Born Again - Rock n Roll Seattle 2013

Every marathoner can point to a few races where their journey took a turn, where they made a decision to change the way they look at races. Rock n Roll Seattle 2010 was one of those races for me.

In March of 2010, I had my fourth knee surgery - full reconstruction of my left ACL with a cadaver graft. I started telling people I 'felt a little dead inside'. I was coming off my full marathon PR at the Inaugural RNR Mardi Gras in February 2010 when I found out I'd been walking on the torn ligament for over 5 years. RNR Seattle 2010 was my first race after surgery, and, with doctor's clearance, I decided to give the new knee a decent road test. I just cracked my half marathon PR that year, walking under a 13 minute/mile pace for the first time. At that point, I had already slid in a couple couple of incidental full marathons, so Susan decided to do a full to try to catch up. I ran into Marathon Maniac Kamika Smith who was doing his 100th full marathon at the time. If you ever find yourself in Kauai, be sure to look up his family luau. He's one of a long list of friends that I credit (or blame) for sucking us into this lifestyle.

Looking at our race schedule now, I don't know how I was able to stay sane taking 16 weeks between races. RNR Seattle was where I started pushing for faster times. Here now in 2013. I'm back with a new course, a lighter body and coming off 5 Halves and 3 PR's in 5 weeks.

First, a quick plug for some of our friends. After a while, you get used to the layout of the Expo and know where everything is so in theory, you can grab what you need and be out of there quickly. The problem with that idea is that we've made friends with so many of the vendors that we want to chat and check out anything new.

Left: Wendy at the Power Crunch booth. We live off these protein supplements. The new Chocolate Mint Power Crunch bar is coming out soon. Chokolat is a gluten free alternative. Center: Amy and Dave at Gypsy Runner. When my friend Laura commits to RNR Dallas, I'm taking her on a shopping spree here. Right: The Biggest Loser Run/Walk series has a Seattle race in mid-September. The series features a range of 5K, 15K, half marathon road races, off-road challenges and Spartan races. We highly recommend their series for any experience level.

Race Day: Seattle has a huge contingent of the Half Fanatics and Marathon Maniacs clubs. The pre-race picture was a reunion of sorts, though these days, it's less a 'reunion' and more like a weekly happy hour. 

I should mention that I broke the cardinal rule of marathoning: "Nothing new on race day." Instead of the usual sesame or whole wheat bagel, I made what I thought was a reasonable switch to a multi-grain roll. By mile 7, I had some serious lower GI pressure that may have aggravated a hernia to the point where I had to pull over. It went away by mile 9. Lesson (painfully) learned and I'm going to have things checked out this week.

Along the shore of Lake Washington was the Team Blue mile. This stretch was lined with pictures of servicemen and women who were killed in action. There were dozens of pictures, followed by dozens of American flags, with the supporters cheering for Team Blue and the rest of the participants on the course. Al generously decided to stick with me through my 'issues', so I was able to take this picture. He held the salute as he ran through the entire stretch. It was a powerful moment.

The course for RNR Seattle was a bit challenging. There were a few long hills in downtown and on the highway, the second tunnel had a bit of a right-to-left slope, the concrete surface on the viaduct was punishing in the last few miles. The inconveniently placed underpass drop-and-rise at mile 12-point-freaking-8 dashed a lot of hopes for strong finishes. Al described the course as 'designed to zap your legs', so if you were coming off a strong time at San Diego you might want to look at this as a recreational race.  Clear skies gave us some stunning views of Mount Rainier on a fabulous day. Our weather luck continues.

Caryn and I saw this fellow making great progress on the Viaduct near mile 11. Steve Martin lost both of his legs in a bomb blast in Afghanistan and his goal was to finish the half marathon in under 3 hours.  His finish time was 2:59:59. A better picture of Steve is on the Rock n Roll site here.

Susan and I finished a few minutes apart. Al ran ahead to bring Susan in with another solid walk time of just under 2:42. I recovered enough to catch up with Caryn on the last few hard miles to finish just under 2:44. It was not what I came in planning to do, but technically a PR in the state of Washington. I'll take it. 

Caryn and I gave our shoes to Give Your Sole, a local organization collecting donations for the needy. They collected 617 pairs after the race.

It was great to give something back through the sport that's given so much to us.

After you reach the Rock Star level for 5 RNR races in a year, you get to pick up the bonus "Heavy Medal" at the race instead of having to wait for it to come in the mail. Seattle is also the second leg of the Pacific Peaks challenge (RNR Portland in May was the first). Kevin pointed out this was one of the only times where you can get three medals in one race. We always wear our medals on the flight home. It's tradition. But with this kind of hardware, it may be easier on our necks if we checked them.

