Don's Really Cool Adventures

Mommie's Carrot Bread Recipe

2012-01-17T12:23:00.002-05:00

Hah! I found it in an old scrapbook! This is a family tradition that Mommie (Pronounced "Mummy"), my great-grandmother Gladys Fults, always brought to family functions:

2 eggs
1C. White Sugar
3/4 C Mazola
1 1/2 C Carrots grated
1 1/2 C. Sifted flour
1 t Soda
1 t Cinnamon
1/4 t Salt
1/4 C Chopped Nuts
1/2 t Vanilla

That's it. No mention of a temperature or time on the sheet. I'm going to go with 400 degrees for 20 minutes and see where it gets me.

Most of the time, I believe she used black walnuts that she gathered from the two trees in the front yard and spent HOURS picking the meats out of. She baked it in little loaves. We spread margarine on it, since back in that day people in my family hadn't decided they could afford butter.

Don't know that anyone in the family has made carrot bread since Mommie died back in 1971. Time to restart the tradition, I think.

Gladys (Dean) Fults -- Ilene (Fults) Cramer -- Julaine (Cramer) Kern -- Me.

I Love Living in 2012!

2012-01-17T09:09:00.000-05:00

Life is way convenient in this day and age. A couple weeks ago, while waiting at a busy intersection to turn the corner, a lady had a slight lapse in something and hit the back of my van. No whiplash or anything, but a nice dent in my back hatch door. I whipped out my iPhone, took pictures of the damage, her license & proof of insurance and license plate, the street sign on the corner, and got phone numbers, etc.
On my way to my next appointment, I called Rod Smith, my agent, and told him what happened. I pulled over, sent him all the pictures and a quick email. About a week later, I stopped by Hansen Collision for an estimate. (The location that's just down the street from the Hideout Brewery) and they sent it to Rod.

Today I dropped off the van, Enterprise picked me up (just like they say on TV). They don't have a car in yet, so they dropped me at Biggby Coffee for an hour or so where I'm drinking coffee and getting a bit of work done. All this stuff and no lost time to speak of. Pretty cool. I was planning to drink coffee and get some work done anyway.

Running Marathons

2012-01-16T08:55:00.000-05:00

This is from my newsletter back in October:

16 years ago I ran my first marathon in Chicago. It was a day that changed my life. Drank my first Sam Adams Cherry Wheat at the expo. Bought the race photo ahead of time. Ran the first 16 miles with Aziz Uras, a fellow Dead Runner from Chicago. Ran the last 5 miles with Nancy, who was my best friend for an hour and a half and who I've never seen since. My long run had been 22 miles. Hers had been 20. At 23 miles her sister and one of my best friends, Mike Schwartz met us and ran the last 3 miles with us. I could see the FINISH LINE in my head long before I got there. I knew I was going to finish, and I knew my life would never be the same.

And it wasn't. Now I could run 26.2 miles. Limits were no longer something that got in my way. Since then, I've seen the world, met hundreds of new friends, learned more and more about myself and what I can do.

I'm a "normal" guy--not a "gifted athlete." But being a marathon runner has opened up the world to me.

If you're running your first marathon, or your first half (you can bump up to 26.2 next year) you'll discover things about yourself too! You'll find out that your limits are gone! Your attitude will change. Someone might tell you that you can't do something, and you'll respond, "Right. Stand the f**** back and watch this!" Awesome people run marathons, and you're one of those people!

Videos from Seven Continents Trip

2012-01-12T10:10:00.000-05:00

Video Links
Michigan Runner magazine gave me a few bucks and a video camera for the trip, and I managed to get a little footage together here and there. There's a video of every one of the races, plus a few others by other people I'll post here:

Introduction
Soweto, South Africa
Ticino, Switzerland
Curitiba, Brazil
Fukuchiyama, Japan
Bethels Beach, New Zealand
Cocoa, Florida
Antarctic Ice Marathon
Antarctic Ice Marathon - Extended edition

Video from Antarctic Ice Marathon

Press Info

2012-01-10T21:43:00.000-05:00

World Record for Marathons on Seven Continents!

In a third attempt to break the world record for running marathons on all seven continents in the least amount of time, Don Kern, of Grand Rapids Michigan has successfully run marathons on each of the seven continents, finishing on Thursday, 1 December 2011.

During the time from 6 November to 1 December, the following marathons were completed in a span of 25 days, 18 hours, and 10 minutes. The previous world record was set by Richard Takata in 2007 and was 29 days, 16 hours, and 17 minutes.

The marathons run in the course of this record were these:

6 November - Soweto Marathon, South Africa

13 November - Maratona Ticino, Switzerland

20 November - Maratona CAIXA de Curitiba Curitiba, Brazil

23 November - Fukuchiyama Marathon , Japan

26 November - Speight's West Coaster, Bethel's Beach, New Zealand

27 November - Space Coast Marathon, Cocoa, Florida, USA

1 December - Antarctic Ice Marathon, Union Glacier Camp, Antarctica

"In my freshman College Prep English class, I ordered a copy of the Guinness Book of World Records. I always thought I'd be in there someday. That was over 40 years ago."

Planning to break this record began in 2006, while already signed up for the 2007 edition of the Antarctica Marathon held on King George Island. At that time, the world record was a mere 99 days. The plan was put together to run all seven in 35 days, which Kern successfully ran in February-March 2007, only to find out afterward that Takata had run all seven in just under 30 days. Later that year, in another attempt to run in 25 days, the Antarctic Ice Marathon trip was delayed by weather for eight days, so while bettering his personal record to just under 33 days, the world record still belonged to Takata. Still, 2007 it is believed that this was the only time anyone has run marathons on all seven continents twice in the same year.

Background information on Guinness World Record criteria:

Fastest time to complete a marathon on each continent (male).

The current record (current as at the date of this letter) is:
The shortest overall time to complete a marathon on each of the seven continents is 29 days 16 hours 17 minutes by Richard Takata (Canada) from 4 February - 6 March 2007.

Here's a sample of what Guinness needs:

1. All marathons must be officially organised and well publicised, in other words
must not be organised specifically for the purpose of this attempt.
2. Guinness World Records should be informed of the planned marathons prior to
the attempt.
3. The official race results from each marathon and one independent witness
statement from each race, stating that the participant completed each race,
must be provided. A hyperlink to the official marathon website’s race results will
be accepted as evidence of the official race results. If the official website does
not publish the race results then a letter from the race organisers stating the
participant’s official time is required.
4. The dates, times and location of each marathon must be included in the
documentation submitted for verification.
5. The time begins from the start of the first marathon and the clock does not stop
until the completion of the final one.
6. For the purposes of this record, the continents on which a marathon must be
completed are: North America (the border is at the Panama Canal); South
America; Europe (includes mainland Britain, i.e. England, Scotland and Wales);
Africa; Asia; Australasia and Antarctica.

Post Race - 1-2 December 2011

2011-12-08T09:49:00.001-05:00

I think about the places I've been the last few weeks. Crossed the Atlantic 3 times, the Pacific once. I've circumnavigated the globe. USA-Canada-South Africa-Switzerland-Ireland-USA-Brazil-Germany-Japan-Australia-New Zealand-USA-Mexico-Chile-Antarctica. A couple hundred hours of travel. Almost 50 hours of running.

In 2006 I first hatched the idea to complete this world record. In 2007, in 35 days I smashed previous record of 99 days, but Richard Takata denied me the record by doing it in just under 30. He held that record until today. In late 2007, I was on schedule for 25 days, but we were delayed by eight days coming to Antarctica. My friend Bob Camp put it in perspective: "I don't feel sorry for you. You got to travel around the world twice in a year, and now you have an excuse to do it again!" Love ya, Bob! Finally, on 1 December 2011, more than five years after the goal was first conceived, the mission is accomplished. Another few days and I'll be home, back among my friends and my loved ones. Home is what makes the journey complete.

As the night went on, everyone drifted off to their various tents. I was still pretty pumped, so going to bed wasn't anything that happened very early. The guys who were getting ready to run the next morning though, were trying to get really rested up! 100K to run!

Of course, Brent was involved in this one. He's one of those guys who travels the world finding extreme things to do. What I like about him is that he makes me look tame. Richard, meanwhile, intends to run 100 miles in honor of the 100th anniversary of Amundsen and Scott reaching the South Pole in 1911. Clement Thevenet, the Belgian who just finished winning the marathon, is heading out again. And Marc de Keyser, the weather man here at Union Glacier will be joining in as well. Marc runs this event every year.

As the day progressed, some of the marathoners from the day before would go out for a 25K loop (NOT ME!) for a little extra support. I stayed up until about 2:00 a.m. to make sure that Brent got finished and had something to eat. About 5 hours later Andrew came in. Now Richard was the only one out there, and in just over 24 hours he finished running 100 miles!

It was a great adventure, with a 100% success rate. Everyone did what they set out to do. And then we got the word. The flight was on the way from Punta Arenas, and we'd be heading back to Punta Arenas on schedule as well.

At about 9:00 p.m. we were loaded on a big sled and hauled out to the runway. By 5:00 a.m. we were back to the Diego d'Almagro Hotel in Punta Arenas. After about three hours of sleep, I got on the phone and moved my flights from Monday back to Sunday, shared a taxi with my tentmate Ray to the airport and was on my way HOME! One more night sleeping on airplanes.

Antarctic Ice Marathon Report

2011-12-04T17:58:00.001-05:00

We're scheduled to run at 11:00 this morning. At 10:30, we'll be loaded up and taken out to the starting line, approximately 5 miles from base camp. The course is a loop, with a six mile leg on the far side to checkpoint 1, five miles back to camp for checkpoint 2, then back out to where we'll start at checkpoint 3.

It's about minus 14 Celsius, about 7 Farenheit, with a clear sky and lots of sunshine. The clear air here with 24 hours of sunlight means that any exposed skin needs to be protected with sunblock. We're making sure we have all our gear together, making all the last minute adjustments. Bins with personal items and food have been taken to checkpoints 1 and 3 in case we need anything out there.

I didn't send anything out to the checkpoints. I just put some extra gloves, hat, neck gaitor, and a couple snacks in my waist pack. My plan was to start with my windbreaker but to take it off as soon as I started to sweat. Sweat is a killer in cold climates, and I figured that with between 7 and 8 hours out there I don't need to be soaking wet all the time.

11:17 a.m. and the starting whistle went off. This is real! 26 miles to the record book. Before long most of the runners were ahead of me--I knew I'd be running by myself most of the day. Even with the ideal conditions, we were still running on groomed snow trails with footing that was tough in spots. I didn't know how far the back section of the course was, but I did know it was a straight shot to the first checkpoint. Mile 1 was about 15 minutes. That would be my fastest of the day.

The scenery is pretty much unchanged for the whole course of the race, just a track with litte red flags every 200-300 feet. The lack of landmarks made the miles feel really long. Even the mountains in the distance never seem to get any closer. The other thing that happens in the clear air is that distances are very hard to judge. When approching checkpoint 1 at the 6 mile mark, you could see it from a mile away. Any time you're running toward something, it seems to take forever to get there.

The checkpoint was well stocked, and I stopped for about 3 or 4 minutes to drink several glasses of liquid, and eat a few snacks. I caught up with Sebastian from Argentina as he was leaving the aid station, and Anand from India came in right behind me as I was getting to leave. We were the last three through the first checkpoint. Time to start segment 2. I estimated it would be five miles back to camp and the next station. It's a right turn, then almost 3 miles to another right turn, then a long gradual left bend back to camp.
The miles leveled out at a little over 17 minutes, with about 5 extra minutes at the checkpoints. A few yards before checkpoint 2 back at camp, I caught up with Rebecca and Linh as we came into camp. Eleven miles down. Sebastian was still at the aid station, and went off for a pit stop. Now there were three people behind me as I left the camp for segment 3. Only 25K to go.

Segment 3 was heading back out to the start, a little over 4 miles. I could look off into the distance and see runners far ahead of me, but I had no chance of ever catching them, the distance being probably a mile or so. Still, it was reassuring to see them out there. As I finally reached the 15 mile mark, I followed the curve around to the right to where we started

Eleven miles to go. I'm in familiar territory too, as I start the back stretch the second time. Even though I'm moving steadily, the lack of landmarks make the miles seem longer. Slowly, the 16 mile mark. I feel great but really looking forward to being done. 17 miles and I'm down to single digits. As I approached the final checkpoint just past 21 miles, I started thinking, I'm 179 miles into 184 miles of running. Only 5 to go. I'm trying to do the math, converting to Greenwich Mean Time so I can get the net amount of time it has taken me to finish the continents. At somewhere around 25 days, 18 hours. Stay vertical for a little while longer, and the record is mine. Before 24 I make the right turn and I'm heading for home. The sun had made the snow a little softer the second time around, and I was working to be sure I was finding the best footing all the time. As I approached mile 25, they drove the big tractor with the sled behind it right onto the course ahead of me to regroom the trail.

That would have been fine, but when first groomed, it takes a few hours to firm up, so all they did for me was make the last mile more difficult. I was kicking up snow so my shoes were getting covered as I hit the 25 mile mark. I could see the camp far in the distance, slowly getting closer as I struggled to find good footing. 20 minutes to go.

People started to come into view, and soon I could see the finish line. 26 miles, everything is in focus and I'm in PARTY MODE! At 7:10 p.m. I crossed the finish line with a finish time of 7 hours 53 minutes and 38 seconds. That's 22:10 GMT. My old friend, race director Richard Donovan was there to put my medal around my neck. One of my best friends, Brent Weigner was there with a small bottle of Johnnie Walker for me. New friends from this trip were there to share the moment as well.

From my start, at 6:00 Johannesburg time (04:00 GMT) on 6 November, it was exactly 25 days, 18 hours, 10 minutes. A new world record.

We celebrated with some of the best lamb stew for dinner, along with the beer and wine. A few brought out special bottles for celebration as well, and we toasted our success. Everyone who started today finished! Still, it was incomplete. I went to the communications tent to buy a satellite phone call. The one person who I needed to share this with is the one who made it possible for me--the lovely Francine. Sharing the victory with the one who means the most to me is what really made the record complete.

It's a couple days before we'll head for home, assuming that the plane gets here without delays. It's great to know that shortly I'll be home, running, eating, drinking with my friends, hanging out in my usual places.

Getting Ready

2011-12-04T06:38:00.001-05:00

Most of the group got their first look at Antarctica as we dismounted the plane at the Union Glacier "airport." The runway is a windy place, the winds continually scrubbing the snow off the ice and making this possible. We were escorted to a small building that served as a waiting area for vehicles to shuttle us the approximately 8 kilometers to camp. At the camp, the first thing we got was a short briefing about the restrooms. Everything here is separated between liquid and solids, so you do your business at separate spots. Nothing is left here at the end of the season--barrels of urine and gray-water and bags of waste are all shipped back to Punta Arenas to be disposed of.

In fact, everything here is to be kept as pristine as possible, so there are special disposal/recycling methods for everything.

We waited for our luggage and our sleeping bags to be brought from the plane until nearly 5:30, so two hours before breakfast we were finally able to get some sleep.

Our accommodations are double-walled clamshell type tents, equiped with beds, a table, towel, washcloth, soap and washbasin. Because it's daylight 24 hours a day, the sun keeps the inside of the tent fairly warm--sometimes even uncomfortably so. At 10:30 I decided it was time to get up and walk around a bit.

The cooks here are amazing. Every meal is well balanced, with options that work for carnivores or vegetarians. No one has ever gone hungry here at camp.

Back to the mission. Given that we didn't even get to bed until almost breakfast time, we won't be running the marathon today, but it's on for tomorrow, 1 December. Right now I'm feeling kinda like a kid the night before Christmas. Thursday, 1 December 2011, I'm taking about 4 days off the world record!

Dinner at 7:00, then a marathon briefing by Richard. A relaxing evening at Union Glacier camp

Tuesday, 29 November 2011

2011-12-04T03:28:00.001-05:00

In my two previous visits to the interior of the frozen continent, I found that the main thing to learn is PATIENCE. Things rarely happen on schedule in the most inhospitable place on earth. So we waited at the hotel from 6:30 to 9:30 a.m. for the first call as to whether we were going today. At 9:45 Richard delivered the news. The next update would be at 1:30. I walked into the center of town to pick up some sunscreen and got back for the next briefing. Again, no go. Next one is 4:30. I headed out to get some lunch with Ray from Wisconsin, Chris (Krzyzstof) from Poland, Taco from the Netherlands, Ladislav from Czechoslavakia, and Michael from Germany. A couple beers and a burger at Lomit's were just what we needed.

It's Tuesday, 29 November, and the original schedule is to fly to the Antarctic today, and run on Wednesday. Every update slows down the mission just a little bit more. We're in "wait and see" mode right now.

The 4:30 briefing came at closer to 5:00. The next call would be at 7:30, but Richard was speculating that we'd probably end up going early in the morning. Brent and I headed into the hotel restaurant to grab a bit of cerveza, soon to be joined by Ladislav. We let people know where we were so they could come in and let us know any news.

6:55--Good news! We're heading out. Be in the lobby at 7:30. We packed up, checked out, and loaded up the bus for the airport. In the history of this event, this is the first time that it has ever left on the day it was scheduled.

Flashback - 2007. My attempt to set the world record in around 25 days was right on schedule. Sunday before Thanksgiving in Beirut. Thanksgiving day in Atlanta, the next Sunday in Florence, Italy. Saturday in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, the next Saturday in Wanganui, New Zealand, and crossing the date line to run in Vina del Mar, Chile on Sunday. I arrived in the wee hours of the morning to Punta Arenas to leave on Monday to Antarctica. An unusual period of snow was delaying everything. For eight days, we waited to fly to the ice. My mission to run seven continents was successful, but the world record was still belonged to Richard Takata.

Given the lateness of the hour, chances of running the marathon on Wednesday were still pretty slim, but at least we'd be in position. We went through airport security as a formality, but they drove the bus around back and loaded us on and drove us to the plane.

This is not your basic commercial flight. In fact, it's a Russian Ilyushin 76 cargo plane, and we're part of the cargo. The inside of the airplane has no paneling to hide the wires, pipes, and insulation. There are instrument panels out in the open, a little restroom that's fairly rudimentary up front. They reached down and pulled up the ladder and hung it inside the door.

The whine of the engines Russian Iluyshin airplane grew louder and they finally closed the door. We were off. Flight time to Union Glacier--about 4 1/2 hours.

I was sitting beside Linh, her face lit up, totally geeked at the prospect of visiting Antarctica. Being in an airplane like the one we were in added to the sense of adventure--hoping that everything was airworthy, going to a place totally unknown to nearly everyone on the planet. It was a mixture of joy, excitement, and fear of the unknown. At about 2:20 a.m. we felt the wheels touch down onto the blue ice runway. We coasted for a long time--normal brakes are useless on ice. Finally we settled and the door opened.

Now We Wait

2011-11-29T10:27:00.001-05:00

I waited around a lot last night for the logistics company to do the gear check, but we never did hook up. At about 10:45 I headed back downstairs and helped Brent and a few others finish off the wine they were drinking. Nice to sleep horizontally last night for the first time in about 3 days.

I've been in Chile for about 24 hours and haven't had a beer yet. Go figure.

The first call was supposed to be between 6:30 and 9:30 this morning. At about 9:15 Richard Donovan (the Race Director) came down to let us know that we'll have another update at 12:30. I finally got my gear checked and delivered to ANI for transport to Antarctica, now we're waiting until 12:30 local time for an update. Still optimistic about going today.

Marathon #6. Space Coast, Cocoa, Florida

2011-11-28T20:03:00.001-05:00

I arrived in Florida at 5:20. I arrived at the race site at 6:40. The lovely Francine saw me as I approached the starting line, asking people along the way to direct me. One of the timing guys was there with Francine, and we started somewhere around 6:45.

We were a little panicky, given that neither of us knew the course. We headed out, yelling at spectators who were still hanging out a half hour after the start, and got directed around the appropriate corners. Before a half-mile is over we started north along what turned out to be a long out-and-back section. One mile done. Not bad. After yesterday (which was Friday back home) the distance was going by in a hurry. We figured that there would be some walkers at the back, and sooner or later we'd see them. After about 4 1/2 miles, we finally saw someone ahead of us. The leaders started coming back at us as well. Francine was with me the whole way, even though it was probably painfully slow for her. Still, she was there for me the whole way. It took us all the way to the turnaround at near 7 miles to figure out how the course worked. We caught a guy about then who told us that the course went back to where we started and then on a long out and back the other way.

In spite of being on my feet for 9 1/2 hours the day before, then sleeping on airplanes for two nights (crossing the dateline gave me an extra long Saturday), the day was going well. After fighting so hard for every kilometer in New Zealand, the flat, paved roads of Florida were a snap. We continued to pass people right up to the end, finishing in a little over 5 1/2 hours.

As we enjoyed post-race refreshments including sausage, eggs and pancakes, the announcer started telling my story. I made my way up there to see him, and then right behind me came Katherine Switzer to congratulate me and give me a hug. Wow! One of my running heroes!

Let me just put in a plug here--Space Coast Marathon--Great medal. Great beach towel. Nice shirt. Nice organization. Do it!

One thing I commented to Francine on along the way. I hadn't heard during the last few marathons, "Hey, aren't you Don Kern?" Being a race director and a generally "outside the normal orbit" person I get that a lot. Well, after getting cleaned up and hurrying to the airport for my next flight, I walked up to the AeroMexico counter and the woman there said, "Hello Mr. Kern." Wow. Ok, it wasn't because I'm famous. It's because I was the ONLY person not yet checked in on the flight. Famous by process of elimination.

Orlando - Mexico City - Santiago - Punta Arenas. I'm at the south end of Chile, and it looks like everything is a go to fly to Antarctica tomorrow. This is exciting. The mission is almost complete. Had dinner with my old friend Brent Weigner and a couple of new friends from the trip.

I'm about dead--time to fall asleep. Hugs and kisses to everyone back home. Especially the lovely Francine.

Overnight on the Way to Florida

2011-11-27T23:13:00.001-05:00

Surprisingly, even after all that, the 11 hour flight to LAX I only managed to feel like sleeping for a couple hours. Mostly I was watching the on-demand TV in my seat. Caught maybe a half-hour on the flight to Phoenix, and then the flight from Phoenix to Orlando got us onto the plane on time. The first class upgrade wasn't too expensive, so I paid for it so maybe I could sleep a little better. That was my best sleep overnight, with maybe 2 1/2 hours. Unfortunately, they left us on the runway for longer than they should have. We approached Florida and it was coming up on 5:00 a.m. We didn't get off the airplane until nearly 5:30. It's a 40 minute drive to Cocoa, so I'd be starting late.

I went straight to the rental counter, got a car, then back to baggage claim and my bag was there already. Early morning traffic was easy, and the drive went pretty fast. The race was at 6:15. I wouldn't be there.

But I had my not-so-secret weapon! The race started. The lovely Francine went straight to the timers and told them what the deal was. There's a seven hour cutoff, so even starting late I knew we'd make it. As they picked up the timing mats to move them to the finish line, they figured they'd have enough time, so they left the last one in place. At about 6:40 I finally got there, put on my timing chip, and we crossed the mat. About a half-hour late, but IT'S ON!

The LONG, LONG Trail

2011-11-26T20:09:00.001-05:00

I don't have the time right now to do justice to this, but the Speight's West Coaster Marathon is the toughest trail run I've ever seen. Keep in mind that I've run Pikes Peak a couple times, the Inca Trail to Macchu Picchu, the Six Foot Track in Australia, the North Pole Marathon. They're all pretty tame compared to this.

