The Inspiration of Terry Fox

If you don’t know who Terry Fox is—and you are a runner—I want you to Google him right now. Read up on him and then come back. I will wait.  *whistles*  Or click here.

Back already?  OK, good.

Since most of you didn’t do that, I will fill you in briefly. Terry Fox was a young Canadian who was diagnosed with cancer back in the late 1970s. He had to have his left leg removed, but it appeared that he had beaten the disease. He then decided he was going to run the entire length of Canada—on one leg—with the hopes of raising millions of dollars for cancer research. In case you missed that, he planned to run approximately 5,000 miles on one leg. Now 1980, the year Fox took on this challenge, was not exactly the Stone Ages, but running prosthetic from back then were still light years away from what they are today.

Unfortunately, Terry did not finish his run, but not because of being tired or getting injured. Outside of Thunder Bay, Ontario, a coughing fit overtook Terry.  Going to the hospital, Terry soon found out the cancer had returned and was more aggressive than before. He had run 3,339 miles in 142 days (an average of 23.5 miles a day). He wouldn’t run again.

Recently, I have read a few books on Terry. I recently rewatched the ESPN 30 for 30 special on Fox called Into the Wind. (Sidenote: I am unsure if the producers of this film realized how literal the title was. When researching a cross-country run a few years ago, I talked to some noted runners who had done such a thing. I asked why virtually all the of the runs were done west to east. "Setting sun and prevailing winds at your back for 3,000 miles versus the opposite" was one answer.)  It has been nothing short of uplifting to hear what Fox did by overcoming insurmountable difficulties. Even now, more than 30 years after his death, he remains a national hero in Canada.

Terry’s goal was to raise $2 for every Canadian citizen or $44 million. When he was forced to quit his run he had raised about $1.2 million. Nevertheless, over $500 million dollars have been raised in his name, and the Terry Fox Run, which spans numerous regions and countries, is the world’s largest one-day fundraiser for cancer research.

All of this came from a little kid from Winnipeg. While Terry would ultimately succumb to cancer in June of 1981, his spirit lives on. That sounds cliché, but try talking about running to a Canadian and see how long you go before Terry Fox’s name comes up. With good reason, as well.

My point? Never underestimate what one person can do.

Light at the End of the Tunnel Marathon Recap

A Runner's Ramblings: Volume 8; 16th Edition 

1 mile skied, 1250 meters swam, 48 miles biked and 244.5 miles run in 2013 races
Race: Light at theEnd of the Tunnel Marathon
Place: Hyak, WA
Miles from home: 210 miles
Weather: 60-70s; Sunny

I had heard good things about this race prior to moving to the Pacific Northwest.  I had originally thought about running its twin sister race (less aid stations potentially cooler weather) in September but it interfered with my 150 mile Dane to Davenport run.  So when registration opened for the July event, I figured I would give it a go.

My concerns for the race revolved around the potential for a very warm day and the relatively few aid stations if such a warm day occurred. Nowhere in my planning was I worried about a massive staph infection in my foot in April that would change my plans for this race. Originally I thought I would use this race, with a long sloping downhill which played to my strengths, to attempt a new PR in the marathon.  Instead, happy to simply be running, I hoped I could knock a sub-3 hour time. If things went right, perhaps I could nail a 2:57. Why that time? Well, I have run a marathon with a time from 2:55 to 3:31 (every minute) except 2:57. So if I am going for a sub-3, might as well try and get that out of the way as well. But that 2:57 would just be gravy and I wasn’t going to try too hard for it.

I had run two marathons in the previous two weeks, both in warm temperatures. While this would be the coolest of the three, it would be nothing close to ideal for me.  The course only had 9 aid stations which gave me serious thought about carrying a handheld water bottle. I am not saying this was too few aid stations, I am saying it was
1. too few
2. for me
3. on a hot day
4. to try and run fast.

However, given I was concerned about losing any seconds on the run at all, I knew stopping to fill a handheld would decimate any time buffer I built in.  So I decided to eschew the bottle and simply hydrate well at each aid station.