Four more months to our 50th Half Marathons. For the record, I no longer feel 'dead inside'.

#MarathoningForLife

Rock n Roll Seattle celebrated its 5th running in 2013. There were 2,345 finishers in the full marathon (median finish time 4:35) and 12,367 in the half marathon (median finish time 2:22).  

The course was a point to point course in 2010, but was modified in 2013 to eliminate a hill or two and shorten the stretch on the Viaduct. The 2013 courses for both the half and full marathon start at the Seattle Center in the shadow of the Space Needle, traveling south on 5th Avenue, east on South Dearborn and south on Rainier Avenue before turning north on 43rd. The Full splits at Lake Washington Blvd at mile 6 and rejoins the half at mile 12.5 (mile 6 on the half). A second split sends the full marathon out and back on the Lacey Murrow Memorial Bridge for miles 14 - 21. Both courses run the last 5 miles along Highway 90 west, through surface streets to the Viaduct (Highway 99), back onto surface streets finishing back at the Space Needle. An interesting artifact of the tunnels is that satellite-based GPS watches measure the distance OVER the mountain, making the total distance closer to 13.5 miles unless you have an accelerometer based device like the Garmin Foot Pod. Al's blog has a good overview of the device.

Course Setting: City streets, highway (with some canted road in the second tunnel), lakeshore drives. The full crosses a bridge; that experience draws mixed reviews.

Support: Very good. Gu stations in the late miles, water and Gatorade every 2 miles like most Rock n Roll events. Entertainment in the tunnels and on the bridge were boom box 

Weather (2013): Low of 60, high of 72. The days before and after had rain - its the Northwest, this should not surprise you. Seasonal temperatures range from a low of 53 to a high of 70.

Race weekend activities: Pikes Market, the original Starbucks, Space Needle tours, the Great Wheel, A's/Mariner's game, Boeing factory tour (car or bus package required).

This was our second time racing in Seattle. In 2010, Ron did the half (race #21,  Half #12 - PR) and Susan completed her 8th full marathon (race #20). 2013 was Susan's 47th half and Ron's 46th. Both of us are at 58 races with 7 more to go this year. 

We've already signed up for RNR Seattle on June 21, 2014. The Pacific Peaks medal is way too cool to pass up. Rumors of another Rock n Roll race in Vancouver for 2015 are circulating and if they're true, we'll jump on that as soon as its announced.

Quite possibly the busiest race day yet.

Find us on Facebook at Marathoning For Life

100 Marathons x2 - Wipro SF 1st Half Marathon

"Run in Feet. Dream in Miles"(tm)

I don't see very many new sayings on race shirts or spectator signs these days. I saw this one on the back of a Los Angeles Running Club shirt and really liked the way it sounded.

The Wipro San Francisco 1st Half Marathon was a "rest race" for us. After three consecutive Half Marathon PR's for both Susan and me, it was time to be a tourist in our home town. 2013 was the first time Susan and I did the San Francisco 1st Half Marathon. Susan has done the 5K to finish the Progressive Marathon and I've gone out to cheer people into the finish. The race is usually in late July, and conflicts with our Team in Training schedule but with the America's Cup in San Francisco this year, the race was moved to June. 

Our amazing string of weather luck continued. The fog rolled out early and we had crystal blue skies from the starting gun for the 1st Half at 5:30 AM. They made a huge deal about extra security this year in the wake of the Boston Marathon tragedy. The volunteers were very efficient though and we got to our corrals for the early start without incident. Word was that the shuttles to the 2nd Half start line in Golden Gate Park had some issues with drop off locations, but nothing that ruined a race. The 1st Half start held to a 5 minute delay between waves to allow a lot of room on the Golden Gate Bridge. It was worth the wait.

A totally gratuitous bend in the road at Crissy Field that I'm certain was there for the photo op.

After living in the Bay Area for 35 years, I've only walked on the Golden Gate Bridge twice. Both times were in 2013, and both times during races. Talk about opening your eyes, especially on a day like this.  The wind died down going up the hills out of Crissy Field, but picked up just enough at the Bridge to cool us down after the climb.

Seriously, what's there NOT to like about racing on the Bridge?

The race was full of Marathon Maniacs and Half Fanatics. Just about all of them will be at Rock n Roll Seattle next week. I don't know why I even bother asking the question. That's Asylum country up there.