I met Rachel and Mark in line while picking up my race number and we talked about my "mission." I didn't know at the time how instrumental Rachel would be in my race!

The race started, straight into extreme winds toward the beach. WOW! Before we ever got started, I was wondering what I had gotten myself into. Finally after running south for a while we turned off the beach and started climbing. I was in last place. I was trying to keep someone in site at least, but even that was tough. As we started the hills, I was able to catch up a little bit with the last couple. After a couple kilometers, Rachel told Mark to go ahead. "The crazy man's right behind me, I'll just go with him." We worked our way around the first 12K loop, which was a good run, but seemed longer and ended with the last kilometer or so going right down the middle of a stream. Took us about 2:15 total for that segment, and got us to the first aid station. Turns out that was the easiest of the 4 segments.

The second section on the Hillary Trail was a ton of climbing. We kept on for what seemed forever, and about two thirds of the way runners started coming back at us. The half and the 30K were pretty much out and back on this piece. On narrow trails, we had to squeeze past people regularly, which slowed us down even more. Finally we reached the second aid station. This was going to be a long day!

Segment 3 started out down a road, then on to a nicely groomed trail, then down about 30 sets of steps. We were meeting runners coming back up the steps, so we knew it would be tough coming back. What we didn't know was what was coming! Rachel had gone ahead by that time, running faster on the smooth trails.

At the bottom of the steps, we reached a bridge. We didn't cross it, but instead turned right and headed down to the stream. The trail then followed upstream. Before too long, the ribbons on the trees went to the other side, crossing on some fairly solid rocks. I caught back up to Rachel, and together we picked our way through. Every few hundred meters, the trail would switch sides, making us wade back and forth across the stream, sometimes just wading upstream for a while to find the next ribbon. We lost the trail several times and had to back track. That was mostly due to the fact we were watching our footing and not looking up. In fact, at one point the bill of my cap blocked my view of a branch as I was looking down, and SMACK! My glasses got bent and I got a nice little bruise right below my right eye.

We left the stream eventually and headed back up some steps. Then to an intermediate drink station. We thought we were going to make it back to aid station #2 by the 2:00 cutoff, but it turns out it was still a long way off. Down a bunch more steps to the bridge, then cross and start back up the steps we had come down earlier. By the time we reached the station, one of the staff said, "I hate to tell you this, but you're going to have to get a ride back. I explained that I had no choice but to finish, and had to go. Rachel sold them on the idea as well, and off we went. Paul (the race staff guy) said he'd be along behind us to take down all the marking ribbons.

We felt like we were making better time going back, but it was still tough going. Lots of severe downhill sections along with a lot more climbing. A little over half way back it became mostly down hill. Paul joined us after about 3 kilometers, and was great at letting us know where we were and how much farther it was. About 3K before the end, I was still moving fairly well, but Rachel stopped for a drink and was slow in getting started again. Paul stayed back with her and I went on ahead. A final push and I was back down to flat ground, for the last kilometer back to base. Tired, but still feeling good, I crossed one final tidal pool and got back to Bethel Beach, and somewhere around 9.5 hours, finished continent #5.

Anyway, after taking over 9 hours to finish the marathon, (only my running companion Rachel finished behind me) I got a quick shower in the outdoor "rinse off the beach sand" shower at the race site and bolted for the airport for my 7:30 flight. Unfortunately, by the time I got inside it was 7:10. I missed my flight! So, now with 5 of the 7 done, I went to the Air New Zealand counter to figure out something. My flight was booked through Continental, and they were able to get me to LAX on the later ANZ flight, but couldn't get me to Orlando until Sunday. That doesn't work. My world record attempt was going down the drain.

I checked in, but only had them check my bag to LAX. Then I sat down and bought some Internet time and went to work. One option: A flight on US Air which gets me to Orlando at 4:51 a.m. That's as good as it gets. It's 40 minutes to the race from the airport, and figure a half-hour just to get to my rental car. Should put me at the race right about 6:15 for the start. Or maybe 6:20. The record attempt is back on!

Hopefully all the flights are on time!

Arriving in New Zealand

2011-11-25T11:33:00.001-05:00

The flight from Japan was delayed by about half an hour, and with a relatively short connection in Gold Coast, Australia, I was a little concerned--both about me and my suitcase--making it. No problem though. Travel time was about 3 hours to the airport in Osaka, then about 8 hours overnight to Gold Coast, then a little over three hours to Auckland. Landing in Australia, and I'm suddenly among English speaking people--with cool accents!

New Zealand is probably my favorite country to visit. Kiwis have a great attitude, and it's pretty much the adrenaline capital of the world. If you want to bungy jump, sky dive, go whitewater rafting, jet boating, or just hiking the tracks and camping, it's a great place to be. I had one of the best Christmases ever in Queenstown back in 1999 on the Millennium Marathon trip. Wish I had a few more days to spend here, but duty calls!

Didn't sleep much on the way from Japan, but feel pretty good. I drove out to check out the race site first thing, then back closer to town to find a place to stay and get a good pre-race steak dinner. I didn't last long after that, but now I'm wide awake and it's about three hours before race time and I'm dressed, packed up and ready to roll.

We're 18 hours ahead of Michigan here. So at about 1:30 pm back home on Friday afternoon, we'll start the marathon here at 7:30 Saturday morning. It's my third marathon of the week, third continent. Still feeling real good. My mission today is to get through the 42.2K worth of trails, probably in about 7 hours, get cleaned up and get back to the airport. Total time in New Zealand will be about 31 hours.

Fukuchiyama Race Report

2011-11-23T13:35:00.001-05:00

Marathon number 4, and I was feeling a lot of anxiety. The time limit is six hours, and after running just two days before in Curitiba in around 5:48, I was wondering how my legs would be. No time to waste, anyway.

My first task was to get to the race site and pay for my entry at the Trouble Desk. The shuttles were running right on schedule from the train station (across from my hotel) and after I passed the numbered packet pickup tables I found something that looked like it could be the right place. Problem is that very few in this area speak English, so it took us a while to agree that it was the Trouble Desk, and then to figure out what I was trying to do there. Finally they found my number and called Isono and told me to wait a minute. I was finally able to meet the man who had helped me so much for the past few days. He took me over to the bag pickup, and then showed me where the gym and the facilities were and then was back off to work.

Getting the business out of the way early, I now had nearly three hours before the race start. It wasn't very busy yet, so I walked around and then found a row of chairs in a hallway near the gym and snoozed a little bit. I had a protein bar for breakfast, but I was a little concerned that I hadn't eaten more or had enough to drink, since the start was so late in the day.

Communication was difficult, however there was a big enough crowd to follow to figure out where my corral was. We started the race at 10:30, and by the time I crossed the start line the clock was around 5 minutes. The start was downhill for the first 2K, which had me wondering how the end was going to feel. I saw the 1K mark and my pace felt pretty good, but didn't see another one for a while. We started with a loop around the downtown area, and crossed the 5K mat. The first aid station was at around 6.5K, and I took a minute to drink quite a bit to catch up. From then on, aid stations were at every 2.5K. As we worked our way out of town, we turned left somewhere close to 12K for a long out-and-back. The 40K was just after the corner, so as I went along I figured that the turn would be between 24K and 25K.

As we worked our way out, it felt to me as if we were running down hill most of the time. Believing that, I was trying to stay steady, anticipating a long last 17K worth of up hill after the turnaround. There were a couple up hill sections, but it felt predominantly like we were working our way down the valley. The course follows a river valley nestled in the mountains, with great views off in the distance. In spite of the mountains though, the elevation isn't very high above sea level.

It's a well supported course too, around 15K we got bananas, and progressing on we had other little treats--some kind of a candy--crunchy, sweet, a little spicy and really good. I reached the half-way in under 2:30. Right on schedule. Now on to the turn around. Approaching the turn, we got more bananas and little squares of chocolate. That was the appetizer. I made the turn at 3 hours on the clock, and right after passing the 25K mats there was a party. Drums beating, and a row of tables with hot chocolate, hot tea, and little triangles of rice. My split on that kilometer suffered a bit. :-)

The thing that surprised me the most was that it still felt like we were running down hill. In fact, there were a few hills on the way back, but they looked a lot worse on the way out. The hill I was anticipating at 30K was really not as sever as I had figured. I was still running easy and feeling good. Somewhere in the next couple of kilometers was another party. The locals were out with tables full of goodies, and I spotted two bottles of wine with empty cups hanging on top of them. What the heck--I was ahead of schedule. I stopped for a glass of wine, which my hosts took great joy in watching me drink. I may have been the only one to do that, given their surprised reaction. More people were passing out candy and little treats along the way, but I tried to concentrate and keep steady. Soon the up hill sections would kick in, but they weren't bad, and I was feeling great. It surprised me how many people were walking by that time--almost inconvenient trying to get around. A couple of times the wind picked up into our faces for only a little while until we rounded another bend, then would die down again.

Starting at 37K, there were countdown markers as well, so we'd see 37K, then 195 meters later 5K to go. More markers made the time feel like it was going by faster, and soon we were at 40K, then making the turn for home. There was a lot of up hill in this last section, but because I was passing a lot of people it didn't seem noticeable. One K to go and I decided to pass as many people as possible before the finish. I got to 22. Turned the final corner and crossed the finish line, feeling great and finishing in net time of just over 5:21.

Post race was, like everything else in this whole country, very well organized. Finisher shirt, then through lines of computer terminals where a finisher certificate was printed for us. I made my way toward the gym to get my jacket and pants before going out for hot chocolate and bowls of hot soup. The soup had meat, some noodles, and veggies, and some warm, salty broth. The chocolate had something like a marshmallow square. Both were served with chopsticks. It really hit the spot. Cups of green tea too.

I rode the shuttle back to the station and enjoyed a conversation with a guy who spoke English. We talked about work, kids, lots of thing--it was a real treat after being in so few places lately that I could actually have a conversation. He pointed out some restaurants as we approached the end so I knew which direction to go eat.

I went to dinner at a place called (get this) Japanese Restaurant. My main motivation for going there (other than hunger) was that they had menus with pictures. Given that I read not one character of Japanese, that was pretty important.

If anyone's thinking about running a marathon in Japan though, THIS IS THE ONE!! Fukuchiyama.

Have a great Thanksgiving everybody.

Arrived in Japan!

2011-11-22T08:23:00.001-05:00

Arriving in JapanThe story keeps getting better. My new friend & guardian from the race staff, Mr. Nobohito Isono didn't just recommend a hotel. He made me a reservation. Finally, I'm ready to run in Fukuchiyama! I found out about the hotel while at Inchon Airport in Seoul. Now I'm on the train for my final three hours of travel between the Osaka airport and Fukuchiyama. I didn't sleep a lot the last 35 hours I've been traveling, and it's 11 hours ahead of where I was on Sunday. Fourteen ahead of Grand Rapids time. My body isn't sure what time it is, but I'm feeling well fed and fairly recovered from Sunday. Feeling tired and off schedule.

My theory is that the best way to recover from jet lag is to get up and run a marathon in the morning. It's easy to get yourself feeling on schedule. The GI tract takes a couple days to catch up though. It bothers me, more mentally than physically, I think, because race morning elimination just isn't the same. That's about what I'm going to say about that. Oh yeah--so far, so good on this trip, but be sure to take paper to the race site, just in case.

The train ride to Fukuchiyama is about three hours. From the time I left my hotel in Curitiba to the time I arrived at my hotel in Fukuchiyama is approximately 41 hours. Lots of travel, yes--this is the longest leg of my trip so far. But look at the bright side--my last five meals and two nights lodging were provided by airlines. I am, however, looking forward to an actual bed tonight.

After arriving at the station, once again I find myself in a place without any English. While looking up my hotel on a "You Are Here" sign in the station, I was able to find it using the phone number. A guy came along just to ask what I was doing, and walked me down the street to the hotel. Well, turns out they were full, so I was at the hotel on the other side of the station. Which he took me to! I had no more than checked in when Isono called me just to make sure everything was good. I hope I get a chance to buy him a beer tomorrow. He certainly has one coming! Customer service people could learn a lot from the Japanese. What a great place this is.

The hot shower felt SO good. After 40 hours of travel, I really needed that. Had some dinner and a couple beers at the hotel restaurant, and now I'm about to the end of my useful life.

Tomorrow is marathon #4. I'm excited. It's 14 hours ahead of Michigan time here. I'm going to bed. You all enjoy your work day.

Fear

2011-11-21T10:49:00.001-05:00

Every adventure comes with a little fear. Not knowing what will happen, if you're up to the task, will everything happen on time?

I've had my share of that this time. After running a strong marathon just over a week ago, I was having enough knee pain all week that I didn't run a step between marathons. It wasn't until Saturday that my knee felt good enough to know that I would be OK. I wore a neoprene sleeve over it for extra support on Sunday. Now, a day later after being on a plane all night, both knees are feeling great.

My biggest fright came on Saturday, after I had sent a message to my contact in Japan asking for some information. The entry form I sent in the first part of August never hit his email, so he didn't even know I was coming. I was supposed to report to the trouble desk to pay when I got there, and just figured I was all set.

He told me to send it in again immediately, but right after that he mentioned that the entry period had ended. I sent it to him again through two different email services just in case, but since it was already the weekend there, he didn't respond. I tried calling, but of course the office was closed.

So, with my mission in question, it was weighing on my mind all weekend. Distracting me as I ran in Curitiba. Keeping me awake on the plane for a while. Finally, at the Frankfort airport I got email from him, letting me know that we're good! So, by the time most of you get up on Wednesday, I'll have finished the marathon in Fukuchiyama.

The last time I felt this relieved was October 31, 2004. That was when the starting gun went off and the first Grand Rapids Marathon.

I'm sure there will be a couple more moments before I get done with it, but for now, everything is on schedule.

Curitiba Marathon Report

2011-11-21T10:05:00.001-05:00

While I was in Switzerland, I messed around for a long time figuring out hotel locations and the race course and trying to get a place close enough to the start that I could walk. Well, the place I ended up with was only about 2K away, so I guess that's not bad.

The morning was cool but not cold as I headed out to the race. I had to get there early to pick up my timing chip, as the chips weren't distributed until that morning. It was nice to be early and be relaxed. I even found a few people who could speak a little English to talk to before the race. One guy I met had run Space Coast a couple years ago. That's where I'll be this coming Sunday.

This race had a six hour time limit, so I'd be able to relax a little more. Good thing too, with about 2900 feet of elevation and LOTS of hills, I'd need it. Pacing myself for the whole adventure--thinking RECOVERY from the start to the finish is key to making the whole adventure work.

Kilometers go by a lot faster than miles, so even on a slow day, I was hitting the bench marks a lot quicker. As I got to the first aid station, around 3K, they handed me a plastic cup full of water, sealed on top with foil. I tried to peal the foil off. That doesn't work. Finally I jammed my finger through it, splashing water all over the place. It got better as I learned the technique of just puncturing it enough to drink. It was also good because I could carry an extra cup along and drink whenever I wanted. Gatorade in small portions was served at about every-other aid station.

Curitiba is known as a garden city, and like many other things in Brazil, the gardens are kept very nicely trimmed. Buildings and houses are built touching each other, so all along the streets it's hard to find a place to discretely make a pit stop.

I fell into a steady, while not to speedy, pace, and was feeling pretty good all day. At about 18K or so, I had fallen in with the same people I would go back and forth with for the rest of the day. Guiseppe, a friendly guy with a camouflage hat passed me right around there. And a girl in an orange shirt with a bicycle escort. I ran with a couple young guys for a while too, but for the most part I was by myself. As I got through the first half at about 2:43, I knew I was slowing down a bit, but so were the people ahead of me. The second half was a "pick my next victim" time. It seemed like I could see somebody in front of me all the time who was moving just a little slower. I used them to keep myself on pace, picking them off, one by one. The girl in the orange, however, stayed just about the same distance ahead of me all the time.

The course got quieter, as we approached 30K, and I saw Guiseppe ahead of me as we headed out on a little out-and-back portion of the course. Finally at around 32K I caught up with him. We ran pretty close together to the next aid station, and after we went through, I found that elusive spot for a pit-stop. I never could catch him again after that. He was picking it up a little bit. I watched him catch a few more people in front of us, and soon I would pass them too. Still, at 39K, I hadn't caught the girl in orange. 40K - almost 25 miles. I was feeling the finish line now, with the BS levels in my blood elevating slightly. Marathon #3 finish line was in site. At about 40.5K I finally caught her and her escort, who somehow had ditched the bicycle and was now running with here. "I've been chasing you for a long time" I said as I passed her. Both she and her friend laughed, maybe because they understood me (few people do in this country) or maybe just because I look funny or something. Anyway, we turned the corner and made the final push for the finish line.

It's one of those aggravating finish lines, because you could see it from the 41K mark. That's still 1195 meters to go. As I approached the finish, more and more people wearing orange shirts were coming out and yelling for their friend who was just behind me. It was her first marathon, and her running club was there to share the celebration. I picked it up to finish in front of her, rather than being run over by her entourage. Finished in about 5:48, marathon #3 of 7. I turned around to congratulate my new friend on her first marathon, then went to get my medal and some food.

I sat with Guiseppe and we had a conversation that didn't leave either of us much smarter, since he speaks Portuguese and Italian and I don't. Still, we were comrades at that point, eating some watermelon and celebrating our finish.

A few hours rest, packing, and getting to the airport. It's feeling pretty intense right now. Japan on Wednesday!

The Whole World is the Same

2011-11-19T16:25:00.001-05:00

Well, maybe that's an over-simplification, but after being in a lot of different countries, it occurred to me this afternoon while walking around Curitiba (Brazil). Let me share a couple observations:

Stores - Everyone wants the same stuff. Food, clothing, entertainment, bread and milk, soap, toothpaste, etc.
Restaurants - McDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Subway, ..... We can eat virtually the same fast-food everywhere in the world.
Religion - Catholic churches. Jewish temples. Islamic mosques. They're everywhere.
People - Hold hands, play with their kids, find work to do. There are rich people, poor people, homeless people in all countries, rich or poor. Women dress to look nice. Men look at them.
Cars - Lots of the same brands in every country. Audi, BMW, Ford, VW....
Entertainment - Watching sports on TV. TV. Music.

I'm thinking that you could live most anywhere and figure out how to make it. May have to learn a new language or something, but even the languages are expressing the same thoughts all over the world.

OK, Antarctica isn't going to have a McDonalds. Or a brewery. But most everywhere else will.

Brazil - Packet Pickup Day 19 November

2011-11-19T09:22:00.001-05:00

OK, I'm back at it. After spending a couple of enjoyable days at home, catching up and drinking beers with people who speak English, I'm back on the road.

Thursday afternoon I left for Brazil, and about 24 hours later arrived at my hotel in Curitiba. Part of the fun of traveling is the unknown. Arriving at the airport in Curitiba, I had no idea how I was going to get to my hotel, so I walked out of the airport and looked for a shuttle into town. Sure enough, right outside the door. I pointed to my hotel address in my notebook and the bus attendant told me which stop I would get off at. Cost was 8 reals, about $5.00. After about a half hour on the bus through LOTS of traffic, some new friends from the bus told me where my street was as I got off---it was only about 3 blocks to walk up to the hotel.

A walk around town to get oriented, and then I headed down to a little bar not far from the hotel for something to eat. I managed to pick out enough words I could translate from Portuguese so that I could get filled up. Had a bottle of Xingu, one of the Brazilian beers.

The guy at the desk gave me a tourist map and a little instruction about where we were, and told me the location of the packet pickup is about a 1/2 hour ride via taxi. Well, I decided to walk instead. So, after about 50 minutes, I managed to find the mall where it was located. I'm guessing I walked somewhere just short of 5K.

Once again, I find myself in a country where almost nobody speaks English. They're all pretty friendly though, so they'll always run and find someone to help. That was the case at the running store too, as I stood in line for my race packet. I had sent in my information, but needed to pay for my entry when I got there. Finally someone was able to help me and we're ready to run!

The mall is just like every mall in the US. Same stores (different names, but the same stuff). Coffee shops, McDonalds, Burger King. Next door to the mall is a Sam's Club.

On the way out, I walked around to the taxi stand, but no taxi to be found. A local couple was there, he had a bag of race gear too. With no taxi, I decided to just start walking back. Soon the couple got a taxi, and pulled up beside me. Through a rather disjointed conversation we figured out we were going in roughly the same direction, and they offered me a ride.

Headed back into town, it was pretty obvious why the guy at the desk thought it was a half-hour taxi ride. Lots of traffic, and lots of traffic lights! My new friends got out and left me and the driver finally got me back to my hotel. I'm still thinking I could have walked here a little faster, or at least in relatively the same amount of time.

Oh well. Off to explore, eat, check out the Start/Finish area. More later.

Race Report - Maratona Ticino

2011-11-14T18:48:00.001-05:00

Race Report - Maratona Ticino

Marathon #2 - Europe.

The southernmost region of Switzerland, Ticino, was the site of the second marathon on my adventure. This one made me a little nervous, because while I believed I was in shape for a sub-5 hour marathon, this one actually had a 5-hour time limit. The cool fall weather and the flat course gave me ideal conditions to work with.

The field was fairly small, 186 men and around 40 women would finish the full marathon. The marathon start was at the Central Sports center in Tenero, and head generally south and east for the first loop, around a bit loop on bike paths. I had lots of company, but didn't really find anyone to run with. I was running pretty well, well ahead of my pace in Soweto last week, and approaching the 5K aid station felt I was right on pace. Flat, cool, ideal conditions made the running easy. Aid stations only every 5K had me stopping to make sure I was getting replenished enough along the way. 10K and we were back past the stadium and headed toward Locarno along the lake. Soon the course took an up-hill turn for about a kilometer, running on the roads a little over 100 yards from the lake. About 3 or 4 kilometers west then downhill into Locarno. We took a about a 2K loop around town and then to the shores of Lago (Lake) Maggiore. The course hugged the shore on the way back to Tenero. Still running steady, and I got through the first half at about 2:17 on my watch.

The second half would start when I crossed the finish line and began the course all over again. Suddenly, I was by myself, working my way through the pedestrian traffic and hoping I could remember the turns early in the course. No course marshalls were there, or at least none who took any notice of me as I worked my way through some pretty heavy pedestrian traffic. After leaving the Sports Center, I made a right turn, but it didn't seem like the right way. I turned around and managed to get someone to understand me well enough to point me back to the course. Still, I wasn't sure. I got part way across a bridge which I didn't really notice when I was with the mass of people at the start, and stopped there for a minute. Two women came up behind me, not in the race, but knew where it went and pointed me in the right direction.

Soon I saw a sign that told me I was on course, but the slight detour and resulting confusion cost me about 4 minutes during that first kilometer. I had no time to lose and hopefully had the legs to stay on pace the rest of the time. Between 1 and 2 kilometers, a kid started following me on a bicycle, staying just behind me where I could hear him. I was getting a little irritated until I turned around and saw a race sign on the front of the bike. He would be my escort for the rest of the day. At least I wouldn't make any more bad turns.

The second loop I was all by myself. I never caught anyone, never saw anyone behind me. I was able to look across the field and see some runners 3 or 4 kilometers in front of me, but that was it. After that, it was just me with my bicycle escort. He spoke not a word of English, so the conversation was nonexistent. About 2/3 of the way through the second loop, I was able to determine by his brief conversations with court marshalls that I was the last person in the race. Still, I was easily on pace for sub-5 hours. Finally, the downhill into Locarno, only 8K to go. I was doing math at every kilometer, knowing that if I kept going I was still on. The final loop around Locarno and back to the lake side--about 5K to go. Stay steady and keep going. The kid was a little inexperienced with escorting and would sometimes end up crowding me or almost cutting me off, but at least he was keeping me on course.

