Marlin's marathon quest

2014-11-29T18:20:00.000-05:00

Haven't posted in a while, but back in October I did the hardest (most technical for one thing) 50K ever - the Stone Steps 50K. I guess by the name I should have known it would be hard. We did these steps four times (to get a perspective of the distance, note the runner toward the top of the steps):

Then a week ago I did the Route 66 marathon in Tulsa OK, not to eventful, but it did have over 300 Marathon Manics and is a very well organized race.

Confetti cannons at start line.

2013-12-31T23:53:00.000-05:00

Saturday I ran the annual "Waterfall Run" in the CVNP with a couple hundred other runners from Wooster, Ashland and the Akron area. Covered 17 1/4 miles on the Buckeye Trail and a few other trails. Weather was fantastic, and the mud was awesome. Beautiful waterfalls.

2013-06-21T21:40:00.001-04:00

Mohican 50 mile was a great experience. I really loved the feel of the ultra, it a very laid back feeling compared to most road races. We started at 6:00 AM on the first of two loops, which was 26.8 miles and included the famous Lyons falls area. At the falls we encountered a wooden stairway descent and then a hand over hand climb up the tree roots a little later. Also a lot of mud, which I mostly avoided, due to my superhuman capability to avoid getting muddy shoes! Shortly after that we came out at Pleasant Hill dam where I met my wife, refilled a few supplies and we were off again. Had a nice peaceful run down the side of the river to the covered bridge aid station (had to avoid a large puddle again but thankfully there was a very convenient log laying right by it that I could hop onto).

After grabbing a few things at the aid station we were of up the hill towards Hickory Ridge, and that section seemed like the longest to me for some reason. Refueled a little at Hickory Ridge and we were off again to the start area.

We started the 2nd loop shortly after noon, this loop included a portion of the 1st, but then split off and was 23.2 miles total.Somewhere in this section the downhills really started getting to me, my quads really started to hurt when running the downhills.When we got back to Hickory Ridge the second time, I could have stayed and ate for half hour if I would have let myself, but since that would not have got me an closer to the finish line, I refilled my bottles and stuffed my face with: chips, a ham and cheese sandwich, more chips, a doughnut & some Twizzlers and I was off. My friend Daryll (which I had run with for about 90% of the race) had taken off before me and was about 1/2 mile ahead, so I ran a bit more till I caught up with him.

When we got the campground area close to the end I met my support crew (my wife Victoria and daughter Natasha) and we walked a good part of the rest of the way, then closer to the end Natasha ran with me to the finish line, and I finished in 14 hours & 14 minutes.

The next morning we headed back to the finish area and watched some of the 100 milers finish, including my friend Marilyn Hershberger who finished in 28 hours and 32 minutes.

It was a great weekend, and I had that feeling I used to get after a marathon, it's hard to explain but it felt really good (in a painful way).

There will be more of these in my future and I sense a100 miler in my future!

2013-06-05T12:18:00.001-04:00

Ran another 5 miles of the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail Saturday in my quest to run the complete trail. This time I ran from Crystal Springs trail head to Canal Fulton, I didn't realize it, but Canal Fulton was having some Civil War stuff going on and also shared the path with the horses pulling the canal boat. Was a nice bit of distraction from the normal things I see when out running. Total mileage run of the trail is now 21.4, only 59.6 to go!

1st Double

2012-11-02T21:31:00.001-04:00

On the weekend of October 20/21 we headed to Kansas City for the 1st marathon of the double, got into KC on Friday afternoon after many stops along the way. Ran the marathon on Saturday, ate lunch with my wife's cousin and family from MO, and then booked it up to Des Moines to pickup my race packet.

We made it in after the expo closed, but they were allowing runners to pickup packets during the pasta dinner so that was no problem (other then a security guard who claimed he would have to charge me $15 to park for 10 minutes, no thanks, I will park on the street thank you very much). After that we grabbed a late dinner and hit our hotel. Next day we were up bright and early for the marathon and found a cool little coffee shop close to race start to hang out in till the race started (why don't more restaurants open early during a marathon? Seems like a lot of potential customers to ignore). Anyway, I ran the race and only ended up with a small blister on my small toe and annoying pain in my left foot, don't know what that was all about. Des Moines is much nicer city then I remembered it being, it really was very nice.

Right after the race I found a YMCA that let me shower for no charge (love that) and then we headed for home (via Chicago). Spend Monday in Chicago doing Chicago things (eating deep dish pizza, standing in line for Garretts popcorn, shopping etc.) 1,650 miles later we were back home.

I didn't realize till I was done that I got a new Marathon Maniac level for doing a double, I am now 4 star or Iridium.

2*

2012-06-13T20:53:00.002-04:00

Got my 2nd Marathon Maniac star back in Feb., forgot to post it.

2012-06-13T08:02:00.005-04:00

Canton marathon coming up Sunday, marathon starts @ 6 AM, hoping the temps stay cool, for summer running (and this weekend if I need it) I ordered a cool-off bandana - http://www.zombierunner.com/store/brands/cool_off/product152.html., hope it helps.

2012-04-29T21:58:00.000-04:00

Louisville in the bag, It was a decent kind of small marathon, that is if you don't count the half which was huge. The full was around 2,100 marathon finishers (about the size of the Georgia marathon the year I ran it), but the half was over 12,000 plus the relay which made it pretty crowded up till the half split. Ran with another maniac by the name Patricia Cyr from St. Louis from about mile 11 to the end. Quite a lot of maniacs and 50 staters there as well.

We ran through Churchill Downs which was pretty neat, saw quite a few horses out practicing on the track.

