Marathon Minute - Leadership

A conversation with three-star General David Huntoon during the Bataan Death March Memorial Marathon was a lesson in leadership.  He's an awesome leader, who leads not only by virtue of his rank, but by his EXAMPLE!    Listen.  

Don't Rehearse The Wrong Stuff

Our brains react to whatever we put into them over and over.  So why is it that when we do something wrong, we run it over and over through our head?  Shouldn't we be rehearsing the RIGHT STUFF?  Listen.  

The Hotdog Factor

It's amazing how much easier your own efforts get when you're a Hotdog.  You know, the guys who just seem to be screwing off all day, while they just happen to be running a marathon?  Being the Hotdog makes the whole effort a lot less of a chore.  Maybe you can hook up with someone and coach them through and take your mind off your own problems.  Listen.  

It All Started With A 15-Minute Walk

It all started with a small amount of resolve and an act that only took 15 minutes.  That 15 minutes changed Denise's life.  Now she's out motivating others to do what she did.  Truly, one of my heroes.  Listen.  

Marathon Minute - Motivation by Aggravation

You know how your friends like to be giving you crap all the time?  You announce you're going to do something and they give you that "Yeah, sure, like you're gonna do that!"  Maybe that's just their way of helping you out..  I like to call it, "Motivation by Aggravation."  Take a listen.  

The Marathon Minute - Leadership

During the Bataan Death Memorial Death March I met three-star general David Huntoon.  He's the kind of guy who leads by example.  During the couple miles we spent together we had a chance to discuss leadership as we made our way along a very tough marathon course.  Let me share a little of that day.  Take a listen.  

The Marathon Minute - Intelligent Life?

So, we've landed a new car on Mars, and we're looking for signs of life.  You know what I think would indicate intelligent life on a planet?  Take a listen.  

The Marathon Minute - The Wizard of Oz

It's time to start another season of The Marathon Minute!  You remember the Wizard of Oz?  Other than finding out that things can get really weird if you find a dead witch under your house, there are some great lessons in that movie.  Take a listen.  

Aren't You Afraid?

Aren't You Afraid?

Early in 2011 I was talking with the lovely Francine's brother Randy at Happy Hour one Friday evening, when he told me about the Rev 3 Ironman-distance triathlon he had just signed up for.  They even still had openings.  I managed to hold out until Tuesday before signing up.  Then, as I keep telling people to do, I told everybody I was doing it.  

A couple weeks later on a Saturday morning run from John Ball Park, a friend came up beside me and said, "I'm really proud of you."  "OK, what did I do?"  It was about signing up for the triathlon.  

Then she asked me a question that surprised me:  "Aren't you afraid?"  

"Huh?"  

"What if you fail?  What if you can't do it?"

Wow.  I hadn't considered that.  I suppose there's that possibility, but what if I did?  

Truthfully, I've had things that didn't quite work out before.  I had already tried to break the world record for running the seven continents TWICE.  Still hadn't done it.  I was going to be a millionaire by the time I was 30.  And 40.  And 50. Maybe I'll make it by 60.  But what if I fail?

Some people have questions like that going on in their minds when signing up for a marathon. There's a possibility that you'll fail. But you probably won't.  

What Do You Say to a Marathon Runner

A friend of mine was staying at my house one time as I was getting ready to head out for a marathon weekend.  "What do you say to someone about to run a marathon?" he asked me.

"Huh?"

You know, if it's an actor, you say, "Break a leg.  What do you say to a marathon runner?"

"I don't know.  Go f*ck youself?"

It was good for a laugh at the time.  But later that day as I left for the airport, his last words yelled as I walked out the door were, of course:

(Do I have to say it?) 

Groundhog Day Marathon

Yesterday Ken Lusk and I went out and measured the Groundhog Day Marathon course.  It's BEAUTIFUL.  Even in the winter it will be great, but we're thinking that we need to run something out there before that, just to let people enjoy the beauty.  Cool course, just under 4.4 miles long--six laps to a marathon.  Would make a great marathon relay course.

People Die During Marathons!

Sometimes people die during marathons. Then the headlines are all over it, and people are saying "I'm not going to run a marathon, people die doing that." Try Googling "Do people ever die during sex?" and see what you learn. Yeah. I'm not going to quit doing that either.

2012 Ideas

A month and a half into the new year, and I'm finally posting something like this.  I'm thinking that this year I'll do a series of videos of "Bucket List" type items.  Some of them were on my list, some weren't but could well have been.  Some I'll do again just because I think it's a cool thing to do.  So far, I jumped into a lake in January, saw Punxsutawney Phil on Groundhog Day.  I'm working on a list of adventures to have:  Go kayaking. Sleep out in the snow. Start a fire without matches.  Learn to ride a unicycle.  

Some are a little more drawn out, like physical fitness stuff.  In January, I weighed 187.  I could do three pullups.  I ran three miles in 27:58.  I'm thinking 180, 10, and 25 would be a lot better for those numbers.  I'll see how it goes.

More to follow.....

Mommie's Carrot Bread Recipe

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!

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

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

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

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.