I had walked along the lake a couple times during my visit, so I was in familiar territory--signs at 38, 39, 40, 41K as we approached the final stretch. Finally I could see the tops of the Sport Center buildings and the lights of the sports fields. Turning left into the Center, then right past the field-house, then the final turn toward the finish line. 42K, I looked at my watch--I'd finish, first American, and DFL (dead freakin' last) in the race. Still, my best time this year, and exactly what I set out to accomplish.

Going into the gym for the awards, it turns out that Stephan, one of the guys I had dinner with the night before, won the race!

12 November - Race Numbers

2011-11-12T11:42:00.001-05:00

Another nice day--relaxing during the morning and catching up on some reading. This afternoon it was time to pick up my race bib.I decided to skip the walk down the hill today to save my legs for tomorrow, so I took the bus down to Locarno, walked around for a bit, then got the next bus over toward Tenero. I hopped off a couple stops early just so I could walk around the lake to the Sport Center. Watching crews set up for a marathon is exciting to me--I love to see how other races do things. Whoever is organizing this one has a great team working. On one of the sports fields right near the marathon course they were playing American football--they were even yelling in English "PASS" "TIME OUT"... Seemed familiar, yet strangely out of place.I managed to meet the Race Director, Pier Paoni, and through an interpreter had a short conversation. I stayed around the race site for a little while, but the expo was pretty small--only a small "running store" vendor and a shoe company. Then I heard someone close to me saying, "So I'll pick you up at about 7:15 then." Hey, wait a minute! I understood that! A group from the American School in Lugano were there. They're all running the half tomorrow. We had a nice conversation before heading off in different directions.On the bus back, I overheard someone getting on if the bus went to Brione. He also mentioned the Hotel Della Valle. Another marathon runner staying at my hotel. He and his friend came up here with me. Another English-speaking couple were checking in as we came through the lobby.So we have a nice group of runners staying here now. And some people who speak English too! We're all getting together for dinner in an hour or so.I'm going to pin my race number on my shirt now and get things around for tomorrow. Feeling good. Looking forward to a good run.

Friday morning, 11-11-11

2011-11-11T03:38:00.001-05:00

Nice day yesterday, but still without much conversation. I got back here and worked for a bit, then went out for a run--15 minutes straight up hill, then 15 minutes back down, which, of course, left me about a half mile from where I started. The walk back was my cool down. I'm looking forward to getting home for a couple days and talking to my homeys. I'm thinking a beer at the Hideout is in order at least once.

I managed to find my way around the bus system and located the Tenero Sports Center. Wow, what a cool place!
From where I sit here at the Hotel Dellavalle, I can look down over the whole marathon course. We'll do a loop around the plain area at Tenero, then follow the edge of Lago Maggiore west to Locarno, loop around the plain area there and then back to Tenero to start all over again. The double loop course has very little elevation change, and is at roughly the same elevation as Grand Rapids, so I should be right in my element.

The day I arrived, it was raining most of the day, but since then it's been nothing but nice weather. Sunshine, mountains, palm trees. What a beautiful place this is.

The time difference here is 6 hours. It's mid-morning here. Most of you back home are still snoozing. Sweet dreams.

9 November 2011 - Exploring Locarno

2011-11-09T15:58:00.000-05:00

OK, I'm pretty well rested after hanging out in bed for WAY too much time, so today was a nice day to get a few miles (kilometers) on the legs. I'm staying at the Hotel Dellavalle in Brione, which is WAY up the hill from Locarno. There's a great view right outside my window down onto Lago (Lake) Maggiore. The owner here tells me that the bus stops only about 300 meters down the street from here, but I decided to try and find my way down to the lake on foot. Nice move!

The streets here are a series of switch-backs to allow cars to get up and down. Houses and buildings are all built very close together, lots of stonework and tile roofs, both old and new. Only a few meters from the hotel I found a stairway leading downhill and decided to try it. As I continued downward, I discovered a whole new "road" system for pedestrians. A network of stone stairways work all the way down the mountain to the lake. So, I explored my way through the stone buildings, vineyards, old churches and interesting buildings all the way down. After about 40 minutes or so, I was at the lake, actually walking along the path which is part of the marathon route this coming Sunday.

I turned right toward Locarno and enjoyed the balmy fall morning walking along the lake on the Via Alla Riva. Small boats were moored and covered, scattered along the shore a few feet out in the water. It was a very relaxing time.

Few people speak much English here. No reason to. Nobody understands it anyway. Still, fortunately, a guy can get a beer pretty handily. I ventured into a couple shops, and the shop owners were very friendly, but we had a hard time carrying on any meaningful conversation. I stopped and picked up one of the marathon brochures at the Information Center so I had something that I could pull out of my pocket and point to so people would know what I was in town for.

Figuring that I'd be here almost a week, I may as well get a bus pass so I can get up and down a little faster. The lady at the bus station was the first person all day who spoke English, so I was able to get the pass and find out when the next bus was leaving. It would be about a half hour, so I decided to venture up the hill for a while on my own. I could always find a bus stop along the way.

And that was another nice move. Past more old buildings, through grotto-like passageways as I worked my way up the mountain. It only took about 55 minutes to get all the way back up to the hotel. As I passed the church, I found what looked like a nice little group of restaurant & bar type places. After working for a bit I headed back there for dinner.

It's a friendly place, Brione. A small village of about 600 people looking down on Locarno. I sat at the bar for a beer but after placing my food order, the lady escorted me to a table and had me sit with a very nice older couple, Margaret and Livio Gaudens. Margaret didn't give herself much credit for knowing English--she learned most of what she knows from TV--but we all had a great conversation and got to know each other. They are originally from farther north in Switzerland, where the language is German, and they were actually on their way home from Italian lessons. It was delightful to have someone I could talk to. Since we're living in the same neighborhood for the week, I hope to see them again.

No running today, but I figure I put at least 10 miles on my legs, with some pretty substantial hill climbing. Tomorrow I'll get out and run a few miles just to loosen up. For now, time to kick back and read for a while.

And, now a word from our sponsors....

2011-11-09T03:42:00.000-05:00

Let me just give a shout out to a couple sponsors who are helping in part with this adventure:

Gazelle Sports -- THE place to get running gear, they're the place to go for lots of quality stuff -- Saucony, Brooks, Hokas (interesting running shoes, I might add), Patagonia, and many other great brands.

Michigan Runner and The Running Network -- Art set me up with a camera and a bunch of video tapes, and while I'm pretty much a rookie at being a videographer, I'm sure he's skillful enough to edit my stuff into something useful. You can follow the videos on Michigan Runner TV

And most importantly, while you're doing your year-end tax planning:

I'm pretty lucky to have legs that allow me to do what I do. Not everyone is. That's why I work with Alternatives in Motion, a local charity in Grand Rapids that provides wheelchairs to those who can't get them through normal health insurance avenues. Every year, we help over 100 people with power wheel chairs and other means of mobility. If you have use wheel chairs, power or manual, or would like to consider making a donation, please check us out at http://www.alternativesinmotion.org/ All donations go directly to our mission--no middle-men!

Arrived in Switzerland - 9 November 2011

2011-11-09T01:10:00.004-05:00

The Grand Rapids Press published a nice article about me on Sunday. http://www.mlive.com/sports/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2011/11/marathon_don_kern_seeks_world.html Somebody tear out a copy and save it for me, will you? :-)

Monday was goofing off around J'burg on the way to the airport. I got to the airport quite early, but at least then I didn't have to be concerned about getting there on time.

On the overnight flight to Zurich I didn't sleep much, but managed a bit of a nap at the airport and then on the short flight to Lugano. Lugano is in the Ticino region of Switzerland, very close to Italy. It's a very small airport, in fact, it was the first time I've been on a prop plane in quite a while. I walked out of the terminal following a sign that said "to Trains" and found the shuttle. Good thing I didn't try and walk to the train--it was about a 10 minute ride.

Sometimes when I'm feeling a little unsure of things, I think of when Paul, Brent, and I landed in South Korea in 2007. Paul said, "I say we just throw ourselves into the public transportation system and see what happens." So, here I was, in a country where I don't speak the language, "throwing myself" into the public transportation system. Actually, it went pretty well.

All the signs are in Italian here, so I finally gave up and walked inside to buy a train ticket to Locarno, where I'm staying. After only one change of trains, I arrived.

It was a typical fall day, overcast and rainy, so I pulled out my rain jacket and set out to find some tourist info and some food. The tourist info was at the casino, about 400 meters from the bus station, so now I'm armed with a local map. I also found a hotel with piatto del giorno (plate of the day) that looked pretty good, and stopped in for a lunch and a beer. Roast beef, carrots, and polenta. OK, two beers.

Locarno is located on Lago Magiore, just a short distance from the Italian border. The main shopping district is along the lakeshore, and fairly flat. The Hotel Dellavalle Brione, where I'm staying, is WAY up the hill. I took a taxi up here and checked in. Found out there's actually a bus that runs every half-hour, so I'll use the cheaper option from now on.

I spent the rest of the day pretty much resting and reading, and catching up on a little of the sleep-deprived flight experience. Heading down for breakfast at 8:00.

A couple items: The Swiss Franc is worth about $1.12. Stuff is EXPENSIVE here.
The bus service is Ferrovie Autolinee Regionali Ticinesi, which is referred to as Fart. Apparently they didn't consult any English speaking people before coming up with that.

Soweto Marathon, 6 November 2011. The clock starts!

2011-11-06T11:16:00.000-05:00

Beautiful, cool but not cold morning here in South Africa for the Soweto Marathon. The morning started well, nice and relaxed until I got to the race site--and discovered I had left my race number in my room! After a rather stressful few minutes, I talked to a race official who told me they would have to write it down when I finished. Fortunately, I had a pretty good idea that my friend Jan would be working with the timers at the finish, so I probably wouldn't have any problem.

Something I didn't realize until after the race is that the altitude here is around 5000 feet. That might explain why I felt like I was breathing a little harder all day. I figure I'm in shape for about a 4:50 marathon. I'd be dissapointed with what actually happened if I were subject that sort of thing:-) Actually, it was a nice day on a course with LOTS of hills. We started out from just outside Nasrec Stadium, and headed for downtown Soweto.

Soweto is a study in contrasts--many "tin shacks" can be seen in some areas, interspered with brick houses. The average house of the working person in the area is only around 300 - 500 square feet. Many of them have little tin shacks in the back yard where relatives might be living. There are lots of small, roadside stands--some enclosed, some not--selling varieties of fruits, vegetables, drinks. "Shade tree mechanics" are actually businesses here, where the sign will advertise mechanic services right out in the open.

Big businesses that we're familiar with are everywhere too--telephone companies, factories. Toyota sponsored the course marshalls who were using their flags.

We continued roughly counter-clockwise around the city, going through the downtown area and past the houses of Bishop Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela. Once in a while we could see runners FAR off in the distance when we were at the top of a big climb. Aid stations were well stocked with Pepsi, Energade, and water. The Energade and water here come in small plastic bags. You bite the end of the bag and squirt it into your mouth to drink--makes drinking on the run pretty easy. Frequently I'd hear "POP" noises as people or cars ran over bags that were full or partially full.

The hills were relentless, and after hitting the 38K mark, only 4K to go, we turned left and saw the most daunting hill of the day. It was continuous climbing all the way to the 39K mark. It was also the first time I decided to walk all day--my slowest K of the day. 3K to go and it was fairly flat the rest of the way in, as we entered known territory, retracing the steps of the first 3K. Finally, we turned toward the stadium, and as I approached 42K, my good friend Scot McIvor (who is MUCH faster than me) was on his way to his car and handed me the beer he was less than halfway done with and ran along with me for a few steps. It was great to see a familiar face late in the game. I turned into the stadium area for the last couple hundred meters, circling the outside of the field then down onto the field to the FINISH LINE, crossing at 5:36:50.

I worked my way through the chute, without my number, and sure enough, there was Jan. I yelled at him and told him I forgot my number, and by the time I got to the person recording the finishes, he was there, giving her my bib number. All that stress before the race turns out was pretty unnessary.

OK, I need pictures, and wanted to do a little video, so I headed back and got my number and then went back to the race site. It was great to be done, feeling good, and getting a little rest. Everyone I knew, old friends and new, were headed out right away, so I came back, got cleaned up, and got a great steak and salad at Spur Steak Ranches. A large fillet, two beers, and a salad is less than $20 there. Not bad!

Marathon #1 of seven is in the books. Next week in Switzerland.

Time to Dream

2011-11-05T13:39:00.001-04:00

It's critical time for everybody--the time you get away from every day life and figure out where you want life to go. Than's one of the things I like most about travel--it's a lot of down time with none of my day-to-day stuff to deal with. It's a time to look at the next year or so and figure out what you want to accomplish. Sitting at dinner this afternoon, I had a chance to just write in my notebook some of the thoughts for the next year--places to go, things to accomplish. I love this stuff!

Saturday, 5 November 2011

2011-11-05T12:55:00.001-04:00

In less than six hours now, the clock will start and the record will be in progress. No telling what will happen between now and then, but I'm feeling pretty good right now. We've had great weather here in Soweto, and it's looking like a great day for a run tomorrow.

Yesterday was a lazy day--it felt good, after constant motion for the last 3 months. After a short run, I headed out to find the race venue and ended up driving around the Soweto area for quite a while before getting there. After picking up my number and shirt, I stopped back by the registration table and found my old friends,
Jan and Irene vanEeden. In 2007, I stayed with them in Port Elizabeth when I ran there. They're here to do the timing for this race.

Last night was also a good time to catch up on some reading while a big thunderstorm blew over. Then I walked down to the corner for some supper and picked up a six-pack of Castle Milk Stout, and hung out in the lobby working on my computer and enjoying a couple of beers. There is a group of runners from Port Elizabeth staying here at the hotel, and when they came in Lenneth and Vernon both stopped and had a beer with me.

Today was a great tour of Johannesburg and Soweto via mini-bus with three other guys. Very educational. The country of South Africa has undergone MANY changes just in my lifetime--from the eviction of all the blacks from J'berg into the SOuth WEst TOwnship (SOWETO), to the end of Apartheid, now the people of South Africa are enjoying more freedom and education than ever before. People here seem to want to advance themselves even more, treasuring education and hard work.

The area is also rich in gold reserves and diamonds. In fact, the big bluff behind Nasrec Center is actually the processed tailings from the gold mines that has been piled up over the decades. From a distance it looks like a mountain.

Relaxing tonight, getting up about 4:00 a.m. to head down to the race. Gun time is at 6:00 a.m.

Arrived in South Africa

2011-11-04T01:43:00.000-04:00

So far, so good. Arrived in South Africa at Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, rented a car and drove into town. People drive on the left here, and when I opened the drivers side door, I found that there was no steering wheel--it's on the other side too. So, people can tell when I want to turn because the windshield wipers turn on. Freakin' Americans anyway. :-)
Found a nice hotel and a decent meal. Wine comes in bottles with dinner, so I figured the best thing to do was to give the last part of it to a young couple at the next table so I'd be able to walk back up to my room.

It's springtime in South Africa. I'm heading out for a short run this morning to knock a little of the jet-lag out of my system.

Details on the Record Attempt.

2011-11-02T15:09:00.001-04:00

Here's the record:

Dear
Mr Donald Kern,

Thank you for your application to attempt the record for ‘MARATHON ON EACH CONTINENT - MEN'.

Your proposal is very similar to an existing record that we already monitor. The category that Guinness World Records currently recognises is: Fastest time to complete a marathon on each continent (male).

The current record (current as at the date of this letter) is:
The shortest overall time to complete a marathon on each of the seven continents is 29 days 16 hours 17 minutes by Richard Takata (Canada) from 4 February - 6 March 2007.

There are those who have run a marathon distance on all seven continents in fewer days, notably my good friend Richard Donovan, who did it in less than six! The record I'm going for is to run in organized marathons on each of the continents. Incidentally, Richard Donovan is the organizer of the Antarctic Ice Marathon, which will be my seventh marathon of this attempt.

Here's a sample of what Guinness needs:

1. All marathons must be officially organised and well publicised, in other words
must not be organised specifically for the purpose of this attempt.
2. Guinness World Records should be informed of the planned marathons prior to
the attempt.
3. The official race results from each marathon and one independent witness
statement from each race, stating that the participant completed each race,
must be provided. A hyperlink to the official marathon website’s race results will
be accepted as evidence of the official race results. If the official website does
not publish the race results then a letter from the race organisers stating the
participant’s official time is required.
4. The dates, times and location of each marathon must be included in the
documentation submitted for verification.
5. The time begins from the start of the first marathon and the clock does not stop
until the completion of the final one.
6. For the purposes of this record, the continents on which a marathon must be
completed are: North America (the border is at the Panama Canal); South
America; Europe (includes mainland Britain, i.e. England, Scotland and Wales);
Africa; Asia; Australasia and Antarctica.

Seven Continents, Seven Marathons, Twenty-Four Days

2011-11-02T12:21:00.000-04:00

Back in 2007, I made two attempts at setting the world record for running marathons on all seven continents. The previous record had been 99 days, and I thought 35 days would be almost unbeatable. Scheduling all those marathons around the Antarctica Marathon was a challenge, and in the end, I blew away the record....only to find that Richard Takata (who I ran 4 marathons with during that time) had finished in just under 30 days while I had two marathons to go yet. So, no world record.

After about 5 minutes of being aggravated, it occurred to me that maybe I could schedule something later that year around the Antarctic Ice Marathon. That schedule was even easier--and could be done in 25 days. Unfortunately, after completing six marathons, we were stuck in Punta Arenas, Chile, for eight additional days, so my second attempt of the year was in 33 days. No world record. Oh--the world record for running all seven continents twice? 307 days. That was me in 2007. You can read about both attempts at www.cooladventures.net/sevencontinents.htm.

So, now, after having that stuck in my brain for 4 years, I'm off to try it again. Here's the plan:

6 November 2011 Soweto, South Africa (Africa)
13 November 2011 Ticino, Switzerland (Europe)
20 November 2011 Curitiba, Brazil (South America)
23 November 2011 Fukuchiyama, Japan (Asia)
26 November 2011 Auckland, New Zealand (Oceania)
27 November 2011 Space Coast Marathon, Cocoa, FL, USA (North America)
30 November 2011 Antarctic Ice Marathon near Union Glacier (Antarctica)

If successful, and everything happens on time, the new world record will be set at approximately 24 days, 12 hours.

I'm writing this from Dulles Airport, where I'm waiting to check in for the flight to South Africa. I'll try and keep up to date with my entries along the way.

Moments That Change Our Lives!

2011-05-12T08:30:00.000-04:00

I always get a little nostalgic when the River Bank Run comes around. Granted, it's only 25K. Many of us refer to that distance as a "warmup." But it was only 16 years ago, in 1995, that I experienced that distance for the first time. Joe Hulsebus, from down the street, had been the guy who told me about the race and got my brain going in that direction. Now, here I was, never having even run 10 miles before. (Not my best training strategy!) But somewhere out there at the end of Indian Mounds Road, around six miles into the run, I overheard some guys talking about marathon training. (#1) Something in my brain something went "Whoa!"

So, in spite of finishing VERY SLOWLY, I came away from the experience with the belief that training for a marathon that fall was NOT UNREASONABLE!

I made a plan. After all, I could barely walk, I might as well sit around and think, eh? I picked Columbus on November 12 as my target. Originally, I wanted to run Chicago, but had other things going on.

Things were going well as I lengthened my long run a little every couple weeks. Then Runner's World came and I found out about the Boston Marathon lottery for the 100th in 1996. (#2) I sent in my application, hoping to get lucky.

Another month, another Runner's World. An upside-down article talking about "The Last Marathon" which was held in Antarctica in 1995. The next one would be in 1997. (#3) I called Marathon Tours. "Where do I send my money?"

My schedule freed up, and now Chicago could work for me. Plus, I had a free place to stay with my short college buddy, Mike Schwartz. (#4)

Hey. I guess I was a marathon runner. Signed up for four marathons before I ran my first one.

The big moment was here in Grand Rapids though, out on Indian Mounds Road, as I was working to finish my first River Bank Run.

There's lots more to the story--but there'll be another newsletter soon. Or you can go to cooladventures.net and read a bunch of my other stories, if you wish. You never know where this running stuff will take you! (The numbers are what I refer to as "marathon minutes" -- the times that have a way of changing your life in a very short time!)

Roanoke, Virginia Marathon

2011-05-05T08:35:00.003-04:00

It started to just be a marathon in Virginia--check off my third time
in that state, and get a marathon in for April. I didn't realize what
the day would bring!

I was traveling with Dave Thierjung (one of our GR Marathon Lifetime
Entrants #105) on a weekend road trip. On the way down, we heard
about all the tornadoes that were happening and the weather map
started looking pretty ominous. On Saturday morning, we looked out
the window--RAIN. Nice and steady. It was going to be a wet day!
The Blue Ridge Marathon is billed as America's Toughest Road Marathon,
while that may just be their opinion, I'm sure they can make a great
argument for it! The easy first mile was followed by the first hill.
We followed the course basically uphill for quite a while, then turned
onto a 4 mile scenic drive which got even steeper! Of course, the
downhill was pretty stiff too, and I knew that my quads were going to
be sorry the next day!
It was a 26-mile-long wet t-shirt contest. (I think I was winning?)
As we started up the next hill I worked my way up it with Nancy
Wentink, who, it turns out is one of our greatest fans! We had some
fun running up hill and through a park with some beautiful views. She
went on ahead of me as we headed back down the hill.
Did I mention it was still raining? Around 18 or 19 we started up
hill again. Through a beautiful neighborhood and up hill a long way,
I caught up with Brian. He was doing his 3rd marathon, and it turns
out that he had family only a mile or so away. We topped the hill and
went down for a bit and there they were. He sent his brother-in-law
into the house for a couple beers, which helped us make it up the next
hill. Finally, the turnaround and back down STEEP for a mile or so.
The weather was getting a little worse. Thunder and lightning! Just
before 23 miles, a cop came around the corner with his lights on. He
pulled up and rolled down the window. "They're calling it. There's a
truck around the corner you can get a ride back." "Thanks." Like
that's gonna happen. I went around the corner where another runner
was talking to a guy who had a pickup truck. "You want a ride?"
"Nope." The other runner there saw that I was going on, and followed
me down the street. The rain had turned into a downpour. Only 3 to
go, what the heck. Brave volunteers were still at the next aid
station, and they were encouraging us to keep going before we got
pulled off the course. At a couple turns, I could look back and see
my good friend Mary Ritz, plugging right along behind me.

Almost to mile 25, we crossed a bridge on one side, looped down around
under it and back up on the other side. Rivers were running down the
side of the bridge where the course used to go, so we were up on the
sidewalk. As I looped under the bridge, a group of runners and
volunteers were waiting for a bus to come get them. "Maybe you
noticed the weather was bad." Hmmm... I always enjoy sarcasm late in
a race. "Yup. Which way does the course go?" I asked. One of them
pointed and I went on. Back across the bridge and a couple turns and
another cop pulled up. "I can give you a ride or I can give you
directions." I like this guy. "I'll take the directions." Past mile
25. Down an well-crowned industrial street, with only about 10 feet
of street showing in the middle, a mini-bus approached. I tried to
motion for them to go over a little bit so I could get through. They
stopped and opened the door. "You have to get on the bus sir, you
can't continue." a well-meaning volunteer told me. "Watch me!" I said
and went off down the street. Now the streets are barely visible.
Moving over a couple more streets, there was nothing but standing
water as I waded over to the street where the finish line was. I was
having a blast! Finally to the Finish Line and I heard the timer
beep! Hey--you didn't turn the clock off. Thanks! Ronny, the race
director was there, so I met him and told him how much I enjoyed it.
Dave had been finished for a while and looked pretty waterlogged.
Mary finished right behind me. The rain continued for about 15 more
minutes, and the sky suddenly cleared and the sun was out!

