife and daughter. A geeky "I'm-shooting-at-you-with-two-pistols" things (with some high knee lifts thrown in, the whole thing looking like a college basketball player would do if they'd just dunked on someone) when I saw my boss and his wife among the throng at the makeshift frat house right before Mile 24. More leaping high fives for Bob Heck and Ridge to Bridge buddy Troy Lee on Hawthorne. At other moments, upon seeing friends, I'd raise, outstretch and bob my arms, making me appear as though I was a baby hoping to be picked up.

All stuff I've never done in a marathon before with such enthusiasm, or with so big a smile. (Why waste the energy, right?) But all stuff I would love, love, LOVE to do again.

Anyway, that right there is the whole story ... or as close as I can get.

They'll never forget their first time

2010-12-07T09:45:00.009-05:00

For most people, it starts out so innocently.

They run one mile. Then two. Then three. Then five.

But at some point, the scales tip. In fact, they don’t so much tip as they get smashed to bits with a sledgehammer.

And a declaration is made: “I want to run 26.2 miles” … also known as a marathon.

On Saturday morning, Charlotte’s sixth annual Thunder Road Marathon will mint hundreds of first-timers, people who a year ago probably never could have dreamed they’d travel so far so fast.

Why are they taking on this challenge? Four local women and four area men make a run at an explanation.

Stacey Richards
35, Charlotte, nonprofit professional
“I began running about 14 months ago for a cheap way – so I thought – to lose weight. My motivation was to shed 20 pounds from my 5-foot-3 frame. Turns out running came to me at the most difficult time in my life emotionally and spiritually. It was a wonderful outlet that helped me push through sorrow, pain and struggles over this past year. It brought a strong sense of accomplishment and a feeling that anything is possible.”

Kevin Ballantine
31, Concord, risk manager at Ally Financial
“I started running in 2009 and quickly worked up to a half marathon, then decided to run the marathon this year thanks to endless peer pressure from my running friends. When I first broached the subject with my wife, she wasn’t a fan because of the perceived time commitment and risk of injury. But I enlisted the help of a local running coach, who created a plan that enabled me to train hard, but still balance work and family time with my wife and two little kids.”

Lauren Barker
28, Denver, biology department assistant at Davidson College
“I’ve been a runner for the past eight years, and I set one goal for 2010: to complete a marathon. God has given me the gift of good health, the ability to run, and a supportive family who will be on the roads cheering me on. I look forward to finally checking this distance off my list.”

Tom Crespo
44, Charlotte, IT supervisor for Time Warner Cable
“I got back into running after years away primarily to lose weight. As time went by, I was able to run further and faster, and I started running races. The more I competed, the more I loved the thrill of competition. Late last year, something in my head told me I should run a marathon. I’ve spent most of 2010 thinking, talking and working towards this goal – just ask my family, friends and coworkers.”

Sheena Beck
26, Concord, treatment coordinator for an orthodontic office
“I remember coming to Charlotte four years ago and seeing the billboard for the Thunder Road Marathon. I thought, ‘Wow, who seriously wants to run 26 miles?’ Then I picked up running April 2009 and a year later I was making plans to do just that. Why? I wanted to have a goal to work towards. To do something that not everyone can or would want to do to get into shape. And to place that ‘26.2’ sticker on my car.”

Robert Harriss
38, Gastonia, purchasing and procurement support desk supervisor for Foodbuy
“After a few years of not doing much of anything exercise-wise, I decided to start running in large part to lead a healthier life. I started slow and did a 5k, then a 10k, and over the past three years I’ve run six half marathons. Now six years later, I’m 100 pounds lighter.”

Lorraine Garden
37, Matthews, business manager for JACK!E Studios
“A couple years ago, I was running five miles max. In January 2009, my fitness instructor at the YMCA asked our class what we wanted to accomplish in the New Year. I said – out loud – that I wanted to run longer distance. Say something out loud and it really holds you accountable. I’ve since run three half marathons and this year added a full marathon to my bucket list. … I’m very proud to be setting a healthy example for my kids and teaching them about accomplishing goals.”

Jamaar Valentine
27, Charlotte, hospitality worker
“A couple years ago, I returned to running after realizing I was more than 20 pounds overweight. Moving to Charlotte, I started tuning down my exhausting social life and started letting this hobby become a passion. Now I’m dating a serious runner who encourages and supports my obsession. I know Thunder Road is only the beginning for me.”

Tips for Thunder Road marathoners

2010-12-05T14:04:00.003-05:00

Whether you're running your first marathon on Saturday or your 50th, here are some good reminders for race day, from Keith Anderson, a board-certified primary care sports medicine physician who sees patients at Cotswold Medical Clinic and is on the Presbyterian Sports Medicine team:

Do NOT eat/drink/wear/do things on race day that you did not try during training. For instance, you should wear the same pair of shoes that you have been training in on race day. Never wear a brand-new pair of shoes on race day.

Get plenty of sleep -- not just the night before the event, but also during the nights leading up to the race.

Dress appropriately. If it is cold, wear layers -- especially a hat and gloves.

Pain that eases after warming up is generally benign. However, you should not continue running if your pain worsens. Similarly, you should not continue running if you are limping or changing your gait. You may worsen your existing injury or create another more-severe injury.

And here are some good nutrition/hydration tips, from Mark Hoesten, a registered dietitian at Presbyterian Novant Heart & Wellness who also leads Presbyterian Sports Medicine's nutrition services:

Drink 2 cups of fluid before the race.

Drink 5 to 10 ounces of fluids every 15 to 20 minutes during the race.

Grab cups of water offered to you at water stops. Drink at least five swallows.

Don’t rely on thirst to tell you to hydrate. If you are thirsty, you already dehydrated.

Take your weight before and after the race. Drink 3 cups of fluid for ever pound lost.

After the race is over, continue to drink fluids (water, sports drinks, and/or juice products are all great choices).

As soon as possible (ideally within 15 minutes), grab something nutritious to eat to replace your depleted glycogen stores. Research indicates that to avoid muscle fatigue the next day, carbohydrates should be eaten as soon as possible following a marathon. Include a lean protein with that carbohydrate, at about a 3:1 or 4:1 ratio (to enhance absorption).

Queens runner wins 3rd NCAA title

2010-12-04T23:59:00.000-05:00

Michael Crouch, a senior at Queens, won the NCAA Division II individual cross country championship when he out-kicked Columbus State's Meshack Koyioki on a snow covered course in Louisville, Ky.

Crouch finished the 10,000-meter course in 30 minutes, 43.2 seconds to beat Koyioki by 3.6 seconds. The Royals finished 12th as a team.

Crouch now owns three NCAA national titles having also won the NCAA indoor 5,000-meters and the outdoor 1,500-meters. Crouch advanced to next weekend's U.S. Cross Country Club Championships at Charlotte's McAlpine Creek Park.

Ardrey Kell students run for those who can't

2010-12-01T10:14:00.003-05:00

There are all kinds of worthy causes to support during the holiday season (and year-round). This is just one:

Run For Your Life owner Tim Rhodes told me recently about Ardrey Kell High School senior Nick Kapur, who has organized a fundraiser for an 11-year-old boy with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).

Kapur will run the Amica Insurance Half Marathon (part of the Thunder Road Marathon) on Dec. 11 along with other members of the school's cross country teams, in an effort to raise awareness of the genetic disorder. Some members of the Ardrey Kell boys and girls cross country teams will run the Presbyterian Hospital Jingle Jog 5K. The fundraising component of the project was created by Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of those living with DMD.

Kapur, one of the team's captains, proposed this idea to his coaches and his teammates after volunteering this summer at the Muscular Dystrophy Association summer camp.

“Being a camp counselor allowed me to feel what it is like for children living with DMD," Kapur says, "and I wanted to continue my friendship and help my ‘buddy,’ Dakota, even after camp ended.” (Last year, Ardrey Kell coach Brian Zelk had suggested the team be involved with helping children who are less fortunate than them.)

Dakota, who is 11, plans to attend the race with his family. His sister, Destiny, 10, joined Girls on the Run this year at Carr Elementary School in Gaston County and will run the 5K with the team.

“In meeting with Dakota and his family several times since camp ended, I have learned that they are in desperate need of a wheelchair lift for their van," Kapur says. "Dakota can no longer assist with transfers, and Dakota uses a power wheelchair for mobility, so they need to adapt the van. I am hoping that through the publicity from the race, we can find a charitable organization to cover or help with the cost of converting their van.”

There are 44 Ardrey Kell runners registered for the half marathon and 5K; Rhodes of Run For Your Life helped out by giving the team a discount to register. They will run under the team name "Run for Our Sons," with a goal of raising $5,000 through donation pages and by soliciting local businesses.

By raising money for research, they are hopeful that their team will help make a difference and that one day these boys will be able to enjoy running with their friends again, like they do.

To support the cause and make a donation, click here.

And Charlotte's Runner of the Year is ...

2010-11-30T15:09:00.000-05:00

... actually, I don't know yet. I can't decide on my own. I need your help.

Last year, Rebecca Thomason took the prize -- which is just "fame," unfortunately; I have no fortune to share -- while D.C. Luchessi and Jonathan Savage were honorable mentions (read about them here). This year? The jury's out.

So ... please point me in the right direction by submitting a nomination for 2010 Runner of the Year. It doesn't have to be someone who's fast. It doesn't have to be someone who runs a lot of races. The person simply needs to have a passion for running that is infectious, an unyielding dedication to the sport that makes others want to be better runners -- and better human beings. (The only requirement is that he/she reside in the greater Charlotte metropolitan area.)

I know you've got someone in mind. So shoot me an e-mail at tjanes@charlotteobserver.com.

Why was LKN Turkey Trot such a mess?

2010-11-29T13:15:00.002-05:00

Last Thursday, I ran the Charlotte Southpark Turkey Trot 8K for the first time, after spending the previous two Thanksgiving mornings up in Huntersville at the Lake Norman Turkey Trot.

Sounds like I may have picked the right year to make the switch.

My 2008 and 2009 experiences in Lake Norman were positive. I ran my first 10K ever in '08, and then in '09, I ran the 5K with my daughter (who was doing her first 5K ever). The races were held on the Huntersville Business Park loop, and were great for runners who lived north of uptown and/or wanted something smaller than Southpark -- which attracted 8,000 participants this year.

For 2010, race director Zahid Buttar moved the event from the business park to Gold's Gym about five miles north, in Cornelius. Gold's was a new sponsor this year, and Buttar opted to make Gold's home base for the race.

The result, apparently, was a disaster. I've heard widespread complaints about the distances coming up very short, poorly marked courses, insane runner congestion, timing issues, unprepared volunteers, and on and on. One participant e-mailed me to declare it "the worst race in the world." The half-marathon winner, Tim Gruber, posted on my public Facebook page: "No one should run it next year, pathetic ... The most poorly organized race I have ever seen." Gruber was timed at 1:04:41, which would be just six minutes off the world record for that distance. (You can also read mounds of negative feedback on Active.com.)

Anyway, I was able to catch up with Buttar by e-mail today.

"This was a very difficult race for us, way different than our customary level of service," wrote Buttar, who is Orlando-based and is president and CEO of Epic Sports Marketing. "I have seen the vast majority of feedback and appreciate the opportunity to explain some stuff. (FYI we just finished a 3 hour meeting about the event.)"

Here is his point-by-point explanation of what happened:

Course - our course got changed 2 weeks prior to the event, we were forced to create a new course. We were misled about the size of some of the roads which caused a ton of congestion. Our solution is to modify the course for 2011, in all likelihood we won't be doing a half marathon unless we get 1 change we're looking for.
Food - we had nutella, bagles, bars, crossiants, oranges, electrolyte and water. The banana's at Costco and BJ's were green. We'd love to hear what NC runners like and we'll get it. They can email support@buttar.com to let us know.
Volunteers - we had 46 volunteers out there from the local schools. We were deficient in athletes helping out, we need athletes who are not running to step up and help.
Mile markers and turn arounds - we had both posted but it appears they were blocked by the mass of runners, our solution for next year is to have all mile markers and signage higher of the ground.
Set up - it was a zoo! We had a 50% increase in attendance from last year which stressed out packet pick up, registration and timing. There was no way to anticipate that kind of a rush, we ran out of alot of things. Our solution is to have 1 parking lot set up for the 5K and another lot set up for the 10K. No going into the gym for any reason.
Tshirts - this is always difficult. The process is we have to place the order by a specific day. So to help out we found a vendor in Huntersville and got the shirts from him. The cut off was 11/14 and when we made the order with 100% overrage. On Wed. during packet pickup we ordered another 200. We still ran out. Our solution for next year is to have the tshirts delivered on Monday, we'll sort them out on Tuesday so that all people who are guaranteed tshirts get theirs. We'll have extra but when they're gone, they're gone.
Awards - due to the number of athletes who showed up we didn't have all the athletes in the timing system until half way through the 10K finish! That delayed the results generation and I made the command decision to mail age group awards rather than give out the wrong awards. This is on our dime, not the athletes. Wed. of this week is when all the awards get mailed out.
Pacers - the pacer for the half marathon missed a turn. You can guess what happened then! Our solution is to have the pacers come 1 day early to do a dry run on the course so that mistake doesn't happen again.

Thoughts on the race? Or on the race director's explanation?

Run, walk, hike, bike, or swim for a cure

2010-11-24T09:36:00.004-05:00

There are all kinds of worthy causes to support during the holiday season (and year-round). This is just one:

Laura King Edwards e-mailed me recently to tell me about her 12-year-old sister, Taylor King.

Taylor has run two 5Ks in the past two years -- the 2008 Jingle Jog and the 2009 Girls on the Run 5K -- despite the fact that she is completely blind and suffers from Batten disease, a fatal brain disorder.

"Her running prowess is just one of many examples of her inspiring courage and grit," says Laura. "As a runner myself, I wanted to find a way to translate the miles I accumulate into a happy ending for children like Taylor."

And so, Miles to a Miracle was born. This new campaign supports Taylor’s Tale, a nonprofit organization Laura and her family founded to help find a cure for Batten disease. To date, Taylor's Tale has raised about $250,000 for the search for a cure, Laura says.

Miles to a Miracle is an online portal integrated with our website and can be found here. People can support the search for a cure in a variety of ways, from running, walking, hiking, biking and/or swimming to other forms of aerobic exercise (10 minutes = 1 mile). You can also simply support the efforts of family members and friends.

The current goals, Laura says, are "to complete a virtual journey around the world for kids with Batten disease, and ... to raise $24,901, or one dollar for each of the 24,901 miles around the earth at the equator."

She adds: "Essentially a mini-Facebook site, Miles to a Miracle is also a fun way for people to network with other athletes/active people and share their own stories. Fundraising is encouraged but not required -- simply taking part in the fun and, by doing so, helping us spread the word about Batten is tremendous in itself!"

To register (or for more details), click here.

Great 1st (and last?) marathon for Bender

2010-11-23T10:42:00.000-05:00

Charlotte's strong showing at major recent U.S. marathons continued last weekend with one of the strongest of the fall: Ryan Bender, a pharmacist for Carolinas Medical Center, finished third overall at Sunday's Philadelphia Marathon with a time of 2:25:10.

It was the 27-year-old's first-ever marathon, and he walked away with $1,000 in prize money for his efforts. Nearly 9,000 runners -- including 30 others from the Charlotte region -- completed the race on a perfect running day (mid-40s, and partly sunny).

Bender, who ran track and cross country for Duquesne University in Pittsburgh earlier this decade, called his first 26.2 "a very humbling experience."

"The first 23-24 miles went smoothly, but I definitely hit the proverbial 'wall' during the final two miles and my pace slowed significantly," says Bender, who went to Indiana High School in Indiana, Pa., and has been running for about 18 years. But, "I was hoping to run about 5:30 pace and finish in the 2:25 range, so I was satisfied with how everything went."

As for the prize money, he says it's "a nice bonus and will help cover the cost of the trip up to Philadelphia and entry fee, but my main goal was just to finish my first marathon and be satisfied with how I ran."

Bender has raced occasionally in Charlotte during 2010. Among his other highlights this year: He won the Lungstrong 15K in Lake Norman last month, in 48 minutes flat; and the Charlotte Racefest Half Marathon in April, in 1:09:48.

"I have spent many years running through high school and college, and this was the last distance I had yet to race," Bender says of the marathon. "Although running will always be a part of my life, the amount of training leading up to this race took a lot of time and sacrifice, so I do not plan on continuing at this level."

So no other marathons in the foreseeable future for Ryan Bender?

"No. ... I know that doesn't sound very exciting, but running has been such a high priority for a long time and I'm looking forward to switching my focus to something else. Getting up at 4:30 a.m. for morning runs and eating dinner at 9 p.m. gets old after awhile. My wife is a saint for putting up with all of the running!"

Here are the results for the other Charlotte runners who finished the Philadelphia Marathon on Sunday:

Caleb Boyd, 28, Charlotte, 3:04:13
Theodore Frank, 46, Charlotte, 3:09:17
Gene Faller, 40, Salisbury, 3:09:17
Brian Donehoo, 42, Mooresville, 3:15:17
Daniel Fulco, 40, Charlotte, 3:21:24
Darren Zino, 39, Mooresville, 3:22:33
Joe Schlereth, 60, Pineville, 3:27:57
Julie Hartenbach, 24, Charlotte, 3:37:02
Eric Carlson, 33, Charlotte, 3:38:36
Dusti Jensen, 27, Charlotte, 3:38:38
Megan Parkinson, 27, Charlotte, 3:49:28
Sean Scott, 29, Charlotte, 3:49:34
Hilary Boutwell, 40, Matthews, 3:49:52
Richard Coughlin, 36, Charlotte, 3:52:33
Rob Hussey, 42, Waxhaw, 3:53:42
Tiffany Sandstrom, 28, Huntersville, 3:54:12
Siobhan Grant, 27, Charlotte, 3:58:46
Kyle Horgan, 35, Lake Wylie, 4:05:02
Joseph Bousaba, 23, Charlotte, 4:13:30
Maria Packard, 36, Charlotte, 4:15:34
Adam Brown, 40, Charlotte, 4:16:25
Petr Slivka, 21, Hickory, 4:23:06
Wendy Hussey, 40, Waxhaw, 4:27:34
Arthur Scott, 51, Mount Holly, 4:30:43
Richard Holmes, 34, Charlotte, 4:33:07
James Sharrett, 48, Mint Hill, 4:33:20
Garrett Deacon, 46, Charlotte, 5:05:57
Joanna Dougherty, 36, Charlotte, 5:08:48
Angie Hicks, 35, Waxhaw, 5:13:41
Cassandra Hale, 22, Gastonia, 5:22:48

Charlotte Southpark Turkey Trot news

2010-11-23T10:05:00.000-05:00

Did you have trouble registering for the hugely popular Thanksgiving Day event last night? You weren't the only one. The online registration process was not working from about 6 p.m. Monday to 9 this morning -- but the issue has been fixed.

Says co-race director Scott Dvorak: "Here's what has happened. The timing company was under the impression that online was going down yesterday at 6 p.m., when it was actually today at 6 p.m.. I wasn't able to reach them last night to discuss it, so unfortunately, it was down for about 13 hours. I've since gotten ahold of them and had them put it back up. It will be available until 6 p.m. tonight ... as advertised. Obviously, I'm not happy that the situation has occurred and I've done my best to rectify it."

Dvorak says anyone who registered on or before Nov. 17 will be able to pick up their packet today, Wednesday or race day, at Bojangles' of SouthPark, 6555 Morrison Blvd. (across from SouthPark Mall); those who registered on or after Nov. 18 will have to wait until Wednesday or race day to pick up their packet.

Co-organizer Neil Howard tells me about 6,000 people are registered for Thursday's event, and that there will be NO race-day registration.

And we're off to the races...

2010-11-21T12:00:00.000-05:00

A look at what's on tap over the next couple of weeks (scroll to the bottom for the latest updates):

Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 25

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Uwharrie Running Club's FREE Turkey Trot

What: 4.2-mile run.
When: 7 a.m.
Where: Start and finish at the YMCA Park, 427 N. First St., in Albemarle.
Cost: FREE.
Of note: The casual event started 7 years ago with about 10 runners. Last year, 168 participated. ... The first 100 runners who bring canned goods for Stanly County Christian Ministries get a free "Turkey Trot" T-shirt.

Lake Norman Turkey Trot

What: Three races -- a half marathon, a 10K and a 5K.
When: Half starts at 7:30 a.m., 10K at 8, 5K at 8:05.
Where: Gold's Gym, 20420 W. Catawba Ave., in Cornelius.
Cost: $40 for the half, $25 for the 10K and $20 for the 5K through Nov. 21.
Of note: This is a new location and course for the event, now in its fifth year. In the past, the races were held in the Huntersville Business Park. The new site puts home base for the race at Gold's Gym, which is sponsoring the event. One thing will stay the same, though: It's a loop course, with 5Kers doing it once, 10Kers going around twice, and half marathoners circling the course four times.
Race website: Click here.