Coming off the bridge, we got a taste of why they call this "The Race that Other Marathoners Fear". Having done the Nike Marathon course 8 of the last 9 years, we were dealing with the hills pretty well, but having them at mile 9 was a bit annoying.  Everything, it seems, is relative.

By this point, I was checking my SF Marathon app to see how Endorphin Dude and Nadia Ruiz were doing on their 100th Marathons and posting screen shots of their split times on Tony's Facebook wall and the Marathon Maniacs pages. Nadia was running with her father and taking it easy. Tony was going for broke at a pace that would crush his PR.

I barely even remember finishing the 1st Half other than they were running dangerously low on Irish Coffee. We finished comfortably within the 3 hour cutoff and waited in line for the shuttle back to the Embarcadero trying to catch Tony's finish. We didn't make it, but someone else posted a finish video. Tony beat his PR by 4 minutes on the site of his first full marathon 3 years ago. His next goal is to break the 4 hour mark in St. George in October.

Post-race, post-burger, post-gelato, post-emotional breakdown photo op with our caped hero.

Nadia finished in just under 5 hours. It was a easy pace for her as she was running with her father, Jorge, who started her on this path. With this race, Nadia will enter into the Guinness Book of World Records as the youngest woman to have completed 100 full marathons.  She has her sights set on a sub-3 marathon and doesn't think she's reached her potential yet. 

Two completely different starting points - coming off the couch and starting as a near-elite. 

Two 100th Marathons. 

Two inspirational marathoners.

Crossing the finish line for them really was a matter of Running in Feet...and Dreaming in Miles.

It makes me humble to have the privilege to share the course with them.

#MarathoningForLife

The Wipro San Francisco Marathon started in 1977 and is typically late July to August. In 2013, there were 5,762 finishers in the Full Marathon (with a median time of 4:30), 5,952 in the 1st Half (2:19 Median time) and 3,096 in the 2nd Half (2:10 Median time). 

The Marathon starts on the Ferry Building at Market Street and runs along the water on the Embarcadero past Fisherman's Wharf, Ghiradelli Square, Fort Mason, crosses the Golden Gate Bridge to Vista Point and back before turning down Baker Beach and into Golden Gate Park where the 1st Half Marathon finishes. The 2nd Half starts by winding through Golden Gate Park, and runs east through the city streets to AT&T Park, turning north to finish back at the Ferry Building.  The 1st half has a 3 hour chip-time cut off. The 2nd half has a 3:30 cut off. (Course Map for 2013)

Weather: Temps range from high 50's to mid 60's for the 5:30 AM start warming about 10 degrees by finish time for the full. Fog is pretty much a given this time of year for the 1st Half but we lucked out this year as the fog burned off early. Hold on to your hats as you cross the bridge.

Things to do (or at least what WE did): The World Champion San Francisco Giants were on the road this weekend, but between the Museum District, North Beach, Alcatraz and all the tourist attractions, there is plenty to do, see, and eat. We spent the weekend with Caryn and our favorite food critic Al, so we were properly fueled, before and after, and carried the momentum into a weight loss challenge that started two days after the race.

Course setting: City streets with awesome views of SF for the most part. There may be some slight hills.

Support: Eh to Very Good. The Marathon and 1st Half Marathon start at 5:30 AM and have water and electrolyte every 2.5 miles. GU is available at the Vista Point on the far side of the bridge for the 1st half. The "Eh" part was that the 1st Half was necessarily quiet due to the route. Some DJ's and some early risers with boom boxes were up, but the 2nd Half had more of the official entertainment locations. 

We've signed up for the SF 2nd Half Marathon in 2014 to complete the "Half it All Challenge" and are keeping the option for doing the Full Marathon in 2015 for the 52 Club medal and sweatshirt.  For the truly hard core, there is a "Worth the Hurt 52.4" double marathon that starts at midnight before the race. Participants travel the course in reverse and must make the 5:30 AM start time in order to be eligible for the regular marathon and complete the double.  Wipro also sponsors the Los Angeles Marathon and offers bonus swag for completing both in the LA/SF Challenge. We haven't made up our mind on LA, but signed up for the Oakland Running Festival Relay and the Berkeley Half Marathon on November 24th to hit the Half Fanatic Mars level.

Find us on Facebook at Marathoning For Life

Clockwise: Endorphin Dude's epic congratulation card. Joanna in the starting corral. Sara in front of Cupids Arrow. Caryn and Al's two designs of the Half it All medals.