For years I've used marathons as a road to adventure. Guess got what
I paid for last weekend!

What I did this weekend!

2011-04-17T17:59:00.000-04:00

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Mike Dixon weathers rain, hills to win the Blue Ridge Marathon

Mike Dixon overtakes defending champ Tim Sykes in the last three miles to win the marathon in 2:41.27.

Photos by Kyle Green | The Roanoke Times

As seen through the rainy window of a pedestrian overpass, a lone runner makes his way down Norfolk Avenue during the Blue Ridge Marathon.

By Mark Taylor | The Roanoke Times

Though he led the Blue Ridge Marathon for most of the race Saturday, Tim Sykes never felt comfortable.

And not because of the hard hills or brutal weather that forced race organizers to eventually call the race with about 100 runners still on the course.

For 23 miles, Sykes had a shadow.

"I noticed that he was always about 30 seconds behind me," Sykes, the defending champion, said of Mike Dixon. "He was stalking me."

Dixon, a 28-year-old from Fanwood, N.J., pounced with about three miles to go in the 26.2-mile race, using the speed he honed as a college track runner and the endurance he's building as a budding marathoner to win relatively comfortably.

"Today it was all about place," said Dixon, whose time of 2:41:27 was about 14 minutes slower than his previous marathon best.

Sykes, who lives in Lexington, ran a 2:42:17. Despite the course being more difficult this year, the time was just 39 seconds slower than his winning time last year.

Blacksburg's George Probst, runner-up last year, was third in 2:54:22.

Nicki Terry of Arlington won the women's race, outdueling Emily McGregor of Tucson, Ariz.

Terry, a 26-year-old who ran for the University of Utah, finished in 3:19:49, more than 10 minutes faster than last year's winning time.

McGregor, also 26 and a former collegiate runner at the University of Arizona, ran 3:25:44.

Rachel Clattenburg of Washington, D.C., was third in 3:38:05.

Terry, who was ninth overall, was beaming after crossing the line.

"It was gorgeous," she said. "I run a lot of courses and this was probably the most beautiful."

The racers didn't seem to mind the weather conditions, at least while running. The rain kept them comfortably cool.

"I wasn't cold at all," McGregor said.

But after the race she huddled under a large propane heater, her lips a shade of blue that matched the ribbon on her finisher's medal.

The weather became a more serious factor about five-and-a-half hours after the 7:30 a.m. starting gun, when lightning was spotted in the area.

Although approximately 100 runners were still on the course, race director Ronnie Angell made the decision to end the race at that point.

"When you have lightning strikes, you have to shut it down," Angell said.

Those who had passed the final aid station were allowed to finish.

When runners farther back reached aid stations they were told the race had been shut down and they were offered rides back to the finish area.

Some accepted the offer, but others plodded on even as streets were flooding as the rain turned from a steady downpour into a deluge.

"I didn't come all this way to let a little rain stop me," Mary Ritz of Wyoming said as she walked briskly toward the finish-line area near the Taubman Museum of Art.

Ritz, 56, has run marathons in 35 states and every continent, and needed to check Virginia off her list.

"I'm stubborn," she said.

Though the race was officially over, the course reopened to traffic and the timing clock removed, many runners elected to finish.

Don Kern of Grand Rapids, Mich., was completing his 213th marathon. He's run at least one marathon 98 months straight.

"People were telling us to quit," said Kern, race director for the Grand Rapids Marathon. "I don't quit."

Kern was one of the last of the 199 official finishers, finishing in 5:45:58.

The race had more than 300 entrants, though there were some no-shows.

All runners, even those who didn't get an official time, got medals.

Angell stayed in the finish area, greeting them just as he did those who had officially finished hours earlier.

Sykes said the altered course made a difference.

"I was more fit coming in to this year's race," he said. "I was confident so I pushed it a little harder."

Unlike last year, when he felt pretty good most of the race, Sykes said his hamstrings started to tighten up during the descent down Prospect Road from the Mill Mountain Star.

"Then we hit Peakwood," Sykes, a physical education professor at VMI, said.

Dixon said he was surprised that Sykes wasn't able to hang on.

"He was so strong going up the hills," said Dixon, who has been ramping up his training and marathon racing in an effort to qualify for the Olympic marathon trial race next winter. "I knew he had won last year, and he looked great."

A hilly marathon was nothing new to McGregor.

Last fall she won Arizona's Mount Lemmon Marathon, and accepted an invitation to run in Roanoke to compare the events.

Immediately after Saturday's race she wasn't ready to give a nod to either event.

"I definitely had to stop more on this one," said McGregor, who took a few short stretching breaks. "I felt like if I didn't my hamstrings were going to lock up."

She said Terry pulled away on the downhills.

"She was just so smooth," she said. "We'd get down one and I'd look at her and think, 'Dude, how did you get all the way up there?' "

Ed Dickenson, 47, of Roanoke was the top male master, finishing fourth overall in 2:57:19.

The top women's master was Beni Thompson, 40, of Roanoke. She finished in 4:02:08.

In the half marathon, which had 368 finishers, Sarah Glenn of Roanoke was the top woman. Her time of 1:32:55 was good for sixth overall.

Andrew Kirk of Spotsylvania won the men's race in 1:24:25.

Are You Taking That With You?

2011-02-01T10:25:00.000-05:00

You Taking That With You?

I finished my workout and was enjoying the warmth of the sauna at the Y when a new Y member came in. Seemed like a nice guy, and we introduced ourselves and started getting acquainted. I happened to mention to him that I was headed for Mobile, Alabama to run the race that weekend.

Since we were both sitting there with just our towels, he looked over, gestured toward my stomach and said, "You taking that with you?"

Apparently he read me well enough to know that I wasn't the kind of person who would sock someone who I had just met. Actually, I thought it was kinda funny. Also, a nice wake-up call.

Yeah, the holidays are over and it's time to get those extra couple of holiday pounds back under control. So, here I am, back on the program, running, cross training. I've even been in the pool a few times this year so far.

And the marathon in Mobile, incidentally, felt pretty good. Still not as fast as I used to be, but getting better and making things happen. Only 91 more marathons before I can retire. Or at least reevaluate.

My Grandma's Rhubarb Pie Recipe

2011-02-01T09:42:00.000-05:00

A long time ago, Grandma 'Lene was at my house and taught my brother-in-law Brian and me how to make rhubarb pie. She used to have a big rhubarb patch down behind the house that her mother had before her.

The pie is yummy. Especially with a big scoop of ice cream on it. I make it a couple times a year.

Pie Crust

2 cups flour 3/4 cup Crisco

1 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup ice water + 1 tablespoon

Use pastry blender, blend Crisco, flour, salt

Add water & mix

Rhubarb filling

4 cups rhubarb

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

6 rounded tablespoons flour

(two eggs)

(a splash of half & half)

Stir all this together and put into pie shell. Dots of butter (about 1 tablespoon) on top of filling

Wet the crust around the edge, put the top on, cut around the edge.

Bake 425 degrees 45-50 minutes. What Grandma does is cut a strip off a pillowcase, wet it, put it around the edges to keep it from browning too much or boiling out all over the place

Obesogens?

2010-12-31T09:50:00.000-05:00

Obesogens?

The word is so new that my spell checker flags it. I heard about it on the radio yesterday. They're chemicals that upset your metabolism and tend to make you fat. (The Wiki definition has a lot more big words in it--look it up.) The first reference to the word I can find is Sept. 2009.

Leave it to our society to come up with yet another scientific thing to study. Carcinogens cause cancer. Obesogens cause obesity. Seems like we can't get away with anything lately.

Well, I found the timing of such a report interesting--given that my kitchen is literally full of what I'd call obesogens--chocolate covered cherries, peanut brittle, cookies, .....

Time for some New Year's Exercizogens. (Yeah--spell checker got that one too. Probably because I just made it up.)

Some of my favorite cookies!

2010-12-30T09:36:00.000-05:00

Oatmeal Date Cookies

3 cups quick oatmeal

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cup brown sugar

1 cup shortening

Mix as for pastry - moisten with 1/3 cup water, 1 teaspoon soda stirred in, soft enough to roll..

Roll them out fairly thin and use a cookie cutter to cut circles. (Or get more efficient and get a hexagonal cookie cutter)

Filling

Chopped dates, a bit of sugar, mixed with a little water to soften. Sometimes add a little lemon juice for a zippier flavor. Heat it up on the stove. Spread the filling into the cookies while they're still warm.

These get even better in a day or so as they get softer. If they last that long, that is.

Some of my favorite cookies

350 for 10 minutes

Coffee Interface?

2010-12-27T07:58:00.000-05:00

The little box kept popping up--"New Device Found" along with it's little pop sound letting me know the computer is trying to configure something. The only problem was that I hadn't plugged anything new into it. "Unable to configure device" it told me. I hit cancel. Again--same thing. Cancel. Unable. Cancel.

What's the deal here?

While rearranging things on my desk a few minutes earlier, I had accidentally dropped the end of my iPhone charger cable into my coffee cup.

Apparently, there's no app for that.

The Life of a Race Director

2010-08-16T07:29:00.002-04:00

From Thursday, 12 August

Dave Sheble and I have been playing phone tag for a day or so and finally hooked up this afternoon. "How you doing Dave?" I asked. He laughed at me. "You know EXACTLY how I'm doing!"

He was right. Dave is a new race director of the new Fox Valley Marathon. He's just over a month out from his first marathon. And I DO know exactly how he's doing!

He's in what I refer to the "constant motion" time of planning a race. It's not necessarily a crazy time (Dave might disagree), but it is a time when you get up in the morning and pretty much keep going until you hit the sack about 18 hours later. I find it REAL enjoyable. It's about that time for me right now too. LOTS of little projects to do, and most of them are fun. Today was a "normal" day for me. Boot Camp at 5:30 a.m. Work on new maps for the Milford 30K I measured on Sunday. Answer emails. Order staff jackets. Pick up kids marathon flyers and deliver them to staffer Pat Carey to distribute. Pick up some paperwork from Gazelle. Meet Dan Droski back at my place to loan him some coolers and stuff for his Fallsburg Marathon this weekend. Meet withHighland Group to approve artwork for shirts, Pepsi truck backs, and Kids Marathon posters. Work on a few things back at home for a couple hours, then go meet up with the No Surrender Running Club for a 4-mile run with some inner-city kids who are doing their first half-marathon right here at home on October 17th. Relax and work on my newsletter that I really would like to have gotten out yesterday. Then the lovely Francine walks in wearing (CUT TO COMMERCIAL)

IN STORE REGISTRATION IN GRAND RAPIDS!

We'll be at Gazelle Sports in Grand Rapids this Saturday from 10 - 1. In-store registration discount, and lots of great merchandise to check out while you're there.

(RETURN TO SHOW)

The staff keeps copying me on stuff they're doing. Lynne is working on getting all the volunteer groups into the mix. George and Andy are working the Start/Finish "village" to make it even better than before. Ann's looking for expo exhibitors & goody bag stuffers. There's stuff going on ALL THE TIME!

Fox Valley--Now, back to Dave. One of the cool things they're doing down there is doing a 20 mile race along with their full and half. In fact, for those of you in the Illinois area, it's our official 20 mile training run for all of you. Check 'em out!

Friday morning is coming. Can't wait!

'Metro Health Grand Rapids Marathon 28 July 2010'

2010-07-29T12:49:00.000-04:00

Our latest newsletter!!

'Metro Health Grand Rapids Marathon 28 July 2010'

200 And Counting

2010-07-28T16:41:00.002-04:00

My 200th marathon was on the 24th of July in Salt Lake City.

Other than the heat, the altitude, the mountains, and the relentless quad-busting downhills, it was a pretty easy marathon. (Insert that little smiley emoticon thing here.)

What hit me as I started though, wasn't the toughness of the course. It was the amazing journey that started at the high school track one day back in 1994, doing two miles with my Tater Kater and finding out that if I ran slowly, I could get through two miles without stopping. It continued, through my first 10K, my first River Bank Run, and my first marathon in Chicago in October 1995.

Running marathons has opened up the world for me. It has taken me to every state, to every continent, to places that many people will never visit. Marathons aren't just about running. It's more than that. It's the ability to set a goal, make a plan, and follow it through to completion.

If you're training for your first marathon, you're on the way to an amazing life! If you've done one already, you already know. You can do ANYTHING!

20000 Miles!

I was just updating my website at cooladventures.net a little bit ago when I realized that sometime in June I went over 20,000 LIFETIME MILES! WOW! I know that some people do that in only a few years, but for a kid who grew up with asthma and didn't really start running until only about 17 years ago, I'm pretty geeked about that. My big goal is to run the circumferenc of the earth, which is 24,902 miles. About 3 more years I'll have that DONE!

Don't forget to set some goals, make some plans, and SIGN UP FOR SOMETHING!

My Short Career as a Professional Nude Model

2010-07-22T15:15:00.000-04:00

An encore posting from 22 February 2006 Interesting day yesterday. Went to renew my license plate and get the renewal date moved to my birthday rather than my (soon to be ex-) wife's birthday. Decided to renew my drivers license while I was there too. "Oh... we can't do that because your license is suspended...in Arizona." OK, in 2001 I got a speeding ticket there, but try to locate a cancelled check from 5 years ago. Called Arizona and waited on hold for 35 minutes, only to find out I needed to call the county court where I got the ticket. Only on hold for 10 minutes there. Found out that it was cleared up long ago and they just needed to notify the state people. Still, I have to send $10 to Arizona to fix the problem. Pretty cheap.
So, a couple hours later I get a call--from an Arizona area code! What now? It was Michelle Donati from Rose & Allyn Public Relations. She had also just sent me an e-mail, which I pulled up and read while we were talking. Seems they're doing an ad campaign and wanted to use a picture from my website. Yes, you guessed it--the picture of me naked at the South Pole!
Excerpt from Michelle's e-mail:

"Our intern, Haley, stumbled across your website late
last week and our boss is interested in using one of
your photographs for an upcoming company
advertisement.

We are willing to monetarily compensate/sponsor you
for permission to use this image.

We will show you the final ad before it goes to print
and will send you the published ad once complete.
We've looked for stock photos that convey the same
message, but unfortunately, we didn't find any that
worked as well.

The clincher is...our boss is a procrastinator and our
ad is due tomorrow (Wednesday, February 22)...so we'd
need your permission by then. I can overnight you a
check or money order.
I assure you that this is real and that we're a legit
company."

"Just what the hell kind of message are you trying to convey here?" I asked her. Seems they're targeting lobbyists or something, with the idea "There's no such thing as too much exposure."
So, Michelle offers to pay me $250 to use my picture, and I send her the high-resolution copy I have on my computer. You probably know I have a "Life List" in my computer. Being a professional nude model wasn't on it. But what the heck.
Really. I don't make this stuff up.

My 200th Marathon?

2010-07-14T09:10:00.000-04:00

Leave it to old friends to get you involved in stuff. My Saturday morning started out with an 8 mile run. I went short that morning, because at 12:30, I was off to the First Centennial Vytautas Aid Society Marathon. Yes, the shirt said 26.2 on it. It conveniently omitted, however, the unit of measurement. Which was "blocks." Now, the good news was there were four air-conditioned aid stations. The bad news--you had to pay for your own aid. The good news--it was beer.

The Vytautas Hall is one of the "West Side" halls in Grand Rapids. Lithuanian Catholics for the most part. We have quite a few halls on the West Side--several Polish halls (Kosciuszko Hall served as race HQ for the first GR Marthon back in 2004, incidentally) One of my best friends, Mary Kamsickas, invited me to their "marathon." "Having you there would help legitimize the event." Maybe I'm flattered. Maybe some people have an interesting definition of "legitimate."

Barto Funeral Home ("See you at the End") provided sandwiches and water. It was a good time. Oh--and I won! Mary was the women's winner. And her brother John won the wheel chair division. Not bad for a sunny July Saturday. Hope I'm around for the Second Centenial in another 100 years.

"Stand Up" Comedy

2010-02-15T12:01:00.000-05:00

Yeah, you know I like to drink a beer once in a while. I met my son at HopCat the other day for lunch. I like that place--decent beer, BIG selection, in-house brewery.

Sooner or later, you have to get rid of some of it. At HopCat, they have some of the greatest wallpaper I've ever seen. Pinup Girls! I was standing there, doing my thing, as my eyes wandered over the very entertaining scenery all over the walls.

I suddenly regained my focus. I'm not sure how long I had been done peeing by that time. Couldn't have been more than a couple minutes. I think.

Leonardo

2010-02-02T11:45:00.000-05:00

I went to the Leonardo da Vinci exhibit at the museum downtown the end of December.

Leonardo was one of the pivotal people in history. He gave us art, design, many inventions that came out of his brain. Knowledge way beyond his years. Things that may have take decades, even centuries to discover had he not done them.

In the history of the world, there are only a few people who could be considered great. He was one. Maybe a few Biblical guys. Sir Isaac Newton. Galileo. Amundsen. Hillary. Columbus. Yeah, there were a bunch of important guys who brought us discoveries, changed life as we know it, industrialized countries, advanced science.

But what of the rest of us? Billions of people, yet only hundreds of REALLY memorable ones. The rest of us get to live out our days in relative anonymity, going from one place to the next, being the "cogs in the wheel," so to speak. It bothers me a little bit.

Face it. I'm never going to make an Olympic team. Probably not be mentioned in a history book anywhere. The world's population keeps getting bigger, and that means every day I become a smaller and smaller proportion of it.

So what to do? I can't have a big effect on the world. I can, however, have an effect on my little corner of it. I can help people become healthier through training and exercise. I can help educate my grandkids. I can inspire other people through my writing. LOTS and LOTS of good things to accomplish.

It's a rough draft, but what I'm trying to get at here is that we ALL can do positive things to make the world better. Helping someone who needs it. Loving someone who needs it. Counting our own blessings and sharing them with others.

I was constantly in awe, as I read of his life, played with machines he had designed, studied his drawings. His life and his works inspire us centuries after his death. If we all just live as if the things we're doing will be having effects on others long after we're gone, I'm pretty sure we'll make the world a better place.

Now, for 2010

2010-02-02T10:55:00.001-05:00

Yeah, don't be fooled. I just finished my 2009 in review thing a couple minutes ago. I dated it Dec 31, but it's already Ground Hog Day.
The end of 2009, I had run 38 states plus DC on my second time around the US doing marathons. I had visited the highest points in 37 states. And I had a collection which includes at least one beer glass from a brewery in 35 different states. This year is about working toward completing the collections.
I started the year with a trip. Central Michigan University, my alma mater, was playing Troy in the GMAC Bowl in Mobile, Alabama on 6 January. It was the opportunity I was looking for to get out of the cold, collect a few glasses, and go to my first ever bowl game.
The cheapest flights I could find went into Pensacola, FL. Nice, since I didn't have a Florida beer glass yet. After landing, I headed straight for McGuire's Irish Pub and Brewery, where I enjoyed some decent beer, hung out with a few guys watching the Orange Bowl.
Off to Mobile the next morning. I was hoping to collect a glass from a brewery there, which, unfortunately had closed only a week before. Alabama is proving very elusive in my quest for a microbrewery there. Oh well. I went across the street to HopJacks, where they had lots of good stuff on tap. I got the lowdown on the brewery across the street while enjoying lunch along with some Sweet Georgia Brown (Atlanta Brewing Co.) and some Andy Gator (Abita Brewing in Louisiana). I stopped on the way out to visit with a few people wearing maroon and gold, one of whom turned out to be our quarterback's father.
The "getting out of the cold" thing wasn't working well. I had fun anyway. Seats high up, near the 50 yard line gave me a great view of the game. I met Chris Turner and his son before the game outside the stadium, then ran into them again on the way to my seat. Turns out we were right beside each other. So we enjoyed the game in the near-freezing temperatures, watching a perfectly-scripted 44-41 double-overtime win by our favorite team! Fire Up Chips!!

I got in the car and headed for Arkansas, alternating between driving and sleeping. By 11:00 the next day, I pulled into Bosco's Brewery on President Clinton Avenue in Little Rock. Lunch with a "Bosco's Famous Flaming Stone Beer" was just what I needed before heading a little farther west. By about 4 that afternoon, I reached the summit of Mount Magazine, elevation 2753, and the highest spot in Arkansas. I headed south to El Dorado, hoping to pop in on my old friend Knox White. No answer, and the house was dark, so I guess I missed him. A night sleeping in a bed was quite comfortable for a change, watching the National Championship game and eating a pizza before going to sleep and preparing for the next leg of the trip.
Early Friday--turns out it's only a little over an hour or so to the high point of Louisiana. I headed south, and by about 8:00 had made the arduous climb to the summit of Driskill Mountain, elevation 535 feet. OK, maybe not so arduous, but what the heck. At least you have to walk a mile to the high point. In the snow.

Back in the car, to Jackson, Mississippi, for the Mississippi Blues Marathon. As soon as I got to the expo, I ran into a couple of friends from the Costa Rica trip last September, Kenneth Williams and John Aikin (aka Big Foot). Spent a bit of time talking with Bill Rodgers and Dane Rauschenberg at the book signing table. Lots of friends were there, I found, since there was another opportunity to run a marathon in Mobile on Sunday, so a lot of 50-staters were doing doubles. I figured I'd have enough by the end of Saturday, so I didn't sign up for Mobile.

The marathon was 18 degrees at the Start. Nice course, some of the most polite course volunteers I've ever seen, with a few butt-kicking hills in the last few miles. A half mile from the end I saw my first dead runner on the side of the road. Chris Brown was running the last leg of the relay. His team was already out to where he was, along with the EMTs who were working on him. I paused for a minute, starting to get tears in my eyes, then realizing that I was powerless to help. I went on.

After taking my stuff to my car, I went to walk through the lobby one more time, and ran into old friend, John Dietrich. We went out to get some late lunch before going our separate ways.
During the past three days, at least three people had told me about Southern Pecan Beer from the Lazy Magnolia in Kiln, MS. OK, I needed a glass from Mississippi, and I needed to head south anyway. I drove to Kiln to the brewery. Which, I found, isn't a pub. It's a garage on Stennis Air Force Base. So I drove back into Kiln and went to the Jourdan River Steamer bar and had a pint of Southern Pecan and some supper while watching my 4th football game of the extra-long weekend. Oh, and a pint of Rebel Ale as well. (I had to get the Lazy Magnolia glass through the mail a week later, but I HAD been there.)

It was a leisurely drive back to Pensacola along the Gulf Coast, on a sunny morning that was even starting to warm up a little. I made a cursory drive around Mobile but didn't happen to intersect the marathon course anywhere, so I just went on to Pensacola and back to McGuire's for lunch.

As I turned in my rental car, the Avis attendant looked up at me when I told her the mileage on my car. "You've driven 1500 miles?" "Yeah, that's about right." A short flight and a long layover in Dallas had me watching yet another football game, which ended just a minute before they called us to board the flight. So in the first week of the 2010, I had a great time. Collected three beer glasses. Climbed two state high points. Ran my 3rd Mississippi marathon. Watched my team win a bowl game. Came home to find the lovely Francine. Life is good.

and the adventure continues....