2012-04-01T21:50:00.001-04:00

I was amazed today as I ran the Athen's marathon, I had probably the easiest marathon of my life as far as how I felt. I ran about 10 minutes slower then last week (ORRRC marathon in Xenia, OH), and I felt much better then normal towards the end. I think it's because I ran the 1st part slower then normal and picked up more speed later. Also got to meet Larry Macon, if you don't know who he is Google him.

I also am not feeling near as much soreness this evening.

2012-01-17T11:36:00.000-05:00

Spring marathon schedule starting to lineup, definite marathons are Ohio River Road Runners club in Xenia, and Kentucky Derby in Louisville, KY. Also looking at Cleveland & Canton for May & June. Gonna try and get 12 in 12 months now.

Thanksgiving run

2011-11-24T16:51:00.001-05:00

Ran 6 miles this morning with friends, good way to start the day.

2011-11-16T13:06:00.001-05:00

I am officially a 1* Marathon Maniac #4493!

Chicago

2011-10-07T06:40:00.000-04:00

Leaving for Chicago marathon today! My largest marathon yet so far + a great city. Can't wait.

2011-08-14T06:26:00.001-04:00

Running the UltraFit Columbus Half Marathon this morning. Hope the rain goes away.

Two more marathons!

2011-07-29T20:26:00.000-04:00

Just added two more marathons to my schedule this winter - Running from an angel marathon in Lake Mead, NV for January and the Lost Dutchman marathon in Apache Junction, AZ for February. That will get me to a two star (silver) Marathon Maniac!

3rd fall marathon for 2011

2011-05-30T07:37:00.000-04:00

Signed up yesterday for the City of Manchester (NH) marathon in November, that will be my 3rd in 3 months and I will qualify for a 1 star marathon maniac.

My run - Terry Hitchcock story

2011-04-03T17:52:00.001-04:00

Watched this movie Thursday eve, what an inspiring story. If you haven't seen get a copy and watch it.

OC marathon

2011-03-25T08:05:00.000-04:00

Signed up for the OC marathon today, figured I'll be in LA that day anyhow, why not. If I would have thought of it earlier I would have preferred to run the Big Sur marathon in Carmel, CA - but it's sold out.

Lower Potomac River Marathon

2011-03-20T19:24:00.000-04:00

It was a beautiful weekend with temps that started out in the upper 30's, eventually making its way up to a sunny 60, perfect running weather (for me anyway).

We arrived at Lexington Park, MD early Saturday morning and spent the forenoon hiking 1-3/4 miles to a small beach that's known for fossils and sharks' teeth; it was a lot of fun and very relaxing. We checked into our hotel, and then picked up my race packet in the afternoon. After crashing for a couple hours, (we drove straight through on Friday night), I woke up with a splitting headache (not exactly a condition that makes you feel like running 26.2 miles).

The race: Sunday morning (after a good long nights sleep) I felt much better and ready to go. The race was pretty small with only 200 runners, which makes it the smallest marathon I've run so far (Hatfield-McCoy was around 350 with the half-marathon runners).

The 1st part of the course was pretty nice, it crossed over a bridge onto St. Georges Island which has the Potomac River on the west and the Chesapeake Bay on the left, so it was very scenic. The last half was pretty boring, just a run out and back along a state route with nothing much to look at. The good news was that I didn't have any cramps (I decided it must have been because of having dinner at Chipolte the night before!).

Spiderman won the marathon! A world record was set at this small marathon for the fastest marathon run by someone in a superhero costume, and it was set Michael Wardian, who it turns out is quite a runner, having won quite a number of marathons.

The race started and ended at the Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship, and after the race we had a nice, hot pasta meal, as well as hot showers awaiting us. This is one the best perks any marathon can have, especially when you have an 8-9 hour drive ahead of you to get home. We headed home and were back by 11:00 or so.

2011-03-13T21:44:00.001-04:00

10th state behind me (Maryland) and back in Ohio

Chicago

2011-02-27T18:06:00.000-05:00

Booked my hotel for Chicago today, luckily I had enough Starpoints to get two nights at the Four Points by Sheraton Downtown / Magnificent Mile for no $$$ (normally around $215 night), that's the kind of deal I like!

Warm weather

2011-02-23T22:02:00.000-05:00

Ran 20 miles Saturday - and for what seemed like the first time in ages, actually had sunshine the whole way and felt comfortably warm. Temps in the 50's were very welcome, although it was a bit on the windy side in spots.

Chicago

2011-02-17T22:34:00.000-05:00

Officially signed-up for Chicago - woo hoo. This will be my largest marathon yet & my 11th state.

Winter 2011

2011-01-29T12:14:00.001-05:00

I have managed to run at 3 days a week so far this year, no matter the weather. Last Sunday I did 20 miles which started sunny at about 15 degrees, which wasn't bad, but after the sun went down (I finished at 8:00 PM), it got a little cold, especially in the areas that were by water.

Still undecided about a spring marathon.

Flying Feather 4 miler - Turkey Trot

2010-11-28T17:30:00.000-05:00

So I wake up @ 3:30 on Thanksgiving morning to the sound of pounding rain and the temp is between 35 & 40 degrees. It would have felt good to turn over and sleep some more, but no, we get up and leave the house around 5:00 and head to Dublin.

The reward was, by race time the rain was just a sprinkle every now and again, but the temp was still a bit chilly, but I can take any temperature if it's not raining (I did get wet picking up our packets, unfortunately), and we both felt real good afterward.

The race was a blast (the largest short distance race I have ever run @ 3,500 runners), and it was Victoria's first race, so we took our time and ran a comfortable pace. We had a blast and of course it didn't hurt that we each got a bottle of wine for finishing.