Charlotte Southpark Turkey Trot

What: The main event is an 8K race, but there's also a 5K "walk," a 1-mile "fun run," and 26.2-yard "tot trot."
When: The 8K race starts at 9 a.m.
Where: The course starts and finishes next to SouthPark Mall.
Why: A portion of race proceeds goes to Partners for Parks and the Sharon United Methodist Church Youth Ministry.
Cost: $25 for the 8K if you register online before Nov. 18; $27 thereafter (or $28 if you mail in your entry).
Of note: This is the 22nd year for the holiday tradition. ... In 2009, there were a total of 6,215 participants -- 4,215 in the 8K, 1,657 in the 5K walk, 343 in the 1-mile run and 233 in the kids' tot trot. In the 8K, the top male was Christopher Estwani in 24:48, while then-12-year-old Alana Hadley was the first female with a time of 29:37. ... Although race-day registration for 2010 is listed on the website as being $40, organizers say they will probably not be able to take late or race-day registration due to popular demand.
Race website: Click here.

Saturday, Dec. 4

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Santa's Run for Hunger 5K

When: 9 a.m.
Where: The Millbridge Ruritan Building, 490 Sloan Road, in Mt. Ulla (midway between Salisbury and Mooresville).
Why: Proceeds will benefit Rowan Helping Ministries West.
Cost: $20 in advance, $25 on race day.
Of note: The course winds through rural countryside -- runners will only pass four houses and a dairy farm. ... All 5Kers will receive long-sleeve dri-fit race shirts. ... If you bring five canned goods, you will pay only $20 to register on race day. ... A half-mile fun run ($10) will be held at 9:45 a.m. ... Santa will be on hand for the event.
To register: Click here.

Saturday, Dec. 11

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Thunder Road Marathon

What: Full marathon, half marathon, and 5K races.
When: The half and full begin at 7:45 a.m.; the 5K starts at 8:15.
Where: Corner of North Tryon Street and East Fifth Street, in uptown Charlotte.
Why: The races benefit several local charities.
Cost: Entry fee structure is here.
Of note: In 2009, 1,411 runners completed the full, 3,002 finished the half, and 1,468 did the 5K.
Race website: Click here.

Saturday, Jan. 22

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Charlotte Running Company Trail Races

What: 4-, 9- and 13-mile trail races.
When: 9 a.m.
Where: The U.S. National Whitewater Center, 5000 Whitewater Center Parkway, in Charlotte.
Why: Proceeds benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
Cost: $25 for the 4-mile, $35 for the 9-mile and $45 for the 13-mile (goes up after Jan. 19 by $5). There's also a $5 on-site parking fee.
Of note: This is the second year for this event, which is now part of the Carolina Trail Run Series. ... According to the race website, "the majority of the course is a single track trail system in covered woods adjacent to the Whitewater Center." ... All pre-registered participants are guaranteed a long-sleeved race T-shirt. ... Hot chocolate and coffee will be served before the race; bagels, fruit and drinks will be served afterward.
Race website: Click here.

Details on the 2011 Palmetto200 Relay

2010-11-19T11:46:00.000-05:00

Friends have told me that the Blue Ridge Relay Race -- a 208-mile team event that traverses the Blue Ridge and Black Mountains of Virginia and North Carolina -- is among the greatest running and bonding experiences they've ever had.

Registration for the fall event opens Dec. 1, but there's another opportunity to grab a bunch of friends for a similar experience in the springtime:

The Palmetto200 Relay is an endurance running relay event where teams of up to 12 people run 200 miles, broken up into 36 legs, from Columbia to Charleston, S.C. The race will be held April 8-9.

Co-organizer Brian Malak says "runners get to experience some of the most beautiful and historic scenery South Carolina has to offer, from the rolling hills in the midlands, to the coastal marshes and beaches of the low country, to historic downtown Charleston."

Last year, 37 teams competed in the inaugural Palmetto200. The winner? Team Crazy Legs, an six-man ultra team from Charlotte that finished in 25 hours and 35 minutes (average pace of 7:37 for the 201-mile course).

More information about the race can be found here. Registration is now open here. Cost is $800 for teams of 7-12 prior to Feb. 1 ($400 for teams of six or less); thereafter, fees are $1,000 for a full team and $500 for an ultra team. Sign-up deadline is March 10.

How Charlotte-area runners fared at OBX

2010-11-16T15:28:00.003-05:00

Most runners don't have what it takes to run one sub-2:42 marathon in a lifetime. Charlotte's Bill Shires has now run TWO in the past six weeks.

Shires, 45, one of the top Masters runners in the area, followed up a 2:40:02 at the Twin Cities Marathon on Oct. 3 with a 2:41:35 at the OBX Marathon on Sunday. He finished seventh overall out of 1,661 finishers, and was the fastest 40-or-older racer by almost six minutes.

"I was expecting some really tough competition from Ulf Andre and Tommy Neeson. Both are very good Masters runners," said Shires (shown at left in a file photo -- i.e. not at OBX). "Ulf and I ran pretty much stride for stride until about 15 miles, where I got away from him at a water stop. For the next 11 miles, I was trying to keep the wheels from coming off the car." Andre, 43, of Hillsboro, finished in 2:47:25 and Neeson, 41, of Virginia Beach, ran a 2:48:58.

In between Twin Cities and OBX, Shires also ran a 10-mile race and a 5-mile race; with Sunday's finish, he was crowned the top Masters runner in the state by USA Track & Field for 2010 (third overall for the year) as well as 2010 Masters champion for the N.C. chapter of the Road Runners Club of America.

Here are results for the 77 other Charlotte-area runners who completed 26.2 in the Outer Banks last weekend:

Kody Kubbs, 25, Charlotte, 3:11:39
Chris McFarlane, 27, Charlotte, 3:14:14
Andrew Dolan, 23, Cornelius, 3:20:35
Brandon Hillis, 30, Cornelius, 3:22:54
Mike Adams, 46, Wingate, 3:25:46
Mike Dlugos, 27, Charlotte, 3:30:58
Richard Belcourt, 52, Waxhaw, 3:34:50
Eric Anderson, 29, Charlotte, 3:38:58
Steven Franco, 37, Denver, 3:40:12
Fred Bryan, 43, Salisbury, 3:42:26
Gerald Hutchinson, 50, Charlotte, 3:43:23
Steve Eaton, 38, Hickory, 3:44:06
Elijah Lackey, 22, Hickory, 3:47:31
Elizabeth Maner, 46, Charlotte, 3:48:24
Joe Haines, 39, Hickory, 3:48:28
Brett Morris, 29, Cornelius, 3:50:01
Jason Balara, 35, Charlotte, 3:50:43
Vincent Pastore, 55, Mooresville, 3:51:25
Brian Smith, 39, Concord, 3:51:30
Matthew Andrews, 29, Charlotte, 3:53:18
Chad Baril, 32, Charlotte, 3:54:36
Chris Lariscy, 45, Hickory, 3:58:30
Kate Watts, 29, Charlotte, 3:58:31
Jaclyn Shell, 30, Charlotte, 3:58:35
Trish Kawa, 32, Charlotte, 3:59:03
Victoria Shannon, 37, Charlotte, 3:59:56
Marie Duty, 35, Charlotte, 3:59:56
Nick Brazee, 27, Kannapolis, 4:01:24
Matthew Tansky, 32, Huntersville, 4:01:45
Michelle Vanvliet, 19, Troutman, 4:01:45
Clark Loftin, 28, Denver, 4:02:36
Michael Furr, 38, Albemarle, 4:03:17
Earl Waddell Jr., 40, Huntersville, 4:03:17
Becky Philo, 39, Charlotte, 4:04:00
Tony Philo, 41, Charlotte, 4:04:01
Randy Peterson, 36, Charlotte, 4:05:16
Jade Laughlin, 27, Charlotte, 4:08:19
Mandy Franco, 35, Denver, 4:09:54
Jason Stonestreet, 28, Albemarle, 4:14:42
Trisha Proper, 39, Salisbury, 4:22:00
Kelly Bankston, 38, Charlotte, 4:24:26
Leah Grace, 33, Charlotte, 4:24:27
Steve Grace, 35, Charlotte, 4:24:28
Kai Linn, 32, Charlotte, 4:24:40
Amy McClelion, 36, Salisbury, 4:25:37
Marty Coulter, 37, Hickory, 4:28:54
John Teague, 50, Charlotte, 4:34:31
Ashley Widis, 36, Charlotte, 4:37:14
Marie Phillips, 28, Charlotte, 4:38:31
Tony Swegle, 28, Charlotte, 4:38:31
Brook Kempisty, 26, Indian Trail, 4:40:51
Michael Schulman, 24, Charlotte, 4:41:31
Tom Schumacher, 70, Matthews, 4:42:09
Jay Eckman, 35, Albemarle, 4:43:23
Eric Rysdon, 39, Charlotte, 4:43:39
Laura Rysdon, 38, Charlotte, 4:43:40
Chad Evans, 34, Albemarle, 4:44:32
Michelle Osbourne, 28, Albemarle, 4:45:47
Robert Stonestreet, 60, Albemarle, 4:46:34
Dirk Wuensche, 42, Tega Cay, 4:46:41
Cate Sheehy, 29, Charlotte, 4:53:06
Josh Houser, 23, Hickory, 4:53:35
Charlotte Walsh, 21, Hickory, 4:53:35
Ty Hitt, 39, Charlotte, 4:55:46
Randall Bullard, 34, Charlotte, 4:56:20
Stephanie Yewcic, 46, Huntersville, 4:59:46
Michael Utsman, 38, Charlotte, 5:04:23
Betsy Furr, 37, Albemarle, 5:12:26
Gregory Gilchrist, 49, Monroe, 5:23:52
Blake Lowder, 24, Charlotte, 5:32:37
Jeffrey Benfield, 52, Troutman, 5:32:47
Dawn Lazarony, 41, Charlotte, 5:33:35
Heather Gerheart, 29, Charlotte, 5:50:05
Sabrina Piercy, 34, Charlotte, 5:57:36
Steven Helmandollar, 37, Albemarle, 6:11:41
Julie Farragher, 36, Charlotte, 6:27:57
Julie Chaffin, 39, Indian Trail, 7:16:24

Charlotte has a great day in Richmond

2010-11-15T15:35:00.003-05:00

Local runners continued to make an impact on major fall marathons over the weekend, as Charlotteans filled four of the Top 21 spots on the leaderboard at Saturday's SunTrust Richmond Marathon.

The top area finisher was Paul Mainwaring, 36, who ran a personal best of 2:35:10 about 11 months after finishing third overall at the Thunder Road Marathon in 2:38:16. He was seventh overall at Richmond, which boasted a much deeper field than Charlotte's event.

Paul provided a quick recap of his race in an e-mail to me this morning:

"I went through the half in 1:17:24, so I was right on schedule. ... As we hit the bridge back into the city at Mile 16-17, it started to become a bit of a grind. I was still hitting sub-six-minute miles, but having to work a bit harder. However, the crowd support here was great as we headed back through the city, and I was reeling in the odd runner, too, so was able to keep on pace.

"The last five miles are flat and fast. I was hoping to turn on the burners at this point, but it became more of a question of getting to the finish on pace rather than picking it up. I was relieved to finish right around my goal time."

Paul added that he would highly recommend the Richmond Marathon, noting a "great" course layout and "excellent" crowd support. He also wanted to give a few shout-outs:

"Special thanks to my coach, Tim Budic, who plans my training and advises me on race tactics. He is always spot on with his advice and his guidance was a huge part of my success in this race. Also to the Charlotte Running Club. Too many people to mention individually, but whether it be for support during workouts or company on long runs or recovery days, I can always count on being to able to find some awesome people to run with. Finally, to my family, which has to put up with me while I'm doing all my training!"

Three other Charlotte Running Club members finished under three hours: 27-year-old Jay Holder (2:40:28), 37-year-old Aaron Linz (2:41:32) and 29-year-old Alejandro Arreola (2:47:16). The area's top female finisher was Fort Mill resident Terri Marshall, 47, who ran a 3:24:41.

Here are the results for 65 other locals who finished the Richmond Marathon on Saturday:

Tom Ricks, 36, Charlotte, 3:04:41
Edward Morse, 47, Concord, 3:14:50
Patrick Joseph, 22, Cornelius, 3:18:41
Michael McWhirter, 28, Gastonia, 3:19:55
Rasmus Pedersen, 35, Charlotte, 3:22:47
Philip Ciccarello, 27, Charlotte, 3:23:18
Bryan Hurley, 42, Concord, 3:24:50
Naim Bouhussein, 47, Davidson, 3:24:52
Tim Gannon, 39, Charlotte, 3:28:44
Diane Lancaster, 45, Waxhaw, 3:31:50
Beth Pierpont, 46, Charlotte, 3:33:04
Brenda Morris, 37, Matthews, 3:34:47
Mark Ulrich, 37, Charlotte, 3:35:08
Jaclyn John, 33, Charlotte, 3:35:57
Brian Trotter, 36, Gastonia, 3:36:21
Judy McCarter, 43, Huntersville, 3:37:16
David Whitehead, 57, Salisbury, 3:39:26
Glenn Duffy, 47, Charlotte, 3:42:09
Aprille Shaffer, 52, Charlotte, 3:42:46
Amy Hannon, 39, Charlotte, 3:43:10
Jenna Drury, 37, Charlotte, 3:47:24
Wesley Wetmore, 37, Charlotte, 3:57:09
Brad Lower, 44, Fort Mill, 3:57:36
Charles O'Dell, 46, Charlotte, 3:57:46
Peter Steelman, 46, Charlotte, 3:58:36
Denise Burkard, 46, Charlotte, 4:01:45
Emma Evitts, 27, Charlotte, 4:04:23
Nicolae Turcanu, 40, Hickory, 4:05:38
Denise Hauser, 28, Charlotte, 4:05:39
Celeste Bailey, 36, Charlotte, 4:05:55
Cathy Lankford, 36, Charlotte, 4:06:27
Shelly Lee, 38, Charlotte, 4:09:21
Andy Brincefield, 36, Charlotte, 4:12:39
Scott Helms, 40, Charlotte, 4:12:49
David Gresty, 45, Mooresville, 4:13:48
Bryan Saldarini, 29, Huntersville, 4:13:49
Kendall Calvin, 43, Concord, 4:16:12
Kathy McRae, 48, Charlotte, 4:16:17
Denise Derkowski, 45, Charlotte, 4:16:38
Janet Morse, 43, Concord, 4:16:38
Holly Townsend, 40, Charlotte, 4:16:39
Kimberly Ward, 45, Waxhaw, 4:17:35
Randy Adams, 56, Gastonia, 4:17:36
Michelle Olaya, 33, Charlotte, 4:18:33
Paul Simica, 46, Huntersville, 4:18:36
Christopher Iacubucci, 24, Pineville, 4:22:14
April Caya, 30, Concord, 4:22:54
Laura Calvin, 35, Concord, 4:25:13
Cam Selvey, 41, Harrisburg, 4:30:05
Peyton Jensen, 34, Huntersville, 4:32:20
Michael Reimels, 35, Huntersville, 4:36:29
Trish Sexton, 37, Fort Mill, 4:37:50
Jenny Carlson, 32, Charlotte, 4:41:50
Elizabeth Wetmore, 37, Charlotte, 4:45:26
Michael Wilson, 27, Gastonia, 4:48:56
Jane LaVenture, 39, Matthews, 4:49:58
Carie Kahn, 43, Hickory, 4:51:51
Kathleen Belfiore, 49, Mount Holly, 4:54:53
Brian Robinson, 30, Huntersville, 4:55:42
Diane Coffin, 34, Charlotte, 5:00:44
Mitch Barnes, 52, Charlotte, 5:06:36
Norma McKee, 42, Gastonia, 5:10:39
Meg Meaher, 32, Charlotte, 5:29:08
Paul Linden, 53, Gastonia, 5:38:09
Heather Snavely, 39, Fort Mill, 5:49:25

Let Me Run caps its Fall 2010 season

2010-11-10T18:04:00.000-05:00

Lori Klingman, vice president of Charlotte's Let Me Run, asked me to share with you her thoughts regarding the boys' organization's fall season.

Led by Klingman and LMR president Ashley Armistead, Let Me Run has grown steadily into a program that this fall reached 31 schools, a range of public, private and parochial institutions.

The six-week programs combine training for a 5K with lessons "focused on increasing self-acceptance and building healthy relationships." The most recent fourth-grade lesson plan, for instance, included topics ranging from "How to be competitive without putting the competition down" to "Real men show their feelings"; in fifth grade, there were lessons on energy, electrolytes and vitamins as well as sessions on drug awareness. There was also a similar middle-school curriculum.

Here's Lori Klingman's report:

Our fall season came to a screeching halt on Saturday, Nov. 6, with more than 130 boys participating in the Dowd YMCA 5K. Most of the boys also brought a parent, best buddy, or sibling so Let Me Run established quite a presence at the race.

The mood was jubilant, and the boys were all so excited to have "their" moment.... their time to shine. To see those sweaty faces when they cross that finish line will send chills down anyone's spine. I truly felt like my heart would burst.

I knew all those little knobby-kneed legs were shaking at the start line with anticipation. I know, too, that they were shaking at the finish line but for a different reason! How about that uphill finish?? Every boy that I spoke with made a comment about it. Some of the parents did as well, but I can't use those words here! :)

To fully recount this season, I would like to list the Top 10 things that were learned by boys, coaches, LMR staff and parents.

10. Rainy-day indoor practices can be a whole lot of fun.
9. Speed is something, but heart is everything.
8. New shoes will not make you faster, but it is nice to look good.
7. Boys are not non-communicative. Sometimes you just need to ask or open up a discussion.
6. Relay races are a great way to break up a three-mile practice run. Maybe adults should try it, too.
5. Birthday cake as a snack at practice is just fine. Calories are being burned by the second and everybody needs to celebrate sometime.
4. Never kid a kidder. If you are inauthentic, these boys will spot it from a mile away. Be real!
3. After two practices, camaraderie is established and a true team is formed.
2. Children smile when they run. Grown-ups grimace.
1. You will never, ever, ever be sorry that you crossed a finish line, so always push forward!

Words cannot express the gratitude that the LMR board and staff has for our many volunteers. Our volunteers are energetic, kind and generous.

I know that some used their own resources for snacks. I know that some coaches drove quite a distance to their respective school. I know that some coaches rescheduled work meetings and appointments. I know that ALL coaches made this season possible!!

We appreciate every single one of you and hope to see you in the spring. Don't worry. We will track you down..... :)

For more on Let Me Run, click here.

Run a very hilly 26.2 (for free, perhaps)

2010-11-09T23:46:00.000-05:00

If you're tired of running "ordinary" marathons, if you'd prefer a rigorous test of fitness and magnificent mountain views, the National College Blue Ridge Marathon on the parkway may be just the race you're looking for.

This event, now in its second year, will start and finish in downtown Roanoke, Va. (about three hours north of Charlotte) on Saturday, April 16, 2011. The course boasts 3,620 feet of total elevation gain and 7,234 feet of total elevation change and has been dubbed "America's Toughest Road Marathon"; for comparison's sake, the rigorous Grandfather Mountain Marathon -- a point-to-point race -- has 2,884 feet of climbing and 1,847 feet of downhill.

For more on this unique spring marathon, watch this video:

Registration for the Blue Ridge Marathon is currently $80 through the end of the year. There's also a half-marathon that is now $65 to enter. Proceeds from the race will go to Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

For the second year in a row, readers of this blog can enter to win one free Blue Ridge Marathon registration courtesy of the Roanoke Regional Partnership. Just e-mail me at tjanes@charlotteobserver.com and explain in 50 words or less why a challenge like this appeals to you. Please put "Blue Ridge Marathon" in the subject line, and be sure to include your name, age, city of residence. Deadline is 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 19. Good luck!

Thunder Road seeking volunteer help

2010-11-08T09:00:00.002-05:00

If you're not running the Charlotte marathon on Saturday, Dec. 11, this is your chance to help out:

The Charlotte Track and Triathlon Club is working with the Thunder Road Marathon to provide 20 volunteers who will help set up the finish-line corral and the post-race water/recovery drink and food areas, and later help runners as they finish (e.g. by retrieving timing chips, offering heat blankets, awarding medals, or assisting with food and beverages). Volunteers also will be responsible for keeping the area clean.

If you're interested in helping out, contact Lana at piggytork@carolina.rr.com.

PLANNING TO RUN THUNDER ROAD?

Anyone could look at the Thunder Road Marathon map and go run the course between now and race day on Dec. 11.

But here's a way to get to know the route that also doubles as a way to get to know some other local Thunder Roadies: This month, Run For Your Life will lead a pair of group runs that cover the first and second halves of the course, over two weekends. A $15 registration fee covers both sessions, and it becomes a better deal when you consider RFYL will throw in a technical T-shirt and provide water along the way.

The first half of the course will be previewed this Saturday, and the second-half sneak peek is Saturday, Nov. 20. Runners will meet at 6:30 a.m. at the Dowd YMCA (400 E. Morehead St., on the edge of uptown), and begin running at 7.

Click here to register, or e-mail Dexter Pepperman at dexter@runforyourlife.com if you have questions.

2 students run 12 miles to fight cancer

2010-11-03T15:42:00.004-04:00

From David Long at Cannon School in Concord:

Two Huntersville teenagers had an idea to help fight cancer and decided to run with it.

