Sunday morning. Or afternoon. For YOU! It’s Mile 25. God Save The Queen! You’re almost there, just about to jump off the bike path onto Wealthy Street. The 25-mile mark. Take out the headphones. It’s time to engage ALL your senses and fully feel what’s going on. Your legs are sore. Your body is tired. Your stomach has had ENOUGH Gatorade and water. The people […]
There’s poison ivy all over the course out on Indian Mounds and a lot of Millennium Park. Just be aware of that when you’re heading off into the woods for that emergency break. Your toenails will grow back. But it’s Wednesday, so this would be a good day to trim them down and keep the […]
Lots of feelings creep in during the lead up to the marathon. Let me share this story with you. My friend Christa was going to run her first marathon a few years ago. I had referred her to the same hotel we were staying in, and when we went to her room, her fiancé answered the door. […]
Sometimes doubt will creep in–you’re getting to the final days of training. Was it enough? Are you really going to be ready a week from Sunday? Relax. It’s natural to have those thoughts. There are a couple things you should know: 1. Your training has probably been adequate! 2. There’s more strength inside you than […]
If you’re watching baseball, (here in Michigan we’re genetically Tigers fans) you’ve watched Verlander routinely throw a baseball over 100 miles/hour. We see others in our generation like Phelps, winning more Olympic medals than anyone else. Bolt running faster than any man in history. They’re supermen. Then there’s the rest of us. Ordinary people. Wearing […]
I sat outside in the beer garden at The Hideout, and looked over at some of the old concrete topped tables that were made by Larry Deliefde back when The Hideout was The Hair of the Frog Brewery. On a cool fall day back in 2003, my co-instigator Shawn Sweet and I had called a […]
Just a little over two weeks. People are starting to taper. Whatever that is. Sunday morning – the staff run. The “Dress Rehearsal” for the marathon. We’re pretty busy on race day, so two weeks before the marathon, members of the staff go out and run the course so we can earn our medals too. […]
Saturday night, I was hanging out with a bunch of really old people. I was at my 40-year high school class reunion. (Class of 1974, Chippewa Hills.) Then I got in the car, drove to St. Charles, Illinois, for the fifth annual Fox Valley Marathon. I snoozed a couple times on the way there for […]
THIRTY DAYS! The countdown. Too early to taper. This stuff is getting serious! The Metro Health Grand Rapids Marathon preparation is in full swing. Yesterday we got the order for Clif Shots in. Clif is our official energy gel sponsor this year. I ordered another 2,000 Heat Sheets as well. We get them on rolls […]
Before too long, many of you will once again complete the magical distance, 26.2 miles, that has come to be called a MARATHON. The distance is arbitrary really. Modern-era marathons started at more like 25 miles until the 1908 Olympics in London moved the starting line at the order of the queen. It’s been 26 […]