Baytown Bud Heatwave Event Report

Its been a week since I got the opportunity to help produce the 24th annual Baytown Bud Heatwave with Robby Sabban and the Running Alliance Sport team, but really the first chance that I've had to really unwind and share the day.

I truly enjoy event production.  It's hard work, but it provides a completely different sense of accomplishment than even what running a good time does.  Very hard to explain.

It is about putting together many moving pieces to satisfy a large number of people who spend their discretionary income on something that they could walk outside of their place of residence and do.

Yet, that wasn't even the best part of the day.

The best, of course, was the time that I got to spend with my daughter, Waverly.  I know it sounds like a broken record, but it really, really is the case.

Dad set up her with the opportunity to sing twice and she didn't disappoint.  I had her start off the pre-race ceremonies with "God Bless America" in an effort to have everybody join in with her.  They didn't take the lead.

And then she did an excellent job with the National Anthem.

As always, I was -- and continue to be -- proud.  It will be the last time for awhile that she'll have the opportunity to sing the Anthem at a race as she heads off to Liberty University next month.

After getting a reprieve from Robby to leave the scene a little early, Waverly and I headed to Galveston with friends of ours to spend some time at their friend's beach house in Jamaica Beach.

I don't take the time to just "get away" and "do nothing" for awhile.  I did,  I needed it and I enjoyed it.

Waverly had the chance to meet some other young boys and girls around her age, jumped right in, went to the beach with them for awhile, rode a jet ski with a young man who is going to be a junior this year at Texas A&M and even did a little paddleboarding in the canal.

I got the chance to spend a good bit of time talking with a friend that was in visiting from Virginia and learned a lot more about them then I had previously known.  Was very glad that I made the decision to go.  :-)

As far as the race was concerned, I'd say we had a pretty good day.

I think the only snafu that we ran into was something that is always a challenge -- and that's getting shirts right.  Unless you can work with somebody that can print what you need a day or two before, you either guarantee 'x' number of people the right size -- and cut everybody else off -- or you try to order enough.

We went into race day with 678 names in the database for the timer, who was new for this race.  (Fastlane Services, who did a really nice job.)

And almost another 50 registered on the morning of the race, taking us to 726.

We had 669 official timed finishers, which is almost double the 352 timed finishers that we had two years ago -- the first year the race came back after a 10-plus year absence.

It is great to work with a team of individuals that simply knows what to do -- and do it well.

The Running Alliance Sport team is much like the Win Win Events team, which produces the new Texas 10 Series.  A group of professionals that have a good time putting on a quality event.

My job as a race announcer is to get everyone to the starting line on-time and keeping them informed (without getting into an overkill mode where people want to say to you, "Shut up!").

And then at the finish, it is to announce people's names as they approach and cross the finish line and then handle the awards ceremony.

We had a slight issue when our masters winners were in the top three and the timer's software couldn't parse those out of the overall and move the next fastest runner up out of the age groups.

Therefore we had a couple of revisions to finalize before I made my way over to handle the awards.

I think our post-race plan worked well to ensure that we got winners up on stage as quickly as possible and moving so those that wanted to leave could do so.

At the shorter Running Alliance Sport events, we recognize the most experienced runners first -- ladies first also, too.  (At La Porte and Seabrook, those runners tend to be out on the course longer and therefore, we go from youngest to the oldest.)

I felt like we presented and highlighted the RRCA state championship award winners particularly well.

One of our sponsors, Michelle Bitterly with Awards & Engraving in Baytown, who sponsored our awards, commented after it was over that it seemed to have flowed much more smoothly than it had the previous two years.  I simply chalked it up to good planning and execution all around.

This year, we had moved locations on the grounds of Wismer Distributing and the acoustics were much, much better and Anita with Other Brother did a really good job in having the sound nice and "hot" for me.  I was really pleased with how I sounded.  (Yes, it matters to me.  While I like to fly under the radar, even with that, I still take pride in how I come off.)

Yet there was one situation on the day that I probably didn't come off well with one person.

And if that person reads this (which I doubt that they check out anything of mine on Facebook or even know that this blog exists) - or someone close to them does, I apologize.

I hate feeling like I'm being mean, but I was guilty of being a little burned up that the individual couldn't acknowledge an e-mail sent to them in late May.

It was a near repeat of a situation that took place two years earlier -- to the day -- in conjunction with that event.

It was more that I shut down all opportunities of communicating with the individual when I had taken the opportunity to do so in the limited times that I had come in contact with them previously.

It wasn't my finest moment of the day, but I'm human too.

As a result of working with the new timer, I was asked two days after the event how much I charged to do what I do.  I submitted a price for them to carry to an event producer that they are working with for early September.  All good stuff.

Nice that people are able to see what you're capable of doing -- even the first time they see you work.  That's very, very flattering.

The big challenge now is to work towards our goals of 2,000 for each of the three Texas Bridge Series races -- one each in September, October and November.  We're tracking way ahead right now on all three, but there's still a lot of work to get done.

Our first price increase is coming at the end of July.  Three races -- two 10K's and a half marathon -- with four medals for $130 is a pretty good deal.

And I've seen the mockups of the medals ... they're really, really nice!