Stephanie Schauder and Tim Gruber will join friends and supporters on Friday, Nov. 12, in running 12 miles from Presbyterian Hospital in Huntersville to Cannon School in Concord, where both are students, to raise $12,000 for Relay for Life of Mooresville/Lake Norman.

Stephanie has supported Relay for Life since her father was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer two years ago. Her father passed away last January.

“During this difficult time, I began to see how many people were affected by this disease,” said Stephanie. “I knew I needed to do something to help other cancer patients and their families.”

She started her own Relay for Life team at Cannon School, Cougars Fighting Cancer, to raise money for the American Cancer Society. Last year, the 25-member team raised nearly $7,000.

Last summer, as Stephanie considered ways to meet her $12,000 fundraising goal, her friend Tim proposed that they run from their homes in Huntersville to Cannon School as a fundraiser for Relay for Life. The idea grew from there, and they are now planning the run, dubbed Cannon Runs for Cancer Research, with officials from event sponsors Cannon School and Presbyterian Hospital Huntersville.

Stephanie, Tim and friends will start running at 11 a.m. at Presbyterian Hospital Huntersville, which is a short distance from their homes. The run is open to anyone who would like to participate and there will be several pick-up points along the route until Stephanie and Tim arrive at Cannon School at 1 p.m.

Participants may:

Run from Presbyterian Hospital Huntersville to Cannon School in Concord, a distance of 12 miles
Run five miles to Cannon School, joining 12-mile runners at the Harris Teeter at Poplar Tent Road and Harris Road in Huntersville
Run a 5k on Cannon School’s campus
Take part in a fun run/walk at Cannon School

The number of runners joining Stephanie and Tim will grow until all participants gather to run up the driveway of Cannon School together.

Cannon Head of School Matt Gossage and Tanya Blackmon, president of Presbyterian Hospital Huntersville, will kick-off the event. Dave Wottle, a gold medal runner from the 1972 Summer Olympics, is the keynote speaker. He is dean of admissions and financial aid at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn.

Registration for the event is $20, which includes a long-sleeve T-shirt. An event schedule and registration details can be found here. People can donate here.

Locals shine at the Marine Corps Marathon

2010-11-01T16:21:00.000-04:00

Great news from Washington, D.C.: Charlotte's Alice Rogers ran a 2:51:14 at the Marine Corps Marathon Sunday to land a spot on the leaderboard as the fifth overall woman out of 8,671 female finishers.

The 32-year-old, a graduate of Myers Park High and UNC-Charlotte, placed 82nd overall out of nearly 22,000 total finishers. She hit the half at a blistering 1:22:47 and averaged a 6:33 pace over the full 26.2. This was Alice's third marathon; she ran a 3:14:28 at Thunder Road last December.

In an e-mail to me this morning, she wrote: "I felt great for 16 miles, PR'd at the half. When I passed a Kenyan, I realized I was probably going a little too fast and was going to feel some pain! And sure enough, the last 10 miles were tough. But great crowd support, and when you have Marines screaming at you -- 'You can do it, ma'am! Go!' -- it's hard not to try your best."

Other top performances by Charlotte runners: Meghan Fillnow, 27, posted a 3:03:56 and was the 17th overall woman; Michelle Hazelton, 26, finished right behind her, in 3:04:17. Alice, Meghan and Michelle are all members of the Charlotte Running Club.

Here are official finish times for the 233 greater Charlotte-area runners who completed Sunday morning's race. (For the searchable results database, click here.)

Dave Knavel, 25, Charlotte, 3:12:58
J Nicholson, 41, Charlotte, 3:16:29
Dalena Custer, 28, Charlotte, 3:17:55
Richard Heinrich, 48, Mooresville, 3:20:41
Michael Nalevaiko, 46, Charlotte, 3:23:52
Eric Orozco, 38, Charlotte, 3:24:03
Stase Vonsiatsky, 31, Charlotte, 3:25:44
Randy Cockerham, 57, Charlotte, 3:27:19
Douglas Ellison, 53, Charlotte, 3:28:19
Bucky Cline, 62, Salisbury, 3:28:41
Jeffrey Carwile, 37, Charlotte, 3:28:47
Bill Moran, 44, Waxhaw, 3:29:37
Jason Weathers, 32, Charlotte, 3:31:00
Brad Wickard, 31, Cornelius, 3:31:28
Lisa Mulvey, 24, Charlotte, 3:32:04
Joe Schlereth, 60, Pineville, 3:32:04
Shaun Tooley, 32, Fort Mill, 3:33:56
Will Hayes, 32, Charlotte, 3:34:22
Whitney Hetzel, 43, Weddington, 3:34:23
Joe Tindale, 31, Rock Hill, 3:37:47
Tru Filyaw, 36, Charlotte, 3:38:25
Douglas Grant, 34, Huntersville, 3:39:24
Kristen McConkey, 40, Waxhaw, 3:41:16
Allison Rooney, 40, Gastonia, 3:41:30
Charles Lee, 49, Charlotte, 3:45:46
Laura Oberbauer, 37, Charlotte, 3:45:47
Ryan Huff, 26, Charlotte, 3:46:54
Ben Redman, 35, Charlotte, 3:47:12
John Leader, 57, Charlotte, 3:51:05
Ashley Armistead, 41, Charlotte, 3:53:32
Janie Cook, 44, Charlotte, 3:53:48
Meredith Henderson, 28, Charlotte, 3:54:24
Julie Miller, 24, Gastonia, 3:55:24
Lori Klingman, 37, Charlotte, 3:59:40
Emily Brown, 26, Charlotte, 3:59:46
Cathy Bortz, 48, Charlotte, 4:00:55
Deniele Carwile, 33, Charlotte, 4:00:59
Danny Devries, 43, Charlotte, 4:01:13
Melisa Sorenson, 27, Troutman, 4:01:16
Matthew Reinhard, 40, Charlotte, 4:01:39
Michael Linnert, 40, Charlotte, 4:01:45
Shawn Panther, 36, Charlotte, 4:02:21
Chris Payne, 33, Waxhaw, 4:02:46
Dena Jordan, 35, Charlotte, 4:02:59
Sara Dumond, 38, Charlotte, 4:03:34
Jeff Waterhouse, 48, Huntersville, 4:03:37
Rian Schill, 36, Charlotte, 4:04:17
Karen Bryan, 49, Charlotte, 4:04:46
Mark Gibbons, 49, Huntersville, 4:05:55
Mark Robeson, 39, Charlotte, 4:08:29
Scott Jones, 35, Charlotte, 4:09:31
Ryan Watson, 30, Charlotte, 4:09:36
David Meigs, 25, Charlotte, 4:10:28
Melissa MacIver, 39, Charlotte, 4:11:31
Bevin Jett, 48, Charlotte, 4:13:28
Devitt Rogers, 53, Charlotte, 4:13:29
David Brown, 42, Belmont, 4:13:41
Scott Bortz, 46, Charlotte, 4:15:35
James Nebus, 58, Charlotte, 4:15:43
Jonah Smith, 31, Fort Mill, 4:16:19
Terry McCabe, 50, Charlotte, 4:16:48
Justin Mohl, 33, Charlotte, 4:17:00
Chris Sadler, 36, Charlotte, 4:17:49
Winn Elliott, 42, Charlotte, 4:18:26
Kathy Lee, 47, Charlotte, 4:18:41
Jim Bales, 44, Charlotte, 4:19:06
Jennifer DeCurtins, 27, Charlotte, 4:19:08
John Lewis, 42, Charlotte, 4:19:31
Bridget Lewis, 41, Charlotte, 4:19:33
Erica Muschamp, 25, Charlotte, 4:19:51
William Talford, 38, Rock Hill, 4:19:59
Lisa Helms, 37, Monroe, 4:20:58
Bruce Hui, 61, Mooresville, 4:21:39
Eric Plott, 49, Charlotte, 4:23:01
Paul Garberina, 41, Charlotte, 4:23:02
Ryan Klar, 35, Charlotte, 4:23:24
Matthew Sandness, 30, Huntersville, 4:24:16
Charles Gallman, 45, Gastonia, 4:24:53
Carol Amrani, 39, Hickory, 4:25:04
Elizandra Pierre, 31, Charlotte, 4:25:09
Marty Baker, 44, Charlotte, 4:25:10
Jose Borbor, 35, Charlotte, 4:25:15
Dustin Wilson, 32, Concord, 4:25:56
Gregory Yeager, 46, Salisbury, 4:26:39
Mike McGlinchey, 59, Charlotte, 4:27:07
Matt Rollins, 42, Charlotte, 4:27:22
Tim Vanderkamp, 37, Charlotte, 4:28:05
Brian Woods, 30, Charlotte, 4:28:51
Adam Berusch, 46, Charlotte, 4:29:18
Thomas Baysinger, 32, Charlotte, 4:31:20
Vail Carter, 58, Charlotte, 4:32:04
Cindy Rosenthal, 49, Matthews, 4:32:12
Charles Jacobs, 28, Charlotte, 4:32:42
Darren Gilbert, 40, Charlotte, 4:32:54
Steven Sanford, 46, Charlotte, 4:33:02
Greg Davis, 37, Charlotte, 4:33:52
Geoff Hickman, 38, Charlotte, 4:34:26
Emily Barrett, 29, Charlotte, 4:34:54
Trevor Hehn, 24, Huntersville, 4:35:59
Amheric Hall, 45, Charlotte, 4:36:29
Brooke Dunlap, 32, Huntersville, 4:37:45
Michael Benjamin, 20, Waxhaw, 4:38:09
Michael Griffin, 41, Charlotte, 4:38:34
Stephen Mendoza, 41, Charlotte, 4:38:59
Sunshine Padilla, 34, Hickory, 4:39:15
Brian Adams, 44, Cornelius, 4:39:51
Frank Schall, 27, Charlotte, 4:41:10
Vicki Scott, 50, Mooresville, 4:41:16
Mark Grubich, 41, Waxhaw, 4:41:46
Mark Huntley, 30, Charlotte, 4:42:24
Holly Davis, 30, Charlotte, 4:44:19
Erin Burns, 32, Charlotte, 4:45:53
Michael Lash, 18, Matthews, 4:46:35
Christopher Mann, 31, Charlotte, 4:47:26
Brett Ferguson, 53, Cornelius, 4:47:32
Melissa Oyler, 32, Waxhaw, 4:47:45
Tanner Bacon, 28, Charlotte, 4:48:13
Matthew Houchins, 20, Charlotte, 4:48:30
Ben Baker, 26, Mooresville, 4:49:05
Jamie Laymon, 35, Rock Hill, 4:49:48
Michael Dennis, 31, Charlotte, 4:50:28
Samuel Carrara, 34, Charlotte, 4:50:31
Molly Almquist, 27, Charlotte, 4:50:43
Michael Fink, 37, Cornelius, 4:50:53
Emily Harris, 35, Charlotte, 4:51:33
Joshua Baker, 30, Concord, 4:51:50
Ravi Loganathan, 42, Charlotte, 4:52:24
Colleen Sands, 20, Charlotte, 4:52:28
James Sands, 52, Charlotte, 4:52:28
Danielle Angell, 36, Davidson, 4:52:55
Michael Angell, 43, Davidson, 4:52:56
Rob Chen, 42, Huntersville, 4:53:06
Staci Sanders, 39, Charlotte, 4:53:23
Patrick Harder, 46, Charlotte, 4:53:31
Adriana Santolla, 21, Fort Mill, 4:54:21
Andrew Bayuk, 43, Indian Trail, 4:54:54
Calogera Becker, 49, Fort Mill, 4:55:11
Jeff Dyke, 43, Charlotte, 4:55:21
Heidi Limbrunner, 34, Fort Mill, 4:56:21
Monica Johnson, 36, Charlotte, 4:56:36
Kristin Rogentinelee, 43, Charlotte, 4:56:36
Sarah Stamper, 29, Charlotte, 4:56:36
Allen Holloway, 36, Charlotte, 4:57:49
Colleen Steele, 41, Charlotte, 4:58:00
Ashley Cannon, 37, Davidson, 4:58:24
Henrik Ernst, 29, Charlotte, 4:59:37
Arthur Scott, 51, Mount Holly, 4:59:48
Brian Foote, 49, Charlotte, 5:00:09
Alisa Icenhour, 28, Charlotte, 5:01:25
Ryan Icenhour, 32, Charlotte, 5:01:26
Roberta Vassell, 36, Charlotte, 5:01:28
Daniel Stowe, 58, Charlotte, 5:01:33
Tal Goldberg, 37, Huntersville, 5:02:00
Karen Dukes, 48, Charlotte, 5:02:33
Scott Schenzer, 35, Charlotte, 5:03:18
Ali Roberson, 22, Charlotte, 5:03:41
Amy Grybush, 39, Charlotte, 5:03:50
Stephan Rothwell, 40, Huntersville, 5:07:52
Kenny Brown, 34, Charlotte, 5:08:36
Brandon Belote, 26, Charlotte, 5:08:49
Charles Montgomery, 37, Charlotte, 5:09:13
Mary Countryman, 44, Indian Trail, 5:11:11
Rick Begovich, 36, Charlotte, 5:11:52
Callista Henson, 51, Charlotte, 5:12:01
Kristen Race, 41, Waxhaw, 5:12:27
Jeanette Kantor, 40, Charlotte, 5:12:57
Mary Clark, 37, Charlotte, 5:13:11
Frank Wenz, 43, Charlotte, 5:14:05
Amanda Leong, 27, Charlotte, 5:14:11
Patrick Rogers, 24, Charlotte, 5:14:15
Shannon Klar, 33, Charlotte, 5:14:54
Jim Stout, 49, Matthews, 5:15:18
Aubrey Arant, 56, Charlotte, 5:15:48
Melissa Holer, 27, Charlotte, 5:15:58
John Lee, 41, Charlotte, 5:16:05
Amy Davis, 33, Charlotte, 5:16:14
Judy Osborn, 57, Charlotte, 5:16:45
Lorna Chandlee, 24, Charlotte, 5:18:28
Stephanie Fulton, 25, Concord, 5:18:54
Anne Koester, 32, Huntersville, 5:20:07
Heather Pacey, 20, Matthews, 5:20:10
Whitney Wilson, 20, Cornelius, 5:20:10
Blair Bryan, 49, Charlotte, 5:20:22
Jason Dorn, 20, Charlotte, 5:21:33
Andrew Matznick, 24, Charlotte, 5:21:33
Kyle Thomas, 27, Charlotte, 5:21:33
Carol Mancini, 50, Harrisburg, 5:21:36
Lisa Keller, 40, Charlotte, 5:22:31
Duncan Brewer, 54, Charlotte, 5:23:23
Tyler Menz, 23, Charlotte, 5:23:25
Kathryn Maltarich, 30, Charlotte, 5:24:34
Tracey Scheid, 48, Huntersville, 5:25:36
Jim Dewey, 43, Waxhaw, 5:26:06
Harry Harden, 52, Charlotte, 5:29:20
Cathryn Walling, 53, Charlotte, 5:29:32
Woratep Yunyongkul, 33, Charlotte, 5:31:12
Alisa Chintakananda, 30, Charlotte, 5:31:13
Adam Bohlen, 29, Matthews, 5:31:54
Katherine Lynch, 24, Concord, 5:36:30
Steven Kerr, 47, Fort Mill, 5:37:23
Soonthorn Ativanichayaph, 35, Charlotte, 5:39:12
Ronnie Taylor, 33, Rock Hill, 5:39:59
Andrew Goodman, 38, Charlotte, 5:40:51
Lee Donton, 39, Waxhaw, 5:42:35
Stephanie Jenkins, 33, Charlotte, 5:42:36
Deallen Nourse, 35, Charlotte, 5:42:48
Jennifer Weidlich, 35, Charlotte, 5:42:48
Kimberly Reeves, 23, Matthews, 5:43:01
Justin Angotti, 24, Charlotte, 5:45:13
Alec LaFontaine, 23, Charlotte, 5:45:13
Kathleen Keating, 24, Charlotte, 5:45:52
Sherry Crump, 34, Fort Mill, 5:47:20
Daniel Keller, 41, Charlotte, 5:47:43
Nathan Kelt Kelty, 21, Waxhaw, 5:48:08
Anne Linto, 45, Waxhaw, 5:48:09
David Linto, 41, Waxhaw, 5:48:09
Jeffrey Humbert, 48, Waxhaw, 5:50:50
Darlene McMiddletonnya, 42, Fort Mill, 5:52:47
Jason Winslow, 38, Charlotte, 5:55:18
John Rissanen, 56, Matthews, 5:55:44
Quyen Tran, 28, Charlotte, 5:58:12
Joe Aleman, 65, Charlotte, 5:58:39
Steven Wright, 45, Charlotte, 5:58:53
Jodie Strong, 27, Charlotte, 5:59:15
Thomas Brown, 39, Tega Cay, 6:01:08
Roy Cadenhead, 63, Matthews, 6:06:27
Dan McNeil, 29, Charlotte, 6:09:00
Jennifer Vanderkamp, 35, Charlotte, 6:17:55
Kelly Darden, 25, Charlotte, 6:29:17
Michael Cato, 37, Charlotte, 6:34:31
John Spikes, 70, Charlotte, 6:37:52
Aaron Smith, 61, Charlotte, 6:44:36
Elizabeth Hollingsworth, 27, Charlotte, 6:52:23

The long, long, long, long way down

2010-10-31T16:56:00.000-04:00

The moral of this story is simple: When all else fails, run a downhill marathon.

I mean, there are other reasons to explain why I was finally able to break out of the 3:40s rut with a 15-minute 59-second PR at the Ridge to Bridge Marathon on Saturday morning. I had lots of good race experience in a short span (it was my fifth 26.2 in a year's time). I used a new type of training program that treated me exceptionally well. The weather in the Pisgah National Forest was cold and crisp, just the way I like it. And I ended up, fortuitously, becoming a pacer for a first-timer; we pushed each other through almost the entire race -- in different ways.

So in a sense, it was the perfect storm for me. In the eye of it? One of the most serene, beautiful racecourses of any distance that I've ever set foot on, notable for late-season fall colors as far as the eye can see ... and a staggering 2,661 feet of total elevation loss.

Two-thousand six-hundred sixty-one feet is more than half a mile. To put this figure in perspective, that's 83 percent taller than the roof of the Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower) in downtown Chicago. Two of the most talked-about downhill marathons in the U.S. -- Tucson and St. George, in Utah -- don't drop as steeply, at "just" 2,200 feet and 2,563 feet, respectively.

Although it wasn't quite like falling off a cliff, Miles 6 through 14 are pretty much one continuous downhill (with a couple of unexpected rises), and the last four ...... actually, before I get to the finish, I should start at the beginning.

One year ago this weekend, I ran my first marathon -- the New York City Marathon -- on a nice cold day. I went out a little too fast, bonked in the Bronx and struggled through Central Park to a 3:49:55. Six weeks later -- on a nice cold day -- I never hit the wall and cruised to a 3:42:32 at Thunder Road. Confidence was high when I did the Shamrock Marathon in Virginia Beach in March, but another too-fast start plus sun, heat and wind led to a big collapse and a 3:49:14. And then in June I struggled to a 3:43:54 in San Diego as the sun roasted me and thousands of other runners on Mission Bay and Fiesta Island.

I was learning things every time out, though. About pre-race meals. About staying relaxed in the early miles. About pacing strategies. When and how I need to take GUs. Hydration strategies. Running the tangents. Pain management. (I also learned that I'm not -- and never will be -- a warm-weather marathoner.)

For those first four marathons, I used some variation of the same training plan, one that had me running five days a week. For Ridge to Bridge, I adopted a program that had me running just four days a week. The difference, slightly oversimplified: When you run 50 miles a week divided five ways, with a long run of 18, your other four runs are eight miles each; when you run 50 in a week over four days, with a long run of 20, your other three runs are 10 miles each.

During my toughest week, I did 14 on Monday, a 12-mile tempo on Wednesday, 13 on Thursday, and 20 on Saturday. The benefits in my mind, then, are that a) the extra rest day allowed my muscles more healing, and b) the consistently longer runs during the week increased my overall endurance. Bonus: Unlike my other training cycles, I had no bouts with IT band syndrome or muscle strains or foot tenderness.

So ...... when my wife and daughter and I arrived at the Quality Inn in Morganton Friday evening, I was feeling as physically and mentally ready as was possible.

The Ridge to Bridge Marathon is a small race that's capped at just 300 runners, a field dwarfed by many local 5Ks. It's held almost literally in the middle of nowhere. Morganton isn't the middle of nowhere; it's a city of about 17,000 in Burke County, 75 miles northwest of Charlotte. But the Quality Inn, which served as the race hotel, is 40 minutes from the start in Jonas Ridge (population less than 1,300) and 30 minutes from the finish at Brown Mountain Beach (population less than 130, I'd guess). Both of those places qualify as the middle of nowhere in my book.