Spirit of the Marathon II - The Rome Marathon: a Jumbo Photoblog (2008 Repost)

Wednesday night we went to see a special one-night only screening of Spirit of the Marathon II in Emeryville.  It was showing in over 500 locations in the US and it was cool seeing the rolling wave of Facebook reviews by timezone. SOTM2 featured two first time marathoners, a pair of cousins (one of them a 19 year legacy runner), two elite runners and a veteran (Julie "Marathon Goddess" Weiss, Facebook Page) starting a quest to do 52 full marathons in 52 weeks in memory of her father who died of pancreatic cancer. The movie was created during the training season for the 2012 Rome Marathon.

One of the reviews included the phrase "In SOTM, they conquered the course. In SOTM2, the course fights back".  I recommend the movie for marathoners and the marathon-curious as it's a great look at the race from the rookie to the elite perspective. I also liked reliving our first international race. My MySpace blog is reposted below. 

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(Originally posted on MySpace on 4/12/2008. Thank you, MySpace for deleting all content without any warning. I'm glad I saved this one.)

When you swim... in the creek...
and and eel... bites your cheek...
that's... a Mo-rayyyy....

Sorry, couldn't help it. 

Monday is an a significant day for the SF Bayside Marathon team for Team in Training so I wanted to post this before then. This was the last event of the Winter 2008 season Maratona della città di Roma.

For Susan and me, this was our first international marathon after seven full and seven half marathons.  I love new races.  This was no different.  I'll skip the coverage of the pre-race sightseeing days for now since I'd be here all day and it'll probably cause my weak-memory computer to crash.

Saturday night was the traditional Pasta Party.  Fifty-ish runners and walkers from the Silicon Valley, San Francisco/Marin, SF Bayside and SF Diablo Valley met at the Empire Palace Hotel's restaurant.  The pasta, as you might imagine, was pretty darn good.

The highlight of the evening is always the speech by our honored patient, this time it was Mark.  He'd been an avid runner, but at one point he lost an unexplainable amount of weight quickly while training.  The diagnosis was a rare variety of chronic myelogenous leukemia.  Fifteen years ago, that form of cancer had a low survival rate and a prognosis of 18 months.  He started on chemo immediately and within seven days, he was in full remission. It was so fast, he didn't even lose his hair.  The treatment was made possible in part by funds raised by Team in Training.

Mark Zafra - the pre-race Honoree speaker

This race had a relatively late start for a marathon - 9 AM as opposed to the usual 6:30 or even 5 AM.  But while we got to sleep in, most roads were blocked off so we ended walking a few miles to the starting line. We had a lot of first timers who were soaking it all in...



... and a few veterans who were thinking of why they were here.



Rome is the MOST scenic race we've done so far.  Seriously, pictures like this are just there for the taking. This is our amazing Staff who took care of all the arrangements - Lindsay, Debbie (staff/participant this time) and our Silicon Valley manager (whose name escapes me... grrr...).



Veterans of the marathon know the first thing you do after hydrating all week is to hit the lines at the porta-potties.  Maybe we were just there early, but there were no lines to speak of.  Kinda creepy actually.  This guy was either a walking advertisement for his energy gel, or was going to crap out from the sugar imbalances sometime by mile 18.  (or maybe just crap out... *snicker*)



Coach Al delivered the pre-race pep talk and led us through the round of GO TEAM!!  NO WIMPS!! TNT ROCKS!! cheers.  NOTHING sets a rookie's mind at ease faster - and no one does it better than Coach Al.  I think we shocked the rather sedate European crowd awake after that.



Coach Al with some of the honorees who were racing that day.



Starting line - right in front of the Colosseum. This was right before some guy came through the starting corrals selling cigarettes (no, really!).



Meghan and Sarae. A few or our first-timers from Diablo Valley.



They made a big deal about the cobblestone surface of the course.  If you're thinking of trying it, it DID seem to leave a few more people hobbling with knee and hip injuries than usual.  You shouldn't have problems if you train well though.



Now we know why the lines at the porta-potties were so short. (Personally, I'm glad they didn't show this during SOTM2)



We saw this guy right after the starting line. Apparently he does this every year. I guess he wanted to re-create the original run by Pheidippides  where he ran 26.2 miles to deliver the news that Athens pulled off an amazing upset over the Persians with a desperation shot at the buzzer. 



Course-side entertainment for US races is usually a rock or jazz band.  Not in Rome.  They had maybe 4 full bands playing some upbeat classical and what sounded like great school fight music.