If you're a bling person, you want to run these races!

Texas Endurance Sports Hour Update

As I mentioned in late April, I am aiming to start a weekly Internet radio program, geared towards running and triathlons, called the “Texas Endurance Sports Hour”.

The original plan was to host it on a Sunday afternoon at an area running or triathlon specialty store around the greater Houston area – and to start it in May.

I wanted to leverage Memorial Hermann Ironman Texas to get the program started and had discussed with Fleet Feet Sports store manager Mick Long to be able to do the first three programs from there.

However, I didn’t want interruptions in the summer time for two reasons – 1.) I wanted to be completely available to Waverly even though she was going to be gone two weeks to Africa and this week to youth church camp and 2.) I would be taking two weeks of vacation, including at least three Sundays.

My good friend Dan Morgan with LCSCN.com will produce the program and it will air over the Texas Sports Radio Network.  It looks as if now that it will air on Tuesday evenings live from Katch 22 Houston restaurant in the Heights and will follow the Lone Star Christian Sports Network’s “Chalk Talk Live”.

I’m looking for a few sponsors for the months of September, October and November.

It doesn’t take a ton of money to do this; however, I do need to make sure that I cover Dan’s time and then, if the listenership goes to where I think it can, get ad monies to be able to invest in my own broadcast equipment.

And then the plan is to take the program on the road and do special programming.

If you have a running or triathlon-related business, produce races or have some other entity that would benefit from being associated with me and such a program, please let me know.

I hope that this is something that everyone in the running and multisports community would be interested in having.

Upcoming Races - July

Just firmed up five more events for the next two weeks:

Sunday, July 7 -- The Woodlands Running Club Sunday Night 5K (The Woodlands, TX) - Free
Friday, July 12 -- 2nd annual Sealy Fire Department 5 Alarm 5K (Sealy, TX)
Saturday, July 13 -- Vern's No Frills 5K (Georgetown, TX) - $1
Saturday, July 20 -- 35th annual Lunar Rendezvous Run 5K (Clear Lake, TX)
Sunday, July 21 -- Presque Isle Half Marathon (Erie, PA)

Georgetown will be a new Texas city.  Sealy will not.  Ran this race last year.  Have also run the Presque Isle Half Marathon before.

May squeeze two more in here.  If so, they would be on Sunday, July 14 and Saturday, July 27 (in New York).

Freedom 5K (Nacogdoches) Race Report

Another brick in the road to racing in 100 different Texas cities and towns was set today with a finish at the 2nd annual Freedom 5K in Nacogdoches.

The race gave me an opportunity to see a good friend of mine, Edwin Quarles, of Lufkin, who is the athletic director at Pineywoods Community Academy – a college preparatory charter school.

It was also the second time this year that I’ve run a race in his neighborhood after running the New Year’s Resolution 5K on my birthday in Diboll.

This event was the second one that I’ve run which was produced by TTR Timing Services – a small outfit that includes Nacogdoches’ Gerardo Moreno, 28, who just finished the Western States 100 Endurance Run in 25:51:42 a couple of weeks ago.

Since these guys are coaches, or at least Gerardo is, I’m gathering that the course was accurate.

And if I doubted it, there’s absolutely no way that I could remember what streets we turned on in Nacogdoches to go back and try and map it.

And if it was accurate, then my time – 30:17.71 – was OK.  (The gun time was 30:26, but it took me eight seconds to cross the start line.)

The race started and finished at Thomas J. Rusk Elementary School, but on the grounds was also what is known as the Old University Building.  A description on the Stephen F. Austin State University included the following:  “Located in the middle of Washington Square and now surrounded by the elementary school, the Old University Building was designed by John Cato and built in 1859. Called a university not because the original school offered higher education but because it offered study in a range of subjects, the building has served many roles in its lifetime. Besides a school, it has been used by Confederate troops, Union troops, the Catholic Church, the Masonic Order, and was a temporary home for Stephen F. Austin State University. It now operates as a museum.”

It wasn’t particularly a hilly course, but the first half mile I’d say included a nice decline for the 80 finishers.  Some of it was made up close to the finish as part of that last half mile was retraced.

Nor was it especially hot and humid.  The temperature, according to weatherunderground.com, was between 73 and 75 degrees.

I ended up being 49th of 80 runners while Edwin was 15th overall in a time of 22:50 -- not bad for coming off an ankle injury that had slowed his training the last week.

All in all, a nice little event that was supportive of all types of runners and walkers.  A couple of intersections there were even police officers to slow a very, very light traffic morning near the center of Nacogdoches.

The only negative was that there were no mile markers

The winners – Adam Saloom and the former Megan Jenkins, a pair of former track and cross country stars at SFA – each went home with a previously unannounced prize of $100, which also included breaking the course records.

And it was the fourth Saturday in five that I had driven to run a race two hours or more from my house in Spring.  Good stuff!

Always Somebody to See: Race to Read 5K Event Report

Anymore I almost expect it.

That is, regardless of where I'm running a race, I'll see somebody I know.

Really, it isn't the most far-fetched thing.

The very first marathon I did was the 2004 Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C., and in the middle of a sea of 20,000 people waiting for the start was Ray Alexander and Hans Jaeger from Tomball and Conroe, respectively, of the Seven Hills Running Club.