A few minutes after I walked into the hotel lobby -- about the size of my living room -- I ran into Alice Watson, Bobby Aswell, Todd Hartung and Chad Randolph, the Charlotte-area runners I was planning to carpool with up to the start the next morning. With my room keys I was given two Otis Spunkmeyer oatmeal raisin cookies, which I gave to my wife and daughter. (I'd eaten a plate of pasta and several slices of lunchmeat at home before we left Charlotte.)

At packet pickup down the hall, I was greeted by race director David Lee in a room maybe the size of my garage. No expo, no lines, just a handful of friendly volunteers, and a goody bag that included a long-sleeved tech tee and a pair of gloves with "Ridge to Bridge Marathon" stamped on them.

Lights out shortly after 10 p.m. (and 1.5 Michelob Ultras), and following a typically bad night's sleep, I crawled out of bed just before 5 a.m. After dressing, I ate one and a half bagels with strawberry cream cheese that I'd brought from home. (I should note that the hotel, in a nice touch, was providing a "breakfast medley bag" free to racers that had a muffin, a cereal bar, a banana and OJ.) When I stepped out the door at 6:10, it was just above freezing, and as I made my way around the building to the front, I noticed the windows and windshields of cars in the parking lot were frosted over. I wasn't going to have to worry about overheating today.

On the ride to Jonas Ridge, I chatted with Chad, Bobby, Todd and Alice about their respective goals and got an overview of the course from Bobby, who had run it in 3:05 in 2009 (with the swine flu!). Chad's wife Laurie and young son James were also good company. It was dark out for the entire 25-mile trip up NC-181, but the headlights of Chad's Honda Odyssey generally shone on a steep incline and my ears popped routinely.

We pulled into the staging area just before 7 a.m., still under dark (but perfectly clear) skies. The staging area is -- appropriately -- a shuttered gas station/general store owned by Marathon Oil. Several cars were idling in the lot, and there weren't any lines at the six portapotties, so most of us jumped out and used them ... then jumped straight back into the warm van, as the outdoor air temp was 30 degrees. When we saw the lights of the three coach buses, which were carrying a couple hundred runners who had parked at the finish, we hit the facilities again to beat the lines that would form a few minutes later.

Said hello to too many Charlotte-area runners to name between 7:30 and 8, but shortly before heading for the starting line, a young guy named Troy (I'd learn later his last name is Lee) introduced himself as being from Charlotte. He was running his first-ever marathon -- he'd written "Marathon Virgin" on the back of his singlet -- and didn't have a watch, so was hoping to tag along with someone shooting for 3:30.

To be honest, I was not super-excited about the prospect of having company, initially. I like running with friends, but I also enjoy solitude on runs, and marathons have typically been solitary experiences for me. Still, there was no point in being rude, so I lined up with Troy after shaking hands with some friends and acquaintances, and at 8:01 a.m., some 3,800 feet above sea level, 265+ runners set off down Mortimer Road.

I had preprogrammed my Garmin to pace me at 8-minute miles, which would bring me in at 3:30 (which would be a significant PR). My strategy was to keep myself in check early on, something I've had trouble doing in the past, then to keep myself from going too crazy on the long, swift plunge between Miles 6 and 14. Hopefully, I'd be able to keep on pace but not creep too far under it -- on such steep descents, that would mean I'd be hitting my pace but throttling back on the effort level. The aim was to put myself in a position to bring home the last 10K strong.

The short story is, it worked. Splendidly. Not just as well as I had hoped, but better. The long story:

Roughly four of the first 5.5 miles -- before the big long drop -- are on asphalt, and can best be described as rolling. There's a good descent around Mile 3, but this section is an out-and-back, so we had to come back up it in Mile 5. Most of Mile 4 is on an unpaved stretch of road that nearly touches the Blue Ridge Parkway before U-turning.

I was just trying to get comfortable in the first 30-40 minutes. There were plenty of people around Troy and me for the first few miles, some good-naturedly picking on me because I'm a "celebrity" and many remarking on Troy's "Marathon Virgin" status. I learned that he has previously done just two half-marathons, although his PR is 1:30, four minutes faster than mine. I also learned that his longest long run was 18 miles, and I immediately formulated the opinion that he was going to hit the wall -- like so many of us do. I kept that to myself, figuring I was probably a 50/50 bet to join him.

The scenery was breathtaking. The leaves were a little past their peak but still beautiful, and the quiet, peaceful roads provided an absolutely spectacular setting for 26.2. Fan support was non-existent, which is a drawback, but the vistas helped keep the mind active.

Miles 1 through 5 clicked off at 8:10, 8:02, 7:54, 8:01 and 7:55. Right on target. (At left: Mark Hinson of Charlotte, Troy, and myself. Photo by Jinnie Austin.)

At 5.5, we hung a left onto -- well, I don't know if the road even has a name. It's about nine miles, is wide enough for 1.5 cars, has dozens of blind curves, many switchbacks, no guardrails. It's basically a trail, albeit groomed so there are no roots or significant rocks. Some of the gravel was larger than pebble sized, but most of it was in the middle of the "road," so if you stayed to either side, it was like running on hard-packed dirt.

A side note: I'd originally planned to run R2B in a pair of lightweight trail shoes. But because most of my training is done in 7-ounce Saucony Fastwitch 4s, the 9.8-ounce Adidas AdiZero XTs consistently felt heavy-ish. I ran slower than I'd hoped in them at a 30K in September, and after a horrible tempo run in them three days out, I decided to take my chances and go with the Fastwitch. I had run one other marathon in these -- San Diego -- and finished with an achy left foot. After R2B, I had no foot pain at all.

The Fastwitch is a very light and very fast shoe. The trouble with the Fastwitch -- and I knew this could be an issue going in -- is that the soles are very soft, so if you step on small, sharp rocks, you'll feel it. Also, the soles occasionally grab onto pebbles; when this happens, it feels like there's a rock inside your shoe. (I in fact lost about 10 seconds around Mile 4 when I had to stop to dig out a pebble.)

On the unpaved section, it tended to be difficult to hit the tangents a) because Troy didn't seem to be focusing on them and I didn't want to constantly be running over him (we had so much time out there that in hindsight, I should have coached him on doing so), b) the road was open to traffic, and although there was very little on this stretch, when it came, if you were stuck on the outside of a turn, you had to take it that way, and c) it meant going across the middle and risking stepping on a sharp rock or picking up a pebble with my soles. I should say, though, that that early stone was the one and only that got lodged. (I should also say I wound up with just 26.21 on the Garmin in the end.)

The little bits of congestion that there were up top thinned quickly on the trail section. It was at this point that, despite my best pre-race efforts, I started to feel like I needed a pee break. But I ignored it at first, while Troy and I chewed the scenery and bantered with runners who passed by. We commented about the leaves and the view and how easy the pace felt and how much our quads would hurt later. The next few miles went by in 8:10, 7:49 and 7:54 as I tried to keep the brakes on. Many other runners did not, and I hoped that we'd see them later.

Around Mile 9, I finally decided to pull over. Troy said he'd hold the pace we were doing and I said I'd catch up. The first place I chose was occupied by a small camping party; the second did the job. It took a few minutes to run down Troy, and shortly after we hit one of the very few inclines in this stretch of the race. An unexpected surprise, but I suppose it was a nice break for the quads. Water stops were hardly plentiful -- maybe one every 2.5 miles -- but there was still a chill in the air and zero direct sunlight underneath the forest canopy. 7:51, 7:55, 7:55, 7:48, 7:52. Down, down, down, down, down. There were no timing clocks on the course, but I had us hitting the half at 1:44:05.

At the bottom of the unpaved section, about 14.5 miles in, we hit Edgemont Road and banked left for another little out-and-back of about one mile (so two total -- one out, one back). This was an asphalt stretch, and I was surprised by how hard it felt and how relatively fatigued my legs suddenly felt with the change in terrain. We went through the tiny town of Edgemont and I saw Chad and friends Joel Thomas and Mark Ippolito -- who were on their way to BQs -- coming back toward us. I wondered if I'd see them again before the finish line. Miles 14-16: 8:06, 7:52, 7:46.

Shortly thereafter, Troy and I were again on unpaved road, a little wider, a little dustier, a little less shaded, and with gentle rolls (no serious climbs, though). A few more vehicles here, but most were race fans and we never felt at risk. The sun was getting a little warmer, but it was still only in the mid-40s probably. Mile 17 was 7:51. Around Mile 18, we left Edgemont Road and turned onto Brown Mountain Beach Road, which would carry us along a rolling river with some rapids and smaller waterfalls. Very picturesque and pleasant, it was either on our left or our right for the rest of the journey. We crossed it four times if I'm remembering correctly. (As we ran onto the first one, I somewhat lamely joked to Troy, "'Ridge to Bridge,' right? This is the bridge. Can we be done??") Mile 18: 7:46.

At this point, I knew things were going well. I felt in control. I had been fueling well -- GUs at the start, at Mile 5, at Mile 10, at Mile 15 -- and drinking enough but not too much. My breathing was good, my legs felt (reasonably) good, I was still clicking off sub-8 miles and didn't feel like I was losing steam at all. There was no impending sense of doom, as I'd felt in San Diego and in Virginia Beach. Mile 19 was the fastest of the day so far -- 7:41 -- but I knew that anything could happen in the next hour.

Troy had fallen pretty quiet. I'd congratulated him when we hit 18 and he was officially into his longest run ever. We were steadily running people down, maybe a couple per mile. But I was getting worried about him, so I tried to be as encouraging as possible. "You're doing awesome, man. Let's just keep picking people off." When we hit the Mile 20 marker, I decided to start counting the people we were passing to myself. There weren't many out there, but it gave me something to do.

10K left. I felt good. 45-50 minutes to go. My legs were tired, but I could run tired. What I couldn't run through was The Wall -- when general fatigue takes over and energy-wise you're completely tapped out and the will to run evaporates. You can usually feel it coming. I didn't feel it coming. Troy did, I think, but I kept coaxing him. "Just hang on, man, you're running great. I can't believe this is your first!" 7:48, 7:44, 8:02.

With 3.2 to go we began a gradual descent that would take us all the way home. After a couple hundred meters, I said, "Just a 5K now..." He said he was thirsty and wondered if there was a water stop coming up. I said, "I don't know, but in 25 minutes you'll be able to drink as much as you want." 7:54, 7:45, 7:48. We were cranking. We came around a bend and although we could see just smatterings of a crowd, Troy must have known he was going to make it -- he held at his fist and I punched it and said, "Dude, awesome job."

And then we heard the beeping of finishers crossing the timing pad. I knew from reviews that we would briefly go out beyond where the finish was and come back, and we couldn't see the 26 sign yet, but it was in the bag at this point. I couldn't believe how fresh I felt. In the next second, though, Troy said, "I'm cramping up," and suddenly, he was gone. I'd gotten him about 25.7 miles of the way there. I felt terrible for him. At the same time, I suspected the race wouldn't be a total disaster for him. When you bonk or cramp at Mile 20, you feel despair. When you bonk or cramp at 25.7, with the finish line literally in sight, you'll be across in nine more minutes or less even if you have to walk it in, barring a real injury.

I dipped down into the parking lot of Brown Mountain Beach Resort and headed away from the finish, briefly, as I made a lap around it. Mile 26 clicked off at 7:39 (fastest of the day). I was about to sprint it in but stayed on pace when I got the faintest suspicion my own cramp was bubbling up. It didn't, thankfully, and I crossed the line just behind a guy I wasn't quite able to chase down. He would have been my 12th victim since the Mile 20 marker; only one person passed Troy and I.

My official time: 3:26:33 (7:53 average pace), 55th out of 265 finishers, with a negative split -- I ran the second half in 1:42:28. And my legs felt relatively good. One of the first people to congratulate me was Josh Baker of Valdese, who won in 2:40:06 (he also was doing his first marathon). About three minutes later, Troy crossed in 3:29:31. He looked both disappointed about the fact that he had cramped up, and overjoyed by the fact that he had done so well in his 26.2 debut. He also looked very thirsty.

There was plenty to drink, but even better, there was PLENTY to eat. A seemingly endless supply of Papa John's pizza, along with BBQ and burgers with all the fixings, and other assorted treats. I downed a bottle of water, then a Mountain Dew -- even though I normally do not drink soda -- then a slice of pizza, then a burger with slaw, then another slice of pizza. I mingled with other runners (too many to name, although congrats again to the winner, Josh; the aforementioned BQers; and sisters Jill Brashear and Jana Spencer, two other Charlotte runners who qualified for Boston Saturday).

But mostly I beamed with pride over my 16-minute PR, over the fact that I finally had busted out of the 3:40s rut I'd been stuck in for the past year. And I was thrilled to have pulled Troy along for as far as I did. Earlier today, he sent me a note that made me feel almost as good as the PR: "Could not have done that run without you. Thanks for being a great motivator. There were so many times after Mile 20 that I wanted to call it quits."

Up top I alluded to the fact that Troy pushed me as much as I pushed him, just in a different way. It's true. After my initial reluctance, I gradually got fired up by the prospect of pacing him to a solid time. There was never a moment when I wanted to throw in the towel, but I really wonder whether I might have slowed down if not for him. Even though he might have been struggling late, he was for the most part right in step with me, and sometimes even half a step ahead. I didn't want to let him down ... but I also didn't want him to beat me. (I figured that we'd cross the line together.)

I wanted to show him that I could do exactly what I was encouraging him to do. Stay in check early, maintain focus, pick people off late, finish strong. I did it. He basically did, too.

With a little help from a lotta downhill.

Not quite sure why I don't have a photo of Troy and me post-race, but here's one of me with newly minted Boston qualifier Mark Ippolito afterward. Photo by Chad Randolph.

Ultra guy unites runners in Davidson area

2010-10-23T23:59:00.005-04:00

Chad Randolph likes to joke that he and his friends started the Davidson Area Running Team nearly two years ago because they were interested in getting some cool T-shirts made up.

The T-shirts -- unveiled this summer -- certainly look good, and you can see the team logo used on them on the group's Facebook page. But what's truly cool about the Davidson Area Running Team (a.k.a. DART) is how Randolph and his cohorts have been able to establish a tight-knit running community in and around this tiny college town.

Currently, the informal group claims more than 40 members, many of whom get together for weekly group runs as well as special runs, such as the Davidson Run for Green half marathon preview held three weeks before the Sept. 18 race. Randolph, semi-retired at just 45, is listed on the Facebook page as the club's sole officer (he credits Dave Munger as his primary partner in crime).

The husband and father of one is known to many runners in Charlotte because he is a former part-time shoe guy at Run For Your Life-Dilworth and now fills in occasionally at the store in University City. Randolph also serves on the Davidson Greenways Citizens' Advisory Board and Davidson Lands Conservancy's Run for Green committee.

It's not uncommon to see him doing local races in his Vibram FiveFingers, or at ultramarathons regionally. In fact, in 2011, he plans to tackle his first- and second-ever 100-milers ... all within the first four months of the year.

Read on to learn more about DART, his passion for minimalist footwear and ultras, and how the heck he is able to be semi-retired at such a relatively young age.

Q. Everybody loves a good origin story. Tell me DART's.

Davidson is a small town with a fairly large number of runners, and you'll notice that when you go through town you'll see a handful of people running at any time of day. The town prides itself on being bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly, and within its environs there are many running spots, such as the greenway, Fisher Farm, and Davidson College's cross country trail. Davidson Area Running Team came about as a result of a discussion between Todd Hartung, Jim Crotts, and me one day while we were running on the greenway nearly two years ago. Wouldn't it be nice if we were to put together a running club for the area that would encompass Davidson and the surrounding towns of Mooresville, Cornelius, and Huntersville? ... Seeing as they both had real jobs and I had recently retired from Lowe's, the job of putting together a vision, running group, and website fell to me.

Q. What's your longterm vision for DART?

I would like to keep DART small and local and yet less dependent upon one or two persons. Right now it's mostly me and Dave Munger updating the online presence and putting together the group runs. In the future, I'd like DART to be a clearinghouse for all things running-related in the Lake Norman area, including group runs, routes, races, stores, and gear reviews. I'd like to work more with some of the other local running groups such as the Charlotte Running Club, the Birkdale Runners/Walkers Group, and the University City Road Runners. I'm contemplating having DART put on a series of T-shirt races, a la Mangum Track Club, in the near future.

Q. When and why did you start running?

While I've always been athletic, playing basketball in high school and tennis in college, I never saw the appeal of running in and of itself. Back in the day, running was used as a punishment for making goofs in "real" sports. I credit two people for getting me into running. First was my brother-in-law Greg, who starting running in the early 1990s as a means of losing weight. He talked me into running with him even though I've always been pretty lean and didn't need to lose weight. After a couple of years of running four to six miles at a time with Greg, I was seduced by the dark side of running, namely long distance. Rickey Reeves of Millers Creek, N.C., talked me into running with him and his group. On Sundays, we ran 16-22 miles through areas of rural Wilkes County I'd never been through even in a car. Although I've gone on to running ultras, I still consider Rickey to be my mentor.

Q. And … when and why did you start running in Vibrams?

I'm known for being in the forefront of minimalist footwear and have been running mostly in Vibram Fivefingers for a while. This was before Christopher McDougall's book "Born to Run" came out. The reason I picked up running in FiveFingers is pretty simple, and had nothing to do with curing any ailments or refuting the supposed evils of the big running shoe companies. Two years ago, I saw a guy wearing them at the starting line at the inaugural New River Trail 50K. Like any other runner, I'm always interested in trying new stuff, so I picked up a pair of FiveFinger KSOs and began running in them. Without trying to sound too preachy, I've found that they do enhance proprioception and make running more enjoyable. After several months of adjusting my stride and cadence, I started running in races and my times as compared to previous years' were slightly faster. I've run three marathons in FiveFingers (Hatfield & McCoy in 2009, Thunder Road in 2009, Boone marathon in 2010) and every one, though successful, was slower than what I might normally do. I attribute this to foot fatigue over time and distance, and now run in Nike Free or New Balance MT101 shoes on longer distances. For this Saturday's Ridge to Bridge Marathon, I'll be sporting a pair of modified Saucony Fastwitch 2 racing flats. I've cut about half of the heel off and made eighteen horizontal slits in the sole to provide more flexibility.

Q. What are your next big races? They're the 100-milers, right?

Yes, I'm doing the Iron Horse Endurance Run 100-miler in February 2011, followed by the Umstead 100-miler in April. I picked Umstead as it's nearby and it's on the bucket list of many ultrarunners. I picked Iron Horse because I didn't want to put all my hopes on the Umstead race. So I'm using a 100-mile race to prep for another 100-mile race. ... For both, my obvious goal will be to finish and my secondary goal will be to finish each in under 20 hours. I've been told by veterans that they're "easy" races in that they're non-technical -- flat, gentle surfaces. I'll get back to you on that. ... I enjoy longer races than shorter ones; after a 5k I usually end up falling asleep, whereas for a marathon or ultra I'm usually amped up the rest of the day.

Q. How do you stay motivated during long training runs?

I don't have a problem staying motived during long runs as long as the scenery isn't too boring. I tend not to wear headphones when I run, though I did wear them during the last nine miles of the Iron Horse 100K and that really helped pass the time, as it was dark and other runners were few and far between. (Randolph finished in 11:49 at the Florida race last February.)

Q. How do you balance a heavy training load with a family?

My wife Laurie is very understanding, and actually prefers that I run rather than sit at home and read running blogs. My son (James, 6) thinks it's my job.

Q. Describe what it is you love about running in general.

Running is a lifestyle akin to surfing. The clothing, the lingo, the attitude. To paraphrase Jeff Spicoli in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, "All I need are some tasty roads, a cool breeze, and I'm fine."

Q. Describe what it is you love about ultrarunning in particular.

When I lined up for my first ultra, the Triple Lakes 40-miler in 2007, Laurie remarked that the people looked different. In what way? Crunchier, she said. Ultra races are generally low-key events frequented by low-key people. From the winners to the last-place finishers, ultrarunners are uniformly gregarious.

Q. You retired at age 41. What was your secret?

Nothing glamorous like cornering the tungsten market or something. When I started at Lowe's in 1990, it was one of a dozen regional home improvement stores and grew dramatically during the 17 years I was there. Equally importantly is that Laurie was at Lowe's for 18 years.

Q. Finally, what are your three proudest accomplishments as a runner?

The most emotionally uplifting experience was my first marathon, the Charlotte Run For Peace in January 1999, which was a point-to-point course from Davidson College to Queens College. When James was 6 months old, I began running with him in a baby jogger and I pushed him in runs and races -- mostly 5K and 10K races -- until last spring. I really enjoyed the time we spent together outside. The longest race I've accomplished, this year's Iron Horse Endurance Run 100K (62 miles), was the first race in which I was awarded a belt buckle as a finisher's award. You can bet that if I'm wearing pants I'm probably wearing that belt buckle.

For more info on the Davidson Area Running Team, click here.

Dilworth 8K canceled due to lack of interest

2010-10-15T07:00:00.004-04:00

As some of you already know by now, the Dilworth Jubilee 8K and Fun Run -- originally scheduled for Saturday morning -- was canceled earlier this week.

Race director Scott Dvorak had been making an attempt to bring the race back to Charlotte; it had disappeared from the race calendar in 2009 after a 36-year run (the 8K had been billed as "Charlotte's oldest road race").