Race Day:

The morning broke, unfortunately, clear as could be.  Nary a wisp of clouds broke the sky. I had ventured up to the area about a month prior with my friend Shannon to not only see how the course was laid out, but also see how the weather would be hitting us as we ran.  The course definitely provides some benefit by continually dropping for all but three miles. However, it is an open course (re: other runners, cyclists and potentially horse riders), it is a trail (albeit very forgiving in some sections) and it is, for about half of the race, rather exposed to the elements. I am very happy I came up to run the race and it is one of the few that I knew in advance I was up for taking on the challenge.

Kept looking for Vin Diesel.

First 6 Miles:7:04, 6:44, 6:50, 6:58, 6:41, 6:54

The race is aptly named as about a half of a mile into the race runners are plunged into pitch black darkness as they enter a cool, damp and glorious tunnel. For a little over two miles you can see a pinprick of light up ahead that you simply can’t believe is that far away. I am very happy I ran this alone previously as one could not fully appreciate it with all the head bobbing of headlamps from other runners. I had told Shannon it would be a very nice touch if the organizers put mile markers in the tunnel with flares or lanterns or something like that.  Lo and behold, at miles 1 and 2 there were glow sticks and a little line of fluorescent paint. I was pretty blown away as I was mostly thinking what I thought would be great was a pie in the sky thought.

Long Branch Half Marathon Recap

A Runner's Ramblings: Volume 8; 9th Edition 
1 mile skied, 34 miles biked and 115.5 miles run in 2013 races
Race: Long Branch Half Marathon
Place: Long Branch, NJ
Miles from home: 2918 miles
Weather: 50s; Intermittent rain and wind

Marathons have recently received more coverage than usual in the national media. Sometimes it is because of something nice and fun that happens within the race itself.  Other times the attention garnered is because a participant is famous or has done something remarkable. Locally, marathons receive more attention for more homegrown reasons: the community is celebrating the anniversary of something the marathon recognizes or something akin to that. However, with probably close to 600 marathons in North America alone, marathoners have to realize that their finish isn’t exactly the “wow!” it once was.

But some events are so bad that they capture the nation.  Just last month it was the bombings in Boston. Last fall it was the storm named Sandy hitting NYC. A lesser-known side effect of Sandy was the devastation it left on the New Jersey shoreline. That destruction left much of the course for the New Jersey Marathon and Long Branch Half Marathon either underwater, washed away or ripped up.  Even though the storm hit in October and this race would take place in May, there were many questions about how the race would respond. Let me tell you right now it responded splendidly.

The expo for the race was held at the Monmouth Race Park- an interesting but fun venue for a runner’s expo.  This venue would also serve as the starting point for all the races making for a very different starting gun, but I will get to that in a minute.

The race was having its first ever speaker’s exposition and I was very happy to be part of that.  Working with my watch partner, Timex, I spent the two days of the expo either speaking to people or listening to their own inspiring stories.  Weight loss, overcoming the loss of loved ones, simply desiring to better their lives – I can attest that these stories never get old. I defy anyone to attend an expo and not come out feeling better about humanity.

Demonstrating the new Timex Run Trainer 2.0 (which I will be reviewing soon) I was also asked the usual questions about how to eat, train, sleep, floss, juggle, balance the budget and crochet.  Let’s just say runners are thorough. Some had seen my previous posting about how I had contracted MRSA in my foot and made me feel loved to inquire about it.  The answer was the same: I was out of the bear’s den but not out of the woods just yet. As far as I was concerned, I still had the foot attached to my body, so I was one up on
others who were not so lucky with such a bad infection.

After two long but exciting days of expoing, I threw down $20 on Frac Daddy to win the Kentucky Derby.  I mean, we were at a horse park-what else could I do? (I didn't win a dime but I heard Tom Brady won like $25,000.  It's good because that poor fella needs something to go right for him in his life.) Then I trudged off to the hotel. Weary from a red-eye flight, participating in the National Championship Duathlon race a week prior and, well, life. But the next day we would Run to Restore the Shore and I wanted to give my all.