Two summers later, I'm standing in a field of grass in Sequim, Washington - getting ready to do the North Olympic Discovery Half Marathon -- and all of a sudden I hear, "Jon Walk, what are you doing here?"

It was my very good friend, Becky Spaulding, who I met two years before while doing HARRA's Power In Motion program at Memorial Park.

I kind of wondered doing this morning's 5K in Harker Heights -- the Race to Read 5K from the Harker Heights Community Park -- who I was going to see that I knew.

However, I really didn't give it a serious thought.  Fleeting, for sure.

Nonetheless, I saw Calvert's Dennis Alston who has been at the last two 5K's that I've done -- the Kosse Greyhound 5K and the Polish Pickle Run 5K in Bremond last Saturday.

Dennis asked where Ken Johnson from the Seven Hills Running Club was.  It was just a tad bit far for Ken to run a 5K.

Me?  I got more out of it than just to run a 5K.  I came over on Friday and watched the New Orleans Zephyrs do battle with the Round Rock Express in Pacific Coast League (PCL) action.  I figured since I'm going to be seeing a bunch of ballparks this summer that I might as well get my game watching endurance up.

When you buy a single ticket, you can pretty much get a really good seat and that was certainly the case Friday night.  Right at the end of the visitor's dugout on the first base side and on the third row.  Great place to watch a game from and take pictures.

When I got to the hotel, I did the final 4-1-1 on this morning's race.  One good thing is that it was a 7 a.m. start.  Perfect with the heat this weekend.

But on their paper registration form, it said that they weren't going to take any more entries after 6 a.m.  Seemed kind of strange for a small race, but lo and behold I was in the parking lot -- first -- at 5:50 a.m.

And there was a kind, friendly volunteer to take my money and entry.

An outfit out of Belton, Pro-Fit Event Services, was doing the timing (and they did a really good job), but they used the IPICO timing device that affixes to the back of the bib (which didn't have holes to run the pins through).

However, everything worked out OK.  The bib never came off.

On-time start, which is always good, and a very well-marked course although it didn't have mile markers.

Lots of inclines and just one short quick hill (which was in the first mile), but it was enough that you didn't feel that you had enough declines to make up for what you lost on the inclines.

My time was where I wanted it to be as I move more closely to my normal workout pattern and my new effort to cut sodas - diet and the leaded variety -- out of my diet.

However, Dennis said that the course was long -- 3.17 miles.  If so, that would put my time close to what it was last Saturday in Bremond, including the inclines.

I can live with that.

A race in Texas city or town #82 is in the books.  My next new town looks for sure to be Nacogdoches on Saturday, July 6 when I go run the Freedom 5K and check in on my good friend Edwin Quarles.

Already looking forward to it -- and announcing the Fourth of July's 24th annual Baytown Bud Heat Wave.

Always good to get behind the microphone.

Thanks for reading!

Bremond's Polish Pickle 5K Event Report

Some people are driven to drink.  Me?  I’m driven to write, at times.  Besides, I get no stronger than a Mountain Dew.

Writing is how I work out life’s problems and issues.  Sometimes, though, what comes out isn’t what people may be accustomed in hearing from me.  I think a lot of people may believe that because some of the leadership roles that I play in various communities – and how well I handle and perform them -- that I don’t have any struggles.  Yet I do.

Running.  It’s very much a part of my life yet it isn’t my whole life, if that makes sense.  For those who I see that it appears to be, I tend to shy more away from them (but I readily admit that I have no knowledge of what’s going on in their world and if they may be using the sport and/or activity to battle against the things they’re dealing with). 

And sometimes it can be a challenge when they won’t let you into their world, even while they seek entry into yours.

Yet I was reminded this morning from a friend in the athletic community (and their Facebook feed of the Bible app), “Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions.” ~ Proverbs 18:2.

I would love to understand; however, I also choose to give people their space and not to push the envelope either.

That being said, I can see how people may think running is the end-all, be-all for me from the number of events that I’m either involved in or appear at.  However, it is just an activity that simply occupies my time – short of some other things that I might wish would take me away from it more.

And while there are people and situations who have and do push me away from it all, at times, a race like the Polish Pickle 5K – and the people that were at it – is what keeps me pressing on.

From a running perspective, I struggle in the early-to-late spring because of the work that I’m doing with a lot of events (The Woodlands, Gusher, Seabrook and so on).  I don’t get a requisite five to six 60- to 90-minute workouts in per week and I lose a lot.  I use a lot of summertime 5Ks and 10Ks to help me reposition myself for the fall with the Chevron Houston Marathon always being a focus of trying to run as well as I can.

Yesterday, though, was one that reminded me of how much my daughter and I are respected and generally well-liked by many.  Most can say both, but everybody else can claim one quality or the other.  Well, for Waverly, they always like and respect her – even if she’s only 18.  (But, as her father, I win there too, in a sense.)

I was asked, if not once, a dozen times where Waverly was.  That, of course, made me smile and proud at the same time.  (She was recovering from her trip to Kenya and Tanzania.)