In 2008, the Dilworth Jubilee race drew 238 men and women. Dvorak said that as of Monday, he'd had only 80 entries for the 2010 edition.

"And I wasn't confident that I would get the 250 needed to be whole by this Saturday," said Dvorak, who owns the Charlotte Running Co. in Dilworth. "If I thought it would have at least been break even, I would've put it on, but I couldn't afford to lose money on it.

"It was a late decision by myself and the Dilworth Community Association to try and revive the race. I think the short time to market it, coupled with the 15k (the Lung Strong 15K in Lake Norman), hurt the numbers. I'm committed to trying it again next year, though. I'm hoping with more planning time and awareness, I can make a go of it next year."

On the bright side, Dvorak has the Charlotte Southpark Turkey Trot on the horizon. He said he's expecting 7,000 participants for the Thanksgiving Day event, which has become an annual tradition for scores of local runners.

Largest Queens athletic event ever?

2010-10-14T14:05:00.002-04:00

The Queens University of Charlotte cross country teams will host what could be the school's largest single-day athletic event when they stage the Royal Cross Country Challenge Friday afternoon.

Queens will host mostl of Conference Carolina's and the Southeast Region's Division II programs, in addition to Division I institutions such as Florida State, Georgia Tech, Elon and Davidson, UNC-Greensboro and UNC-Asheville -- nearly 700 competitors and 35 teams in all.

The women's 5,000-meter "Gold" race starts at 3:30 p.m. at McAlpine Creek Park, while the men's "Gold" 8k starts at 4:15 p.m. Admission to this event, which also serves as the pre-conference and pre-region meet, is free. For meet details and a full list of competing schools, click here.

Both Royals programs are currently ranked nationally, with the men's team at No. 7 and the women at No. 22.

How'd locals do in Chicago?

2010-10-11T15:30:00.001-04:00

A record 38,131 runners competed in the Chicago Marathon on Sunday and a record 36,159 finished, according to the Chicago Tribune, despite temperatures in the 80s.

Charlotte attorney Chad Crockford, 29, clocked the fastest time of the nearly 200 locals who made the trip, finishing in 2 hours, 53 minutes, 38 seconds. (Photo of him at right is from a local race, not from Chicago.) Mo Campbell, 24, was the top female finisher from Charlotte; she posted a 3:04:03, besting the mark she set as winner of the 2009 Thunder Road Marathon by 20 seconds.

The heat was definitely a factor on Sunday. Race officials raised the color-coded race alert gauge from yellow to red, meaning conditions were potentially dangerous.

Says Crockford: "I was just very lucky to reach the finish line before the wheels came off -- in that heat, it is really just a matter of when, not if. I thought the marathon organizers did an excellent job with additional water, sponges and cold towels on the course, but I would have much rather be running in 50-degree temperatures."

Here are the official results for the other Charlotte-area residents who completed the 2010 Bank of America Chicago Marathon (for complete results, click here):

Richard Sexton, 47, Concord, 3:15:14
Jeff Hoffman, 24, Charlotte, 3:15:36
Stephan Hightower, 37, Charlotte, 3:16:37
Kevin Croke, 28, Charlotte, 3:18:29
John Pasinski, 24, Charlotte, 3:19:42
Walter Kuhn, 35, Huntersville, 3:21:09
Bjorn Erik Norman, 27, Charlotte, 3:27:00
Josh Cooper, 27, Charlotte, 3:29:39
Paul Dougherty, 38, Charlotte, 3:30:53
Ted Shen, 23, Charlotte, 3:30:53
Lindsey Hikes, 28, Huntersville, 3:31:31
Sarah Fox, 34, Charlotte, 3:32:06
Josh Ammons, 25, Charlotte, 3:37:07
Amanda Fleishman, 31, Charlotte, 3:37:28
David Hanson, 40, Charlotte, 3:41:46
Carmen Schmitt, 25, Charlotte, 3:41:47
Brian Graboski, 35, Charlotte, 3:41:57
Rick Yuan, 24, Charlotte, 3:42:24
David Templeton, 43, Fort Mill, 3:42:47
Jessica Anson, 33, Weddington, 3:43:37
Reed Griffith, 33, Charlotte, 3:43:55
David Frost, 38, Charlotte, 3:44:03
Joshua Lemke, 28, Charlotte, 3:48:02
Sean Sharpless, 40, Matthews, 3:48:10
Jamie Vollenweider, 30, Charlotte, 3:48:52
Jack Thompson, 34, Charlotte, 3:49:27
Lisa Vogel, 39, Charlotte, 3:50:11
Robert Blackard, 31, Charlotte, 3:50:32
Rhett Benner, 39, Huntersville, 3:50:34
Kelly Stow, 26, Charlotte, 3:51:21
Bryan Massingale, 34, Denver, 3:51:58
Jay Reid, 41, Fort Mill, 3:52:15
Katie Lacks, 23, Charlotte, 3:52:58
Bob Metzger, 38, Charlotte, 3:53:26
Steve Brown, 39, Monroe, 3:53:30
Ashley Liebrecht, 26, Charlotte, 3:54:27
Stephen McCoy, 45, Huntersville, 3:54:37
Heather Wachtler, 27, Charlotte, 3:54:44
Scott Martin, 27, Charlotte, 3:55:22
Nick Eller, 31, Mooresville, 3:55:43
John McCormick, 29, Charlotte, 3:56:04
William Morton, 34, Charlotte, 3:58:37
Katherine Stewart, 31, Charlotte, 3:59:26
Kathrine Wall, 39, Matthews, 4:00:17
Jamie Dodge, 37, Fort Mill, 4:00:53
Katie Harbold, 35, Charlotte, 4:01:06
George Thigpen, 40, Mooresville, 4:01:54
Joel Canino, 26, Charlotte, 4:03:10
Kenneth McIntyre, 40, Charlotte, 4:03:17
Emily Frank, 24, Charlotte, 4:04:35
Todd Soderquist, 27, Charlotte, 4:04:41
Koine Kinyua, 48, Charlotte, 4:05:40
Lauren Arizmendi, 22, Charlotte, 4:06:34
Ian White, 32, Charlotte, 4:10:26
John Schmidt, 33, Charlotte, 4:12:27
Diedrich Oglesbee, 37, Charlotte, 4:12:31
Karen Wilmer, 45, Charlotte, 4:12:49
Joe Cox, 30, Charlotte, 4:15:00
Ronald Mitchell, 35, Charlotte, 4:15:33
Mark Arizmendi, 51, Charlotte, 4:18:03
Darren Schmolke, 44, Mooresville, 4:18:34
Caitlin McElwrath, 21, Charlotte, 4:19:14
Jennifer Cozart, 35, Charlotte, 4:20:13
Philip Brody, 32, Charlotte, 4:21:47
Erin Walsh, 30, Charlotte, 4:21:49
Laura Young, 25, Charlotte, 4:22:38
Laura Centofanti, 29, Charlotte, 4:23:39
Carolyn Parnell, 33, Charlotte, 4:23:39
Lori Morrow, 38, Charlotte, 4:24:22
Gina Swierczewski, 39, Charlotte, 4:25:00
Matthew Walt, 27, Cornelius, 4:25:03
Jamie Christhilf, 39, Charlotte, 4:26:28
Colin Bain, 39, Cornelius, 4:27:41
Jody Dennis, 41, Charlotte, 4:27:43
David Hall, 40, Harrisburg, 4:29:25
William Hunter, 47, Gastonia, 4:29:54
John Hall, 49, Harrisburg, 4:30:28
Nick Calarco, 38, Charlotte, 4:31:29
Amy Bradley, 44, Charlotte, 4:32:26
Eddie David, 48, Charlotte, 4:33:45
Karen Ferebee, 52, Charlotte, 4:34:26
Todd Benjamin, 31, Lake Wylie, 4:35:02
Ray Haile, 58, Tega Cay, 4:35:05
Thomas Wishon, 28, Charlotte, 4:36:58
Jason Sutton, 41, Indian Trail, 4:38:42
Katherine Peralta, 23, Charlotte, 4:40:29
Dominick Davis, 38, Charlotte, 4:41:07
Chad Cubert, 33, Mooresville, 4:41:21
Ambrin Lakhany, 27, Gastonia, 4:42:46
Gerald Luff, 35, Matthews, 4:42:46
Kelly Taylor, 37, Charlotte, 4:45:20
Brian Stanton, 35, Charlotte, 4:45:39
Kirsten D'Amore, 41, Gastonia, 4:47:51
Frank Van Den Boomen, 41, Huntersville, 4:48:13
Elizabeth Roop, 31, Charlotte, 4:49:45
Kim Webster, 34, Waxhaw, 4:50:53
Marcia Conston, 54, Charlotte, 4:51:11
Bill Miller, 54, Charlotte, 4:51:11
Derick Brumley, 27, Charlotte, 4:51:47
James Bullock, 47, Charlotte, 4:52:25
Karen Graboski, 33, Charlotte, 4:53:37
Michael Schank, 37, Huntersville, 4:55:14
Wendy Arias, 36, Charlotte, 4:55:25
Pat White, 35, Concord, 4:56:31
Kevin Montgomery, 39, Matthews, 4:57:06
Donna Caldwell, 49, Weddington, 4:58:25
Kate Smith, 29, Charlotte, 5:00:22
Elizabeth Bell Mitchell, 33, Charlotte, 5:00:32
Jason Mitchell, 30, Charlotte, 5:00:32
Kenneth Todd, 34, Salisbury, 5:00:33
William Deihl, 39, Matthews, 5:00:40
Greg Swierczewski, 37, Charlotte, 5:02:00
Matthew Matone, 39, Charlotte, 5:05:57
Gilbert Vinluan, 40, Charlotte, 5:06:34
Brooke McKay, 38, Charlotte, 5:06:44
John Taylor, 45, Huntersville, 5:10:19
Laura Rabell, 26, Charlotte, 5:10:32
Matt McGue, 46, Charlotte, 5:11:24
Karen Hunter, 43, Gastonia, 5:14:54
Susan Haile, 49, Tega Cay, 5:11:58
Erick Ray, 32, Charlotte, 5:15:05
Patricia Guevara, 35, Charlotte, 5:16:39
Tracy Roop, 35, Charlotte, 5:17:10
Robert Maucher, 30, Charlotte, 5:19:35
Pamela Pulver, 46, Davidson, 5:20:47
Mary Jo Becker, 54, Charlotte, 5:21:23
Justin Lichty, 30, Charlotte, 5:22:23
Joshua Sheffler, 28, Indian Trail, 5:24:15
Tammy Proffit, 51, Davidson, 5:25:41
Sara Lee, 53, Hickory, 5:26:00
Mike Taylor, 37, Charlotte, 5:27:21
Larry Hunt, 34, Charlotte, 5:30:46
Laurel Reisen, 35, Charlotte, 5:30:53
Greta Morcos, 28, Fort Mill, 5:33:55
Erin Boyle, 27, Charlotte, 5:33:57
Allison Boyle, 24, Charlotte, 5:33:57
E.J. Rabell, 28, Charlotte, 5:34:10
Jill Seale, 49, Charlotte, 5:35:48
Brad Baldwin, 35, Charlotte, 5:36:34
Janice Sachs, 47, Charlotte, 5:37:33
Denine Woodrow, 45, Charlotte, 5:37:47
Nicole Carosella, 33, Charlotte, 5:38:23
Brian Wallace, 36, Charlotte, 5:40:26
Susan Neel, 46, Charlotte, 5:41:18
Gwen Romeo, 32, Charlotte, 5:42:25
Lauren Adams, 27, Charlotte, 5:43:43
Donna King, 53, Charlotte, 5:43:51
Genevieve Mezinskis, 37, Charlotte, 5:44:04
Brandi Adams, 30, Charlotte, 5:46:34
Kimberly Matone, 39, Charlotte, 5:48:11
Harry Emerson, 57, Rock Hill, 5:49:17
Michelle Mazzulo, 50, Matthews, 5:49:38
Alecia Taylor, 27, Charlotte, 5:52:28
Paula Segura De Cortina, 42, Charlotte, 5:52:30
John Keane, 57, Charlotte, 5:52:33
Emily Keane, 22, Charlotte, 5:52:34
Mauro Coruzzi, 46, Charlotte, 5:53:41
Laura Alizzi, 37, Mount Holly, 5:57:18
Charles Sparks, 39, Charlotte, 5:58:52
Emily Kronemeyer, 30, Charlotte, 6:02:52
Adrienne Dillard, 37, York, 6:03:17
Brian Caldwell, 47, Weddington, 6:03:37
Dennis Coruzzi, 44, Charlotte, 6:04:11
Amy Moore, 39, Charlotte, 6:05:31
Tim Golden, 39, Charlotte, 6:08:18
Shantel Wiley, 29, Tega Cay, 6:10:28
Basil Lyberg, 33, Charlotte, 6:13:03
Matthew Deiger, 39, Charlotte, 6:16:49
Maurice Hikes, 39, Huntersville, 6:20:19
Candice Broadie, 45, Charlotte, 6:29:59
Krystin Jacobs, 39, Charlotte, 6:32:06
Tom Sullivan, 47, Harrisburg, 6:37:01

Nice girls finish first

2010-10-07T08:58:00.001-04:00

It’s easy to forget that Kelly Fillnow is the best female triathlete in Charlotte.

If you’ve run with her, you forget because you’re usually too busy answering a question she’s asked you about your job or your family or your own personal running goals to remember the fact that she’s done a half Ironman in 4:25:39 and a full 140.6 in 10:16:12. (To put this in perspective for non-triathletes, these times are somewhat akin to coming in under your Boston qualifying mark –- by half an hour.) She genuinely seems more interested in YOU, refreshing considering so many elite athletes often seem so wrapped up in their own accomplishments.

And if she’s not showing interest in what you’re up to, the 27-year-old is smiling sheepishly about the fact that she is no good at changing a flat tire (true, best I can tell) or about how weak a swimmer she is (not true at all, at least from my perspective).

But Kelly Fillnow is indeed our city’s best, and she is on the brink of becoming even better: On Sunday, she’ll compete as an amateur at the Ford Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii. And if everything falls into place, the next time she goes to Kona, she’ll go as a pro.

Kelly, a Pittsburgh native, arrived in North Carolina in 2001 when she took a scholarship to play tennis at Davidson College. She discovered she could run “after seeing the sport as torture during my high school years,” and wound up running for the Wildcats as a junior and senior while continuing to play tennis. She took a fifth year of eligibility at Duke University and ran both cross-country and track on scholarship for 2005-06.

Today, the 1:19 half-marathoner and 2:57 marathoner works as a nutritionist, trainer and life coach for Upgrade Lifestyle in Huntersville. Tomorrow ... who knows?

(Note: Kelly is featured on the cover of the current issue of Endurance Magazine, as you can see above. Photo by Kim Hummel.)

Q. What's your goal for Hawaii?

My main goal is to soak up the experience, as I never know if I will have this opportunity once again. My second goal is to race to the best of my ability. I know that there will be many black holes that I will have to overcome, but I am hoping to stay mentally strong throughout the very long day and cross the finish line knowing that I gave it everything that I have. I think those two goals are more important than any specific tangible goal. I don't think I will remember years from now what place I came in at the Hawaii Ironman, but I will remember the feeling of laying it all on the line when moments got tough. That will be the experience that I can share with my clients and my kids some day. (Follow Kelly's blog here.)

Q. You recently became eligible for pro status, right?

Yes. At my first 70.3 in Florida last year, I missed qualifying by about 30 seconds, and then qualifed this year at Lake Stevens (second amateur) and Augusta (first amateur, fifth overall).

Q. As a triathlete, what does "going pro" mean exactly?

It’s simply a classification that enables qualified athletes to race for prize money.

Q. So what’s the next step?

Once an athlete "qualifies" for the pro card, he or she has to apply for the card with the USAT. It is definitely a big decision to make.

Q. What goes into that decision?

The advantages of going pro include sponsorship opportunities, better starting times, better transition locations, the ability to sign up for a closed race a few days in advance, being able to race against the best of the sport, and of course prize money. ... The main disadvantage is getting your butt kicked. A way to qualify for professional status is by finishing third amateur in designated races with a certain prize purse. ... I initially thought that I would not apply for the card just so I could gain another year of experience as an age-grouper. I talked to a few of my friends who are professionals, and they also recommended waiting another year. However, after finishing in the Top 5 amongst the pros at my last half, I feel a bit more confident about taking the big leap to the professional world.

Q. Do you dream of making a living as a triathlete?

I already have a dream job (at Upgrade Lifestyle). There is nothing more satisfying then helping others achieve something they never thought was possible. I work with some clients to improve their nutrition, others training for triathlons, others trying to start an exercise program. Besides being so fulfilling, my job also offers me a lot of flexibility that enables me to get my training in daily. It still can be very challenging trying to balance my clients, my training, my social life, and proper sleep at times. I try to take life just a day at a time and to feel content in my present circumstances. I don't want to look too far into the future, or look back on my life with any regrets. I think that it is just important to enjoy the present moment and know that each day is such a gift.
Q. What prompted you to take up triathlons?

After running for Duke, I started working for Davidson College in sports marketing and did nothing competitive for a while. Then two of my friends asked me to try a tri in (2006). We all borrowed bikes, and got in my apartment pool a couple of times before the big day. I ended up having an absolute blast and got third female overall.

Q. Which is your favorite leg?

My favorite leg is the run because at that point everything is in your control. I feel a sigh of relief once I get off the bike because there are so many circumstances that are beyond my control during that portion, like mechanical difficulties.

Q. And you still struggle the most with the swim?

Yes, my weakest leg is the swim. The bike was easier to just pick up, but the swim is so technically based, that it will take patience to see extensive progress. I just started swimming and biking a couple of years ago, so I have a lot of room to improve in both disciplines. Malcolm Gladwell in (the book) "Outliers" describes how researchers have found that it takes over 10,000 hours to gain expertise in a certain field, so I still have hours upon hours of training to go before I get to that point.

Q. Do you think at some point you'll switch your focus back to running exclusively?

I had initially planned on switching back to a run focus during 2011, but recently decided to change directions and focus on 70.3s and Ironman races for 2011. I have found that you have to pick a focus; it is nearly impossible to simultaneously try to be the best that you can be in both sports. Because of the time that the sport of triathlon demands, when I have a family I will just be a tennis player who occassionally goes on pedestrian style trots.

Q. Your sister Meghan is also an extremely gifted athlete. How competitive are the two of you with each other?

We used to be extremely competitive when we were on the same soccer, basketball, gymnastics and softball teams growing up. I would not be the athlete I am today if it was not for Meghan. She has pushed me ever since I was a young girl, and we instilled in each other the value of hard work. If she had the same amount of time to train as I did, she would be competing at a higher level than where I am. Her schedule is not conducive to training. I am so proud of her; she just did her second half Ironman in 4:46 on limited training and finished fourth in our age group.

Q. You're one of the most humble "elite" athletes I've had the pleasure of getting to know in Charlotte. Have you always been so modest?

In high school and college I was definitely too modest in that I would intentionally put myself down in front of people. Since then, I have learned the proper balance of modesty, humility and quiet confidence. I think it is very important to choose humility in the face of success. What keeps me humble is realizing that the talents I have are all gifts from God. He is the one doing all the work, and I am nothing without Him.

Q. I know that Christianity also plays an important role in your life. Can you talk about how your faith guides you, both in life and on the race course?

My faith enables me to keep life in perspective and be content with where God has me in the present moment. God has given me a gift, and my number one goal is to praise Him. Christianity helps me to understand that I am not competing for other people, or to impress others, but I am competing to glorify God. Having this attitude gives me such a sense of peace when I am competing. I know that everything will work out the way He intends, so I can train and compete at a state of freedom and honor Him on both good and bad days.

Q. It seems like you’ve been extraordinarily fortunate to have lots of good days. Can you talk about a time when the going has been tough for you?

One of the biggest adversities that I have dealt with was the frightening experience of learning that my dad has chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Watching him positively deal with his leukemia has really strengthened me as an individual. Oftentimes when I am competing and experiencing pain, I think about him and how he has dealt so positively with his setback, and the pain becomes infinitesimal. Pain is a temporary state and your mind can have so much power over the way your body feels. My dad is living proof of one of my favorite quotes, "What your mind can believe, your body can achieve."

Joining Kelly in Kona on Sunday are four other Charlotte-area athletes: Jenny Leiser (who works in the crime lab at CMPD) and Matthews resident Tanya Houghton, both of whom qualified in their first Ironman last year; attorney Mike Selle, who qualified for his second Kona six weeks ago in Louisville; and Ken Partel, 61, who is returning to Kona for the second straight year.

Charlotte woman wins N.H. Marathon

2010-10-05T09:45:00.001-04:00

More great news, this time from New England: Charlotte's Kacey Faberman, a 25-year-old South Meck grad, was the women's winner at the small but scenic New Hampshire Marathon on Saturday; her 3:41:13 was a PR by more than 11 minutes.

Kacey said she chose the race -- which featured just 240 finishers and was held in the small town of Bristol, N.H. -- "for a couple of reasons, including enjoying a fall marathon in New England and visiting my 96-year-old grandmother, who lives in Holderness, about 16 miles from Bristol."