A Liberty Park Love Affair (with oodles of stats and links)

So, I have been saying that someday I would sit down and look at my Excel spreadsheets of running data and see how many miles I ran around the 1.5 mile loop of Liberty Park during the 4-plus years I lived there. I have heard numerous measurements about how far the cement loop is around. To be exact as possible, it is to my understanding it is 1.45 miles, if you hug the outside of the sidewalk. (This also means that you never once had to run around an object or a person or anything else to add some distance to it. I can count on one hand the number of times I ran a loop there without something - snowdrift, dog, other runner- making me veer somewhat, making the loops much closer to 1.5 anyway.)

Now, .05 of a mile doesn't sound like much but for every 20 loops of the park you run you would lose a entire mile if you are calling it 1.5 and not 1.45.  So, while I counted each loop as 1.5 in my log book over the years, I knew there might be some discrepancies in the long run.

I also knew that while I keep pretty adept records, there are runs in Liberty Park that I did which were not just runs in Liberty Park.  By that I mean I did a run here and there that had loops around LP that weren't immediately recognizable without Excel scrutinizing. As such, these runs added up over the course of 4-plus years and since I would not be counting them toward my total miles run at Liberty Park, they would inevitably make up for the discrepancies of the .05 per loop, if any existed.

So, without any more blathering, I recently totaled my miles of Liberty Park (and I am still sure I missed a run here or there.) From my first run in the park on the morning of February 2nd, 2008 until my last on June 21st, 2012, I ran quite a few miles.

3090 miles to be exact. On 556 separate runs. All around one 1.5 mile loop.

Here is the break down of miles run per year and number of runs.

2008: 899.25  (163 runs)
2009: 822.9    (140 runs)
2010: 676.5    (120 runs)
2011: 488.2    (93 runs)
2012: 204      (40 runs)


During the same time period, my total mileage ran was over 11000.  Nothing major for some people; astronomical for others.  Nevertheless, that means 28% of the total miles I ran, all over the globe, were run around that 1.5 mile loop. Almost half of the number of times I put on shoes to run (42%), be it for training, racing or anything that was recorded, I did it to hit the big ole park in the middle of downtown Salt Lake City across the street from where I lived. I ran 350 miles up the coast of Oregon. I ran 66 marathons. I ran in Korea, China, various Caribbean Islands and virtually every state. I competed in triathlons, adventure races, sprints, ultras and everything in between.  Yet when it comes to one particular loop, I might know it as well as some of the other runners out there who carry on similar love affairs with stretches of land (the Raven in Miami and Gary Allen on Cranberry Island come to mind.)

So much do I love running here that I still use it as a means to measure distances.  When I am in a race and I have a certain amount of miles left, I break it down into Liberty Parks. Six miles left? That's just four LPs! Easy peasy.


Some facts about Liberty Park I have learned:
 
* It is not a flat loop.  The southwestern corner actually has a little bit of a rise to it which you really notice if you ride a bike there.
* Riding a bike there and thinking you are safe is a fallacy. 2009 and 2012 as proof.
* You can run literally thousands of miles there and never see the same cute girl twice.
* I have run three races that end at Liberty Park, but never got around to putting on an ultramarathon event there like I wanted to for all these years. I did run 2 separate 26.2 mile runs around the loop on consecutive Christmases and even did a 6 hour solo run there.
* It is a rare day when the sidewalks have not been plowed and/or swept of ice and snow.
* The Sandhill Crane is very vocal in the morning and may scare the crap out of you.
* The carnival scene from The Sandlot was filmed there.  You didn't know that?! You're killing me, Smalls!

So when I say I know this loop, believe me, I know this loop. And if there is a Friends of Liberty Park group, I think I should be inducted immediately simply for this article.

Seriously, go run there. You'll thank me.

Salt Lake City Half Marathon Recap

A Runner's Ramblings: Volume 8; 7th Edition 
1 mile skied, 5 miles biked and 93.5 miles run in 2013 races
Race: Salt Lake City Half Marathon
Place: Salt Lake City, UT
Miles from home: 763 miles
Weather: 40s; Oodles of chilly rain and wind

When I originally scheduled this race I was going to use it as a barometer of where my racing was at this point in 2013.  I thought I was in line for a 1:23 or so, which would be putting me back where I wanted to be after nearly a year of being, well, off.