I’ve said many times:  I’m not the type that is the life of the party.  Never have been.  Never will be.  But there are those that know that if you’re truly a friend or somebody that I might like to have as a friend, I’ll do something – or make a solid effort - that honors and respects that.

The last time that I ran the Polish Pickle 5K was a perfect example of that.  It had been six years since I had last run the race and, quite honestly, that’s been a little too long.  (The community and race director Ken Yanowski do a great job and yesterday was a record-setting day for the race.)  When I did, Waverly and I made the drive as a stop on the way to Lubbock to watch our good friend, Kimberly Mac Namee (then Hager), compete in the Ironman 70.3 at Buffalo Springs Lake the following day.

We surprised Kim because she was the type of individual that didn’t want to take attention away from the athletes that she coached – then as part of Team Strive.

Two weeks before, I had made a nearly identical drive to Kosse to run the Greyhound 5K.  It was a race in my 81^st Texas city or town. 

I always joke that for those of us that aren’t as fast as the others, we have to have different goals.  Seriously, though, it is about having a good time and experiencing life in a unique way.

I’m sure if more people knew, they’d ask:  “You mean you drove two hours to run a 5K and then, once you got there, you didn’t race it?”

Indeed.  Once I could tell that I wasn’t “in it”, so to speak, I decided to run the entire race with Ken Johnson of the Seven Hills Running Club.  I hadn’t done this with Ken since a Run The Woodlands 5K or a TWRC Sunday Night 5K – and I enjoyed it and was glad that I did.

Ken was in Bremond on Saturday, as was a great group of members from the Seven Hills Running Club that I have started to reconnect with.

I believe that it was his 18^th consecutive time to run the Polish Pickle 5K. 

Over the years, I’ve learned that training groups, clubs, etc. can seem to be cliquish – and maybe I’m the only one that ever feels that way (and it is more me - which could very well be).  That I really dislike, though, and it inevitably drives me away. 

I enjoy investing time and energy in people who don’t seem to allow themselves to fall into that space – or let the group they belong to consume who they are as an individual.

There were a number of folks that I had the opportunity to meet during the Memorial Day 5K that Ken hosted from his house in the Timberwilde subdivision of Huntsville.

One of those was Laura Green, who paced off of me at the Memorial Day 5K to beat me by four seconds.

When I saw her and her husband, Glenn, I told her, “Hey, no drafting off me today!”

The beating – from her - was 14 seconds this Saturday, even though I was ahead until the turnaround.

Steve Bickford, who came down and ran all of the Texas Bridge Series races last year and is the club vice president, is always a pleasure to visit with and talk to.

And during the race, president Darren Grant, who gassed me out to a 9:0-something first mile at the Memorial Day 5K while chatting for four or five minutes, came up in the last mile and ran a little with me – as he had with many other club members.

Today was a 9:18 and Darren was nowhere to be found! 

I later learned that he started at the very end and used it as a way to keep himself from going out too fast.  Probably something I need to do the rest of the summer, but I think I have challenges with weaving around walkers and strollers.  We’ll see.  I’ll take it under advisement.

A good group from Houston – as there always is – made the trek north and took home their fair share of pickles!  The Polish Pickle 5K, for years, has been a road trip race for the Tornados Running Club and that was partly the case this Saturday.

Yet, a Terlinguan and BARCer is one that I’ve seen and connected with at races most of the time that I’ve been running – Ben Harvie.  He actually remembered being at the Polish Pickle Run when Waverly and I were last year (and oddly enough on Saturday I remembered coming up behind him in Austin – on the way back to our vehicles – after more than one race.)

Ben easily took home the top prize in the 65-69 division while Joe Oveido (35-39), Tuan Nguyen (50-54), Penn State alum Ed Fry (55-59) and Miguel Lopez (60-64) all won their age groups.  Catherine Kruppa, who spoke for us at The Woodlands Marathon Expo, won the women’s overall while John Yoder took the men’s masters title.

After the race, Catherine said, “Hello”, while I was talking a little bit with Ed and I told her that I needed for her to take off her sunglasses for me to recognize her!

Joining John in the winner’s circle – by grabbing the men’s veterans title - was Georgetown (or near-Austin) native Bill Schroeder, who I haven’t seen in quite some time.  Bill was a Houston Striders member at the same time I was and he and his wife, Mindy, were at the race.  They both also worked the aid station at the far end of the Texas Marathon course in Kingwood on New Year’s Day.  (I last ran it in 2009, but have “worked it” every year since.)

Likewise, there was a good group from The Woodlands, as there always seems to be.

Representing The Woodlands Running Club was Russell Meyer, Carlos Ortegon, Ann Leoni, Randy Bradley, Kristin Collins, Kathleen Eaton, Jennifer Perkins and Suz White.

Actually, I don’t think I have really met Suz formally, but she knew who I was.  I was greeted with the fact that I was “the voice”.  I said, “No, that’s really a 16-year-old from Cypress!”

Flattering?  Sure.

Russell won the Clydesdale division, beating the race director Ken Yanowski (and long-time division winner), but the biggest winner was Randy Bradley who won the $500 raffle!  Wow!  Ann was second in her age group while Kristin was third in hers.