"I had a blast," she told me in an e-mail Monday. "Contributing factors included beautiful weather: 50 at the start with a nice breeze; breathtaking scenery: most of the miles were around Newfound Lake, along quiet country roads and the leaves are starting to change; and great people: both camaraderie along the route--especially with those who were doubling up and running the Peak Performance Maine Marathon the next day, the cheering spectators sitting out on their front porches and a super nice event organizer who placed medals around the necks of each finisher."

This was her fourth marathon; her previous personal best was a 3:52:52 at the Baltimore Marathon in 2008. She has only been running for a little more than three years.

"PRs are always awesome. I thought I was going to get stuck in a 3:50s rut, but this race certainly proved me wrong. I'd chalk it up to running more 5Ks in the past six months (10) than I ever ran before (two) and adopting a rescue dog -- Charlie Brown -- back in August who won't run slower than eight-minute miles and never tires out, even on double digit runs."

With victory came reward: "Not only did the director cut me a check -- enough to take my family out for lobster rolls and cover airfare and entry for next year's race -- but I also received a Newfound Lake afghan, a one-year subscription to New England Runner Magazine and a gift certificate for a Road ID. ... Small-town races are so cool."

But there were even bigger takeaways for Kacey. "I learned from the marathon this weekend that while setting goals based on time are important as far as planning your training goes, running with the goal of having fun and finishing feeling good are supreme ... and often more attainable!"

Locals shine at the Twin Cities Marathon

2010-10-03T21:21:00.005-04:00

Great news from Minnesota: Charlotte's Caitlin Chrisman ran a 2:41:52 at the Twin Cities Marathon to easily meet the "B" qualifying standard (2:47) for the 2012 Women's Olympic Trials Marathon. It was Caitlin's marathon debut.

The 24-year-old former Wake Forest University track star, a Bank of America employee, was the No. 1 American woman and the eighth overall female finisher. Her performance was also notable because she pulled a negative split of 1:21:36/1:20:17.

In an e-mail to me this evening, Caitlin wrote: "This whole weekend has been quite magical. I honestly can't stop smiling about the entire experience. Minneapolis is a beautiful city, with friendly people, and a picturesque landscape. I had the rare opportunity to run in a pack with four other amazing women to work together to achieve our qualifying goal. The synergy that we created was unlike anything I've ever experienced and such that I will never forget. My goal was to have fun, and I surpassed that goal ... I had a BLAST! The support after the race from my family, friends, and fellow Charlotte runners served as the cherry on top." (To read more about her race experience, check out her blog here.)

Caitlin was among several locals who joined more than 8,000 participants in kicking off the fall marathon season at Sunday morning's race in Minneapolis/St. Paul. Here are official finish times for the 20 greater Charlotte-area runners who braved the cold temperatures to complete the 26.2-mile distance. (For complete results, click here.)

Bill Shires, 45, Charlotte, 2:40:02

Caitlin Chrisman, 24, Charlotte, 2:41:52

Mike Beigay, 32, Concord, 2:47:16

Adam Mayes, 30, Cornelius, 3:08:46

Aregai Girmay, 51, Gastonia, 3:09:18

Bryan Allf, 53, Gastonia, 3:11:15

Dan Hochberg, 47, Charlotte, 3:20:11

Gerald Hutchinson, 50, Charlotte, 3:26:56

Fred Levy, 49, Gastonia, 3:32:34

Cliff Weston, 47, Huntersville, 3:37:46

Eduardo Regner, 29, Charlotte, 3:49:26

Janea Sweet, 34, Charlotte, 3:59:46

Joseph Becquer, 47, Charlotte, 4:04:50

Rod Brostrom, 54, Huntersville, 4:06:38

Andy Beach, 40, Denver, 4:16:06

Gregory McDowell, 53, Charlotte, 4:30:34

Audra Hausser, 37, Charlotte, 4:45:40

Stephanie Sheridan, 27, Charlotte, 5:03:30

Anita Brown, 50, Davidson, 5:16:26

George Bryan, 60, Hickory, 5:34:31

Kettlebell training for runners

2010-09-29T07:13:00.005-04:00

If you've been inside enough gyms -- particularly inside enough weight rooms -- you've probably seen kettlebells lying around, or maybe even spied one being used. But unless you've gotten awfully adventurous, it's possible you've never actually picked one up.

A kettlebell is a cast iron weight that sort of looks like a cannonball with a handle; its center of mass is extended beyond the hand, allowing for a wide variety of ballistic and swinging movements.

What does any of this have to do with running?Well, as it turns out, a growing number runners are using kettlebell exercises to develop both core and leg strength.

Lana Torkildsen, president of the Charlotte Track & Triathlon Club, recently shared her experience as a "kettlebell virgin" through a blog entry she wrote for Advanced Training Concepts. I'm republishing it below, with Lana's permission, for those who might be open to spicing up their cross training.

In early June of this year, I received an e-mail out of the blue from Cyrus Peterson of Advanced Training Concepts regarding kettlebell training for endurance athletes. He wrote a very appealing message about the sport of kettlebell lifting and its benefits for endurance athletes. I'm usually receptive to trying new things so we corresponded for awhile and set up a Kettlebell Introduction Seminar for the Charlotte Track and Triathlon Club (CTTC) where I am a board member.

Since I have never seen anyone use kettlebells except the miniature "toy bells" at the Y, I wasn't sure what this lifting concept would entail. I was enthralled during the seminar where three members of ATC were lifting the competition size kettlebells effortlessly while Coach Cyrus gave a detailed explanation of the movements and the body mechanics involved . It made me tired just watching them! During the hands on session for the CTTC members, I was astonished at the liter of sweat that poured from my body after only two to three minutes of kettlebell lifting! After Coach Cyrus provided more details about the history of kettlebell lifting and the benefits for runners and triathletes, I was intrigued to try it out and go into the EFP program. I could tell from Cyrus' presentation and physique that he had a great deal of training experience and education and I respected that.

After the seminar I joined ATC and commenced my training in the Kettlebell Elite Fitness Protocol (EFP). The timing of signing up for the EFP came in perfectly. 2010 is the year where I wanted to take a break from the monotony of running and triathlons. One experience's different terrains and towns during endurance events but there comes a point where it becomes just plain old running, cycling and swimming over again. I have been running seriously (marathons, half-marathons, and various smaller distances) since 1999 and participating in triathlons since 2006. The body and mind sometimes need a break from the repetition of speed work, hill work, cycling speed intervals and just trying to stay afloat in swimming.
I have 39 marathons, 30 half marathons, over 150 5K races, 20 sprint, and 6 Olympic distance triathlons under my belt. The common misconception I hear from runners and triathletes is that they are in good shape and can eat whatever they want. This is true to a point but we are only using a portion of our muscles and under-utilizing the rest, i.e., upper body, core area, hips and hamstrings. Most of us are guilty of not performing weight bearing exercises during marathon or triathlon training and as a result we lack the resiliency to injury that a solid strength and conditioning program can deliver to us. I thought I was in good shape until I started the EFP program!

Once I finished my last triathlon for the season and finished the Assessment and Orientation Program, I started EFP the second week of August. This new type of soreness I felt from training with kettlebells let me know where my weaknesses were and motivated me to become stronger in those areas . I was ready to take on a new challenge!

Week 1: A real eye opener. I realized quickly that I needed to consume a few more calories before going into an EFP session. I barely made it through two timed sets (we work for time not for repetitions) and was very fatigued at the end. Fortunately, Coach Cyrus was easy on me and very patient. I can be slow to learn new things but he was very attentive to make sure that my technique and form were correct. Patience and attention to detail...two must have qualities in a Coach.

Week 2: After consuming a high carbohydrate meal an hour before the session, I finished the three timed sets in style! I was very surprised of how fun the EFP sessions can be. Cyrus had a different routine every time which is so refreshing! I am still running on other days preparing for the Blue Ridge Relay where I am part of a 12 member team. The relay covers about 206 miles and is very hilly. TheWednesday morning run route entails some hill work where my girlfriends and I try to charge them. I noticed after my second week of EFP that taking hills seemed much less difficult. These hills were starting to feel like a piece of cake!

Week 3: It's dawning on me that Coach instills a lot of confidence in his students. I never thought I could do swings with almost half of my bodyweight, or graduate to the pinky competition size kettlebell (8 kilograms). This is what Cyrus has been referring to as the progression in this program.

I have not cycled or swam since the first weekend of August but I am curious to see the results once I get my mojo back on these and will blog about it. This is the week where I am scheduled to run the half-marathon in Disneyland. I have been a slacker on speed work so my goal for this event was to run it under 2 hours while giving the "high five" to all the Disney characters along the route. The route is relatively flat with a couple of bumps and I was not in any mood to push myself either. I was very pleased and surprised with my time and the way my legs felt strong during the race. Running felt effortless the whole time that I really enjoyed the sport! My legs usually feel fatigued around mile 10 but my legs had a lot of power left to keep on trucking for the last 3.1! I was also in my second week of running in orthotics so that was another variable to add to the mix.

Week 4: time for measurements and body composition again! I was tickled with the results from the body composition: lower body fat and a toner physique. My friends have been teasing me about my "peanut" sized biceps. One more week of EFP before the Blue Ridge Relay. Mountain goat hill...here I come!

One of the things I'm learning about kettlebell lifting is that it involves using your whole body to perform the movements. I'm actually enjoying the "juice" (sweat) pouring out of me while going through the sessions. This is something I did not experience from working out with the nautilus machines or free weights in the commercial gyms. I never anticipated how effortless running can be. My core area and legs feel much stronger only after one month. I can't deny the fact that with age and time, you lose muscle mass more quickly. I really dread the back fat and the "salt and pepper" jiggle creeping upon me so I am tickled to see lately, the transformation in the arms, shoulders and back.

Duke grad not your average 'Survivor'

2010-09-09T13:51:00.001-04:00

Kelly Bruno has brains and brawn in equal quantities.

The 26-year-old graduated from Duke University in 2005 with a degree in biology, and currently is in her second year of studies at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine (for the moment, she hopes to pursue a career in anesthesiology).

At the same time, Bruno is a serious endurance athlete who has completed races including full Ironman events in Arizona and Hawaii and the Bataan Memorial Death March, a marathon she ran earlier this year while carrying a 35-pound rucksack.

But neither her intelligence nor her athletic prowess will make her stand out initially when she makes her prime-time television debut on the season premiere of "Survivor: Nicaragua," set to air at 8 p.m. Wednesday on CBS.

Instead, much ado will likely be made about her disability: Bruno lost her right leg below the knee at 6 months old, the result of a congenital birth defect. She is the second amputee to compete on "Survivor," following Chad Crittenden ("Vanuatu," 2004).

In a recent interview, Bruno spoke with us about what she did to prepare for "Survivor," how being an amputee might affect her game, and the loss of her father, who was killed last January in the earthquake in Haiti, where he was performing missionary work.

Q. So prior to heading to Nicaragua, what’s the craziest thing you’d ever done in your life?

I went skydiving. That was probably like the riskiest thing I’ve ever done.

Q. The Bataan Death March sounds like it was pretty crazy, too.

It was awesome. It was so cool. I finished the race running a 10-minute mile at the end. I mean, it took me seven hours to do the whole thing. It was nuts. But I had a lot of energy left. It was a really great race.

Q. You doing anymore races this year?

Pinehurst Triathlon in October, and then probably the (Wrightsville Beach) Marathon (in Wilmington) in March.

Q. OK, so "Survivor": What was your motivation for applying to the show?

A friend recommended it to me, thought that I would be a good candidate for it. It seemed like an interesting adventure. I’ve done a lot of different kinds of challenges. I’m always looking for something to work towards, some kind of adventure, some kind of challenge, some kind of event. Most of the stuff I do is triathlon-related at this point, but I did a marathon last year with a 35-pound rucksack. (I like) stuff like that, unusual stuff, and so this one just seemed like the same kind of challenge to me. I had nothing to lose by applying is what I figured.

Q. Between the time you got cast and the time you left, what kinds of things did you do to get ready?

I started doing a lot more CrossFit training (CrossFit is a core strength and conditioning program), since I figured the challenges would require more of that kind of skill and fitness. And then I did a lot of balance stuff, because I am an amputee and I knew the most difficult part for me would be balance-type events. I actually practiced some puzzle-type things on the computer just to kind of get my mind focused on how to piece things together because I knew the puzzles might be a challenge. I watched a lot of old episodes and seasons to see how people handled situations and tried to take notes on that – see what worked, see what didn’t work. But at the end of the day, I don’t know if there’s any great way to prepare for it. I mean, I certainly felt more prepared. I’m glad I did what I did. But there’s certainly a lot more I could have done, I think.

Q. Did you have a particular strategy going in?

The difficult thing for me was, because of my leg, I wanted to make sure that people didn’t see me as a liability, as a person with a physical disability. So I wanted to make sure I kind of proved myself, and that was a big part of kind of my strategy going in: making sure that people believed that I could do everything that they could. And then obviously I went with more the nice-girl personality, trying to make friends. Have friends everywhere.

Q. What was your initial reaction when you found out the theme for the season was going to be old vs. young?

Part of me was really surprised, I think, but part of me was a little disappointed almost because of the types of interaction that I’ve had. I kind of I grew up very early on, and I feel like I’m kind of older than my age, so I really actually tend to connect with older adults. I really thought that was gonna be an advantage for me, so when it ended up splitting, with the young people on one side and old people on the other, I mean … it kind of changes the dynamic of my plan. I think I relate better to 30-year-olds than 19-year-olds at this point, so I wasn’t thrilled. But you make the most of it.

Q. Having a full life’s worth of experience as an amputee and having been in all types of social situations, what was your sense as you prepared for this adventure of how your disability might help or hurt you in the game?

Well, going in I talked to some people about the possibility that it would actually make my game more difficult because I could potentially be a charity case. If I made it as far as everybody else did, there was that possibility that people would think that I might deserve it more than others. ... So weighing that with knowing that a lot of people don’t like to be beat by someone with one leg. It can be humbling, but I think that moreso, some people are threatened by it. I’ve been at races and people want to beat me because they don’t want to get beat by someone that has one leg. So I knew that was gonna be a challenge, too, to kind of convince people that we were on equal playing field and that I was the same as them and that I worked as hard as everyone else did to get where I was. Not that I deserved more, but I deserved the same as them. People are funny with these kinds of things. I think some people get it in their head that they’re gonna treat you one way, and without even realizing it will treat you like you’re not capable of doing things yourself. And that was something that I knew going in, like you said, from situations that I had been in in the past. Part of me doesn’t even really get fazed by those kinds of things at this point in my life, because I’ve seen it so often that I just kind of ignore it almost. I just do my thing and go about my life as I would.

Q. Did you go into Survivor thinking your level of fitness would be a definite advantage?

I did. Being a trained athlete and knowing that my physical fitness level was fairly good, I did think I would have an advantage physically, I think more because I know what it’s like to push yourself. When you have nothing left, you can keep going. When you hit that wall in the marathon, you still have something left and you can keep going. I think that kind of mental discipline is what I figured would get me through, moreso than I think the physical fitness part. Almost less physically and more mentally I thought I was really prepared for the situation -- you know, having no food, having those kinds of difficult situations.

Q. What would you do with a million dollars if you won it?

Probably donate some of it to Food For The Poor, (which) my dad was working with, and then pay off school loans.

Q. Speaking of your father, I was really sorry to hear that you lost him earlier this year. Looking back on the past eight months, how would you say your life perspective has changed having had a little time to grieve and reflect?

I guess day-to-day, my perspective hasn’t changed dramatically. I just look at I think enjoying everything in your life -- even the worst moments -- as much as you can, and I think I took that to "Survivor" with me. That knowing that you just don’t know what the future’s gonna hold, and making the most of what you have right now. I think that was really an important lesson for me, and just kind of a change in my perspective on life. It’s also cherishing the relationships that you have in your life, which when you’re in an environment where you’re not necessarily friends with everyone and you’re away from the people that are important to you, it kind of makes you realize how important those people are. And so that was a great thing when I came home. It was a reminder of what my family and friends mean to me, and I can really make sure that they know that. Unfortunately, with how unexpected my dad’s death was, I didn’t really get that chance to say goodbye and really make sure he knew how I felt. I mean, I think that he knew I loved him and everything, but not getting that chance to say goodbye is a very hard thing, and so it was just a reminder of (the fact that) you really can’t go about life alone. And that is definitely something you learn in “Survivor,” too -- you rely on other people, and you have to have a connection with other people, and so making sure you make the most of that.

Local duo completes TransRockies run

2010-09-02T15:19:00.003-04:00

Here's an excerpt from a follow-up e-mail I received this week from Ken Bansemer, who recently completed the Gore-Tex TransRockies Run with friend Lynn Pettus (I blogged about them last month here):

"Wanted to share with you that Lynn and I completed the TransRockies Run last Friday! Ended up being about 118 miles over the six days, in nothing but beautiful weather (if not cold at night in the tents, with temps in the 30s). Finished in about 29:18 – good enough for 11th out of 21 in our age group. We had an absolute blast and would recommend this to anyone – the support crew was simply amazing and went out of their way to make all the runners feel comfortable. Great scenery, awesome trails, great mountains to climb and descend – couldn’t have asked for a better experience.

"We were able to make sure everyone out there knew about Emmah and our fundraising. Emmah’s parents (Jeff and Julie) did in fact make it there for the finish and were able to celebrate the moment with us.

"I continued to blog about it in the week leading up to and the days of the race, and have a few more posts to put up over the upcoming days. So if you want a recap, it can be found at www.113forEmmah.blogspot.com."

Fort Mill woman runs down her dream

2010-09-01T11:50:00.001-04:00

Have you ever caught yourself daydreaming about taking your love of running to the next level, to one where it wasn't just a hobby, a passion, or a lifestyle ... but also a job?

I've talked to enough runners to know this is a pretty common fantasy. Few, though, make real plans. Fewer still will ever take action.

And then there are people like Jamie Dodge, a stay-at-home mom who had a dream about starting a running club in Fort Mill and turned it into a reality that now sees her coaching more than 30 South Carolina runners of varied skill levels who are training for everything from 5Ks to marathons.

Founded earlier this year, Dodge's icoachurun club is a seasonal running group that is built around eight-week sessions to be held each summer, fall, winter and spring.

"We meet (at 5:45 a.m.) on Tuesdays (at the Baxter YMCA) for some type of running workout that may include anything from tempos, fartleks, intervals, pick-ups, hills, hill sprints, drills, strengthen exercises, and post run stretch," says Dodge, 37, who moved here with her husband and two children from Seattle two years ago. "There also is a long run option on Sundays in the fall for runners building endurance for fall events."

New members pay $35 for the eight-week session, and renewing members pay $20; the long run option is additional. Dodge is a certified running coach, and her runners receive gait analysis and proper shoe fitting from Omega Sports in the Rivergate Shopping Center. The next eight-week training session begins Sept. 14, with the end-of-session race being the Dowd Y 5K on Nov. 6.

Read on for excerpts from a recent interview with Dodge.

Q. What was the impetus for starting this group?

So many reasons -- where do I begin? I love running. I believe it can help people in so many ways. I believe in the power of running to transform physical and mental health. I believe that most people can be runners, and I love helping people to realize their potential and achieve their goals. This is the motivation behind why I started icoachurun. It was clear to me that the Fort Mill area is underserved in runner resources such as running clubs, running shoe stores and coaches. I decide to fill a void with combining a running club with coaching services to help bring in new runners and help people train properly.

Q. What's been the biggest challenge for you so far, as a coach?

My goal is to build confidence, motivation and inspiration along with proper training techniques and sit back and watch them bloom. But I have learned that I really have to hold onto my beginners and provide more motivation early on. I think that beginners can become discouraged easily and life can distract them from their goals. Once the habit is established, then I can let go of my hold. I have learned that I really need a vise-like grib on them in the early weeks.

Q. You ran in high school, is that right? What kind of runner were you back then?

I did run both track and cross-country in high school. It is funny, as I had recently found a box of high school memorabilia in which I keep all my high school cross country statistics. I am actually a lot faster now than I was in high school. I was always pulling up the rear on my teams. I was there more for the social aspect of being a part of a team and cheering on my friends than being a competitor. I remember being bothered when I would have to quit chatting to run an event in track. In my senior year, I was actually an assistant to the coach as I hadn't trained as I was suppose to and didn't run. I really just wanted to be there with my friends. I was and I will always be more of a cheerleader than a competitor. There was no running in my college life.
Q. And you've recently become a pretty avid marathoner, correct?

Yes. I have run seven marathons in 16 months with two of those marathons at 3:46 just seconds shy of my BQ goal. All my marathons thus far have been amazing experiences and each one holds a special place. I think I would say the Virginia Beach Shamrock Marathon is one of my favorites because I met one of my closet friends at Mile 20 on that course. I loved the after-party on the beach, ease of getting to and from the start, and the course is flat. I loved the excitement, energy and sights at the Marine Corps, but falling sick to too much Powerade sort of took away from my complete enjoyment of the event.

Q. Do you plan to do another one anytime soon?

I will be heading to Chicago in seven weeks to hopefully and finally snag my 3:45. Then if recovery goes well, I will be doing a November marathon (to be determined) and then Thunder Road to complete the year.

