Or, you must be from Oak-ah-noh-mow-wock.

Ran an (almost!) 10K in Tucson This Morning.

Ya know, I think that the Half Marathon has been the New 10K for a few years now. (kinda like 50 is the new 30??) Back in my early days of running (from about 1988 – 1994) 10K’s were as plentiful as fleas on a dog, you could run one, or even two! almost every weekend. Now, they seem scarcer than Hens Teeth, replaced, seemingly, by Half Marathons, which as you know you can actually cram four into fourteen days in some months in Southeastern Wisconsin. Those who are real runners can do it anyway.

But I digress. Anyway, 5K’s are one thing, 10K’s however I really don’t have a “Pace” for as who does them very much? Read More→

Or, if this is Tucson, your name must be “Steve”

Note to reader – consider this version of the Bob Newhart Drinking Game – except this time, every time the name “Steve” comes up, you have to take a drink….

Here goes –

The alarm went off at 3:06 am today, and after reluctantly getting up 10 minutes later, stumbling around, collecting running apparel, GPS and water bottle, I’m in the car and gone at 3:40 am headed for Old Tucson Studios. Destination of the “Run with the Roosters 5-miler” put on by my new Tucson Colleague Steve Landau’s “Everyone Runs” running event company, Read More→

From the Tucson Marathon Website:

Enjoy beautiful Tucson winter weather with temperatures at the start averaging in the high 30s and reaching 65-70 degrees Fahrenheit by 11 a.m. This is primarily a downhill marathon. with some hills around mile 2 and mile 10. Come run your FIRST MARATHON or your FASTEST MARATHON. You’ll drop almost 2,200 feet in elevation as you run on the mostly downhill, point-to-point course along the beautiful Santa Catalina mountain range. (There are some rolling hills and inclines between miles 2-9 and at mile 25).

The Old West historical town of Oracle marks the starting line. The course winds through the desert on paved roads and finishes at the Coronado Middle School, just off of E. Wilds Road. Our runners continue to tell us it’s one of the prettiest courses in the country and one of the easiest to run a personal best. Be sure to train your quadriceps as you’ll be running downhill!

It’s the Monday after and my legs are totally trashed, my quads screaming every time I get up out of my chair, or sit down anywhere. I’m hobbling up and down stairs, groaning at each step, and my outlook on life in general is bleak. I’ve managed to snap at several people today, gone into at least one tirade at Cayelin and as of now, I’m on my third beer and still not feeling my normal level of optimism. Read More→

Going NUTS at the Pecan Classic!

Having returned to Tucson from Wisconsin on Thanksgiving day, thus neatly avoiding any cooking responsibilities or overeating opportunities, it was time to gear up for the Tucson Winter Running Season. I did miss the annual Turkey Trot up the street in Reid Park, but oh well. I had closed down my Midwest running season with a Quad Series consisting of a back to back weekend of the Tyrenea Beer Run Half Marathon in Lake Mills, followed the next day by the Badgerland Striders 15K Turkey Trot predictor in Greenfield, where once again, I managed to avoid winning a turkey, or, for that matter being one. The next weekend with my constant Wisconsin Race companion’s Greg (Texas Greg) and Gregg (Attorney Gregg), joined by Carol and her husband John, we made a trek down to Columbia City, Indiana where we partook of the Inaugural Veterans Run. Greg and Gregg completed the half marathon in admirable shape, while Carol and I slogged out the full 26.2 on the sunny rural (and hilly and windy) Indiana roads. Or, as I chortled several times to anyone who would listen, it took two Gregs to run as far as one of me! Read More→

Rockin’ at the Rock and Roll – The PF Chang Rock and Roll Phoenix Marathon Report

all that noise, all that sound
all those places I got found
and birds go flying at the speed of sound
to show how it all began
birds came flying from the underground
if you could see it then you’d understand
– ColdPlay – Speed of Sound

Well, the Marathon just turned 45 for me. On Sunday, January 18th, I toed the line in Phoenix with several thousand other hardy souls to traverse the 26.2 mile, music-studded urban-Phoenician course. Fulsome thanks to brother Mark Gershman, who provided opulently decadent housing for the night before the race, incredible libations before and after, and outstanding tour guide and logistical services for my stay as well as non-stop scintillating conversation. Read More→

Back to the Desert – the Carondelet “Get Moving Tucson” 10-Mile Race Report

The sky is still as a spinning top,
shooting stars drop like burning words from above
If I could just connect all these dots,
the truth would tumble like a Cynic vexed by love
And yet the people keep sayingI’m miles from my home,
miles from my home…..

Cowboy Junkies “Miles from Our Home”

Speaking of Marathons……..

After a pretty outstanding summer tearing up the Southeastern Wisconsin Race Circuit, I left my home in Oconomowoc in the Toyota on Monday Morning, October 13 at 7:53 am SHARP and headed back to Tucson to our Winter Digs.

It was indeed time to put down the Miller Lite, extinguish the cigar, and get back to my partner Cayelin Castell and our life in the Desert. She’d been out there since early August, while I’d been having my fun on Lake Okauchee. Read More→

Rocking PortoPotties and Local Class – The Arizona Distance Classic Report

It doesn’t hurt me
Do you want to feel how it feels?
Do you want to know that it doesn’t hurt me?
Do you want to hear about the deal that I’m making?
You, it’s you and me.

And if I only could,
I’d make a deal with god,
And I’d get him to swap our places,
Be running up that road,
Be running up that hill,
With no problems.
Kate Bush, Running up that Hill

I did the Arizona Distance Classic Valley of Gold Half Marathon (A John Bingham Race) in Oro Valley on Sunday March 16, 2008

It almost seems like it takes longer to recite and type the title than it does to run the race. Read More→