Winning their age group in a personal best time was the daughter of a very good friend of mine, Holden Choi.  Allison, 18, a recent graduate of College Park High School, easily took her division in 20:27.  She’s been working with Bill Dwyer’s runners in an effort to position herself for a tryout for the University of North Texas cross country team.

Others who placed in their age group, included JC Guzman and Jose Torres of the Seven Hills Running Club.  JC won his 40-44 division in 19:39 while Jose was second in the 20-24 age group in 19:41.  Jose was the winner of the inaugural Texas10 Huntsville.

Ken was third in the 70-74 age group while it was good to see Jerry Flanagan at yet another 5K since having hip replacement surgery.

Also making the drive north – as I saw them at the Chisholm Trail Half Marathon in Crawford back in April – was Monica Montoya and Keith Cotropia.  It wasn’t until the last year or so that I actually knew who Keith was, even though I’ve been seeing his name in the results for years.  Monica came from behind and passed me after we turned on to Main Street.

Since a really good mid-April Saturday effort in Pennsylvania (in the cold weather), my 5K times haven’t been something to write about, but yesterday’s time was actually the best it has been since then.

And a special shout-out to Run Houston Timing's Jack McClintic for letting me stash my keys and my camera at his table while the race was going on.

Much work to do there, of course, and with me personally.

Original, Unedited (and Edited) Richard Tramm Story

Spring, Texas’ Richard Tramm doesn’t have the 147,103 followers on Twitter that two-time Ironman champion Chris McCormack has.

But the 50 or so that were following on Friday, November 9 quietly witnessed Tramm draw a line in the virtual sand.

“Ironman Texas 2013 goes off in 190 days and I plan to be there and ready to go on race day,” tweeted the happily married father of two grown daughters.

Not much of a reach from the Ironman athlete who reduced his time the most – by almost three hours (from 16:35:49 to 13:41:06) -- of the 243 who completed the first two Memorial Hermann Ironman Texas.

Quite another thing being just two weeks removed from a four-day ICU stay – the result of being hit from behind on a training ride by a vehicle’s side mirror.

The half Iron distance race that was two weeks away – with hopes of a fifth straight PR -- was dashed by at least five broken ribs (with many more bruised), a clavicle with four breaks which required surgery and a broken scapula.

Any self-pity, though, was left in the ditch where Tramm was found broken and battered, said his training partner, Karen Felicidario.

“I knew that the Oilman race was out, and I feared that perhaps all racing could be,” said Felicidario, the 100-mile trail finisher who will be attempting her first Ironman on Saturday.  “But as I visited Richard in the hospital, I could not help but notice the positive and encouraging outlook he has for his fellow teammates and others he was now imparting on himself.”

One which was cultivated from a journey which saw Tramm beginning to transform himself near the end of 2006 after a failed promise to get healthier after turning 40 the preceding Christmas.

“I had my annual checkup with my doctor,” he said.  “I kind of got that standard talk, ‘You’re over weight …’  He considered me pre-diabetic and went through some of the things I could expect if I developed diabetes as a result.”

Although Tramm recalls that he’s not certain, for quite some time, where his weight was, the number 290 wasn’t just the name of the highway to Austin.

“It helped me realize that it wasn’t the direction I wanted if I wanted to be around to see my daughters and one day their children grow up,” he added.

Yet over the next two years, he diligently progressed from the local 5Ks and 10Ks and beyond the half marathon culminating in the 30K in December 2008 where he ran the last 10K of the race with Heather Herrick.

Sporting the shirt of a triathlon Tramm had hoped to do one day, the Austin native sprouted the triathlon seed that Tammie Manchester, a fellow runner and triathlete from The Woodlands, had planted earlier that summer.

“I was running the weekly long run with The Woodlands Running Club and every now and then I would hear a story from someone,” Tramm said.  “Until then, I didn’t even know the concept of competitive triathlon even existed.

“I knew that Tammie had done it.  She was the first person that gave me any serious encouragement.”

In a year’s time, that support would buoy him from the community CB&I sprint triathlon, which starts in the same waters as Saturday’s Ironman Texas, through two half Ironman finishes (Ironman 70.3 Austin and Ironman 70.3 Texas).

With Galveston’s much flatter bike course and just over five months to prepare, Tramm believed that he had more than a six-minute improvement (from 7:58:38 to 7:52:07) in the tank.

“I knew that I could do better, but I didn’t quite know how to get there,” he said.

An Ironman was a logical thought progression and with one in Tramm’s back yard to be announced any day soon, he began contacting a number of groups and coaches.

He settled on The Woodlands’ Michelle LeBlanc, the founder of OutRival Racing, the official coach of Memorial Hermann Ironman Texas.

“I just felt like she was the right match,” he said.  “We talked for about an hour and I felt like she was the person that could get me to where I could realize my greatest personal potential.”

Tramm’s numbers on his initial athlete questionnaire might not have foretold that potential, LeBlanc acknowledged, but he quickly began to realize it.

“As an athlete, I learned long ago that sport isn’t about winning or losing,” she said.  “It’s about giving your best effort and being content with where that puts you in relation to others.  Richard was an example to me to transcend that belief into my coaching.”

Improvement is about making the right adjustments – for both the athlete and the coach.