Q. How much has focusing on the group forced you to compromise some of your goals as an individual runner?

When I started coaching, I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to fully concentrate on my running goals as well as help others achieve theirs. I was wrong. Helping others to become the runners they want to be actually fuels me to be the best I can be. I am very fortunate to have a family that loves and support my running adventures. I believe I have found a balance between motherhood, coaching and running.

Q. Quick random question, since a lot of us don't get across the S.C. border very often: Where are the best places to run in Fort Mill?

You all should come visit Baxter Village in Fort Mill. I live and run mostly in Baxter. It is beautiful neighborhood where I can run endless miles in the safety of this community. Recently just five minutes from Baxter in Rock Hill, the Riverwalk Trail opened. I have been running lots there lately. It is a beautiful asphalt trail along the Catawba River that goes 2.25 miles out and back.

Q. And finally ... how has this whole experience changed you as an individual?

What I find the most profound about this journey to becoming a runner and a coach is that you are never too old to follow your passion and turn yourself into what you dreamed. Dreaming of doing or being something isn't just for children, teens or twentysomethings -- it’s really for anyone. Prior to being a stay-at-home mom, I completed college and worked as a corporate recruiter for a large wireless company. I had thought that this career path was the only one I was to follow, and had no idea that I could actually do something else in life. What is exciting is that I have rediscovered a joy of my early life and turned it into something I get to live every day. I've learned that if you dream it, you can do it.

Jamie Dodge, at left, with members of her icoachurun group
after last Saturday's Yiasou Greek Festival 5K.

No PR at Greek Fest, and that's fine with me

2010-08-29T10:41:00.008-04:00

For the past several months, I've felt stuck in a rut when it comes to 5Ks. I've been frustrated. Things came to a head on Saturday: Despite a reasonably cool day (for August in the South, at least) and a flat, fast course at the Yiasou Greek Festival 5K in Dilworth, I ran a full 25 seconds slower than the PR I set back in May at the Right Moves for Youth Twilight 5K.

I hung around afterward, but laid pretty low. I like supporting my friends, but this was the second straight 5K in which I couldn't get down under 21 minutes after three races in the 20s; I was miffed ... and, quite frankly, a little embarrassed.

Then I happened to walk by the Greenapple Sports & Wellness tent, where I said a quick hello to Dr. Clay Gasparovich and Dr. G himself (Scott Greenapple). Dr. G was hanging out with Meagan Nedlo, who had just finished second in the women's race with a 17:05 but feared she may have developed a stress fracture en route. He asked how my race was, I told him not great, and he replied, with a smile (I'm paraphrasing here), "Well, you've got to stop all that marathon training."

In other words: If you want to improve your 5K times, you need to start incorporating workouts that are designed to help improve your 5K times.

By the time I got into my car and started driving home, my whole perspective had shifted. I recalled my last six 5K times -- 21:08 in January, 20:38 in February, 20:41 in March, 20:37 in May, 21:06 in July, and then the 21:02 this weekend. All within a range of less than 30 seconds.

I realized I'm not -- as I had feared -- in a rut. I've just peaked. Or, at least, this is as fast as I'm going to get unless I change my training habits.

For more than a year now, I've almost constantly been marathon-focused. I trained for the New York City Marathon, which was last November; then I went straight into training for Thunder Road, which was in December; then I did Shamrock in Virginia Beach in March and Rock 'n' Roll San Diego in June. Currently, I'm training for the Ridge to Bridge Marathon on Oct. 30. Distance has been my priority, endurance. I do some speed and tempo work, but it's focused on building marathon speed.

Of course, even if I did switch from marathon training to 5K training, I realize I can only get so fast, that there's a limit to my physical ability. Maybe it is in fact 20:37. More likely (hopefully?), it's about a minute faster.

But here's some context that has helped me put my recent times in perspective: In her past five Run For Your Life Grand Prix Series 5Ks, Danielle Crockford -- one of the fastest women in Charlotte -- has run 18:31, 19:10, 18:38, 18:49, and 18:09 at Greek Fest Saturday. She ran the 2009 Greek Fest in 18:20.

Or consider Bobby Aswell Jr., one of our area's top masters runners: 18:30, 18:24, 18:49, 18:50, and 18:19 at Greek Fest Saturday. At Greek Fest in 2009, he clocked a 18:22.

I started running a little less than two years ago, and for the first year-plus, it was fun to PR every time out. But that streak was never going to last forever. I mean, I bring up Danielle's and Bobby's statistics to demonstrate that not even the best runners around can PR in every race. They can only work as hard as they can work; they grind it out in training, and sometimes there's a reward and sometimes it's "Shoot. Maybe next time."

Anyway, a great weight was lifted off of my back as I drove home from the race on Saturday. I decided that one day -- maybe -- I'd like to temporarily dedicate myself to 5K training. One day -- maybe -- I'll take a break from focusing on longer distances. One day -- maybe, just maybe -- I'll get down under 20 minutes.

But I'm happy running the way I'm running, and training the way I'm training. So today, my friends, is not that day.

Photo by Mike Beigay (I'm waving at his 1-year-old)

Rocky roads await these two runners

2010-08-16T18:00:00.000-04:00

Ken Bansemer's plan to run the Gore-Tex TransRockies Run started as a way for him to satisfy his thirst for adventure.

"I had been thinking about doing an ultra for awhile, but wasn’t sure I was ready to make the leap from a marathon to a 50-mile or 100-mile run – which generally takes place in one day only," says the 42-year-old Charlottean, a veteran of four marathons (PR: 4:13). "After reading about this race, I knew this was the kind of adventure I was seeking – it had manageable distances each day, but doing a challenging distance overall, in challenging terrain."

The 113-mile event begins in Buena Vista, Colo., and ends six days later in Beaver Creek, Colo. Entries are allowed only in pairs and rules dictate partners must stay within two minutes of one another throughout the race. If one drops out, the other also is finished.

As his teammate, Bansemer recruited Lynn Pettus, a 41-year-old Boston qualifier (PR: 3:47) who had been a training partner of his since the two met while prepping for the 2008 Disney Marathon through Team In Training. To date, they have completed three marathons together. "After Boston, I wanted to keep running but try something different," she recalls. "Ken approached me with this opportunity and it seemed like a great experience."

Then Bansemer came to a realization: If they were going to put forth this type of effort, they should raise money to benefit someone. Emmah Gudeman turned out to be an obvious choice for him.

"Emmah was the 13-year-old daughter of my friends Jeff and Julie Gudeman. She was the oldest of 6 kids – ages 3 – 13. I introduced her parents to each other about 18 years ago. I worked with Julie and was friends with Jeff. So in a way, I feel that I played a role in helping bring Emmah into this world." Emmah died in February after a four-year battle with neuroblastoma cancer.

So far they've raised more than $4,400, and the total still is growing.

They are flying to Colorado on Thursday, a few days early, to acclimate to the altitude. The race starts Aug. 22. Some days the runners will cover as many as 23 miles, some only 10, but each day they will be running between 8,000 and 12,000 feet above sea level on trails and narrow gravel roads, camping each night in a mobile tent city and taking five-minute showers in a shower truck.

And on Aug. 27, when the husband and father of two crosses the finish line with Pettus, they will be greeted by Emmah's parents Jeff and Julie, who are flying out from Joliet, Ill., "to share that special 'completed' moment with us," says Bansemer, "so they can also be a part of the celebration dinner, and so we can present them with the money we have raised."

I caught up with Bansemer and Pettus recently to talk about the challenge ahead.

Q. There are lots of ultramarathons out there. What appealed to you about this particular one?

Bansemer: Having never done an ultramarathon before, I knew I was ready to move beyond the marathon as I wasn’t going to get any quicker, and I always seek a challenge where I can do something different. I happened to read about this in Runner’s World about two years ago and it sounded appealing in a number of ways. Different distances each day, in a different state, on different terrain, at altitude. Also the fact that we would be sleeping in tents at night -- something I’ve done maybe twice in my life -- and running in teams, which were limited to a total of 200. It had all the elements of a unique experience that I was looking for, and was going to be a challenge to boot.

Q. What kind of training have you been doing to get ready for this challenge?

Pettus: A lot of running! I also do quite a bit of cross training -- cycling, yoga, Pilates, and weights.

Bansemer: We have been following a training plan set forth on the TransRockies website. Since January we have been running longer miles each week. My weekly mileage peaked at about 65 miles two weeks ago. It used to be that running 25 miles in a week seemed like a lot, and even for my previous marathons, I never ran more than 35 miles or so a week. Now, going out for a 15-miler seems like nothing, and I don’t fret about it. I learned from another friend who has done many ultramarathons that the key to be prepared is getting in back-to-back long runs on the weekend to get your legs prepared to run while tired. It is so true. Unlike previous training, there haven’t been any days in the past few months where I wake up with sore legs. Tired maybe, but not sore. So I take that as a good sign. There is really no way to replicate running the hills we are going to face, or training at altitude, so the best I have been able to do is some training runs recently at Crowders Mountain, and doing incline runs on a treadmill. Since January, I’ve logged about 850 miles, and had to take six weeks off for a broken rib and another three weeks for an Achilles injury.

Q. You've said this isn't about being competitive or winning, but about finishing -- and about the cause. Finishing in and of itself will be a huge accomplishment. Have you already laid out a strategy? What is it?

Pettus: The most important "strategy" is to enjoy the experience. We will be surrounded by beautiful scenery and participants with similar interests. Winning for me is enjoying the journey. That said, we will probably take Day 1 slow and thoughtfully. I definitely want to feel good going into Day 2.

Q. Lynn, what's your running relationship with Ken like?

Pettus: We do talk quite a bit about running, new gear, how we feel, but we also talk about politics, current events, career. When it gets tough (in Colorado) -- and I know it will -- Ken has my back and can motivate me to keep going. I hope I do the same for him.

Q. Ken, was it difficult to get your wife to sign off on this partnership?

Bansemer: Since I have been married to Brenda for 14 years, and running for about 10 of those, she has always been supportive of my passion to do races every so often, but I knew this time was different. This would be a huge time commitment for me, and put extra burden on her to take care of the kids on weekends when I ran long. But how does she say no when she knows this is a challenge, and I am doing it to help out our friends and honor Emmah! Brenda was sitting in the room with me when I spoke to Jeff on the phone and brought up running a race for Emmah and after that she was bought in as well. She does know that I am a goal-oriented person, and that I need these goals to keep me motivated to keep on doing my running. Plus, Brenda has known Lynn [who is not married] since our training for Disney -- Brenda also ran the half-marathon there that year -- so she knows that running together gets each of us out the door each weekend as a commitment to one another.

Q. What's your biggest fear going into the race?

Bansemer: During the past few months I haven’t thought about the challenges too much, but as the race is approaching, I am getting nervous about only one thing: the hills. The miles of hills. I don’t believe I am properly prepared to tackle them for long periods of time. The altitude doesn’t worry me at all -- although others are telling me I should be worried -- nor does the distance worry me, as that is why the TransRockies run had an appeal. Fortunately, I recognize all sorts of people try to do this run -- this is the fourth year -- and that they are able to accomplish it. It will not be easy, but if it was, I probably wouldn’t do it. Of course, if you look at the race course, Day 2 looks quite intimidating. It's only 10 miles that day, the shortest distance of the six days, but it looks like it is straight uphill for the first five miles.

Pettus: My biggest fear is the altitude. I feel strong and healthy, but the highest I have trained was 6,500 feet, on Mount Mitchell. And blisters!

Q. In the end, what do you expect or hope to get out of this experience?

Pettus: I have told others I hope this will be a spiritual adventure. I have never been to the Rockies, and am very excited about the unknown. Also, I am viewing this as a "detox" from everyday life.

Bansemer: I would like to think this brings confirmation that if you put your mind to do something that may seem impossible at first, you can do it. The body achieves what the mind believes. However, driving me the past eight months has been thinking about Emmah. … I have worn my "KEEP EMMAH IN YOUR HEART" bracelet every day since her passing in February, and it serves as a constant reminder for me that when times are tough, there is someone who had it even tougher and fought until the end. I think when I cross the finish line on Aug. 27, there is going to be a flood of various emotions – relief, satisfaction, joy and sorrow. (Colorado) was one of Emmah’s favorite places. (Her parents) will be able to participate in the celebration dinner with all the runners on that Friday night, and I hope by then all the other runners will know their story as well. It will be a special moment for me, and I am sure for them. This journey I have been on in celebrating Emmah’s life, and doing a run a few years ago I wouldn’t have thought possible, will be coming to an end. Then it will be a time for a new beginning and a new journey for me – most likely the attempt at a true one day ultra. Just don’t tell my wife.

Ken Bansemer regularly updates his blog, www.113ForEmmah.blogspot.com, and promises to do so throughout the race. You may make contributions at the site.
Observer special correspondent Melinda Johnston contributed to this report.

Run for a reason (and a free trip to Vegas)

2010-08-13T11:15:00.000-04:00

The Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA) is looking for people who are interested in training for the Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon on Dec. 5. The CCFA's mission is to find a cure for Crohn’s disease -- a seldom-discussed, painful and unpredictable disease of the digestive tract -- and a similar disease called ulcerative colitis.

What's being offered: The Foundation will provide participants with professional training and will pay most of the expenses for the participants to travel as a group to the race in Nevada, where they'll stay a total of four days and three nights.

What's expected: Each person will raise money for CCFA; the Foundation guarantees that a minimum of 75 percent of all funds will be used to help find a cure for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis -- and to improve the quality of life for people living with the diseases.

The Carolinas Chapter is hosting several information meetings this month, on the following dates:

10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 14, at Earth Fare in Ballantyne.
6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 17, at Borders Bookstore in Southpark.
10:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 21, at North County Library in Huntersville.
6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 24, at Omega Sports (intersection of Park and Woodlawn roads).

Organizers are requesting you RSVP if you plan to attend a meeting. You can do so by clicking here.

Brittney Leigh daCosta, Team Challenge Endurance Manager for the Carolinas Chapter, says a very special Team Challenge participant will tell her story at select information meetings. Sixteen-year-old Charlotte resident Sarah Bailey Wilson, a sufferer of ulcerative colitis (a chronic and painful digestive disease), raised $15,000 and finished the Boston half-marathon in June.

Sarah Bailey was diagnosed with the chronic and painful digestive disease after a family vacation during Thanksgiving break in 2009. She completed the 13.1-mile race with her parents and brother, all of whom were trained by professional coaches and support by CCFA staff and mentors. Funds raised by Wilson and her family went toward research, education, and support services for the 1.4 million Americans living with Crohn’s and colitis.

For more info, contact Brittney Leigh daCosta at BdaCosta@ccfa.org; call 704-817-7544; or click here.

I'll never forget my first love

2010-08-09T14:34:00.008-04:00

I am a runner.

I'm not the fastest runner out there, but I'm also nowhere near the slowest. I'm no ultramarathoner, but I can toss back a 16-miler on any given Saturday without complaining about my feet hurting. I get up at 5 a.m. multiple times a week to run. I'll get out there even if I'm sick, or tired. Yeah, I am a runner.

I've decided that I'm not, however, a triathlete. I mean, I've now done six, and I enjoy them -- but I don't think I'm a triathlete. What I am, I suppose, is a runner who happens to do triathlons.

This probably should have been obvious to me in the run-up to the Stumpy Creek International Triathlon in Mooresville. I'd get on my el cheapo Trek 1000 once every couple of weeks and bang out 15 miles here, 30 miles there, but kind of directionless. And really all I was doing was succumbing to my own personal guilt trip ("If you don't ride this weekend, you won't get another chance till next weekend!"). In the three months leading up to Saturday's race, I probably rode a total of less than 125 miles. Then there's the swimming: Once a week, like clockwork, for about an hour. No more, no less. No hardcore drills mixed in, just some basic stuff.

Nope, I couldn't find time to bike or swim the way I really needed to. I was too busy running.

And thanks to a combination of naivete and overconfidence, I fooled myself into thinking my running would save me Saturday at Stumpy Creek, which was my first international-distance triathlon ever after five sprints.

Anyway, here's my recap of the race:

The 1,500-meter Swim

The lake temp was reportedly 84 degrees at the start, which is not quite bathwater. I mean, I guess it's all relative. If you're an ocean swimmer, that's hot; it isn't terrible for Lake Norman in August. Anyway, I waded into the water with my wave start (blue caps) and was pleased with its temperature, but not so pleased with the rocky bottom and the slime that was growing on it. As we waited for the gun, I also heard a couple guys talking about how it felt like there was a slight current, and indeed, I found myself waving my arms a little bit to keep from tipping over backward. I was lined up toward the rear of the group since I swim about as fast as a baby crawls. The horn sounded and I tried to stay relaxed and just concentrate on my breathing and sighting. My goal was to stay on course tightly, so as not to add extra meters to what was already going to be a long haul for me. It was a rectangular course that ran counter-clockwise, and I think I stayed in line relatively well based on the fact that I kept drifting toward the inside of the buoys. I mean, I figured it was better than drifting right constantly -- although it's probably the same difference. I did a nice job breathing every third stroke, alternating right and left sides for the first 600-700 meters, but there were a couple times when faster people from the waves behind me clipped my feet as they overtook me. This doesn't induce panic but is still somewhat unsettling, and had me switching to breathing every other stroke. (Of course, I certainly know people who have been banged up pretty good during the swim legs of tris, and the amount of contact I had to deal with was pretty minimal.) After the turn, I made my way down the other side, still in control; I wasn't very winded, but swimming is very mentally tiring for me and I was more than ready to be done. Meanwhile, it felt like a million people were passing me, and I kept looking -- mostly futilely -- for other blue caps around me, the idea being that would let me know I'm not THE slowest person out there. Unfortunately, if there were any, I didn't see 'em. We made the last turn toward the shore and since there were lots of people cheering near the swim exit, I think I tried to bring it home strong (which for me is going from about 1.3 mph to about 1.35). Upon leaving the water and heading up the ramp, I realized my legs were more tired than I thought they'd be.

Swim: 39:51, 245th overall out of 286 men.

Transition 1: One thing notable about T1 is that I put on my left sock while balancing on my right foot, and was momentarily racked with the pain of either a muscle cramp or slight pull in my left hamstring. I wound up having to sit down to get the sock and bike shoes on. T1: 2:11 (mediocre).

The 24.3-mile bike

I knew this wasn't going to be my leg, either -- I've never been a strong cyclist -- but I didn't expect to get crushed on it as badly as I did. I got passed early and often. Although I have clip-in shoes and pedals, I haven't worked hard at getting power out of both the downstroke and the upstroke. As it was the longest of the three legs, I had plenty of time to curse myself for not getting in more time in the saddle this summer. I also went back and forth with myself about equipment, and what kind of advantage it gives you. My bike is aluminum and I don't have aerobars. Many of the 400 people who flew past me like I was riding backward seemed to have carbon bikes, lighter/better wheelsets, and aerobars. And being frustrated by my sluggishness, I'd be thinking in my head, "Yeah, if I had $3,000 to spend on a bike, I could go that fast, too!" Which of course isn't true. I mean, I'm not saying it wouldn't help -- aerobars, while potentially dangerous, have got to be more comfortable than the contortions I was going through, and there were some rough parts on certain stretches of road where I felt like I was riding a jackhammer; carbon might have mitigated some of that. But as many of you have heard before: It's not the bike, it's the person on it. Right? I was able to get a couple of GUs down over the course of the leg, but I think in hindsight my hydration strategy was pretty faulty. If I could do it over, I would have mixed in some Gatorade and some salt with my water. And I wouldn't have frozen the bottle overnight. Although it was a warm morning, it wasn't particularly sunny and the ice block I started with just wasn't melting fast enough. I was able to get more fluids down during the second half of the bike, but I think I better hydrating in the first half of the bike would have helped me feel better over the course of the run leg. Also, next time I'd wear my Garmin and/or preview the course; it felt like I was out there forever, and not having any idea how close I was to the end was disorienting. The course was fair, with a few decent hills but no heartbreakers. The toughest climbs were in the last few miles, and I felt like I did get a little stronger on those, mainly because when I got passed on the hills, the people didn't go by as quickly, so I'd give a little something extra to try to stay with them (or, in a couple cases, re-pass them). The approach to the finish was a long, fast downhill. I enjoyed that. I knew my time was going to be ugly, but I still figured that I had held back enough to have a good run.

Bike: 1:21:31 (17.88 mph average), 252nd overall out of 286 men.

Transition 2: This one also might have been a bit faster, but after being so careful before the race to lock my bike placement into my head, I swear I wasn't seeing my Livestrong bag or the blue swimcap that had been stretched out over the rack. I looked around in a mild panic for probably 10-15 seconds before I finally took a deep breath and my setup seemed to materialize out of thin air. I decided to ditch my tri top (which I later realized was a mistake), and strapped on my Garmin. T2: 1:49 (mediocre).