There were about two dozen people in a group who specialize in running marathons backwards. (No, I can't explain it either).



Castel Sant Angelo (the headquarters for the Illuminati in Angels and Demons). In SOTM2, this is where Mimmo started running with Sylvia.



This race got full marks for course support. Even for the late-arriving walkers, there was plenty of Gatorade, water and blood oranges (*drools*...)



My favorite shirts from the race . "Marathoning: The triumph of desire over reason".



Photo op at Piazza Navona, where the party never stops (even if you have marathoners running you over because you're oblivious enough to try to cross the course without looking both ways).



Susan and Sandi (Silicon Valley) in front of the always crowded Spanish Steps.



Passing by the Trevi Fountain.  I had to snap quickly because by this time the course barriers were almost all gone. We were dodging pedestrians and tourists for the next few miles.



I only shot this angle once, coming down the finish chute. Did I mention this race was scenic?  This was the first full marathon we actually raced the entire way together.  Our warm up curves just don't match well, but we still finished with a walker-respectable 6:23.



I can't remember this fellow's name, but he's from the TNT National Capital chapter.  He's done upwards of 30 races and (get this) at least one on every continent, finishing the Antarctica Marathon earlier this year.  Susan's looking at my 'life goals' list and cringing.



The lady fourth from the left is Laura, one of our honorees.  She's been a part of TNT for 10 years and has beaten cancer twice.  Midway through this season, she found out she found another lump - one of the now-known side effects of her original radiation therapy.  Coach Al made the trip to support her, but at mile 18, Laura noticed a few other first-time participants struggling.  She told Coach to help them out instead. She said later that what she'll remember the most from the race was that every one of her Bayside teammates waited at the finish line - some for hours - until she finished. Laura had surgery the other week and is home now, just waiting for the clearance to start another season.

TNT East Bay Run Team. They ALL waited for the last team member to finish. Yvette Sandoval, Yvonne Gallegos, Lindsay Gage Ring, Laura Warren, Ken Reicher. Is that Rebecca and Kat also?

Meghan had been battling cramps since mile 8 and Sarae had to fight through a migraine around mile 12.  At mile 18, Coach Al dropped back to see them and asked Meghan what it was going to take for her to finish the race.

"Gelato"

"What flavor?"  Coach ran into a shop, everyone in line let him cut in front, and in about five minutes Meghan had her Cream gelato.  She and Sarae both finished.  It was the first marathon for both of them.



I'm thinking this is what Coach Al looks like to participants around mile 18.



I missed getting a shot of this, but Coach Joe had some pictures.  A TNT participant was one of the last to finish the race.  She had an escort of about 10 police cars, a paramedic, her staff support and two coaches.  Just about everyone was crying by the time she finished.  After she got her medal, everyone of the race support staff got one too (below).



The numbers:
- about 50 participants.  As far as I know, San Francisco was the only chapter to have this an an official TNT event. We had our friend from National Capital and one from North Texas who did it on her own.
- The top fundraiser was Gilda from our SF/Marin walk team raising $15,625.
- The team collectively raised over $320,000 for blood cancer research.  Not bad for our first winter team in two years.



Monday is the one-year anniversary of the day beloved TNT participant and honoree Brenda Donato lost her battle to blood cancer.  I only knew her other through MySpace but I remember her as a fighter who was a positive inspiration to the end.

Sunday morning, one of our local team captains and friend of Brenda's will be organizing the first Brenda Donato Rainbow 5K Fun Run and Walk in Walnut Creek.  The event is closed, but if you're so inclined, I'd love it if you could make even a small donation.

Ever wonder what it feels like to save a life?

Take a step (or ten or fifty thousand).

Anyone can make a difference.

**********

The Maratona di Roma celebrates its 20th running in 2014. It is held in mid- to late- March and has a characteristically late start (9:30 AM) like many European races. There is a 5K event offered. The course is a loop starting at the Colosseum and going north along the Tiber River. There are about 7 miles of hard cobblestones and while the walkers seemed to pass those without issue, a lot of my runner friends were quite put out with me for not warning them.

Weather: ranges from high 40's to mid 50's (7 - 10 C) at the start warming about 15 degrees by finish time (up to 15 C). 2008 was perfect weather.

Things to do (or at least what WE did): We weren't able to follow the standard "stay off your feet before the marathon" advice, visiting Vatican City and several churches and museums. We did stayed for a week afterwards visiting Florence and Venice. There may have been enormous amounts of drinking chocolate and gelato involved.