“I enjoy working with athletes who give their best regardless of their times and finishing places,” she added.  “And Richard has turned out to be one of my most improved and one of the hardest, most disciplined (triathletes) that I’ve worked with.”

Tramm’s enthusiasm for triathlon has not only guided him through two Ironman finishes and a recovery from injury that has been nothing short of remarkable, but he started last year’s Ironman Texas at 175 pounds – just less than 40 percent of his weight when he started late in 2006.

“I was a little dubious as good as an athlete as Michelle was and is, but I’ve not regretted that decision to this day,” he said.  “If I had not gotten with her, I don’t think I would have gotten the improvement out of my training that I have now.”

And it was that fitness gained that he was fearful he would lose, leading him to closely confide in the orthopedic surgeon at Memorial Hermann The Woodlands during his second day in the hospital.

“He wasn’t sure that it was going to be possible,” Tramm said.  “He said if I recover well, and do what it takes to heal, recover and restore body, there’s no reason that it isn’t a possibility.  That became my driving motivation.”

Although cleared to begin full training in mid-February – a month later than in his previous two Ironman Texas, the 47-year-old finished Ironman 70.3 Texas in Galveston in early April in 6:13:04 – short of his pre-injury PR, but another brick in his long road of perseverance and tenacity.

“For the first time in a long time, I’m not coming into a race with any pre-conceived notions of what my pace will be or what my time goals are,” Tramm explained saying that his training has included more base work and less intensity with a goal to complete the distance.

“Because of my recovery, I’m not sure how my body is going to respond.  I’m going to follow a very basic race plan, according to my heart rate, and a solid nutrition plan.”

And when the gun goes off Saturday morning at Northshore Park, he says he’s “100% committed to completing that course on that day and at this point, it doesn’t matter what I’ve been through.  It will be to go – and finish.”

CB&I Event and Post-Event Report

I've been deficient in blogging recently, but had a little time after taking Waverly to church early for choir practice (and before I make it there for the 10:30 a.m. service).  Her Mom had to go get her from work yesterday because she didn't feel comfortable enough to drive home.

Therefore, I have some time to attempt to properly articulate much that occurred yesterday, Saturday, May 4.

More than a month ago, I reached out to Angel Nicks and Kelly Deitrich with the Parks and Recreation Department of The Woodlands Township to see if they needed me to finish line announce - as I have in the past - both the Muddy Trails 5K and 10K in early April and the 10th anniversary CB&I TRI sprint triathlon, which was yesterday.

Last year, I had announced Muddy Trails, but when I received the participant list for CB&I to begin preparation there were a few individuals in the field that I didn't feel as if I could have announced their finish as enthusiastically as everyone else.

Therefore, I walked away from something that I loved doing, plus being in the company of many people who I enjoy.

I didn't feel like I could be a hypocrite - and be Mr. Cheerful - when they were party to a vile and false accusation that one person in the community had leveled against me.

A lot of water under the bridge since then, though, and a lot of personal growth (especially when I would have to unexpectedly face it on Saturday.)

I had worked with the timer, Cadence Sports, at Muddy Trails and was working with them two weeks before to figure out a way to give the Montgomery County groups as much love as possible.

Leading up to the race, I e-mailed all of the groups to get a list of their club or training group's participants so I could get that inputted into the timer's database, but only one responded with their entire roster (OutRival Racing) and another with their first-timers (Finish Strong).

As with any other time, I did my best to give all of the groups as much love as possible - even when they didn't wear their club's racing kit.

Angel had e-mailed me on Thursday to indicate that their normal pre-race and swim-start announcer was only going to be able to stay until 9:30 a.m. and asked if I would be able to vacate the finish line and handle the awards ceremony.  I told Angel that I would do whatever was needed.

I was up at 3:30 a.m., out the door at about 4:05 a.m., got breakfast on the way and was parked and walked over to the race site by approximately 4:45 a.m.

Immediately, the effect of the Boston Marathon bombings were evident as there were at least four police dogs that had been engaged by various agencies.  When I race announce, I usually am all over the grounds in my way to network with people - picking up bits of information that I may use - and to actually relax.  I don't know that I ever get nervous.  I'm just more concerned about doing my job as well as possible.

A little after five, and after visiting a little with Kelly, Finish Strong Coaching's Dana Lyons (who was managing transition) and super volunteer and runner Barry Blanton, who's the face of the Montgomery County Light the Night Walk, I walked toward the finish line, which hadn't even been erected by the team from Luke's Locker.

As I did, with a camera bag over my left shoulder, one of four officers - two, of which were those with dogs - asked me where I was headed.  I told him that I was the race announcer (I had a sponsor badge on) and he said, "Ok", but I soon realized what it might have looked like.  Wow.  How things have changed in such a short time.

Hugh Frazier, who announces the USA Fit Marathon in Sugar Land, had been engaged to spell me at the finish line.  He had arrived during the 5 a.m. hour and as the 6 a.m. mark approached, I reazlied that we weren't hearing any pre-race announcements plus I didn't see Steve Curry from Skygod Productions yet.

As I'm still writing this report on Tuesday, I realized earlier this afternoon that I didn't read her e-mail completely and that Michael Garfield wasn't going to make it at all -- and it would be all on me!