The Year In Review 2009

2009-12-31T09:40:00.002-05:00

Not a bad year. I started off still hobbling around a bit from the two knee surgeries I had in 2008. Oh well. Still had my good attitude, I suppose. Still, I started the year wondering how long I want to continue doing marathons so frequently. I decided to keep my at-least-one-per-month streak alive at least until I got to 100 months. At the beginning of the year, the streak was at 70.

I started the year with a trip to Vegas, running a marathon out in Boulder, seeing the Hoover Dam, discovered that there's a Lappert's Ice Cream shop in Las Vegas--one of my favorites! Finished the marathon with Yolanda, the woman who set the world record in 2008 for the most marathons in a year. She let me cross the finish line a step ahead of her, but I edged her out on chip time to finish DFL in the marathon.

Lots more marathons ensued - 17 in all. Highlights--Bataan Death March in White Sands, NM--maybe one of the most inspirational I've ever done. A double weekend in June, including Iowa and South Dakota on the same weekend, with a trip to the Iowa state high point thrown in. Marathons, mountains and microbrews with one of my best friends, Paul, on a weekend that we didn't go to Brazil as a result of a visa issue. (i.e. neither one of us bothered to see if we needed one in advance.) Another trip to Vegas and a middle-of-the-night marathon at Area 51.

Paul and I did a "make-up" trip to Costa Rica, since we had to use our airline tickets for something, after all. We ended up running into a few old friends there, and managed to meet a bunch of other fun people, as well as a couple of raccoons. Zip lines through the jungle canopy were pretty nice.

MY FIRST MAGAZINE COVER!! I made the cover of Michigan Runner for the September-October issue!!! My mom and dad are so proud. Autographed copies are available. :-)

Francine's daughter Rachel got married in October in Niagara Falls, Canada. Fun weekend, with a nice Sunday morning run along the river, fireworks over the falls, and an icy plunge into Lake Ontario to complete my diving into all five Great Lakes.

And then, the 2009 Metro Health Grand Rapids Marathon. We grew to over 3800 participants this year. Approaching critical mass, I think. The staff was better than ever, giving me a lot of time to really enjoy the weekend.

I'm trying to finish my second time around the states doing marathons, so I'm concentrating on getting to the states I haven't done twice already. This year I managed to run marathons in 12 different states, collect beer glasses from breweries in six states I didn't have already, and visit the highest points in Texas, Delaware, New Jersey, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Illinois, and Virginia. 37 done, only 13 to go. 38 states and DC done on my second time around the states for marathons. Lots of more fun to be had in 2010.

and the adventure continues....

Well, that's the short version. Check some of my earlier blog entries for some more stuff

A Tradition Starts

2009-11-20T08:11:00.000-05:00

The day after the marathon, we went to Founders for a get-together with our Boot Camp group. Gary VanDyken (lifetime runner) challenged my memory.

"Do you remember back in 2004 getting an email with the 'Top 10 Reasons Sandy should be allowed to run the half-marathon'? "

We filled up in 2004. We were at Millennium Park, so we didn't have the capacity for as many people. If people asked, I was trying to accommodate them--we even figured out shuttle busses from outlying lots. I'd usually say yes to any good story, with "You owe me a beer," thinking someday we'd get together for a beer somewhere. When I got that email, same deal.

The next day, as I was working at a coffee shop, Gary walked in with an application, cash, and a bottle of beer. OK, I'm liking this guy already. Bringing a bottle of beer wasn't what was on my mind, but it seemed like a really nice idea when it happened.

"I walked in and set a beer down on the counter."

DO I REMEMBER?!?! That moment changed my life! The start of something big! I put a note on the Race Day Instruction page to bring a bottle of decent beer along as a gift for the race director. It worked. That's where the tradition got started. Since then, runners from all over have brought beer. And since then, after every race we've had great micro brew from New Holland Brewery. It's a tradition. It's part of the fun.

And now, I know who started the tradition. Thanks Gary!!

My Nobel Prize Nomination

2009-11-10T09:46:00.000-05:00

Stuff Sneaks Up on You.

So, during the build up to the 2009 Metro Health Grand Rapids Marathon, something surprising happens. President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. Of course, I was busy working on the marathon and didn't watch the news, which left me totally in the dark about WHY. I'm not getting into politics here--maybe it was totally deserved, maybe it wasn't. There are people who figure out that stuff. I'm not one of them. (I did see a pretty interesting theory though.)

So, I'm thinking a couple days ago, I'll never win a Nobel prize. Even in my most testerone-inspired delusional visions of grandeur, I wouldn't imagine such a thing. Then yesterday I checked my email.

Subject: Your Nobel Prize Nomination

Hi Don!
Thought you'd be interested in seeing this!
Happy running!
CLICK

Yeah, I know. It's all baloney anyway, but I think I love this girl. I'm honored, humbled, and thankful.

Road Racing Jones: Don Kern, Director Metro Health Grand Rapids Marathon

2009-10-02T08:13:00.002-04:00

Road Racing Jones: Don Kern, Director Metro Health Grand Rapids Marathon

Road Racing Jones: Don Kern, Director Metro Health G.R. Marathon

Submitted: Oct 1st, 2009 by Roberta King (Roberta King) under NEWS

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Don Kern

This periodic feature of The Rapidian will reveal the road racing jonesing* of Grand Rapidians.

My record is doing four marathons in a month. Usually it is at least one.

I've run a least one marathon every month for 79 consecutive months.

I never have to do that build up thing. I'm always tapering.

I've run all seven continents three times; 21 countries and all 50 states. This is how I see the world.

Last year I arthroscopic surgery in both knees, so I'm not as fast as I used to be. I need to pay attention to the healing process.

I'm just a kid yet, I'm having a blast,

I don't have any doubt, that on any day I could get out of bed and run 26 miles and be just fine.

I have won my age group a few times, those are usually small races where not a lot of people in my age group showed up. They could have! I'll take it when I can get it.

Started running in 1994, beginning of track season, my daughter was on the team and I went out to run two miles on the track with her. Found I could run two miles without stopping. Started building up a little bit. Ran a 10k on Labor Day for my first race.

Never was in track in high school. I had asthma as a kid, my mom was pretty protective of me.

I earned my high school varisty letter in debate.

It was about 30 degrees in Antarctica, like running a trail run in Michigan in the winter.

Oh my gosh! The Inca trail to Machu Picchu in the Peruvian Andes. I was up there, looking down into the ancient city of Machu Picchu; there it was, right in front of me! My heart was in my throat, my breath went away.

Every marathon has its own character. Some are better, some are worse. They're all different, there are some I just get through. But they all have their good stories.

There's always something out there to enjoy, be thankful for, cool people to meet.

There's always a memory with every marathon.

I don't ever go to a marathon where I don't see people I don't know. Went to Beruit for a marathon in 2007, ran into four freinds I knew there, didn't know they were going to be there.

Anywhere in the world I run a marathon, I'm going to run into somebody I know.

The biggest criteria for choosing a marathon is going to a place I've never been before.

I'm a master of the speed vacation.

If you're doing it on foot, you can see the mountains, the scenery or the coastline (like Big Sur) and take it all in for 26 miles.

I make a point of visiting microbreweries along the way.

* Jones or jonesing: a strong need, desire or craving for something. An obesession; a burning desire. The undeniable passion or love for someone or something.
Courtesy of Urban Dictionary.

Marathons, Mountains and Microbrews - Michigan & Minnesota

2009-06-30T08:38:00.001-04:00

Alternative titles:

(What I did when I didn't go to Brazil)
(We're Going With Plan B)

"Right now, we should be walking down the beach looking at hot Brazilian babes," Paul said yesterday, as we pulled off for lunch in the middle of Wisconsin. "Yeah, but Plan B wasn't bad either."

It all started out to be a great adventure to South America. Perennial traveling companion Paul sent me a text on my birthday last month, wondering if I wanted to run Rio on the 28th. Sounded like fun. We booked the trip and signed up for the marathon.

On Friday, I headed for Paul's place in Chicago and we took the train out to O'Hare. Check in. "Do you have a visa?" It turns out that while most of the South American countries will let you get an entry visa at the airport, Brazil won't. We called the local Brazilian Consulate. Six days minimum, and that's if you come in during the three hours they're open on Tuesday or Thursday and come back to pick it up during the three hours they're open on Monday, Wednesday or Friday.

So, here we are at the airport, trying to figure out how to make the best of the situation.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch....

The lovely Francine is getting ready to head to Charlevoix for a marathon tomorrow. After a check of other international and domestic marathons we might do, we decided the best plan was to head for Charlevoix. We got on the train back to Paul's, and into my van. It was about a five hour drive plus a stop or two for gas and food, and at about 9:30 we arrived. Francine was happy to have our company, so happy in fact, that she proceeded the next morning to blow away her age group by about 20 minutes. About a half hour later, Paul and I crossed the finish line.

Well, just doing a marathon in Michigan instead of Brazil wasn't quite enough. Since we were already up north, Paul and I said goodbye to Francine and headed UP north. To the Upper Peninsula, that is. We stopped on the way up at Legs Inn in Cross Village for a beer and a snack, then headed across the Bridge and across the UP to L'Anse, Michigan.

We stopped at the Marquette Harbor Brewery in Marquette for dinner and a pint on the way there, and enjoyed the Lake Superior scenery on the way.

Mt. Arvon, the highest point in Michigan, is only about 20 miles or so east of L'Anse, and we headed out on Sunday morning, driving on roads that gradually diminished in width as we got closer to the trail head. It was only a half-mile hike once we got there. At only 1979 feet, Mt. Arvon isn't all that hard, but if you're going to do all 50, you have to do the easy ones too. At least they make you walk a half-mile uphill to get there. The worst part was the mosquitoes! I think I was about a pint low on blood as we returned to the car.

Check off another thing from my list. Next--Swim in each of the Great Lakes. So far, I've done Michigan, Huron, Erie. And look, here's Lake Superior. We drove back to L'Anse, pulled up to the public beach, and jumped into the VERY COLD water. Refreshing would be a good word. Significant shrinkage would be a good phrase. Lake Superior. Check!

On to Duluth, Minnesota, then northeast along Lake Superior about 90 miles, then north into the wilderness for about 22 miles to the trail head for Eagle Mountain. We barely got out of the car before the Minnesota State Bird (the mosquito) started attacking us, draining even more of our blood. We decided to keep moving, since the faster we walked, the less they drank. The rain was steady but not hard as we followed a rocky trail to the top. We ran into a couple from Texas coming down that we had seen earlier on Mount Arvon, and they were kind enough to share some skeeter-dope with us.

Most of the actual climbing happens in the span of about 15 minutes, and that started right about the time we left our Texan friends. We had to search around a little at the top to find the actual high point, since on the rocks the trail tended to disappear. But after just a couple minutes we had arrived at the top of Minnesota!

The wind started picking up and getting colder, and we wondered if we were going to get some serious weather as we headed down the mountain. My bigger concern was if we could get back to the nearest brewery in Duluth so that I could collect a beer glass before they closed for the night.

Eagle Mountain, the high point of Minnesota, elevation 2301 feet. Check.

We got back to the car and shut the doors before any more of our six-legged friends could get in, and started following the directions on my GPS back toward Duluth, rather than just following the road we came in on. Unfortunately, the GPS turned out to be kinda stupid on the little roads, and after driving on continually worse and worse roads and coming upon a small "lake" in the middle of one and turning around. Fine, we'll go out the way we came.

So, after a bit of detouring, a back window that we couldn't see out of from all the mud that had splashed on it, and a 40-minute-longer-than-it-should-have-been drive, we got back to Duluth to Fitger's Brewery. The kitchen had closed, but the beer was still flowing. A pint of Parr's Porter really hit the spot. I asked about beer glasses, and the bartender brought five different designs, none of which matched the beer I just drank. So, I had to drink a pint of Big Boat Oatmeal Stout before I could justify the glass I had just picked out. Darn it!

Collect a beer glass from Minnesota. Check!

We got a referral for a Pizza Luce and had a great pizza before heading back south. By that time is was about 1:00 a.m. We got just into Wisconsin for a few minutes and stopped for the night. I don't think either of us took more than a few seconds to fall asleep. It was a good day. Two mountains, one Great Lake, and a micro brewery.

By late afternoon, we had traveled the length of Wisconsin, and pulled back into the driveway at Paul's condo, completing a full circumnavigation of Lake Michigan. I headed for home, where the lovely Francine awaited my arrival.

Plan A was travel to Rio, run a marathon, and be tourists for a couple days. Oh well. Rio will still be there. Plan B included marathon #179, state high points # 34 & 35, Great Lake #4, and 32 state beer glasses!

and the adventure continues....

Marathons, Mountains and Microbrews - Iowa, South Dakota

2009-06-15T15:08:00.005-04:00

Fear. Well, maybe that's a strong word, but I was really wondering what was going to happen. It was my first double-marathon weekend since 2007, and my first double since having surgery on both knees.

The mission--collect a beer glass from Iowa. Run the Marathon to Marathon from Storm Lake to Marathon Iowa. Run the Swan Lake Marathon in Viborg, South Dakota.

The reality? Pretty much like the mission, only more fun. I left Thursday night to get a few hours in and make Friday a little more leisurely. I called Paul in Chicago, went to his place, and watched the Lakers come from behind to beat the Magic while enjoying a couple beers with one of my best friends.

Four a.m. on Friday morning, I got up, took a quick shower, and headed out to beat the Chicago rush traffic (by about 3 hours) and headed for Iowa. Turns out that the road took me within about 10 miles of Charles Mound, the high point of Illinois. I drove up there just in case there would be a way I could visit that one too, however, it's on private property with only restricted times to visit. The signs said closed, and not wanting to mess it up for future high pointers, I respected the signs and decided to do it another time. At least I know how to get there though.

On to Waterloo, Iowa, where I visited Becks Sports Brewery and enjoyed a lunch and a pint of Red Dragon Ale and another of Thirsty Buzzard Cerveza.

A few hours later I pulled into Storm Lake, site of the Marathon to Marathon. This is year 14 for their marathon. Back in year two, I ran this marathon, and met Lois Lind, a very sweet older lady who, along with her husband, started the marathon. He died before the first one, but she remained, as race director. Since then, she's been promoted to "Spokesperson" and is still there, shaking hands with finisher and sharing her love for life with all of us.

Though I may have had reservations about running two consecutive marathons, I didn't have any reservations for a place to stay. The whole town was booked up. I had stuff in my van to sleep on/under, but stopped by a small motel just to ask. They were "almost full" but told me to check back in an hour or so.

After picking up my packet, I called back. YES! There's a room. Cheap too!

Watched the Redwings lose the Stanley Cup along with new friend, Gordon Bennett in the lobby of my motel. So much for the home team.

The Marathon to Marathon is a nice little run (less than 200 in the full marathon) through prime Iowa farm country. At 6:00 a.m. we headed out.

Well, let me describe the course. You run around the block. You head east. You head north. You head east. You head north..... Eventually you turn west and run about 3 blocks to the finish line in Marathon, Iowa. OK, the course isn't very interesting. But the people sure are nice. I hooked up with four young girls, three of whom were doing their first marathon. We ran together for a couple miles before they dropped back. With about 4 miles to go one of them passed me. Then a couple more. I managed to hold off the fourth one.

At about 14 miles I caught up with a bunch of crazy 50-staters, who were singing, joking, taking lots of walk breaks, enroute to helping Mark Rudnicki finish his 50th state. I hung with them for a bit before going on ahead.

Felt good all day, though I was taking it easy and making sure I was replenishing as much as possible along the way. I finished in about 5:17, got a shower, had a real nice lunch sitting with my young-babe friends and then joined a few other double-marathoners on the shuttle back to Marathon.

Chapter 2.

I got back to my van and headed north for Hawkeye Point, the high spot of Iowa at 1670 feet. Yeah, yeah, but if you're collecting high points, you have to take the easy ones with the hard ones. Looking at my Garmon Nuvi in my car, it looked like I could just go north to 130th Street and head west 3 miles. Unfortunately, it was a "Class B" road, which in Iowa means someone packed down a path through a field and you enter at your own risk. I made sure to keep my speed up as much as I could and still keep things under control. By the time I reached the high point I had so much black mud packed under my wheel wells that I still haven't dislodged it all after arriving back here to GR. Had I approached from the west, it was paved roads to within about 100 yards. Oh well--guess I'll know better next time.

Hawkeye Point is pretty nice--they have a mosiac compass face on the ground, and five poles with signs pointing to each of the other state high points along with distances.

My legs felt good. What's wrong here?

I arrived a couple hours later at Swan Lake Christian camp for marathon number two. Again, I had no reservations, but for $15 I got to stay in one of the bunkhouses there. I went to bed pretty early after the pasta dinner and didn't get up until about 4:30. Another 6:00 a.m. start, and marathon #2 was underway.

I ran the whole first half with Tom from Omaha, and we managed to pass the miles pretty quickly. At least it felt that way--I was still taking it pretty easy. After he turned off to finish the half, I set my sights on the string of people I could see off in the distance. I had been following a guy in a white shirt since the start, but couldn't quite close in on him.

Going through the aid station at about 14 miles, one of the guys was saying, "Powerade, water, ... BEER" I picked up my head at that one and said, "Don't be messin' with me now." "You want a beer?" "Yeah!" What the heck, it was after 8:00 a.m. He grabbed me a MGD64 out of the cooler and I enjoyed it for the next half mile. I caught a couple of early starters, then headed down a long driveway they call the "keyhole" which goes to the end and around a flagpole. The guy in the white shirt was on his way out as I approached the flag pole. I told him I was going to try and catch him. He said, "I hope not."

We headed back onto the gravel roads, out about a mile, turn right and go out three miles to the 20 mile mark. I could see the guy in the white shirt, and every time he'd take a short walk break I drew him in just a little more. Almost to 20 and I made my move. We talked for a bit about the guy in the blue shirt ahead of us, and I took off after him too! I set my sites on Jeff and Nel, my next two victims. After catching them we stayed together through mile 25, talking and getting acquainted. We were going for sub 5:30, Jeff doing his second marathon of the weekend as well. They stopped for a walk break and I headed for home. I picked up my beer can to drop it back with the people who gave it to me earlier. When I got there, I had this flash of inspiration. I had them get me a beer and 3 glasses and waited for Jeff and Nel. We toasted our marathon and downed the beer before doing the last half-mile or so. I was pushing at that point, figuring I had blown the 5:30, but what the heck. A beer with some new friends trumps a few seconds off my marathon time. Still, I was running strong, feeling great, and at the end of 52+ miles in two days. Wow! Finish line in 5:30 and a few seconds. Close enough!

So, I guess my fears were unfounded. Now I have no more excuses. Guess I'll have to work and get myself back to my normal 4:30 marathon time. That's marathons in states 35 and 36 (second time around). State high point #33. And on the way back through Des Moines, I collected a beer glass from the Rock Bottom Brewery, where I enjoyed a nice pint of Lumpy Dog Brown. That's beer glass state #31.

and the adventure continues....

Marathons, Mountains and Microbrews, Part 2

2009-05-17T20:00:00.002-04:00

Well, I tried to get into the pasta dinner, but the place was jammed and they didn't have room for me. Imagine that. I decided to head back to my hotel and find something on the way. Bertucci's!! My favorite pizza place. More from nostalgia than anything--Mark Boyce, a friend from Boston, took me to Bertucci's after I finished my first Boston Marathon in 1996. Good memories. So whenever I'm out east and find a Bertucci's I go eat there.

But, you don't come here to read about me eating pizza. (Why do you come here, anyway?) The Christiana Healthcare Delaware Marathon, Sunday morning. Big goal for the day: be under five hours for the first time since I started having my knees operated on.

They rearranged the course this year. In the past, it's been a 10-mile loop followed by a bunch of short loops repeated 5 times or something like that. What was in my brain is that they were going to do the 10 mile loop twice instead, then the short loops.

The race and the rain both started at the same time. Flat short loop to the west for the first two miles, then we headed east. The rain was steady and the wind was right in our faces. There was one block of buildings where the wind-tunnel effect nearly blew us backwards. Fortunately it was short-lived.

After only a couple miles, I found Edson Sanches, a guy I first met in Caracas, Venezuela. He was going easy this week in preparation for running Comrades next week, so I was able to keep up with him for a few miles. We ran together into a nice park area, then crossed the river on one of those nice bouncy pedestrian suspension bridges. I didn't know whether to expect hills on the course or not. Definitely hills. We set off through a hilly section and I lost Edson. Rather, he lost me. We went through a little neighborhood, seemingly farther and farther away from the starting area. I kept wondering how we were going to get back there in only 10 miles. Then we headed off into a business area. The math wasn't working. Finally, I realized that the signs for the second loop were acutally 13 miles off from the signs for the first loop. Seems like a guy as smart as me would have figured that out a few miles back--say maybe at mile 1? OK, so it's a half-marathon loop, followed by another one. Now the math is making sense. But the confusion sure made it seem longer.

Heading back to the end of the loop, we ran past the 25 mile mark and the 12 mile mark, and then started uphill for about 4 blocks. The half-marathoners soon turned off to the finish as we were directed back onto the riverwalk for our second time around. I was moving well and a little ahead of my 5 hour pace.

Funny thing about hills. They always seem bigger the second time. And longer. I didn't remember that we went around quite so many blocks near the 21 mile area. I kept checking my watch and doing math, making sure I worked hard enough to keep under five hours. It was starting to be a struggle. I had a bit of emotional capital invested, however, and really wanted to finish within my goal time. By 23 I had enough time in the bank and enough gas in the tank to do that. Just concentrate and resist the urge to take a break. Mile 25. I know we'll start up hill soon. I looked ahead. The up hill section seemed way longer than the first time. Finally starting downhill, I knew I'd finish under 4:58. The 26 mile mark. Usually you can see a finish line from the 26 mile marker. Not here. Down the street, turn left, then turn left again before you see the FINISH LINE. My friend Harriet yelled for me when I turned the last corner. Nice--final time was 4:57:55.

A few good eats, a Michelob Ultra, and a conversation with RD Wayne Kursh and Steve Boone from Texas, and I headed back for a quick shower and a quick nap. One more thing to accomplish this weekend. I need a beer glass from New Jersey. Since my flight was in Newark, I headed up to the Gaslight Brewery and Restaurant in East Orange. What a satisfying meal. French onion soup and a seared salmon steak salad. And a couple pints of Black Bear Lager. Yummy! Marathons - 34 states the second time around, 176 total, 75 consecutive months. Mountains - 32 state summits. Microbrews--beer glasses collected from 30 states now.

Headed home tomorrow morning, where the lovely Francine awaits my return. :-)

and the adventure continues....

Marathons, Mountains and Microbrews

2009-05-16T20:31:00.007-04:00

Impatience. That's what I've been feeling lately. It happened when I was about two-thirds of the way to doing marathons in all 50 states. Now it's twice as bad--I have marathons in 34 states for the second time around. I also have summitted 30 of the state high points. So, I'm now in Delaware, indulging my impatience by knocking a few more things off my list.

I arrived at Newark, NJ airport about 9:30 last night, and headed north to High Point State Park, the location of the most unoriginally named of the state high points. High Point. Elevation 1803. Approaching the park from the south, the obelisk monument at the top is well lit and visible from several miles away. Unfortunately, the gate was locked so I'd have to come back in the morning.
It's only about five miles to the New York border, where I spent the night. In the morning, no monument to be seen. Not much fog until I got to the park entrance, but then everything fogged in.