Course setting:  The Ancient City of Rome. The course passes through many of the world-renowned landmarks, starting at the base of the Colosseum, passing the Roman Forum, Castel Sant'Angelo, Piazza Navona, The Spanish Steps, The Trevi Fountain, St. Peter's Basilica, Piazza del Popolo and many others. (Course Map)

Support: Excellent. Water and full bottles of Gatorade every few miles, blood oranges at several stations on the course. At the finish line, they gave out full bags of cookies and had a running tap of hot cider. The City goes about its business as the race progresses. Early on this is not an issue as citizens stop to cheer participants on as they shop and eat. The more leisurely marathoners should expect to find crowds on the course after the 30km mark and especially at Piazza Navona and the Trevi Fountain. Local officials escorted the last participant to the finish line in about 8 hours. Each of the firefighters and policemen received medals as well.

Rome was Ron's 8th full marathon, Susan's 6th and our first international race. It was the first race we actually stayed together the entire time. While there were no records on completion time, we DID set a PR by taking 137 pictures on the course. Stephanie would be proud.

Marathon Goddess Julie finished her quest for 52 marathons in 52 weeks by completing the Los Angeles Marathon on March 17, 2013. She raised over $180,000 for pancreatic cancer research.

Laura Warren beat the last round of cancer and continues to train with TNT today. She is a living miracle.

#MarathoningForLife

This Hero DOES Wear a Cape - Endorphin Dude and The Wipro San Francisco Marathon

I didn't quite know what to make of the guy who I met at the finish line at the Rock n Roll San Jose Half Marathon in 2010. I vaguely remember a yellow headband, a cape and about 10 medals hanging around his neck including the medal he just earned and several of the "Heavy Medals" from races run during the year. 

What I remember VERY clearly was that he was grinning ear to ear. That and he was taking pictures with everyone he knew (and it looked like he knew a LOT of people).

This was the first time I met Tony Nguyen, aka "Endorphin Dude". There are a handful of people who have led us to the path we're on and I count him as one of them. E-Dude will be running his 100th Full Marathon next week at the Wipro San Francisco Marathon.  That's on top of over many 5 and 10K's, 120+ half marathons and a few dozen Ultras. His full list of Marathons can be found on his Marathon Maniacs page and an complete list of the other distances are on his site here. 

He does more races per year than most people do in a lifetime. Some people look at our race schedule and think we're crazy. The scary thing about Tony is that he talks about people who are crazier than he is. Apparently, it's all relative.

Tony points to a single wake up call in 2009 that started him on this road. He woke up on the floor of his home in San Francisco and saw his dog, Chewbacca, looking at him wondering "am I going to be an orphan?" The description in his blog header concisely describes the asymptotic progress he's made since then.

On April Fool's Day I thought I was having a heart attack. No joke. I knew I had to make some changes in my life, so I took my dog for a walk around the block. That short walk turned into two blocks, then three, and before I knew it, I was walking 4-5 miles. This lead to a jog, and then a run. That run ultimately lead to a marathon. Bottom line, I got healthy and took control of my life. This blog chronicles my journey. When I run, I feel like a super hero. I AM ENDORPHIN DUDE, SEE ME RUN!

He started this journey to get in shape, shrinking from a 44 inch waist to a 32. He finished his first full marathon in 6 hours and 12 minutes and is training to break 4 hours this year. I'd challenge you to find many more runners who have knocked more than 2 hours off their first marathon time. 

He has taken some grief from some marathoners for taking his time at races. Being a walker, I get it. And I ignore it. The fact that he's lasted this long is probably due to "really conservative pacing."

Even with the volume and the recently found speed work, what affects me most is just how much fun Endorphin Dude seems to be having.  It rubs off too. Susan and I coach people individually and after we talk to them, they go off, feeling better. It's an active process and happens one person at a time. Endorphin Dude is a one-man cheer squad. He creates a feel-good atmosphere just by being there, like there were endorphins emitting from his cape as he went by. One of my favorite encounters with him at Rock n Roll Las Vegas. He picked us out of a crowd of 40,000 somehow and chattered on about how he just ran through a wedding party and performed the role of "Best Dude".

He started raising money for the Peninsula Humane Society (where he found Chewbacca), but after that campaign closed, he made it his mission to save the universe "one couch potato at a time". 

Nike Women's Marathon, 2011.

Rock n Roll San Francisco, 2013. He drove a 200 miles from Sacramento after completing a 50 Miler the day before.

