My performance in (or to be honest, lack thereof) in the 2025 Grandma’s highlighted the importance of consistency in training and its specificity to the target distance. The DNF in Duluth was a blessing in disguise … stepping off the…
Since my last personal best attempt (2023 Grandma’s) and the last completed one (2023 Marquette), I hadn’t necessarily enjoyed the luxury and the privilege of a race day performance representative of my training and progress and more importantly, of all…
A review of my training journal leading up to and through the 2023 Marquette Marathon indicated that I had executed numerous aspects quite well. As is the case while pursuing anything that takes a lifetime of learning, it shed light…
Reflecting on the 2023 Grandma’s Marathon and discussing relevant portions of the training log with the family indicated some aspects I could retain and some others that needed a little tweaking to continue racing a marathon. Faith-ing in the fitness…
It’s rarely ever a good sign when a healthy streak has fewer YESs than NOs. With three DNFs – 2021 Marquette Marathon, 2021 Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon and 2022 Marquette Marathon – in four tries (and far worse when DNSs were taken…
The past 40-ish weeks (especially, the past 16) have been my most consistent training attempt yet. The journey included the usual bounty of help from the family of my friends and the healthcare system, and the hitherto unusual doing many…
When I completed the 2020 Sunday Lake Marathon in October, little did I know that I’d have to wait nearly a full year before getting another opportunity at the marathon distance. The 2021 Milwaukee Marathon I had been training towards from…
The previous training cycle – spanning about 26 weeks from late April through late October of 2020 – wasn’t my first time following a training plan. But it was my first time doing a good number of other things along…
After the 20-week training plan that culminated in the 2020 Holland Haven Marathon in mid-September, I had taken a week off before starting a 12-week training plan to continue working on my weaknesses. Maybe it was the cumulative fatigue of nearly…
Had 2020 unfolded as any of the most previous years, I would have run the Illinois Marathon (April) as my target race in Spring and continued to train towards Marquette Marathon (September) with a handful of road and trail running…
If not for the ongoing global pandemic, COVID-19, the Illinois Marathon would have happened on 25th April 2020 and the Grandma’s Marathon would be happening on 20th June 2020. Organizers of the Grandma’s Marathon had sent out the cancellation notice…
Like many aspiring marathoners, I had entered my name in the 2019 NYC Marathon Sweepstakes Application as well as the general lottery about 10 months ago. But the random numbers weren’t in my favor, on both occasions, for this World…
I was on track for a finish time in the neighborhood of 3:20-3:25 in 2019 Whitefish Point Marathon (Paradise, MI) and would have bested my then best time of 3:35:46. But a more rewarding opportunity had presented itself in the second…
I have known about this event for many years now (it, in 2011, was my buddy Nils‘ first marathon). Every time I drove to or through Duluth since getting into running, a part of me had fantasized about participating in…
The process of 2018 Chicago Marathon was a memorable experience on many fronts. It was my first time following a well-written training plan, sticking with a nutrition regimen, finding semblance of work-life balance and at the end of about 20…