Well, it's a not-very interesting story from there. I drove to the monument, parked and walked about 100 yards or so up hill to the highest point in New Jersey. Hung out with a couple kids who were filming a little school documentary.
Next stop, Wilmington.

I enjoyed a relaxing drive south through Pennsylvania and into Delaware, straight to the Iron Hill Brewery for some lunch. Oh, and a pint of Pig Iron Porter and another of Ironbound Ale. I sat at the bar talking with a runner friend Kenny, and another guy who was a member of the brewery's mug club.

Turns out the Delaware high point is only about five miles from my hotel here. I followed the easy directions and arrived right at the spot. Only the second lowest of the state high points, at 488 feet, Ebright Azimuth is really just a USGS marker on the edge of a sidewalk, and a sign a few feet north. I took a couple pictures and went to leave before being caught on the way back to my car by Doreen Kupchick. She owns the house across the street and is the self-appointed guardian of the pinacle of Delaware. She offered to take my picture by the sign, and then shared with me many stories of the high point and the people who had visited there.
And the high point is only about 200 feet south of the Pennsylvania border. Back in the 1960s, the TV show Candid Camera set up there and told people coming in from Pennsylvania that because Delaware is a small state and there wasn't enough room, they'd have to wait until a car drove out before they'd let one in.
Doreen also knew of nearly every rock or bit of dirt that had been moved or rearranged anywhere around the area. The "high point" isn't really very well defined--more of a little plain rather than a hilltop, so there are ongoing discussions of where the "real" high point might be.
She started to tell me about an Austrian guy who had done all kinds of things, climbing, marathons.... Sounds like Helmut, I said. She showed me a picture of him in a magazine--I told her about him. Helmut's a good friend who I met on a trip to the North Pole. So I got to share a couple stories with her as well.
We parted after a very pleasant half-hour or so. State high points 31 and 32. And a beer glass collected from Delaware.

Tomorrow morning it's the Delaware Marathon.

and the adventure continues....

More Misc Stuff

2009-05-04T08:38:00.004-04:00

It was early in the morning. The coffee shop I was headed for wasn't open yet, and I was jonesin' for a blueberry muffin from Starbucks. I parked across the road in a spot that, during business hours, is a loading zone. The traffic lights were still blinking instead of doing the normal green-yellow-red thing. The White Walking guy wasn't wasn't awake for the day yet, so there was no one in the little box above the crosswalk to tell me it was ok to cross the road. Guess I was on my own. Fortunately there wasn't much traffic.

They've changed the muffin wrappers at Starbucks. A square sheet of paper shoved into the bottom of a round muffin tin. The sides of the muffin go straight up, instead of mushrooming out like they did when they used the regular cupcake cup papers. They don't put as much of that crumbly stuff on them either. I think it screws up the ambiance. I don't like the change. Their coffee's still the best though.

I stood at the corner after leaving the coffee shop. The Red Hand telling me, "NO! Don't come across now. Wait for the little White Walking guy.

There wasn't much traffic. I went across the road. The Red Hand be damned!

I crossed the road. I didn't die. It's going to be a great day.

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I have these moments that I break out into laughter. It's the total amusement with the coolness of my life.

I was hiking across the ridgeline in the Patriot Hills one time. Patriot Hills is a very small mountain ridge--maybe 2 or 3 miles long, that protects an ice runway in Antarctica. I was there for a marathon at the South Pole. While we had some time, a bunch of us were hiking across the length of the ridge. I suddenly started laughing. Doug looked at me and said, "What!?" I told him. "Right now, my friends are back home, going about their normal day, working, dealing with the day-to-day stuff, and I'm here, walking along a mountain ridge in Antarctica!"

Pretty freakin' cool, I think.

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I was standing alone in the airport in Tromso, Norway, wondering how I was going to get into town, where the registration for the marathon was, where I was going to stay when I got there.

A guy there who seemed to be looking for someone spotted my Columbus Marathon shirt and figured maybe I was one of the people he was looking for. I wasn't. But while he waited for two other runners that he'd never met before, we struck up a conversation. He was a race staffer, there to pick up a couple runners from the airport. He offered me a ride, dropped me off at race headquarters, and pointed out the information desk so I could find out where a nice place to stay might be.

I was there for the Midnight Sun Marathon. Because it was so expensive to get an international funds money order, I decided to just wait until I got there to register for the marathon. So I showed up in Tromso for one of the northernmost marathons in the world, with no registration, no place to stay, and no advance notice.

My friend from the airport told his buddy at the local newspaper. He tracked me down at my hotel, interviewed me, and came out and took my picture. I was in the paper the next day--an American who had just showed up to run their marathon. I was getting quoted in Norwegian. I don't even speak Norwegian.

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A sad moment this morning. My friend Susie's mom died this weekend in an accident. She was 80. My thoughts are with you Susie.

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It's my responsibility in life to help move the human race forward. I don't know if there's anything after this--I'm thinking there isn't. But whether there is or not, it's my obligation to help people become more than they are--to help our species--my fellow human beings, actually move ahead. That, in my ideal world, is what I'm moving toward--to make everyone I come into contact with a little better, a little stronger, a little more capable, a little more confident. (From "Devotions for Athiests" by Jackson Timbers)

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If you're not well fed, you're in no position to feed others. If you're not full of life, it's hard for you to fill other people.

It's important for us to do things to feed ourselves--not just physically, but spiritually. We need to have big dreams and goals and work toward them.

In the process of accomplishing big things, you bring other people along with you.

(Incomplete thoughts--I'll edit later)

A Little More Miscellaneous Stuff

2009-04-16T21:24:00.003-04:00

Stuff I almost got away with:

I convinced my sister one time that Hank Cartwright was the guy who invented faucet handles, and that's why they always have H and C on them. "I kid you not! I always thought it stood for Hot and Cold!" she protested. I was cracking up.

Here's a good rumor: The band Toto was actually formed by a couple of members who had left the band Kansas. They named it that because "I don't think we're in Kansas any more."

(totally bullshit!)

One of the things I thought was neat when I read "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" is that it seems that Douglas Adams figured out a way to work every clever thing he had ever thought of into the book. So, I've started carrying a digital recorder around with me, so I can capture those brilliant moments that the universe keeps sending to my brain. Then I can record my cleverness to share with the masses. Aren't you lucky?

I have a friend who was praying one time when he was a young man, and suddenly had a divine revelation that there really isn't anything up there. Hard to figure out where the divine revelation came from, eh?

The Bataan Death March Memorial Marathon

2009-04-04T08:48:00.002-04:00

This one just made my list of favorites.

White Sands, New Mexico.

The morning started early at White Sands Missle Base. We were instructed to be there by 4:30, and had a continental breakfast at the starting area. By 5:15 I decided to walk the half-mile back to my car and rest for a bit before the 6:30 opening ceremonies.

The ceremonies opened with the color guard and the National Anthem, as we prepared for the event ahead of us. Much of the field was military, wearing full uniforms. In the "Heavy Division" corral they were checking their packs, weighing to make sure they had the full 35 pounds in them. I had switched to the light division to give my knees a break. I'll try the pack next time.

We were told about the rigors suffered in WWII by those who were surrendered to the Japanese and marched for days, many dying along the way, some surviving only to be blown up in unmarked boats by our own unknowing forces. Veterans of that march were with us, now old men who continue to keep that memory alive.

An inspirational speech by Director of the Army Staff Lt. General David Huntoon was followed by a very solemn roll call of those Bataan survivors who have died just in the last year.

The opening ceremonies ended with this, written by Frank Hewlett in 1942:

"The Battling Bastards of Bataan,
No Mama, No Papa, No Uncle Sam,
No aunts, no uncles, no cousins, no nieces,
No pills, no planes, no artillery pieces,
And nobody gives a damn!"

Then came the start. They led veterans from Bataan to seats in the start corral, where they would greet us as we moved to the start line. Then came a moment that had tears streaming down my face--soldiers who had lost limbs in Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam were led out as a group to start the march with us. Pride in those who sacrificed so much, sadness that we get into wars, or joy that because of those who served and lost so much make it possible for us to be free all came together at that point.

We started the marathon on the base, on pavement for about two miles, then we started off across the New Mexico desert. Loose sand was kicked into the air by the 5300 people, and we were off on a dusty trek. At an easy trot, I was passing a lot of people, and after about an hour I was out where the field was a little more spaced out. Still, at over 4900 feet elevation in sand and dirt it was slow going.

We continued on that surface through a flat section until about 8 miles in. Then we turned onto a road, and before we saw the 9 mile mark had started up a long, gradual hill. The hill would end just before we turned off onto sand/gravel near the 13 mile mark. Now it was rolling a bit, but still generally uphill for another mile or so.

Near 14 miles they were having a barbeque where you could buy hotdogs and hamburgers. Next year I'm taking money with me. I stopped there and sat on a cot to dump the sand out of my shoes for the second time, then continued, starting a generally downhill section that would tie back into the paved hill we had climbed, somewhere just before 19 miles. I read the name on the back of a soldier's cap--Huntoon! That sounded familiar. I turned around and saw the three stars on his uniform--it was the general who had spoken at the opening ceremonies. I stopped to shake his hand and ran along with him for a while. We talked for around a mile, comparing marathons, talking about my son-in-law in the Guard, and working our way along the course. The downhill got a little steeper and I went on my way. The wind started picking up even more--New Mexico is one of the windiest places in the country. As I turned onto the pavement, I was cruising along nicely, and for a few minutes entertained the thought of finishing in under six hours. Then at around 21 miles we made a right turn onto the gravel/sand and headed uphill for about half a mile. We approached the top of the hill, thinking it would soon get better as we headed down. Wrong. As we turned off to the gradual downhill, we were in the loosest sand of the day. Running and walking was about the same speed, with no push-off in the loose sand. It was about a mile before it firmed up and we were back on the more firmly packed surface.

The course was taking its toll, especially on the young soldiers wearing backpacks. I encouraged several of them as I went by, frequently talking them into coming along with me for a while. The wind picked up even more, sand blew into my eyes and I felt the grit in my teeth. We headed straight into the wind as we approached the 25 mile mark, then on around a few more curves and approached the finish. At the 26 mile mark I tapped a guy who was walking and said, "Come on--only two tenths to go." At 26.1 we picked up another guy, then a woman, and four of us ran across the finish line.

I learned a lot that day--the sacrifice that others made, the toughness of so many people, the importance of a leader to set an example. And I came to a fuller appreciation of those who have sacrificed so that we can be free.

My finish time was 6:16, a good time for my condition and for that course. The final finisher, wearing a 35-pound pack, came in around 14:44.

Now

Guadalupe Peak

2009-03-30T10:28:00.000-04:00

Marathons, Mountains and Microbrews - Guadalupe Peak

Early morning Saturday I left my hotel in El Paso for the two-hour trip east to Guadalupe Mountains National Park, home of Guadalupe Peak (8749'). I have the whole day to get up the mountain, then up to White Sands to pick up my race packet for tomorrow's marathon.

I planned to stop at a convenience store for some drinks, snacks, and a bit of breakfast on the way, but as soon as I got out of town there was nothing to be found. From the outskirts of El Paso to the Park, there is absolutely NOTHING open! In fact, there is practically nothing anyway. Just a long stretch of road through a beautiful desert. As I drove east, the sky brightened and the mountains in the distance started to take shape. I arrived at the visitor center around 7:20 and found that they wouldn't be open until 8:00. Fortunately, I found a Coke machine and got three cans of liquid refreshment for the climb. Back near the trailhead, I was able to pick up a bottle of PowerAid. Between that and the packet of Jelly Belly Sport Beans I had with me, it would have to do for the calories I'd need to burn on the hike.

The trail was well marked. However, only a few feet after starting on the trail there's a marker telling you to turn left for the Guadalupe Peak trail. Which I missed. I walked a little way, but it just didn't feel like the right direction. Oh well, I'll give it a few minutes. I scared up a couple of deer after a few minutes, and was just enjoying the walk on a beautiful, clear morning. After about 15 minutes I decided it was definitely the wrong trail and turned around. Good move. Back nearly to the trailhead, I saw the small signpost, angled slightly in the direction I was coming from, telling me where the trail I should have been on was. I tossed my fleece jacket back in the car, met a guy named Bob who was there to hike the mountain with a backpack, and we started up together.

Well, after a short but pleasant conversation, it was clear that in my unencumbered state I would be able to go a lot faster, we parted ways and I headed up the mountain, passing a few other climbers on the way up. It's a constant series of switchbacks on a well-maintained trail, and the going was pretty easy. I took my outer shirt off after a short time, but the cold wind frequently had me thinking of putting it back on. Then I'd turn another corner or the sun would come out a little more, and I was warm enough again.

It was hard to see exactly what the goal was, because Guadalupe is actually behind the mountain you start climbing up. After about an hour and three-quarters I had worked my way around the back side and could see the peak. I knew there was a campsite a mile from the peak, and wondered when I would find it. That would give me an idea of how much longer it would be.

In spots the signs on the trail alert people to "dismount and lead" if they're riding the trail, due to the cliffs. Those are the places that I would stay close to the inside--the drop could be pretty drastic if one happened a little too close to the edge. I started down a little section with some cliffs on the right, and a little bridge through the saddle between the mountains. Then it was another series of switchbacks. Still no campsite.

After the series of switchbacks, I came to a little gap, and approaching it couldn't see any trail beyond it. Once I got there, it was a sharp right turn to the other face of the mountain. I could see some railings, and wondered if that was the campsite. Only a couple hundred more yards, I rounded a little bend just past those railings, and there was the high point marker, a silver pyramid place there in 1958 by American Airlines. There were three other guys there who had recently summitted. Turns out the campsite isn't very well marked (In fact, I couldn't find it on the way down either.) and I had completely missed it. We took a few pictures and signed the logbook. I headed back down.

The trail was well populated--I think I passed 6 or 8 groups of hikers who were on the way up. More deer jumped out of the brush in several places on the trail. Signs had warned of mountain lions, but fortunately (or unfortunately) I didn't see any of them. My total time for the climb was just over 5 hours, including my little false-start. It was a beautiful day in Texas.

My 30th state high point. Only 20 more to go. Five of them are the really hard ones, though.

On to White Sands, NM ....

Maybe I'll be a Bum All My Life

2009-03-16T15:04:00.003-04:00

Here's a thought. I keep thinking I'm going to write more, post more stuff, gain a large following of fans. Then a month goes by and I haven't even made one freakin' blog entry. Dammit!

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I'm reading A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Cool stuff. Ten years ago, I knew the meaning of life was 42. I came up with that without ever knowing who Douglas Adams was. So I guess I'm just confirming a great cosmic truth or something. Whatever.

Anyway, anyone who publishes a trilogy that contains five books has got to have a pretty good outlook on things, I suppose.

Cool quote: “Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?”

Lots of other good philosophy going on too. You would think that Adams knew George Bush while writing a lot of the stuff. He gives some pretty interesting insight into how governments work.

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I'm still waiting for Dan Houts to write that comment on my January 22nd blog entry. (hint, hint)

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I started raking my yard yesterday. I have a tolerance for such things at sometime around two hours. So, if we have enough real nice days that coincide with my time schedule, I may get the whole thing done by around July or so. No promises.

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My grandma is almost 95 years old. She had a bit of a setback lately, but she's coming back strong. I keep telling her that if she lives to be 100, the president will send her a birthday card. I think that would be pretty funny, given her somewhat old-school attitude toward people of other races and that it will probably still be President Obama when she turns 100 in 2014. Maybe I could write to him and have him send one this year. Hmm....

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Stimulus Packages--

I'm still not feeling very stimulated.

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Maybe I'll start doing some podcasts. Then instead of not doing blog entries, I could also not do podcasts.

Life is still good. Until later...

Marathon Don is Back! (Or at least coming back.)

2009-02-16T08:53:00.003-05:00

It was the Last Chance for Boston Marathon--a 26 one-mile-loop course around an office park in Dublin, Ohio. Some would call it boring. That's only if you haven't run it.

The day was beautiful. Around freezing, a little breezy, sunny at the start. I was there to get in an inexpensive marathon for February to keep my marathon-a-month streak alive. Chuck Engle was there--it's his hometown, and he couldn't find anything else to run that day, I guess. I always love seeing this guy--he's fast, but not snobby about it. Everyone likes him.

The first loop is a little long--we make up the .2 miles at the beginning. As I crossed the timing line for the first time, Chuck breezed by me, already two miles into the race. I made it my goal to get at least half-way done before he finished.

Halfway through mile 10, my best friend Paul met me and ran a mile with me. He's working a big job in Ohio so he came over on Saturday night to hang out. The three breweries we checked out the night before didn't seem to have any bad effect on my running, fortunately.

After 11 miles I caught up with Lois Berkowicz. She was running her 296th marathon that day. I was a mile ahead of her at that point, and we ran together for the next 3 or 4 miles before she stopped for a bit. We caught up with Larry Macon, the guy who set the world record last year for running 105 marathons in a year. He was running with another guy named Gary. Soon I had finished my 13th mile and was in the middle of mile 14 when Chuck flew by me for the final time, finishing in 2:35. And I was past halfway! Made it!

Soon, it was 16 miles. I still didn't feel like I needed to walk. A little more and I was in single digits. Still feeling good. My endurance is coming back!

I caught up with Bernie Finn and his daughter Jennifer. Bernie was doing the half, and Jenn was having a rough day, so she had stopped to walk with him. Bernie has the distinction of finishing DFL in Grand Rapids last year, and was proudly wearing his Metro Health Grand Rapids Marathon jacket. After Bernie finished his half, I caught up with Jenn again, running back and forth with her for her last couple of miles. When I finished mile 22 Jenn had just finished and I stopped to give her a hug and shake hands with Bernie.

At 2 1/2 miles to go I came upon a young guy who was struggling. He was walking slowly, arms tucked inside his sweatshirt. "I'm going to drop out," he told me. He was only 3 miles behind me. He wasn't trained for this. "No, you're not!" I told him. He ran with me for a little bit, and I told him how he'd be second guessing himself on Monday if he dropped out. He dropped back, and I wondered if I had gotten through. About a minute later, he came running by me. "Thanks." I caught him as he started his next mile, and told him that in an hour he could call his mom and tell her that he had just finished a marathon. It seemed like I had just been through the line -- like the miles were getting shorter. Nice. My legs still felt OK, I had no desire to walk, no questioning my abilities like I've had for the last couple marathons. I crossed the line for the 25th time and raised my arms. The guys thought I was finishing. "Nope. I'm just practicing for my next time around." Mile 26. Party time!

I finished in 5:22. Not a big deal, for sure, but it was my best post-knee-surgery time, and I was running strong all day. Guess I need to do a little speed play and get myself back to 4:30 shape before too long. Should be fun.

After my shower I went back to the course. My young friend was nowhere to be found. He was done! I went into the post-race food area to congratulate him and hang out with the few people I had been running with who were still there. Nice time.

I have now run at least one marathon in each of the last 72 months. Bragging a little, maybe, but I'm pretty proud of that. I gave myself permission to end the streak at 100 months. Just need to stay healthy between now and then.

and the adventure continues....

This is a test

2009-01-29T09:43:00.005-05:00

I'm trying to enable podcasts on blogger. Here's my first attempt. It's one of my Marathon Minutes from September. It's about my life list. Click on the title above to listen!

I was kinda hoping for a little "player" icon or something, but it seems to work like this. I haven't stopped experimenting yet though.

25 Things

2009-01-27T10:35:00.002-05:00

I wrote this on Facebook yesterday. It was a fun little exercise. 25 Things.

1. My nickname is Marathon Don. I got it around 1998, after I had run marathons for 19 months in a row.
2. I've run marathons on all seven continents three times.
3. I'm 52 and I still have a grandmother. And grandchildren. One time I took my grandmother and granddaughter to the Ionia Fair and got a picture of both of them together on the merry-go-round.
4. Granddaddy (Claud Washington Fults, my great grandfather) is my favorite ancestor. He used to raise fighting cocks. He also invested in some cemetery plots in Indiana, which we still own but are pretty much worthless.
5. I had asthma when I was a kid.
6. I was on the high school debate team. We went to the state finals once, where we really got our clocks cleaned.
7. I hate living with cats. Or dogs. Or most any other animal. I don't think one animal should own another one.
8. I hope our new president does a good job.
9. I can't find a religion I like, that's why I'm a Third Reformed Antagonist. It's really hard to be a hypocrite when you make up your beliefs as you go along.
10. I have a list of over 100 things that I'm going to do in my lifetime. I keep checking things off and adding more.
11. Don't worry, your sister isn't on the list. No. Wait.
12. I have my own website, www.cooladventures.net. Every once in a while someone writes to me and complains that they just wasted half the morning reading my stuff. It makes me feel good.
13. I hang out at the YMCA in downtown Grand Rapids.
14. I like beer. I'm collecting a glass from a brewery in every state.
15. I don't drink a lot, but I do drink frequently. I figure that if I pace myself I can keep drinking my whole life.
16. With the help of a lot of other people, I put on the Metro Health Grand Rapids Marathon. This year it's on October 18th.
17. My favorite movie quote is, "If you had a face like mine, you'd punch me right in the nose. And I'm just the person who can do it." It's from an old Laurel and Hardy movie.
18. I have about six people who I refer to as my best friend. Depends on the context, I suppose.
19. I drink yuppie coffee. I live in a yuppie area. I like it.
20. My coffee maker grinds the beans automatically. Pretty freakin' cool.
21. I'm heterosexual. Actually, I come from a long line of heterosexuals.
22. In high school, I played chess every day. My junior year I kept track of every game I played. I still have the tally sheets. I beat one guy in study hall 104 straight games. He wasn't very good.
23. The last game of chess I played was in Antarctica in December 2007. I lost.
24. I run with a bunch of really cool people. I think the average IQ of the group is around 130.
25. I saw at least three eagles yesterday.

What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up

2009-01-22T16:28:00.002-05:00

My old friend Dan Houts called me today and told me about a Bible study he went to lately. The discussion started with "What did you want to be when you grew up?"

It was a pretty inspirational story that Dan told me after that. I told him that he needed to write it down and send it to me. Knowing that he reads my blog, I figured maybe he'd write it and publish it a comment at the end of this entry. How 'bout it, Dan???

Stay tuned to be inspired everybody....

2008 In Review

2009-01-22T09:59:00.003-05:00

Every year I have only one New Year's Resolution -- to have at least as much fun this year as I had last year. 2008 proved to be the year that ended a very long streak.

Now, it wasn't because it was a bad year. It just wasn't as fun as 2007, when I ran marathons on seven continents TWICE. (I'm the only person who's ever done that twice in a year).

It was a great year though. In January I started off with a trip to Florida with the lovely Francine for the Goofy Challenge--running a half-marathon on Saturday and a marathon on Sunday at Disney World. We also threw in the 5K on Friday with Carly. My biggest running weekend of the year, it turned out.

Somewhere around the end of that month, I must have twisted my left knee on some slippery roads and I tore my meniscus.

Running was painful in February. In fact, it was my lowest mileage month in several years. I still managed a marathon that month, but it was pretty slow.

Sometime in March, I found a house for sale--a great deal on a 5 bedroom house in Forest Hills. I knew it was right when I saw it, and the end of April we closed the deal. So now I'm living in a cool house in a great neighborhood with a beautiful woman. Life is good.

I managed to keep up my marathon-a-month streak, but after running the Bayshore Marathon in May and doing some hills a few days later, my left knee--which I thought was on the mend--returned to painfulness every time I ran. After our climbing Mt. Marcy and running a marathon in Lake Placid in June, I decided it was time to have my good friends at Metro Health get involved. A little physical therapy, an xray and an MRI, and they referred me to Dr Theut for a little arthroscopic surgery in July.