The 10K Run

I came up through the run start and began the first of my two loops by waving to my wife and daughter. My Garmin was set up to pace me to 7:50 miles. I was on pace for less than a minute. Having not done a bike-to-run brick in months, my legs just felt trashed at this point -- and I still had to run six miles! A guy I sometimes see at the MAC pool, James, trotted by me less than half a mile in looking strong, and asked me how I was doing. I think I said, "Terrible," although he probably could have told that just by looking at me at that point. My form was bad, and I could feel that the sting of that cramp/pull in my hamstring hadn't entirely worn off. I was just trying to keep pace with a couple of women in my vicinity. It worked for maybe the first mile, which I think I clicked off in about 8:40. That turned out to be my fastest mile.

It was great that there were water stations at about every mile on the run course. Volunteers were handing out hand towels soaked in ice water, which during summer races is the most awesome treat imaginable. But I realized almost immediately that losing my top was a bad idea. With the shirt on, I could have tucked a cold towel into the back of my neck and enjoyed the cooling sensation for at least a couple minutes; draping it around my neck with nothing to keep it in place did not work. It would bounce off in a matter of just a few strides. Anyway, I took a rest break every mile to drink and douse myself with the ice water, but those were the short breaks. Both times around the course, I also had to walk partway up this monster hill (and I do mean monster -- close to half a mile, over one of the steepest grades I've run in this area). Also, right as I finished the first loop, I spotted my friend Amy along the side of the road. When I waved, that hamstring suddenly flared up and cramped violently. It was bad enough that I thought I might be done. The prospect of fighting a cramp for three more miles made me feel pretty hopeless. But after a minute or so of wincing in agonizing pain, I shuffled on. Fortunately, the cramp didn't come back. Unfortunately, that stupid hill did. More walking (although I did pass someone on that hill who was walking even slower than me), but I jogged up the last half of it and felt OK as I approached the entrance onto the soccer field where the finish line was set up. The final 800 involved some tricky off-roading, and we all got our feet dirty in a giant mudpit that there was no safe way around. Right before the final turn, I heard my friend Michelle call out that she was going to catch me, and in those last 10-15 seconds, I became that runner I had hoped to be from the start. It was as fast as I had moved all day. She didn't catch me.

Run: 57:12, 215th overall out of 286 men.

Official time: 3:02:32, 236th overall.

My first reaction upon seeing my splits on Setup's website was embarrassment. I mean, as I mentioned at the top, I'm not the fastest guy in the world, but I'm nowhere near the slowest. I can deal with crappy swim times and weak bike times. But the run is supposed to be mine. I've run 5Ks at a 6:38 pace. Half-marathons at a 7:24 pace. For crying out loud, I ran the Thunder Road Marathon at an 8:29 pace. And I barely broke a sweat. 9:12 miles?? I was demoralized.

I've written before about not respecting the distance. This time, it was about not respecting the training. If there's one thing I've learned as I've become a distance runner and part-time triathlete, it's that no matter how much you run or how hard you train, there will always be a distance or a type of event that you are not in shape for. Just because you are well-trained for a 5K doesn't mean you're automatically well-trained for a 10K. You may be able to run 50 miles, but that doesn't mean you can get on a bike tomorrow and ride 50 without having put in some previous work. Et cetera, et cetera. In my case, I know that I can get away with one swim a week and semi-frequent rides and still post a respectable time in a sprint triathlon (I've done it); that's not enough, however, to do well in an international-distance race. Just because I'm a good runner, I'm not automatically a good triathlete.

By the end of the weekend, though, the self-consciousness and the demoralized feeling had begun to evaporate. I'm able to take pride in the fact that I finished. It's still a grueling distance to cover, especially for someone who's training was admittedly half-assed, and the run course was legitimately tough. I mean, even if I had posted a 45- or 46-minute 10K, that's still close to three hours of work -- way longer than a half-marathon, and starting to flirt with the amount of time it takes to complete a full. I finished, even though at times I wanted to drop out. And I learned a lot.

The most important thing I learned was that I am a runner. Rather, I didn't really "learn" this so much as I "was reminded of the fact." I'll probably always dabble in triathlons, maybe even try a Half Ironman someday if I can properly commit to the training. But running is what draws me in and nourishes me.

After a rest day on Sunday, I got up at 5 o'clock this morning and set out for an easy nine miles at a gentle 8:35 pace. My swimsuit and goggles? Tucked away in my gym bag on the bedroom floor. My bike? Hung up on its hooks in the garage. I'll get back to them eventually. For now, though, I've gotta run.

You? A cross-country coach? Why not?

2010-08-05T10:28:00.000-04:00

Do you get a lot out of running? Would you like to give something back?

Here's an opportunity: Cross-Country for Youth is beginning its fourth season in an after-school running program designed to combat childhood obesity and promote character-building among middle- and elementary-school students.

What does this have to do with you, and with "giving back"? Well, the program needs volunteers willing to provide support and encouragement to young runners who are trying to reach their goals.

More than 250 students participate in the 10-week program run by Reggie McAfee, the first African-American to break the four-minute mile barrier. In addition to local practices, which will be held on Monday and Wednesday from 4 to 5:30 p.m., kids will be competing in a series of cross-country meets. The program begins Sept. 13.

The volunteer opportunities are as follows:

COACHES NEEDED: Time commitment is two hours a week over the 10-week period. All materials and training will be provided, and it's OK to buddy up and coach with a friend.

"CHARACTER PRESENTERS" NEEDED: Time commitment is one hour -- 30 minutes on a Monday and 30 minutes on the following Wednesday. You choose the week. All materials will be provided, and the "character messages" -- or, "lessons" -- have already been created (so significant planning is not necessary).

For details on Cross-Country for Youth, click here. Or you can contact McAfee via e-mail (rmcafee@carolina.rr.com) or phone (704-634-4688). There's also a volunteer informational meeting for prospective running coaches scheduled for 6 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 12, at the Coca-Cola Company in SouthPark (4100 Coca-Cola Plaza, near the intersection with Morrison Boulevard).

He's run for 11,616 straight days ... and counting

2010-08-03T20:50:00.000-04:00

Streak running is a very different type of running. It's not about distance -- that's for marathoners and ultramarathoners to obsess over. It's not about speed -- there are plenty of former high school and college track stars out there vying for overall and age-group awards at local races.

No, streak running is all about the streak, about getting out there day after day after day after day after day after day after … well, you get the picture.

David Todd, a custom home builder in the Marvin and Weddington area, has been building on his running streak for more than 11,000 consecutive days. In sweltering heat, in freezing cold, in rain, and -- on at least one occasion -- in shoes and clothes that weren't at all designed for running (more on that shortly).

Now 58, he keeps plugging away at a pursuit he's worked on for better than half his life, and that ranks him 30th on the U.S. Running Streak Association's list of active streakers.

Todd, a Charlotte native who now lives in Matthews, tells me: "The streak started Oct. 14, 1978. I was 26 and recently separated so I needed a distraction, and running at least one mile every day became that distraction. I’m not sure who started first, me or Forrest Gump, but I’m still doing it.

"I don’t run competitively. It’s usually me and my golden retriever running in the evening through the neighborhood. I’m again recently separated -- this time after a 28-year marriage and two wonderful children -- so again as a distraction, I have changed my routine and I now run a little over two miles daily instead of one."

According to the USRSA website, the official definition of a running streak is "to run at least one continuous mile within each calendar day under one's own body power (without the utilization of any type of health or mechanical aid other than prosthetic devices). Running under one's own body power can occur on either the roads, a track, over hill and dale, or on a treadmill. Running cannot occur through the use of canes, crutches or banisters, or reliance on pools or aquatic devices to create artificial buoyancy."

A mile may not sound like much, but there's no question Todd is a real runner. He estimates he's probably run about 15,000 miles since the streak started. That's a lot. As a younger man, he posted PRs of 43:09 for a 10K and 5:24 for a mile. That's fast. Today, he runs about an 8:00 to 8:30 pace. That's respectable.

I caught up with Todd recently to talk about the streak, and how he's kept it alive.

Q. So when you went out that first day, on Oct. 14, 1978, you told yourself ... what?

As I said, I originally started running as a distraction from a failed marriage. I needed something to make me feel good about myself. I had actually been running daily for about six weeks before the streak started. I was driving back from Colorado with my best friend, and we drove until late one night in a pretty bad rain. I missed that night but decided that I would not miss again until I was physically unable. I am extremely lucky and blessed that I have not been physically unable to run in that amount of time. I’ve had a few close calls, a bad back, a knife wound in my shin, but nothing so bad that I couldn’t get in a mile that day.

Q. But you also say it was just a few years ago that you learned of the USRSA. Was it just a coincidence that the association's eligibility requirements were also "at least one mile"?

It truly was a coincidence. I actually read a story in The Observer about a guy from Black Mountain that had a 20-plus-year running streak and was a member of the USRSA. I had been running longer than that so I contacted them and joined.

Q. Before you knew about the USRSA, did you have any other personal "rules"?

The only rule that I ever had was to run every day for at least one mile and not to run on a treadmill. ... I never have enjoyed running in place. When I was much younger I would always time myself and make sure that I ran a pace of less than 7 minutes. Now I only check my time every so often just to see if I’m slipping any. I’m not sure I could break 7 minutes now but I could come pretty close.

Q. What's your current running routine?

Unless I am traveling, I pretty much run the same 2.1-mile route every day with my dog. I do leave him home on occasion if the weather is too bad. I probably run more in the evening than any other time but I do enjoy running in the morning. If I know I will have a busy day and evening, I will make it a point to get out early and run. It just takes me a little more time to get warmed up in the mornings. I have never been one to stretch or warm up before I start. If I am not loose, I just run a little slower until things start loosening up.

Q. Do you ever run with other people, or just with your dog?

I run alone (with my dog). No particular reason for this, but I do enjoy the time I spend running as an opportunity to reflect on what is going on in my life. If I allow my mind wander while I run, it makes the time pass quickly. I don’t mind running with others, but the opportunity rarely presents itself unless I’m traveling or something. My dog (Bear) lives for it. He is the fourth generation that I have raised and all three before him were a part of my streak.

Q. Have you kept a log of your total mileage?

I do not keep a log of my mileage. For most of the nearly 32 years of this streak, I ran exactly one mile. I would always know exactly how far from my house I would have to run to finish a mile at my house. Back when I was running some 5 and 10K races, I would run a lot of three-mile training runs. I don’t think I’ve ever run more than about seven or eight miles. About nine months ago, after another failed marriage and desperately in need of another distraction, I increased my mileage to 2.1 daily. If I had to guess, I’ve probably run about 15,000 miles since the streak started. I am sure that I have run at least halfway around the world by now.

Q. Do your friends/family members think you're crazy?

I think that most of my family and friends think that I am pretty normal. My kids are 25 and 26 now so I’ve run every day of their lives. I’ve run into a few people that probably think I am “certifiable.” I had a couple of buddies that thought I was crazy for running in the Linville Gorge while we were on a two-night backpacking trip, but to me, there was no choice. Another time I had to leave a bar at the beach at 11:50 p.m. and run in street clothes and shoes in order to keep the streak alive. I’m sure my neighbors think I’m crazy when they see me running in some really nasty weather conditions.

Q. How do you stay motivated?

Once this streak was maybe a few months old, motivation came easy. It is a rare day that I dread hitting the pavement. Weather is never an issue for me. When you have been doing it for as long as I have, you have run in every condition imaginable. I have clothing for about any condition other than ice. I just have to be really careful when it is icy, which isn’t often.

Q. Did you have a running background prior to 1978?

Other than running track in the eighth grade (880 mostly), I didn’t have a running background prior to 1978. Prior to that, I would usually choose to run (a mile) if I was looking to improve my fitness.

Q. Those are pretty solid PRs. How old were you when you clocked those/at what period of your life were you in what you would consider you "peak" running shape?

I am pretty sure that those times were clocked back in my early thirties. I’m 58 now so it is hard to remember. I could run a sub-6-minute mile without much effort back then. My 10K PR was in one of the Charlotte Observer races and my mile PR was on a track at Quail Hollow. It was just a training run.

Q. What's the most valuable thing streak running has taught you?

I know for a fact that if I did not run every day, I would not run regularly. The motivation would not be there. That is probably not the same for everyone, but that is how I am wired. I’m not sure what running has taught me, but I can tell you that it (running) is a great time to reflect on what is going on in your life. There are obvious health benefits of course as long as you don’t wear out your feet or knees. I’ve just been very fortunate that I have not experienced any adverse wear and tear after all these years. I am a person that needs a structured routine in my life. I wanted marriage to be that for me but for reasons outside of my control, that did not work out. Running daily is something that only I can control.

And we're off to the races...

2010-08-02T12:00:00.000-04:00

Looking ahead to events happening over the next two-plus weeks in the Charlotte metropolitan area:

Saturday, Aug. 7
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Blue Points 5K

When: 7:30 a.m.
Where: The start and finish is by the East Gate of Bank of America Stadium, 800 S. Mint St.
Why: Proceeds will benefit Carolina Panthers Charities.
Cost: $20 in advance, or $30 on race day.
Of note: It's the seventh race of the 2010 Run For Your Life Grand Prix Series, and it's perennially one of the most popular 5Ks of the summer -- last year, there were 1,275 official finishers. ... The course will follow the same path as in 2009, when it was reversed at the last minute due to construction on Stonewall Street. Click here for details. ... All race activities take place outside the stadium, but the venue does open to the public at 11 a.m. for FanFest, which will feature contests, entertainment and a team practice.
Race website: Click here.

Stanly County Family YMCA 8K

When: 7:30 a.m.
Where: 427 N. First St., Albemarle.
Why: 100 percent of registration fees will go to the YMCA Strong Communities Fund, which provides financial assistance to citizens who wouldn't otherwise be able to afford YMCA memberships. ... In 2009, only 49 runners crossed the line -- all but five of them walked away with some kind of trophy.
Cost: $15 in advance, or $25 on race day.
Of note: The course mainly traverses residential areas in and around downtown Albemarle.
Race brochure: Click here.

Charlotte Soccer Academy 5K Run

When: 8:30 a.m.
Where: McAlpine Creek Greenway, 8711 Monroe Road.
Why: A portion of registration fees will go to the Charlotte Soccer Academy's scholarship fund "to allow more children to learn and play soccer throughout Mecklenburg County."
Cost: $25.
Of note: McAlpine Creek Greenway consists of groomed trails, and is not rocky or rooty. ... Runners should park in the lot off Monroe Road, then cross the wooden bridge at the far end of the parking lot; registration will be on the other side of the bridge.
Race website: Click here.

Go For Blood!

What: Events include two bike rides, and a 5K road race.
When: 63-mile and 35-mile rides depart at 7:15 and 7:30 a.m., respectively. Road race starts at 8:30 a.m.
Where: Cane Creek Park, 5213 Harkey Road in Waxhaw.
Why: This annual fund-raising event supports the American Red Cross.
Cost: Register by Thursday for $25. On Friday and on race day, fee is $35.
Of note: The two "cycling adventures" go through "the rolling hills" of southern Union County, and will include rest stops. The 5K racers will be treated to "wooded scenery." ... The first 300 registered participants will receive a pair of performance socks. ... All cyclists and runners are invited to a post-event cookout.
Race website: Click here.

Friday, Aug. 13
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Miles of Mooresville

What: 1-, 2- and 3-mile races.
When: One-mile race starts at 7, two-miler starts at 7:20, 3-miler starts at 8 p.m.
Where: The Charles Mack Citizen Center in downtown Mooresville (North Main Street and Moore Avenue). The start line is two blocks south, on South Main between Center and McLelland streets.
Why: All proceeds will be donated to local charities in the Mooresville area, including the Humane Society of Iredell County's "no-kill" shelter.
Cost: For $25 (or $30 on race day), runners can participate in any or all of these races.
Of note: This is the third and final event of an annual summer series. ... Each runner will receive a technical T-shirt and one free beer provided by Carolina Blonde (ID required).
Race website: Click here.

Tour de Elvis 5K Run

When: 8 p.m.
Where: Don Montgomery Park, 500 U.S. Highway 52 North in Albemarle.
Why: Proceeds will benefit the Roger F. Snyder Greenway.
Cost: $20 in advance, or $25 on race day.
Of note: Finishers of this Elvis Presley-themed evening race will receive a "Thank You, Thank You Very Much" Tour de Elvis finisher towel. ... On Saturday the 14th, Vac & Dash -- which is hosting the race on Friday night -- will sponsor Elvis-themed 40K, 65K and 100K bike rides through Stanly County, beginning at 8 a.m. from God's Country Outfitters (1448 U.S. Highway 52 North).
Race website: Click here.

Saturday, Aug. 14
-------------------

NC Music Factory 5K Rock-'N-Run/Walk

When: 8 a.m.
Where: 1000 Seaboard Street in Charlotte.
Why: Proceeds will benefit four nonprofit agencies: Crisis Assistance, Hope Haven, Historic Rosedale and Uptown Men's Shelter.
Cost: $20 by Aug. 7, $25 by Aug. 13, or $30 on race day.
Race website: Click here.

Saturday, Aug. 21
-------------------

OrthoCarolina Classic

What: 10K and 5K road races.
When: 5K start is at 7:30 a.m., 10K goes off at 7:45.
Where: 1915 Randolph Road, near Carolinas Medical Center-Mercy.
Why: "To promote and encourage active families and healthy lifestyles ... while raising awareness for the OrthoCarolina Research Institute."
Cost: $25 for the 5K, $30 for the 10K (fees go up $5 on race day).
Of note: This is an inaugural event, and is the city of Charlotte's only significant 10K road race of the summer season. ... According to the race website, "the course offers a beautiful yet challenging route, passing the major medical facilities in Charlotte, along with a great view of the Charlotte skyline."
Race website: Click here.

Trail Run Challenge

What: 5K and 10K trail races.
When: Both start at 8:30 a.m.
Where: The Adventure Pavilion at the U.S. National Whitewater Center, 5000 Whitewater Center Parkway.
Why: This event is benefiting The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and promoting its Team in Training program.
Cost: 5K is $25 in advance, or $35 on race day; 10K is $30 in advance, or $40 on race day. Parking at the Whitewater Center is $5.
Of note: The courses for both trail races have some technical aspects, and some single-track portions. Some trail running experience is helpful, but not required. ... More than 50 items will be handed out as door prizes. ... In 2009, 314 runners completed the 5K, and 145 did the 10K.
Race website: Click here.

Tomato Trot 5K

When: 8 a.m.
Where: Unity Presbyterian Church, 885 Woodleaf-Barber Road, in Woodleaf.
Cost: $20 in advance, or $25 on race day.
Of note: The road race takes place in the rural part of western Rowan County. Runners will see cows, farms, and -- of course -- some tomatoes, say organizers, who are hoping to hit 150 registered runners in the race's third year. ... A "fun run" will begin immediately after the 5K, and costs $10 (includes a T-shirt). ... The races kick off the annual Tomato Festival, which features a parade, an attic sale, stage entertainment, the unveiling of the Tomato Queen, and food for purchase (hot dogs and tomato sandwiches).
Registration page: Click here.

And we're off to the races...

2010-07-27T11:21:00.002-04:00

Looking for a race to run this weekend? Pickings are pretty slim -- I think it's because we're in the heart of vacation season -- but here they are:

Summer Track Meets
What: A "very casual" track meet, open to all ages from youth to masters.
When: Friday. Registration begins at 5 p.m. First running event is at 6:15.
Where: Irwin Belk Track and Field Center on the campus of UNC Charlotte.
Cost: $3.
Of note: Scheduled events are: 50m for kids 8 and under, followed by the 100, 200, 400, 800, 1500 and 3200, plus 400 and 1600 relays. Field events include hammer, discus, shot put, javelin, pole vault, long jump and high jump. ... This is the final installment of a every-Friday-in-July series that has been plagued by inclement weather -- the first two meets were rained out, and participation last Friday was "extremely low," organizers say. ... Sponsored by the UNCC Charlotte track team coaching staff and the Carolinas Track & Field Club.

Mountaineer 5K
When: 8 a.m. Saturday.
Where: North Carolina Research Campus, 201 N. Main St.
Why: Appalachian State University is a participating school at the North Carolina Research Campus.
Cost: $25 until Friday, $30 at the event.
Of note: The certified course starts and finishes near the David H. Murdock Core Laboratory building and runs through the Kannapolis Greenway, Village Park, and part of the Kannapolis Village (view it by clicking here). ... All pre-registered participants will receive a dri-fit T-shirt and a gift bag. ... Yosef, the ASU Mountaineer mascot, will be on hand throughout the event for photographs and the event festivities. ... A one-mile "fun run" will immediately follow the start of the 5K.
Details: Click here.

Marine Mud Challenge
What: The race features a 5-mile course with a variety of obstacles, including mud pits, a low crawl through a pipe and a 5-foot wall.
When: 8 a.m. Saturday.
Where: Belmont Abbey College, 100 Belmont-Mt. Holly Road.
Why: Proceeds will go to the families of wounded sailors and Marines at Camp Lejeune.
Cost: $25 per person, and competitive teams must have four members ($20 each for military, media and public service personnel). Fun runners pay $15 apiece.
Of note: Organizers say this type of event simulates the training U.S. Marines complete on a weekly basis. ... Last year, about 600 people competed in the event. ... For the fun run, teams can be any size, as long as it consists of an even number of runners.
Details: Click here.