We figured it out on race morning nonetheless.  And thanks to Hugh having the waves printed - as well as some sponsor information, we were able to navigate through two 15-minute delays, the race director and USAT official briefings and an incredible invocation (Pastor Frankie Mazzapica of Celebration Church of the Woodlands) and National Anthem (by The Woodlands High School sophomore Andrea Zhobar).

After making it through about eight of the swim waves, Hugh took over the last four to five while I vacated to the finish line (which is what I love the most at this event).

Steve was just getting everything setup as the first elite runners hit the run course.

His sound was awesome this year as my best friend Bill Dwyer said that he could hear me - not clearly - on the run course in East Shore (in The Woodlands).

Again, at a certain point, I vacated the finish line (where Hugh took over) and made my way to the awards area to handle these.  I worked with Angel and Cadence to make sure that everything was in order.

Triny Aguirre won overall female, but her time didn't read.  I was able to validate one of the individuals in front of her, but that they were in a different age group.  Once that was determined, as well as confirming that Geri Henry had finished (she was the only 65-69 female), we were ready to go.

I really don't think anything of getting in front of a crowd and speaking -- and being relevant.

I introduced Bruce Tough, the Chairman of the Board of the Board of the Directors of The Woodlands Township and he presented the fine folks from CB&I with an impressive crystal piece of work for their 10-year sponsorship of the event.  The only mistake that I made was that I meant to introduce those athletes who had competed every year early in the ceremony to gave them maximum face time in front of all of those waiting for the awards.  (I apologized to them later - when I remembered.)

It went well.  I was pleased with the effort.

I usually make a note about who I saw during an event and talked to.  Ha!  I had great conversations and interactions with many, many people.  Some that stood out included Karen Ponette-Maldonado, Richard Tramm, Scott Farrand, Chris White and Greg Colvin.

About the comment earlier having to deal with something from last year?

At about 6 a.m., when I went over to transition to try to get in touch with Dana to make an announcement or two about transition, I turned to my left - no more than 11 a.m. on the clock, so to speak - and the person that claimed to have filed a police report on me the Monday after Thanksgiving 2011 with the MCSO was standing within five (5) feet of me.

What was claimed to have been filed was absolutely untrue and I was never, ever contacted by anyone over it.  Later in the morning (coming from the finish line to the award stage -and- coming from the restroom - in front of a row of sponsor tents - back to the stage), I - and completely inadvertently - would pass within the same distance of that person twice.

Honestly, I went about my business as if they didn't exist.  Tough to say that about somebody who you once considered a friend.

Speaking of friends, however, Bill told me that Volte was having a double secret surprise social at Goose's Acre that evening for J.C. Morrell (and his wife's) baby show and Juliee Sparks' birthday.

I stopped in to visit Mick Long and Rick Cook at Fleet Feet Sports in Shenandoah (to let Mick know that I wasn't going to debut my Internet radio show - the Texas Endurance Sports Hour - as planned last Sunday) and then made it home to get a couple of hours sleep.

I was hoping Waverly could have gone with me, but she had come home from work sick.  It was her next to last day of work (at her part-time job at a dress shop).

Even though CB&I was pretty spectacular, I think the evening was just as good - in many, many ways.

I had shared with a couple of what it felt like to have to back out of something because you didn't know if people were talking about you in the background - and one half of the duo explained that they understood from some personal experiences they had lived through.

A lot of times, especially in the last two months, I have shied away from a lot of formal and informal group functions because a lot of times I don't feel like I fit in (and I worked a lot of races, too, during that time as well).

Otherwise, I talked with a few in the group a little longer than I have in the past - and maybe some additional opportunities will present themselves in the future.

As they say, only time will tell, right?

Couple of Announcing Misses

Couple of recent shout out's to Run In Texas race director Bill Gardner and American Diabetes Association logistics director Danny Gutman for reaching out in the last week or two with potential announcing assignments.

Bill asked me if I could announce his South Padre Island Sand Crab 5K and 10K Nighttime Beach Run this Saturday.

Unfortunately, I'll be returning from Chicago Saturday night after running the Christie Clinic Illinois Marathon earlier that morning.

Additionally, Gutman inquired about my availability on Saturday, September 21 for their Tour De Cure:  Houston Tour De Cure bike ride, but I'm very heavily involved in working all Running Alliance Sport events (including that day's Toughest 10K Kemah).

Have no fear, though, as I'll be announcing Bill's El Chupacabra de Houston 5K and 10K in New Caney next month (after debuting with his event production company last August at the Sand Crab 5K and 10K on Porretto Beach in Galveston.)

Hope to see you at one of these events!