Many of our friends know John "The Penguin" Bingham as the most famous marathoner never to have won a race.  John said that when he started out, the elite runners just couldn't understand why anyone would want to run a race slowly... and how he could have fun while doing it. The Penguin was a key player in the Second Running Boom as he and Jeff Galloway demystified the marathon distance.

Endorphin Dude just may be the next Penguin. If you have any pictures with him on Facebook, be sure to tag him and give him a shout out for his 100th. He's an Everyman who not only demystified the distance, but made it a hell of a lot of fun. 

Endorphin Dude - Marathoner for Life.

The Marathon Maniacs club was founded in 2003 in the Seattle area and currently boasts over 7000 members. The club is a great way to meet people other people who are racing in other parts of the country (or the world). They celebrated their 10th Anniversary at the Tacoma City Marathon in April 2013.

To be a Maniac, one has to complete at least 2 Full Marathons in a 16 day span or 3 within 90 days to achieve "Bronze Level." There is no speed requirement, but races have to be official (training runs don't count) and Ultramarathons (anything more than 26.2 miles) can also be used to qualify. Additional levels can be reached with more races in shorter periods of time or with races in multiple locations in a rolling 365 day period.  The highest level of achievement is "Titanium" which requires either 1) 52 Full Marathons in 365 days, 2) 30 Marathons in 30 US states, Countries, or Canadian Provinces (any combination) within 365 days, or 3) 20 Countries within 365 days. 

Membership is $10/year (or less for 2- 5 year renewals) and gives you access to an awesome social network. Their online store offers a range of custom gear including their signature yellow jerseys and singlets, hats, visors, hoodies, arm warmers, jackets, dufflebags (really? cool!) and the Marathon Maniacs Book ("The World's Most Insane Running Club"). 

The Maniacs also have an open group on Facebook that does not require you to be a member. During the Boston Marathon Bombings, Galen Garrison made sure this was the most up to date source of the status of close to 100 marathoners.  Everyone came out of the tragedy shaken, but unscathed.

The Perfect Race? - Rock n Roll San Diego

Our friend, Al Hernandez (aka, Sensei, Gonzo, and most recently "El Diablo") once told us about something he calls "The Perfect Race". It's not necessarily a personal record, but more a feeling you get when you just know everything is going to go right that day. You know you're going to finish. You feel light on your feet. You're smiling at mile 10 or 20 and it feels like you're doing everything right. Al has done hundreds, maybe thousands of races in his career and says he's had 4 Perfect Races. The chance of having another one is something that keeps him coming back.

The 16th running of the Rock n Roll San Diego Full and Half Marathon had all the potential for a Perfect Race. The temperatures at the 6:45 start time were much cooler than the forecast and the new course was billed as PR-ready. Team in Training continued their successful mission as 1500 participants raised over $4.5 million for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Thanks to Joe Taricani's Rock n Rally Trivia contest, we also learned that RNR San Diego participants over the years have raised a staggering $260 million for ALL charities. 

Race with your hearts. It's not just a cliche.

The Half Fanatics showed up in force. Even with a few people trickling in late, this was the biggest picture I'd been a part of except for Portland. I expect the Seattle gathering to be even bigger. Given the crowd support for TNT, I chose to race in Team purple to get that extra encouragement. San Diego was the first place Susan and I walked full marathons in under 6 hours.

Half Fanatics Pre-Race Picture. Rock n Roll San Diego 2013

There was a moment of silence for the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings. There's something profound about a crowd of 30,000 united in one purpose. 

Nothing will break us. Nothing.

Kevin Gonzales and I have been in friendly competition for walking RNR Half Marathons since we met in Providence in 2011. This was the first time we actually started in the same corral so we could try to push each other during the race (it was a personal victory of sorts to get him to start further back). He's walked in 57 Rock n Roll events and is one of the only people to have done every one of the RNR locations including Europe. Since the Olympic level racewalkers don't do this distance often, I'm guessing he's also walked under 2:30 more times than anyone on the RNR circuit . Kevin's first 5K is seriously fast while my last 5K is my fastest. The plan was for me to hang with him as much as I could early and try to pull even by mile 10.  Al, meanwhile, was fighting a fever and dropped back from corral 1 to join us in 14. Susan and Stephanie were with first-timer Tiffany in corral 8.