My marathon streak was at 64 consecutive months at the time. July would be 66. I told the Doc that I was going to try and keep the streak alive. I was willing to drop out if I needed to. But 17 days after the knee surgery, I ran the Carrollton Marathon the last weekend of July. SLOW. But FINISHED!

On the way up some stairs to do hill repeats one lunch hour, Francine slipped and broke a bone in the back of her hand. She had a plate and screws put in it, then the next day we flew to Montana for a vacation in August. We did a very hot, slow, and hilly marathon (They even gave us a pin at mile 19 when we got to the top of a particularly difficult hill!) . Francine got lots of attention for being all taped up from the surgery--but she finished with flying colors anyway. We also took Carly to Glacier National Park.

The Metro Health Grand Rapids Marathon (my biggest project of the year) was fantastic. Over 3000 runners, plus a kids marathon that involved nearly 1000 kids. It was great.

Two days later, on October 21, I had my right knee done as well--just to clean out a bunch of the stuff that was floating around in there. What the heck, I had met my deductible for the year anyway.

Mike Schwartz, my old college buddy, wanted to get away for an adventure. So, in November, we drove about 3000 miles, climbed to the highest point in 6 different states, visited about 8 microbreweries, and spent one night at my friend Brent's house in Cheyenne Wyoming. (read November blog entries for the whole story)

Then, on the Sunday before Thanksgiving, I did the Flying Monkey Marathon in Nashville and kept my streak alive for another month. Month #69.

My beautiful granddaughters spent two nights with us at Thanksgiving. Aunt Carly had a great time, and Thanksgiving night I went upstairs to find Carly, Ashley, and Amber in their bathing suits in the shower. The shower curtain as outside the bathtub, of course, so there was water everywhere. Oh well. Still, I have LOTS to be thankful for.

Also, Mom, Dad, Grandma, Aunt Mary, both my kids and Katie's three girls came for Thanksgiving dinner at our new house. We took five generation pictures. We ate turkey.

After totally missing the Christmas season in 2007, I got through the whole thing this year feeling like I still wanted more. I suppose that's good. And on 28 December, the lovely Francine and I ran a marathon in Springfield, Missouri. Two more months and I'll have 6 years in a row of at least one-a-month marathons. And Francine will have two years of a marathon every month.

14 Marathons. Seven new state high points. Only one night spent outside the US (when we didn't get back to Montreal in time for our flight and spent the night there). A new house. A successful GR Marathon. Not a bad year.

What's ahead for 2009? Who knows? I'm starting a new streak though--to have more fun this year than I had last year.

and the adventure continues....

The New President

2009-01-22T09:54:00.002-05:00

Tuesday I got ahold of Dan Manning and invited him over to watch the inauguration. It was fun having someone there to discuss things with as they happened. We drank a couple beers, ate some munchies, and watched the first Black guy get sworn in as President of the United States.

This won't solve all the racism in the world, but it certainly won't hurt. We've cleared another big hurdle.

Now, I hope he can be effective, help pull us out of our economic problems, end as many wars as need to be ended, and whatever else he needs to do to be successful.

So, we watched the whole thing. We stood up when they sang the National Anthem. And we're hoping for the best.

Windows and stuff

2009-01-22T09:50:00.002-05:00

About a year ago, I bought a new notebook computer. It works good, but a few small issues. For example, the screen saver never worked. The screen just stayed on all the time. Also, every time I'd go to a client site, I'd have to put in a password to get to their systems, even though I had checked the box to say "Save the password" the next time you sign in. They were only minor inconveniences, so I said the heck with it.

Then about a week ago, my screen saver just started working. And today, when I signed in at Michigan Chief Sales, it didn't make me enter a password. I don't understand it. Usually Windows gets worse over time. This time it got better. I'm kinda happy about that.

On the way to Missouri

2008-12-27T08:39:00.003-05:00

Actually, we're in Missouri now. Icy roads as we approached Chicago kept us from stopping to see Paul on the way through, so we just continued on to St. Louis last night.

Dinner at the Morgan Street Brewery. Before I got back to the table, Carly was already working on her first beer. Root beer, that is. Fisk, made here in St. Louis. Meanwhile, I settled for one of Morgan Street's Red Lagers. Nice.