Then, like an alpaca out of nowhere: staph infection! Don't try this at home, folks.

So, not only did I have to cancel an appearance at the Peterson Ridge Rumble last week (when the foot originally flared up and I thought it was a stress fracture) but I knew this race in Salt Lake would be nothing but a "run".  This bummed me very much beyond the obvious reasons.

Taking over the race from the much-maligned Devine Racing last year, US Road Sports was putting their own stamp on the race which included changing the course a bit. Most importantly, instead of climbing up the gradual incline of State Street for the final mile plus and then ending on cobblestones near the
Gateway Shopping Plaza, it was ending in my beloved Liberty Park. So to not even be able to slightly race was disappointing. Then again, 48 hours before the race I didn’t even think I would be on the starting line so I guess it is all about perspective.

This was the first marathon of any particular size since the horrible tragedies of Boston just five days earlier. The thought of not running because of a safety issue didn’t cross my mind once.  Not because I am such a bad ass that nothing deters me- rather I simply knew the chances of anything happening that would endanger me were infinitesimally small. Nevertheless, the race and the city were taking plenty of precautions, with police beefed up in certain areas, along with bomb sniffing dogs and detection equipment placed in what I am guessing where strategic locations. These don’t bother me per se. I like being safe and as far as I felt, none of my liberties were put into lockdown. However, I felt they were basically unnecessary and if they were necessary, when do we stop thinking about them? It is impossible to police the vast majority of a marathon course. But this is all food for thought for other blogs.

At the expo prior to the race the mood was apprehensive.  The suspects were still at large on Thursday and for most of the day Friday.  Then, about ten minutes before I was scheduled to give a speech, cell phones began dinging, people began murmuring and the news spread.  The second suspect was in custody! I knew the idea of any sort of speech would be thrown completely out of the window so I instead simply sat down with a large group of runners and we talked. It was beyond cathartic. I had planned on using my speech to get a release for myself and let others blow off steam.  Virtually everyone was using the race for the same purpose. But now, with seemingly all of the bad guys in either a morgue or handcuffs, the healing could officially begin.

There were a lot of sighs of relief that evening.

Race Morning:

Even though the morning broke cold (but perfect for me) and a little bit of rain wet the brows of runners, the air was quite jubilant.  It was rather palpable.  As I ventured toward the start, I saw one of the higher-ups for US Road Sports standing out in the rain, handing out the blue bands for runners to show their support for Boston.  That is one of the thing I really love about this company is how even those involved with the race from a corporate standpoint are willing to do work anonymously to make it all come together. I am sure I was probably the only one there who knew who he was with the company. So I slid up next to him, grabbed a bag of bracelets and started handing them out as well. With about 5 minutes to go until the start, I had to leave to find a place in the masses. But the joy on people's faces was so wonderful to see.

As the race clock counted down to the start, my friend and announcer Jeremy Pate led us into song. Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” was sung by the runners as our own personal tribute to Boston.  Away we went. (Side note: knowing that Caroline Kennedy, aged 11 at the time, was the inspiration for a 28-year old Diamond's song is a little bit icky.  Try not to think about that, though.)

First 5 miles:

If the weather had simply stayed the way it was, it would have been rather ideal.  However, while the cool temps remained where I loved them, the rain (described by some as “icy buckets of ouchiness”) would come and go. Mostly it would come.

I had virtually no idea what to expect of my foot and tried to feel it out as I went. As the vast majority of this first 5 miles is rather forgiving with flats and downhills, I felt I might as well see what I could do.  Averaging
right around a 6:30 mile astounded me.  I was pumped full of antibiotics, had a swollen foot, was running at elevation for the first time in months and hadn’t run in two weeks at all.  These miles felt great. Well, moderately good, at least. Yeah, let’s go with “they didn’t suck” as the actual metaphor.