A few days before the 2009 Boston Marathon, I got a phone message from a reporter at the Gainesville Sun, Megan Rolland, asking if I would be willing to be interviewed for an article she was writing about area runners running the Boston Marathon. I told her I sure would as it is cool to be in the newspaper as long as it isn't for something criminal!Since the article was about five different runners from the area, there was only a little bit about each one of us in the article. But since I have this seldom-used blog here, I figure I'd post the long form answers for your reading pleasure below... Just some insight into the enjoyment that running marathons gives me. Also a little more about why the Boston Marathon is so cool and if you'd like to qualify what you need to do, sorta...
HOW I STARTED RUNNING: I started in 2000 just before my 30th birthday to try to get in shape and run the 2 miles of Gator Gallop. In the summer of 2003, I decided to train for and run the 2004 Walt Disney World marathon to re-ignite my enthusiasm for running and to get the really cool finisher's medal! That led me into becoming and considering myself a "marathoner". It's like a lifestyle to me.
WHY RUN MARATHONS: Because I can. I also like the irrationality of it all because it really doesn't make much sense to run that far!
RUNNING IDOL: Tinpothy Gordon, Gainesville's "Running Man". He actually calls me "Marathon Man" because we became acquainted at a marathon, so he's called me that ever since! (Nobody else does!)
MARATHONS RUN: 9 so far and this year's Boston will be number 10.
FASTEST MARATHON: 2008 C&D Runfest marathon in 3:11:33. I went to visit my sister and her family for a week and topped it off with a nice little run on the weekend that turned out to be my fastest marathon.
THE BOSTON MARATHON: I never thought I would qualify to run Boston, but somehow after running a few thousand miles I actually qualified at the 2007 Five Points of Life Gainesville marathon, my 4th marathon. Before the start of that race, I took a sharpie marker and wrote "BELIEVE" on my right arm and "IN YOURSELF" on my left arm as a message to myself and the spectators along the course. At the end it was the most painful race I'd ever finished in my entire life but it was worth it! When I ran Boston in 2008, it was an incredible experience. Everybody talks about how difficult it is running up the Newton Hills and Heartbreak Hill in particular. They are not that tough; instead, what is most memorable are the spectators. The streets were lined with cheering spectators, and they treated every runner like he or she was an olympic champion. They really, REALLY appreciate the effort the common person puts into running the marathon up there. It's amazing. Anybody who considers themself a marathoner should experience the Boston marathon at least once in their lifetime.
I am trying to meet the minimum criteria for joining the Marathon Maniacs club which is to run 3 marathons within 90 days, so I ran Ocala and Five Points of Life Gainesville marathons in February and plan to finish up the trifecta in Boston.
ADVICE FOR BOSTON QUALIFYING: As far as practical advice, the main thing is to run as much as you can without becoming injured or turning into a running zombie. Also, it helps to run with friends or run with people who turn into your friends; I have met some very nice people in the Florida Track Club to run with and have made some good friends with the side effect of becoming a better runner. The Florida Track Club is open to runners and walkers of all abilities (see http://www.floridatrackclub.org/). For runners in general: focus on the next few steps ahead. Don't set artificial limits and don't get mesmerized at how far off in the distance your goal might be. If you focus on the footsteps one at a time, then eventually you will end up having made a long journey that was worthwhile in and of itself even if you didn't get to where you thought you were going. I am not a talented runner, but I've achieved faster times than I could've imagined, so running marathons has been a good lesson to me for approaching life in general.
FUTURE GOALS: I will attempt to run faster than 3:10:00 at Boston, but if I don't, I will try again in the future. Eventually I would like to run under 3 hours for the marathon and run under 20 minutes for the 5k distance so I can win a pie at the Race for the Pies 5k in Jacksonville! I would also like to earn a Ph.D in the Microbiology and Cell Science graduate program at UF.