After dinner we drove a few more miles and checked into a Drury Inn. When we got to the room, Carly went to the window. "We've got a great view! Steak and Shake, Bob Evans, Taco Bell..."

~~~~~~~~~~
Christmas day was nice. Christmas eve with Francine's family--tons of kids, grand kids....

Christmas morning. Francine got me a great coffee maker that grinds the beans and then brews the coffee. It makes really great coffee. :-) At 8:00 we ran with the Grand Rapids Running Club, and then went to Marge's Donut Den. A great start to the day. When we got home I thought about a nap, but found the movie, The Bucket List, on On-Demand. I've been wanting to see it for a long time, and I wasn't disappointed. Go see it if you get a chance.

I cooked a small turkey and a gigantic squash and called Chris to invite him for supper. A nice, low-key holiday.

Stuff from Misc Notes I Should Have Recorded Already (yet again)

2008-12-23T12:10:00.002-05:00

22 November - Five years ago tomorrow I ran a marathon in my 50th state. It was my 87th marathon. It was a very special day that I shared with a very special woman.

Five years later--my whole life is different. Different house. Different wife. Different business. Better? Big time!

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Marathons, Mountains, and Microbrews--where it all began:

Marathons--15 October, 1995 in Chicago

Mountains--1993 in Tasmania, I hiked up a mountain with Robert, Adrian Moll, and Steve Pullen near Hobart. Great day. More recently, probably inspired by Knox White while on a trip to Antarctica in 1997. About a year later I climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Microbrews--Sometime around 1999, hanging out with Shawn Sweet at Founders Alehouse. Yes! There's more to life than Bud Lite!

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Great weekend - but no running.

2008-12-22T06:52:00.002-05:00

Snowbound! The weekend was a little longer than I had planned on--with all the snow Friday I spent quite a bit of time shoveling out. In fact, living on a street that's low-priority for the snow plows, I'm thinking it might be a long winter.

Friend Don showed up and helped push my car into some other tire tracks so that I could at least get back into my driveway. THANK YOU!!!

On dry roads, my tires would have been good for another 10000 or so. With the current conditions, it was time for some new tires. So after a few phone calls, I ended up at Belle Tire Friday afternoon for some new rubber. Much better!

Saturday morning--It was Santa Claus Girls delivery day. Over 13000 kids got presents Saturday as a result of their efforts. AMAZING. Our YMCA Service Club helps plan the routes and organize packages for them. We also help by directing traffic in the parking lot and by carrying packages to cars. Each delivery route has 14 stops, and we had around 350 routes! Very inspiring!!

I got home to find Francine shoveling. The road trucks had finally been down our street and piled about three feet of it into a wall in front of our driveway. I hate to think how many cubic feet of snow we had to move just to get our mailbox accessible again, as well as to get our cars in and out of the drive. After a bunch of shoveling, our neighbor DJ came over. "Can I help?" He went home and got his lawn tractor--with a blade on the back and a scoop on the front! WOW! It's amazing what you can do with the right equipment. THANKS!!

My girls came over Saturday afternoon. Ashley had to be in a wedding the next day--she's 7, and was the flower girl. Amber, 4, and Alexis, born Wednesday of Labor Day week, spent the night. Amber and Carly get along famously, so there was lots playing and dancing and singing going on. Lex is smiling all the time and sticking her tongue out, and has learned to burp without puking on me, which is a vast improvement since Thanksgiving weekend, when I went through quite a few shirts!

The big event was Sunday. My son-in-law Shawn along with the National Guard 125 Charlie Company returned from Iraq. We went to the ceremony at the Delta Plex to welcome them home. In spite of the nasty weather, extra plows were deployed at the airport and along the route to make sure our boys came home. Katie heads the Family Resource Group for the National Guard here, and so was key in planning the event. So I had lots of cause to be VERY PROUD of both of them.

We stopped and picked up a couple presents that Francine had ordered for her bosses, and then took Carly to the Mexican Telephone Company for lunch. (Taco Bell) Then came home and enjoyed a nice nap, snuggled on a sheepskin in front of the fireplace with the lovely Francine.

Not bad for a cold, wintry weekend in Michigan. Today, however--I'm buying a snowblower.

Interesting Quote

2008-12-07T14:27:00.001-05:00

In light of the present financial crisis, it's interesting to read what Thomas Jefferson said in 1802 :

'I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.'

Car Companies

2008-12-05T09:50:00.002-05:00

OK, I'm going to say something about the car company bailouts.

First, I'm disgusted with the car companies in general. Probably with most publicly traded companies, in fact. No one seems to look at the long term. If the Big 3 AND the unions had looked ahead, they may have realized that sooner or later we need to develop alternate fuel vehicles, concentrate on economy, and maybe not commit to continuing to pay people from current revenue streams long after they're retired and not contributing anything to the company any more.

Now, with so much debt that it can never be serviced, they're asking for $34 billion worth of LOANS (more debt) to get them out of the current situation. How exactly is that going to help in the long term? My opinion is that it won't. It'll just prolong the problems for a while.

We have some pretty good bankruptcy laws in this country that would allow GM to restructure, get rid of a lot of debt, etc. Would it hurt? Sure. The shareholders would lose all their money. But they've lost most of it already, so that's just going to finish it off.

Meanwhile, our governor is busy lobbying for the bailout. Of course she is. She's governor of a state that hosts the automotive industry. She keeps asking who would buy a car from a company that's in bankruptcy? Remember United Airlines? Who would fly on an airline that's going bankrupt? Silly question, right? United went through the process, the shareholders got wiped out, but the company is still in business and moving in good directions.

I expect the Congress will bail out the car companies. Oh well. I hope it works if they do.

Meanwhile, let me talk about something cool the car companies do. They all have agreed on how far apart to space the holes so that we can screw our license plates to them. Then all the states agreed to make license plates with holes the same corresponding distance. Pretty good, eh? The whole freakin' country agrees on something. How often does that happen?

Imagine a state like Wyoming deciding to make their license plates with holes a different distance apart. That could be an effective way to keep people from moving there.

Stuff from Misc Notes I Should Have Recorded Already

2008-12-02T12:12:00.003-05:00

I went to Aunt Erna's funeral about a month ago. She's my mom's aunt, the wife of my Grandpa Lloyd's brother Lawrence. Last summer we went to her 90th birthday party.

Everyone had nice things to say about her, like at everyone's funeral. No one ever says bad things about the dead at their funerals. In her case, I doubt that there IS anything bad to say. She was one of the nicest people in the world. You can tell that if you meet any of her kids (my mom's first cousins) or grandkids. They're ALL nice.

The funeral was almost joyous. Her suffering was over. Whatever would happen to her next would be better. What a nice person.

I hope people will have nice things to say about me like that. I also hope it isn't for about 50 years or so.

(I really don't like the song, "How Great Thou Art." Might be because I've heard so many people slaughter it in my lifetime.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Regarding the Metro Health Grand Rapids Marathon, of which I'm the race director:
"If you aren't having the best marathon experience ever, we aren't doing something right."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I need to do a "viral video" that catches on all over the country because it's clever, funny, or just plain wierd.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jacques Cousteau said this: When one man, for whatever reason, has the opportunity to lead an extraordinary life, he has no right to keep it to himself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When I was at Ben Burk's place in Rapid City, I had a pint of Brown Cow Ale at the Firehouse Brewing Company. Then I had a pint of Firehouse Red.

Elections, Races, and other random thoughts

2008-12-02T09:26:00.002-05:00

Granted, it's not until January 20th that President Obama takes office, but it still looks like he's moving in good directions. At least I hope so.

Of course, there's the usual racist BS going on. I hate that. Yeah, we elected a Black guy president. I think that's good. Not because he's Black. Because the American people took that out of their decision making process.

I know--some people say he's only half-Black. So what. He looks Black. That's cool. I like that we have a whole bunch of races in this country. It makes life more interesting. Richer. Me? I'm just a plain White guy. Mostly WASP. But then, one of my great-great grandmothers was an American Indian. Another one was Dutch. I think there were a few Germans in there somewhere.

I don't like the term "Native American" when it's used to refer to American Indians. I have to go back five generations before I can even find one ancestor who wasn't born in this country. I figure that makes me as "native" as anybody. I also don't especially like any Hyphenated-American designations. I'm not suggesting giving up our ancestors, but once we're Americans maybe we should keep our eyes on making the future better. (Call yourself whatever you want though.)

After travelling to about 30 countries, I'm always thankful for the richness that the world has to offer. Every country, every race, every sub-culture has something interesting to add to the mix. Even travelling to other parts of the U.S. we find a whole lot of differences. Driving through the "Bible Belt" a couple weeks ago, I cruised the radio stations and was able to find either religious music or country music. Rarely a rock and roll station to be found. The waitresses around there all call me "Honey" or "Sugar" even though they just met me. It's a friendly part of the country.

Coming home from a trip to all seven continents for marathons last year, I was connecting through an airport in Tokyo and for the first time in about a month I heard some Americans talking. It reminded me of how much I missed home. Good old American Black and White people, talking in accents I could understand. It was nice. Made me homesick.

I like that our government is moving in directions where people are no longer "tokens." It's getting so that people are chosen more for their abilities and merits and less because they belong to a particular race or gender.

Our country is getting better. I'm not blind to the faults we might still have, but comparing 2008 to the 1960s it's amazingly different. We're moving in good directions. Let's keep moving.

Marathons, Mountains, and Microbrews

2008-12-01T10:47:00.003-05:00

Yes, you know those are my three "hobbies" by this time. So now, all I need is a marathon to make the month complete.

It would happen on November 23 in a park in the southwest corner of Nashville. The Flying Monkey Marathon! It was just a little affair--only a couple hundred runners allowed, and a race director who (believe it or not) may just be crazier than I am. I had to contact RD Trent Rosenbloom to get in, since registration had closed a long time before, but he welcomed me.

Also, I ran into old friends GW and Linda from Colorado--my former shipmates aboard the Ioffe in last year's first trip to Antarctica.

Race morning was COLD -- around 27 degrees. But a nice day and not too windy, so after the race started it was comfortable. The course--ALL HILLS for 26.2 miles. There's an 11.2 mile loop that we ran both forward and backward, with a little more thrown in along the way. Since I wasn't familiar with the area, I never really knew which direction we were going. It was only up and down.

Somewhere around 12 miles I caught up with a guy named Max, and we spent the rest of the race getting to know each other and solving the world's problems. Finally, with only two people still behind us, we finished around 6 hours 37 minutes.

Slow day. Yes. However, only 4 weeks earlier, I had my second knee surgery of the year. And, in spite of that, I kept my marathon-a-month streak alive at 69 months in a row. Now I'm working on getting back up to speed, strengthening my legs, and getting my marathon times back to around 4:30 before another six months goes by.

So there you go. Month of November held seven state high points, about 9 or 10 breweries, and a marathon. Not bad.

And next November? I'm thinking of going back and giving the Monkey another try.

and the adventure continues....

Route 66

2008-12-01T10:33:00.002-05:00

The final leg of the journey would start the afternoon of November 18th as we headed south to Amarillo and then to Route 66.

After stopping in Tulsa for the night, we hit the road fairly early, with the intention to get back home before the day was done. LOTS OF DRIVING. We got off the freeway again as we approached Kansas, and went back onto the two-lane version of the old Route 66. There are only 13.2 miles of it, cutting across the southeast corner of the state, so I wanted to travel the whole thing.

It was also a scouting mission, of sorts. Perhaps at sometime we could do a marathon, starting in Missouri, following Route 66 through Kansas, turning around at the Oklahoma boarder and heading back for just-slightly-long marathon. I think it would work well.

Back to the freeway and across Missouri, and I was getting tired of travelling and determined to be home for the night. Our only stops were at an outlet store along the freeway near Lebanon, MO, and then in St. Louis, where we had lunch at the Morgan Street Brewery along with a pint of their seasonal Pumpkin Ale. The brewery is practically in the shadow of the St. Louis Arch, so I got to see that as well.

Around 8:00 Chicago time I dropped Mike off at his place in Skokie, and headed for home as fast as I could get away with. Well, actually I didn't quite get away with it, but the Indiana state cop let me off with a warning.

Did I say that the final high point was a couple days earlier? Well, probably the best high point of the whole trip was the welcome home I got from the lovely Francine. But, that's a whole 'nother story. :-)

and the adventure continues....

The Final High Point

2008-11-25T10:24:00.003-05:00

After a not-all-that-comfortable sleep, we got up and headed back to Black Mesa, elevation 4973. While it was about a 4.2 mile hike up, the climbing portion was real short. Being on a mesa (table top) we followed a nearly flat trail for about two miles before starting up. Then about 20 minutes of decent up-hill to another flat for a couple miles. At the highest point, we had now done six high points in the last 5 days. The stone obilisk at the top had on its sides what was in each direction. On the west, it said New Mexico is only 1299 feet away. We looked to the west and realized that we'd still be on top of the mesa at that point, so we walked to New Mexico.

We headed down and went into Kenton to The Mercantile to get something to eat. We asked for a menu, but they nearly laughed at us. The menu is basically either a hamburger or a cheeseburger. Hmm.... Since Mike keeps kosher, it's pretty hard to eat there. We picked up some ice cream bars instead. They gave us a certificate for climbing Black Mesa.

The next leg of our journey would be travelling Route 66 back to Chicago. We headed to Amarillo to pick it up there.

Route 66--America's Mainstreet, stretches from Chicago to Los Angeles. I always thought it would be great to travel it. Now-days a lot of it doesn't exist in its old form. We did pick up the old road a little after leaving Amarillo, and traveled the two-lane old road pretty much alongside the freeway for the rest of Texas. In Oklahoma, as it got darker, we reverted to the highway. We stopped in Oklahoma City at Bricktown Brewery for a beer and some dinner, and then continued to Tulsa to spend the night.

Back to the trip -- Nebraska and Kansas

2008-11-25T10:09:00.003-05:00

Sunday night with Brent was nice, but Monday morning was back on the road. Fortunately, the price of gas is pretty consistently under two bucks now!

About an hour after leaving Brent's, we arrived at a little box where we could put three bucks apiece and then head down a drive to Panorama Point, elevation 5424. Even though we were over a mile high, it isn't what you'd call a mountain. It's just the highest thing they have in Nebraska. The best part of this one was the field of buffalos we had to drive through to get there. MASSIVE animals. Beautiful. Back to the road and we headed south via Colorado to Mount Sunflower in Kansas.

Mount Sunflower is another nice little drive-up highpoint. At 4039 feet, also not a mountain. Very nice little display of iron-art at the high point and very welcoming signage by the property owners. One more to go.

The trip into Oklahoma was perhaps the biggest adventure of the trip. After hours on the road, we wondered how it would take us as long to get there as my GPS said it was going to. We found out. About 20 miles or so from the Oklahoma boarder while still in Colorado, we turned onto gravel roads. We drove and drove until the road started curving around. The road narrowed. And narrowed. And narrowed. Before we knew it, we were on a two-track with grass growing up in the middle of it. So we're 800 miles from home, in the dark in the middle of nowhere with NO lights in the distance in any direction. We drove for about 10 minutes on the two-track before crossing the unmarked boarder into Oklahoma. A house appeared. The road turned back to gravel. And soon we were on paved roads again. We saw three HUGE raccoons on the road in front of us and stopped to watch them until they got bored with us and wandered off.

And five minutes later we were at the trailhead to Black Mesa, the highest point in Oklahoma. Now we just needed a place to spend the night.

We drove into the small town of Kenton, about 5 miles away. Small town. It was around 9:30 pm, but the streets had been rolled up a couple hours earlier. The next nearest towns were 30-40 miles away, so we drove around and found a state park with an open bathroom and camped in the van for the night.

Personal Record

2008-11-21T10:07:00.003-05:00

This month I set a personal for number of states visited in any month--

1 Michigan

2 Ohio

3 Florida

4 Alabama

5 Tennessee

6 Kentucky

7 Indiana

8 Illinois

9 Wisconsin

10 Minnesota

11 North Dakota

12 South Dakota

13 Wyoming

14 Nebraska

15 Colorado

16 Kansas

17 Oklahoma

18 New Mexico

19 Texas

20 Missouri

Still to follow--3 more high points!

South Dakota

2008-11-17T07:40:00.002-05:00

The extra rest after an early evening was nice--we've done a lot of mile so far. This morning the high point is only about 10 miles away.

We arrived at Sylvan Lake for our climb up Harney Peak, elev 7242. The conditions were perfect, temperatures in the high 30s, partly cloudy, not much wind. Officially, the park didn't open until 8:00, but at 7:30 we were ready to go. Mike's "nervous energy" had kept him talking non-stop (even more than usual) as he bundled up in 5 layers. He reminded me of Calvin bundled up to go outside. We stopped about 200 yards in and I took off my jacket and Mike took off his top 3 layers. The hiking weather was actually pretty comfortable.

Snow! We were in 5 or 6 inches of it much of the way, but the trail was never hard to find, and several people had summited on Saturday so we always had footprints to follow. The hike up is a little over 3 1/2 miles, and in a little under two hours we reached the lookout tower on the summit. We were the first to the top for the day.

The view from the top is an amazing panorama of the Black Hills. We hung out for a few minutes, ate a few Oreos, and headed back down.

On the way down we ran into a couple guys from New Jersey who were doing the climb on the spur-of-the-moment. They asked if we had any water bottles they could buy. We gave them the two full bottles we had left. As we approached the parking lot, we found a cell phone on the ground which was probably theirs (there were only 4 of us on the mountain so far) so I set it on the hood of their car.

That's 26 state high points.

Next stop was Mt. Rushmore. As we pulled up to the gate, a herd of mountain goats was guarding the entrance. Mt. Rushmore is one of the most inspirational places I've been--the vastness of the artwork, and the symbolism of the images really makes me proud to be American.

I noticed that the Nebraska high point is only about a half-hour from Cheyenne, Wyoming. I called Brent Weigner, my bi-polar friend. Brent and I met on a trip to the South Pole, and we've been to the North Pole together as well. We arrived at Brent's and he took us out to CB & Potts brewery for a meal. Butt-Face Amber and Disorder Porter were the beers of the night. We spent awhile catching up on the latest adventures, and then headed back to his place for some rest.

North Dakota

2008-11-15T20:42:00.004-05:00

It was a nice, easy day. We slept in a bit after getting in pretty late last night, then headed from Bismarck to a spot near the little town of Amidon, ND.

Neat stuff along the way--The Enchanted Highway near Regent, ND. Gigantic sculptures of birds in flight, deer crossing the road, and I found later, a few others that we could have seen if we had travelled a few more miles. Check 'em out at http://www.enchantedhighway.net/

The trail for the high point is down about six miles of gravel road before turning down a two-track lane for .8 miles to the trail head. Unfortunately, with the snow they got in ND last week (about 4 feet worth) we could only get about 2/3 of the way down it, and that was with a little jog over into the field to avoid getting stuck in the snowbanks. Still a little icy and as it warmed up, a little muddy underneath.

So, our hike was a little longer than the guide book said. At first, the trail was hard to find, but since we could see where we were ultimately going we just improvised for a bit. As we got farther up the mountain, it was more and more obvious where the trail was. Actually, it looks like everyone made up their own trail, as we kept finding new ones.

Anyway, after about 30 minutes, we reached the top of North Dakota, White Butte, elevation 3507 feet. We signed the summit registry, took a few shots, and headed back down. Mike has now bagged two state high points. It's number 25 for me.

We were fortunate to find a farm along the way where they raise buffalos (bison) so Mike was able to see his first ever buffalos.

Next peak is Harney Peak near Custer, SD. It's only 40 miles or so from my friend Ben's place in Rapids City. I called him. He's in Kalamazoo. Guess we won't sleep at his place tonight. We stopped at the Firehouse Brewing Company on Main Street and I had a pint of Smoke Jumper Stout. Nice.

Tonight would be an early one. Nice and relaxing for a change. We checked into the Bavarian Inn in Custer, only about a 10 minute drive from tomorrow morning's trailhead. Had dinner at the Sage Creek Grill. Very nice salmon, washed down with a bottle of one of my favorites--Moose Drool, from the Big Sky Brewing in Missoula, MT.

Life is good. I should have a better connection tomorrow and post some pictures.

and the adventure continues....

The Journey Continues

2008-11-15T08:08:00.005-05:00

It's been a wierd week. I can't seem to remember what day it is.

Thursday, after a short night's sleep following my Floriday trip, I worked for 5 hours getting some computers set up at Michigan Chief Sales, and then headed for Chicago to pick up Mike.

Of course, I was running late enough to hit Chicago way too close to rush hour. It wasn't bad though. Everyone there is intent on one thing--getting out of town. It was really pretty orderly.

We headed north toward our first high point, Timms Hill, near Ogema, Wisconsin, with the intent of getting fairly close so we could do it first thing in the morning. We got as far as Appleton before we stopped. (Appleton is the site of the Fox Cities Marathon, which I've done a couple of times.) We stopped for a quick beer at Fratello's. Their brewery, however, is in another of their locations, but I did have a pint of their local brew. We stopped for the night a few minutes later.

Friday morning. North to Timms Hill. Driving north through Wisconsin it gets pretty desolate after a while. For a city-boy like Mike it was a bit of an eye-opener. Little hunting cabins alongside the road here and there, lots of nice wilderness. We got to the park that's around the high point and found that the gate was closed. Guess we might have to walk in. The map showed the road going out the other side, so we drove a mile or so to check it out. It was open--but the road was one way, one lane, and coming at us. Oh well. I drove in anyway.

We were the only people at the park, so no traffic incidents were to be had. We parked the car and proceed to hike a couple hundred yards up a well-trodden path to the summit. Mike's first high point, Timms Hill, elevation 1951. The sign actually says 1951.5. Guess they wanted an extra six inches. (I'm not going anywhere with that one.) There's an observation tower to climb that took us above the treetops for a great panoramic view of the surrounding area.

Next summit is in the west end of North Dakota. This will be our biggest driving day.

It's Wisconsin. We found a cheese shop and bought some cheese. Then before leaving the state, we stopped at Das Bierhaus in Menomonie for a snack and a pint of Marzen. Alas, no beer glasses for sale again. Back in the car for the trip across Minnesota.

It was looking like Fargo would be a great place to stop for dinner. Cheese in Wisconsin, so I figured buffalo in North Dakota was the thing to eat. A buffalo burger and a pint of Broad Ax Stout at the Granite City Brewing Company was nice.

We figured getting to Bismarck would be a good jumping off spot for the night. And that's where this entry ends. Heading west this morning.

The Epic Journey

2008-11-14T07:10:00.004-05:00

Or whatever. It started with my old college buddy, Mike Schwartz. He said, I need to have an adventure or something. Spend about a thousand bucks. Hmmm... "Maybe you're talking to the right person. I have a thought."

I'm collecting state high points (see highpointers.org for info) I noticed a few years ago that the high points of ND, SD, NE, KS, and OK are pretty much in a line running north to south.

Here's the plan. I pick Mike up on Chicago. We hit the state high point of Wisconsin on the way, then head west across North Dakota, and start working our way south. After climbing in Oklahoma, we go south to Amarillo and head back to Chicago on old Route 66, just for fun. We left last night and spent the night in Appleton, Wisconson. We'll see how it goes.

Meanwhile....
Francine needed another car. Clint's mom had a really nice minivan which he was going to bring up from Florida to sell. The transport was going to cost him $300. I needed a break from the action for a couple days, and I also needed to check off Brinton Hill, the high point of Florida. So instead of waiting for Clint to get the van moved in December, I hopped on a plane for Tampa and proceeded on the world's longest test-drive.

Clint's dad met me at the airport about 2:00 pm. I headed for Brinton Hill at Lakewood Park, FL.

Brinton Hill is located far west in the Pan Handle, approximately straight south from Montgomery, AL. The trip took me through Talahasee for the first time, and then still farther west. Finally, at about 9:55 pm, I pulled into a little park close to the Alabama border, where I checked off the lowest-of-the-high points. At only 345 feet, it's not much of a climb. Just park your car and walk about 75 feet to a stone marker.

Back in the car and head north. The trip home was long, but nice. I listened to the various radio stations. Throught the south, while scanning for radio stations, it's either religious stations or country stations. The people on those stations don't have eyes. They have ahs.

I caught a couple naps along the way, driving until I was drowsy and then pulling off for a couple hours. Stopped at a Waffle House for breakfast at around 5:30. By the time I near Birmingham, I wanted a cup of good coffee, so I got off the freeway and found a Starbucks.

Nostalgia. I pulled around the corner by the Starbucks, and across the street was the hotel I stayed in nearly two years ago, when I made my first seven-continents marathon trip. "Hey! I know where I am! Cool!"

I had met some pretty nice people down there. Justin, the race director. Jill at trackshack dot com. A good friend from Kalamazoo, Brian Molrony, introduced himself to me down there and we spent a while searching (unsuccessfully) for a microbrewery in Birmingham. I ran a fun marathon there.

On northward. In Nashville, I stopped at the Blackstone Brewery for lunch. Shepherd's Pie and a pint of Nut Brown Ale. Nice.

North through Louisville, and a bit more nostalgia. I ran a marathon in a rainstorm there. Slept the night before in the back of my Aztek and watched fireworks over the river. Talked a janitor into giving me a big plastic bag for the soaking-wet-and-cold walk back to my car. Taking my post-race shower in a downpour.

Gas in Indiana for only $1.82. That's less than half of what we paid a month ago. Yet another nostalgic moment--I remember back when gas used to be under two bucks...

As I got close to Fort Wayne, I pulled off for gas again. This spot looked familiar too. Huntington, the site of the HUFF--the Huntington Ultra Frigid Fifty. The longest distance I've ever done, through lots of trails and lots of mud. The 50K there is actually too long. More like 32 miles. Huntington is also the home of former VP Dan Quayle. And they have a massive display of Christmas stuff in this little sunken park in the middle of town that's fun to walk around in.

It was my last stop before home. Finally around 10:30 I got home to the lovely Francine. A beautiful end to a long trip.

and the adventure continues....

Was Paul Simon a Great Prophet?

2008-11-10T08:45:00.003-05:00

No, I wasn't crazy about either candidate, however--

Isn't it cool that FINALLY we've been able to put away the past (at least for a bit) and actually elect a Black guy for President!

I'm feeling pretty proud of my fellow countrymen right now. I hope our new president is up to the task.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Was Paul Simon one of the great prophets? Somewhere around 1975, he sang:

"And if I was president
The minute congress call my name
Id say who do,
Who do you think youre fooling?
Ive got the presidential seal
I'm up on the presidential podium
My mama loves me
She loves me
She get down on her knees and hug me
Like she loves me like Barock"

What? You think I misinterpret? Go back and listen to the song again. And, what kind of colors do you think he might have been talking about in the song Kodachrome?

(You see what I have to deal with--this kind of stuff goes on in my head all the time!)

Best of luck, Mr. President-Elect!!

And now...I really am going to try and start writing again.

2008-11-02T19:46:00.002-05:00

It's been a great year. And a bad one. Only bad because I haven't been running and working out as much as normal. But great in all other aspects.

A couple weeks ago I had my SECOND knee done. Arthroscopic surgery. This time, instead of going in and fixing something specific, it was more of a "search and destroy" mission. He went in and cleaned out a whole bunch of stuff that was floating around in there. Anyway, it was MUCH more painful than the first one. It's healing nicely though.

The lovely Francine finished another marathon today. Elyria, Ohio. A nice out-and-back course on bike trails. Significant, because she now has reached 51 marathons before she turns 51 in January. Also significant because she's now done 21 months in a row.

Meanwhile, Carly and I went out while TLF was running and found four different geocaches (http://www.geocaching.com/ if you're curious). It was a nice morning with a great kid.

Carly and I are getting to be closer as we go along. It's great having another kid--my other ones are getting OLD.

Life is good. More soon.

Quote from Jacques Cousteau

2008-09-09T17:07:00.001-04:00

"When one man, for whatever reason, has the opportunity to lead an extraordinary life, he has no right to keep it for himself."

Guess I need to start writing more, eh?

25 June 2008 - Mt. Marcy, Lake Placid, and other stuff

2008-07-18T11:19:00.002-04:00

On the 13th, the lovely Francine and I spent about 9 hours hiking up and down Mt. Marcy, the highest mountain in New York. 14.8 miles up and down over some really rough trails.

On the 14th, we ran the Lake Placid Marathon. With my knee not feeling bad unless I pushed it, I decided to take it really easy. Meanwhile, Francine ran a really good marathon, taking away an age group award.

After I got back, I decided to go see Terence for some more physical therapy. The following is exerpted from my newsletter:

OK, I told you my knee was goofy lately. Well, Terence has all the ligiments and stuff around it feeling pretty good now, but when he was twisting it around the other day I was feeling some pretty interesting pain. He smiled at me and said, "Let's get Ed in here and schedule an MRI."

So, it's looking like next Wednesday morning at 2:30 I'll be getting my knee scanned. And if it needs fixing, I'm going to get it fixed.

I watched an arena football game on TV once. About the only thing that impressed me about it was that one of the players had arthroscopic surgery on his knee on Wednesday, and on Saturday he was playing football. I was encouraged by that, though it was pointed out to me that no one is going to pay me many thousands of dollars to be back out running marathons the next weekend, regardless of how well it turns out.

Of course, worrying about it would be premature. The MRI might just tell me that I need to heal for a couple more weeks and quit being such a wimp. I hope that's the case.

I'm still planning on running in Carrollton, MI the end of July. Maybe it will be an early-start walk instead. My marathon streak is at 64 months in a row now. I'd hate to have to start over again.

I Threw My Brooks Shoes Away in Lake Placid
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Not because I didn't like them, however. They were great shoes. You know that Brooks makes the great race shirts that have become a tradition at our marathon. You may also notice that everyone on our staff is wearing Brooks shoes as well.

The shoes I was wearing were my Brooks Adrenalines. They're the same shoes I was wearing at the FINISH LINE last October when I was shaking hands and hugging a lot of you as you crossed the line.

Then, in November and December, I wore them for seven marathons across seven continents. Starting in Beirut, Lebanon; then to Atlanta; Florence, Italy; Port Elizabeth, South Africa; Wanganui, New Zealand; Vina del Mar, Chile; and finally in the Patriot Hills in Antarctica. The shoes had a LOT of miles on them, traveling all the way around the world.

I wore them at Disney World in January for Goofy's Challenge, completing both a half and a full marathon the same weekend. And for five more marathons since then.

Last weekend in Lake Placid, the lovely Francine and I spent nine hours on Saturday hiking up and down Mt. Marcy, the highest point in New York. I was wearing my Adrenalines. Then on Sunday, my old friends were with me for their final marathon, as we ran a beautiful course in Lake Placid.

Muddy, well-worn, with a dozen or so marathons under their laces, they found their final resting place somewhere in New York.

But don't worry--I'll be wearing a new pair when I greet you at the FINISH LINE in October.

11 June 2008 Crap! Another necktie!

2008-07-18T11:14:00.001-04:00

Yeah, your dad will never say it out loud, but he's probably thinking it. I know, probably your dad doesn't even wear ties any more. Wouldn't it be cool though, if this Father's Day, you got him something he could really ENJOY?!?! Like maybe an entry to the Metro Health Grand Rapids Marathon. (How was that--not too subtle, I hope. The bold print is an attempt at subliminal advertising.)

My knee hurts. Some tendon thing going on which has caused me a lot of aggravation this year so far. Finally I decided to go visit some of my friends at Metro Health Sports Medicine for a bit of physical therapy.

Ever go to a doctor and only to be told that you shouldn't run anymore? Most runners react to that by finding another doctor. Anyway, Dr. Ed knows better--the guys at Metro are all about getting you back in the game. So I'm doing a couple PT sessions, icing, stretching, massage, and all that other great stuff.

And when I told him that the lovely Francine and I are heading out to do the Lake Placid Marathon this week, he didn't even raise an eyebrow. Hmmm...guess he's been around a bunch of us.

We'll also be climbing Mt. Marcy on Saturday. It's the highest point in New York, and Francine hasn't been up it before. Should be fun.

Happy Father's Day everybody. And stay away from the tie rack!

4 June 2008 Medical Marijuana and other thoughts

2008-07-18T11:10:00.000-04:00

Medicinal Marijuana, and Other Thoughts

A few years ago I ran the Hogeye Marathon in Fayetteville, Arkansas on a very rainy day. I didn't have a flight home until the next day, so I talked to some of the locals to find out where the party was after the marathon. We ended up at a guy's house, where the party was going well until everything had to stop to watch an epsode of The Simpsons. It was about medicinal marijuana. At one time Homer said, "I hear it's a gateway drug."

Last night I was keying in an entry and the guy put in the comments, "I had so much fun running the half-marathon last year, that I have to run the full this year now."

So maybe the half-marathon is a "gateway drug." It's good, just not quite enough. Gotta go back for a bigger thrill--run the whole enchilada, do the full 26.2.

You can probably figure that I don't have anything else real interesting to say this week, or I wouldn't be talking about Homer Simpson. And I should probably put in a disclaimer too--I DO NOT advocate using marijuana. I DO, however, advocate running half-marathons, full marathons, and other similarly wonderful things. I'm one of the guys who can't figure out why people needs drugs--life it constantly keeping me high anyway.

28 May 2008 - Bayshore Marathon

2008-07-18T11:06:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was my 52nd birthday. While doing some hill work, I think I goofed my knee up again. This time I'm going to go to a doctor or something. This is pissing me off.

Saturday turned out to be a BEAUTIFUL day at the Bayshore Marathon. I ran my best marathon of the year so far (which isn't saying much--I've had my brain and body somewhere besides in training mode lately). The lovely Francine ("I'll probably never qualify for Boston again.") ran a Boston Qualifying 4:05:44, beating her time needed by fifteen seconds. Dr. Rick finished fourth Masters in personal record time of 2:50! Cathy Fenton, one of our pacers, did a personal record 3:24 and took second masters. Robert Jarrin, another of our pacers, won his age group after leaving Rick in the dust in 2:49:19. Other staff members Lynne Oosterhouse and Sara Maher were there for the half-marathon as well.

Party in the parking lot afterwards with a few of the GR crowd, cheering on the people who where still coming in. People of all shapes and sizes, but all enjoying the accomplishment of finishing a marathon. Every time I see people coming in at 5+ hours and see the look on their faces, I'm reminded of why I enjoy this so much. The accomplishment of doing something BIGGER than most people will EVER do just inspires the heck out of me.

Yesterday I bought my first furniture for my new house. If you call it furniture. It was 10 of those plastic lawn chairs. Figured I'd need them sooner or later, and we had our first regular staff meeting of the year and I needed somewhere for people to sit.

21 May 2008 - From my newsletter.

2008-07-18T10:55:00.004-04:00

I started a newsletter for the marathon. That's the big news this week. Now it's July, and I'm going to catch up on my blog a bit. A lot of this entry was in the newsletter.

At the end of April, Francine and I closed on a new house! Nice quiet street in Forest Hills. Grand Rapids address and just a couple blocks inside Ada Township. I really like it here.

Exerpted from the newsletter:

So, what's happening around here? Last week nearly everyone I know was running the River Bank Run. Now, a lot of people are suffering what I call "Post Partum Depression." (Yes, I know it's nothing like having a baby, but I can't think of a better term for it.) They trained for a long race (if you call 25K "long") and now it's over. Never fear! You can beat that depression by picking a Fall marathon and starting right back into your training! Do I have a biased opinion on WHICH Fall marathon you should enter? Duh!

So, in the process of moving, I'm trying to consume (with the help of my friends) some of the beer that was given to me last year at the marathon. (See http://www.grandrapidsmarathon.com/race day.aspx for details on where the beer came from.)

One of the bottles I got was labeled "Masters IPA - T" and was brewed by Tom Townsend and Scott Oberlin. Now, normally, IPA is a bit hoppy for my taste, but this stuff was GOOD! Nice finish, left a real good taste in my mouth. Keep up the good works, Tom & Scott.

This weekend is the Bayshore Marathon in Traverse City. The lovely Francine and I are heading up there, along with other staff members Dr. Rick (who's gunning to get his Master's title back this year), Lynne Oosterhouse to do the half-marathon, and I'm probably missing a few others. Rick's been training like a madman this Spring, just won the Clydesdale A class at the River Bank, and is shooting for sub 2:50 Saturday. Which means he'll be showered and kicking back with a cigar and a beer by the time I get done. Oh well.

Starting Over

2008-05-07T10:39:00.002-04:00

In case you haven't already heard, I just bought a house. Or, I should say, WE (the lovely Francine and I) just bought a house.

It's a great time for reflection for me. The first time I bought a house, I was 21 years old, just starting out, figuring out who I am. Now, it's like the same feeling. Starting fresh. I've been closing old accounts on past business ventures, shredding old records from the early 90s and before, just basically cleaning my life up. Now I'm getting ready to move into a new place with a beautiful woman. I've got fun things to do, including organizing the Grand Rapids Marathon. I've got a lot more experience now. It's pretty amazing.

Don't know where life goes from here, but I'm optimistic and excited about it. "Starting over" at 51. Pretty cool.

Dick's Sporting Goods

2008-04-01T10:45:00.001-04:00

So, we're heading into Dick's Sporting Goods last week, and Carly is in the back seat, remembering another trip we did to the other Dick's Sporting Goods in the Rivertown Crossings mall a while back--you know, the really big two story one.

"Mom, you know how some Dick's are bigger than others..." is the way her story started out.

We don't know what she said after that, because we were way too busy trying to keep from cracking up in the front seat.

I thought this was interesting - from my email

2008-04-01T10:33:00.002-04:00

Read it all!!
Our Tax System Described With Beer Analogy
This is brilliant: Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:
The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that's what they decided to do.

The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. "Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20."

Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?

They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so the fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings)
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 ( 22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

"I only got a dollar out of the $20,"declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man," but he got $10!"
"Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I!"

"That's true!!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!"

"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison. "We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!"

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics
University of Georgia

For those who understand, no explanation is needed. For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.

Running Last Weekend

2008-03-21T11:53:00.002-04:00

Finally--February sucked! I pulled a calf muscle and only managed about 52 miles that month. Half of that was on one day. I did manage to log a marathon for the month, extending my streak to 60 months in a row. Then I caught that nasty crap that was going around, and the fact that I couldn't breathe well enough to run at least gave my leg enough time to finish healing.

So last week, I ran the Irish Jig, probably my worst 5K time ever. But at least it didn't hurt.

Sunday got better. Our little group (about a dozen of us) started at John Ball Park, ran downtown, then north through Riverside Park, onto the White Pine Trail. We went north to Fifth Third Ballpark and ran around it. The lovely Francine suggested that we hop the fence and run the bases. Hmm.... Only 4 of us did that, but it was kinda fun. (Note, I'm not saying WHICH 4, in case someone has a problem with tresspassing. In which case I officially disavow all knowledge.)

Then we ran back to John Ball Park, a total of nearly 17 miles.

The next day was St. Patricks Day. Now, the YMCA runners had a tradition at one time of running to the Triangle Bar, drinking a beer, and then running back to the Y on St. Patricks Day. We talked about it at a party on Saturday night, and decided that would be the plan. Now, here's the dumb part:

I knew of a triangle just north of Richmond Street, at the point of which is a bar. I pointed it out on the map on my iPhone, and someone even agreed that that's where we were going. Pretty easy route, exactly 2 miles from the Y.

So, five of us set out from the Y Monday at noon, and because I'm kind of a map guy, they had me lead the way, figuring I knew where I was going. We ran Broadway all the way to Richmond and I pointed the way north from there. "No, that's not right, it's over on Stocking." Guess what. The bar I was thinking of is called The Point.

OK, now I did ask where it was and showed someone on the map, you remember. Come to find out, EVERYONE I was running with had been to the Triangle before. Which had me wondering, "Why the hell were you all following me then?" Anyway, we ran to the Triangle, but were a little later than we had planned so a couple people just headed back to the Y. Kent, Brad and I had a pitcher of beer before returning. So our 4 mile run ended up being a little more than 5, but that's cool.

P.S. They also had corned beef and cabbage and some other stuff for free at the Triangle. Not good food in the middle of the run, but after showering, I went back up for an inexpensive beer and a free St. Patrick's Day lunch. Yummy.

P.P.S. Next time you guys decide to elect me leader, make sure I know where the hell I'm going, would you please?

Old Stuff

2008-01-31T13:53:00.000-05:00

Found when cleaning out my old documents:

Did you know?
The word gullible isn’t in the dictionary.

Dear Don,
Gullible is too in the dictionary. I went and looked it up.
Reader

Dear Reader,
You can make $50,000 in the next 30 days. Send me $49.95 and I’ll tell you how.

My Little Girl - Part 2

2008-01-26T15:18:00.001-05:00

So, just a little more than a week after Shawn was deployed, Katie called me. "Guess what, Daddy? I'm pregnant."

So, sometime in late summer or early fall, another baby will enter the picture. Should be fun!

My Little Girl

2008-01-26T15:11:00.001-05:00

OK, she's not so little any more. In fact, she just turned 30 in December, and this month her husband Shawn's National Guard unit got sent on a 400 day deployment which will leave them in Iraq in a couple of months.

Katie is the president of the Family Resource Group for the local National Guard armory. She was the primary person in charge of planning the send-off for the unit. So on Monday a couple weeks ago, I walked into the Armory to see an amazing show. All the local media was there, flags everywhere, lots of refreshments and lots of ceremony. All planned by my daughter and a host of other people.

When thank-yous were handed out later in the evening, she was mentioned by name by one of the big-shot military guys.

Her dad, meanwhile, had tears in his eyes from being so proud of her. And from being proud of my son-in-law, as well.

I Gotta Write Something

2008-01-26T14:57:00.000-05:00

Digging out! That's what I've been doing for the past month since returning from my seven-continents marathon tour. Man, am I behind on stories. So, I'll give you a few.

The lovely Francine and I went to Florida to do the Goofy Challenge - The Disney Half-marathon on Saturday, the Disney World Marathon on Sunday - and spend a day before that with my Mom and Dad in Eustis. The following event took place in that small, Florida town....

I sat motionless in the chair, totally still. The man beside me had sharp implements in his hands. One slip and I would hate to imagine what might happen.

The guy in the next chair, however, had lost control. He was squirming, crying, resisting, as a man nearly four times his size was holding him down. Try as he might, he couldn't get away, the big man pinning his arms at his side as the cutting was finished. He would leave that day a little lighter than when he came in.

And all the while, a woman took pictures of the procedure, preserving the event. She took a lock of the victim's hair and put it in a envelope. The procedure completed, the big man took out his wallet.

"It's on the house," the barber said, and presented the proud mom and dad with a Certificate of First Haircut. Maybe if I had cried or something, they would have given me my haircut for free. Or not.