The three of us toed the starting line together as the wave start hit our corral and announcer John Bingham congratulated Kevin for his 653rd Rock n Roll race. John's been increasing that number exponentially every race. (I won the over-under). I wish I had a picture of us waiting for the countdown to start our watches.  I also wish I had a picture of my face as Kevin walked his first quarter mile at a sub 7 minute pace!  Al would normally be able to keep up with Kevin, but  chose to drop back. By mile 1, Kevin had a 200 yard lead that stretched out to 400 by mile 6.

The course lived up to the billing. We avoided the canted section of 163 that leaned about 15 degrees to the left. There was no long downhill on the 3 lane highway. By the time we passed Mile 3, Kenyan Bernard Koech had posted the fastest half marathon time this year with a time of 58:41 and a pending US All-Comers record with a 44:47 at the 10-mile split.

I'm not sure when Al decided to take me on as a project, but some time after passing TNT Coach Phillip Dunn right about mile 6, I curiously found it hard to form complete sentences. Somehow, Al was pushing me a bit more than I usually did. He actually spotted Kevin on a few switchbacks and predicted I'd catch Kevin at the 7-11 before the mile 8 hill (I did). Coming down the last 5K, he coached me into holding form, relaxing at the right time for just the right duration and leaving it all on the course in the home stretch.  I finished with a time of 2:24:04, nearly two full minutes faster than my PR in Portland two weeks earlier.

Just past the finish line, I had to hold on to Al to keep from collapsing. Medical personnel asked me three times if I was OK (I actually only remember one, which shows you what state I was in). We were there long enough to see Kevin and Susan finish a few minutes later. Susan crushed her previous PR by more than 3 minutes. Kevin faded for his last 5K, but still came within 30 seconds of his PR. There was a sharp contrast in their moods at the finish.

Was this a Perfect Race?

Kevin knew this was a fast course. I'm sure if he had it to do all over again, he might have saved something for the last 5K and cracked his PR again. This wasn't his fastest half marathon, but he made some big steps by recognizing other reasons to race - setting up the mental challenge to push me and then trying to hang with me at the end. He may not call it a Perfect Race. Not for himself, at least.

Susan crossed the starting line 12 minutes before us and ended up talking Kevin through the last 4 miles. This was her fastest half marathon and she enjoys helping other people  more than accomplishing something for herself.  Was this a Perfect Race? She thinks so.

Two and a half years ago I struggled to walk under a 2:50 half marathon. I've taken 10 minutes off my time every year since then, even though every time I establish a new PR, I can't imagine how I'm going to do any better. I'm at the limits of what I think I can do by myself. And then Al shows up and the rules change.  

Was this a Perfect Race? For me it was. But I had a lot of help to make it happen. That "Help" is what Marathoning for Life is all about.

Congratulations to Tiffany for finishing her first half marathon, Mohan Dutt for completing his 50th, to Celine who finished her 4th half marathon while being 4 months pregnant.  Also, shout out to our Heavy Medal man, Garret Schmidt for posting a 1:37 half marathon time on his first try!

Rock n Roll San Diego started in 1998 and is the oldest race in the Rock n Roll Series. It's held the first weekend of June and attracts 25,000 - 30,000 participants. In 2013, there were 6500 finishers in the full marathoners and 18,000 finishing the half marathon. The Half Marathoners travels through city streets starting in Balboa Park. The full marathon takes a route west up to Mission Bay. Both courses finish at Petco Park.

Weather: ranges from high 50's to mid 70's to start warming about 10 - 15 degrees by finish time. Weather apps for "San Diego" actually read temps near the water, so add 10 degrees when planning your gear for the race. The humidity can sneak up on you, especially in the city where the wind dies down.

Things to do (or at least what WE did): For the car-less, the Gaslamp District and Little Italy has a lot of good food options. Harbor Drive is a great place for a quick pre-race workout.

Course setting:  Parks, City streets, Suburbs and Downtown. The Half is point to point course with the start and finish separated by about 2 miles.

Support: Very good. Water and Gatorade every few miles. Gu at mile 8 on the half and mile 17 on the full. Cheer squads, Team in Training cheer stations and residents line the course most of the way. The time limits are reasonable for most participants (7 hours for the full marathon and 4 hours for the half). SAG wagons sweep full marathoners at the 19 mile mark.

In San Diego, Susan completed full marathons #3 (2006) and #4 (2007 - still her PR) and half marathons #32 (2012) and #45 (2013 - her PR). Ron completed full marathons #3 (2006, a PR and the first time walking under 6 hours) and #7 (2008 to see Jaimi Wolf's first full) and the half marathon #31 (2012 - PR) and #44 (2013 - PR, first time walking under 2:25). 

We're already signed up for 2014.