61 HARRA Members Ready to Run 117th Boston Marathon

Abelino Jeronimo, 53, TOR, Houston
Adam Miller, 35, Houston
Allen Wu, 64, FBF, Sugar Land
Avi Moss, 50, Houston
Becky Nesbitt, 43, FLS, Hempstead
Ben Sopchak, 57, IFR, Houston
Bernie Tretta, KW, Houston* (Guiding a blind athlete)
Beverly Handy, 54, BCRR, Houston
Candice Green, 38, KW, Sugar Land
Carlos DeSousa, 35, HS, Houston
Carmen Busceme, 36, Houston

Catherine Kruppa, 39, Houston
Chris Stelzer, 40, Houston
Claudio Rodriguez, 34, KW, Houston
Courtney Fleetwood, 34, FLS, Brenham
David Nemoto, 49, BCRR, Houston
Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger, 37, BARC, Seabrook
Erik Dill, 33, BARC, Houston
Gordon Christie, 43, HS, Katy
Guy Burdett, 47, KW, Houston
Jacob Tonge, 50, BCRR, Houston

James McInerny, 55, KW, Houston
Jan Broyles, 51, FLS, Sugar Land
Jeff Eisele, 43, BCRR, Houston
Jenn Sabin, 42, Houston
Jesman Devia, 38, BARC, Houston
Jessica Menendez, 37, TWRC, The Woodlands
Jesus Sifuentes, 28, Katy
Jet George, 45, RH, Houston
John Mannion, 41, TOR, Sugar Land
John Moyer, 56, BARC, Friendswood

John Norris, 65, KW, Houston
Juka Smits, 46, HS, Houston
Julio Salazar, 47, BARC, Friendswood
Kevin Smith, 53, HS, Houston
Kim Tran, 47, HMSA, Sugar Land
Larry Lindeen, 72, BCRR, Houston
Laura Bennett, 45, BARC, Houston
Lauren Wilder, 33, BCRR, Houston
Leanna Dolson, 25, Houston
Lenord Burns, 66, TTC, Angleton

Lisa Thompson, 45, BCRR, Houston
Loris Fusi Goldberg, 43, BCRR, Houston
Lynn Malloy, 52, HS, Katy
Madelyn Herman, 57, KW, Houston
Michael Tognarelli, 41, HH, Houston
Miriam Terc, 54, HS, Katy
Monica Pearson, 29, BARC, Houston
Natalie Seel, 35, BCRR, Houston
Nora Wilson, 56, TWRC, The Woodlands
Robert Hoekman, 71, TTC, Houston

Robert Latimore, 48, BARC, Houston
Ryan Gill, 30, Houston
Scott Wheeler, 43, Dallas
Stephen Smith, 60, TWRC, The Woodlands
Steve Morrell, 49, HS, Houston
Steve Schroeder, 47, HS, Sugar Land
Stewart Crouch, 51, HS, Angleton
Susan Davis, 58, BCRR, Houston
Thomas Hebert, 60, HMSA, Houston
Zachary Cater-Cyker, 28, Houston

Zhao(Annnabel) Yu(Dixon), 46, BARC, Webster

Chisholm Trail Half Marathon Race Report

When I started running and signing up for races, I used other races as built-in training and to keep me motivated.  Almost 10 years later, nothing's changed.

I have the Illinois Marathon on the dance card in four weeks.

So I thought it might be a good idea to put a few half marathons on the schedule in between.

Today was the first of two that I have paid for.  

It was the Chisholm Trail Half and Quarter Marathon, which was hosted by the Waco Striders Running Club from Tonkawa Park in Crawford.  (Crawford, about 15 or so miles northwest of Waco, is probably best known for being the residence of former President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura.)

I got into Waco Friday evening early enough to pick my packet up at On The Run, which is located in downtown, and stayed at the Homewood Suites near Hillcrest Hospital at I-35 and Hwy. 6.

The race was an 8 a.m. start.  Therefore, I was up at 6 a.m., grabbed a danish and a bagel at 7 a.m., drove out to about 8 miles from Crawford, picked up some fluids and then went on to the race site.

Still had plenty of time, though, and visited a little bit with Monica Montoya and Keith Cotropia from League City - frequent supporters of all of Robby Sabban's race.

We were off on-time and it took about 17 seconds to clear the start line.  The weather was cool and breezy, but it was only about 61-62 degrees.  (It would be at around 72-74 at the end of the half marathon.)

Wished for a little while that I had brought and put on a long-sleeved technical top, but later on it would warm up.

We took a left out of the park on 4th St. and made a right on to Chisholm Trail Rd., hence the name of the event.  This course reminded me of so many races that I've done before - ones like the Country Roads 10K in San Marcos, the Dime Box Mini-Marathon (10K) in Dime Box and some of the ones that I did on weekends in Washington state in 2006-2007.

Mile 1 -- 10:03.27

Mile 2 -- 10:12.17 - 20:15.44 (10:08 gun)

These first two felt really, really quick - for me; especially since the end of mile two had a 2% grade drop.

Mile 3 -- 10:34.49 - 30:49.93 (10:13 gun)

Mile 4 -- 11:15.88 - 42:15.81 (10:34 gun)

Mile 5 -- 9:57.35 - 52:13.16 (10:27 gun)

No surprise on the slowdown as there were plenty of segments where the grades climbed 1% and 2%, according to mapmyrun.com.

At mile 5, there was a turnaround and we came back a mile to take a left on Bible Hill Road (which I didn't know the name of then but I'm certain I invoked a lot of praying on the three-mile stretch).

Mile 6 -- 10:38.40 - 1:02:51.56 (10:28 gun)

I didn't get as much back in that mile as I thought I would so after I took in some water at the stop, I tried to make quick work of things.

Mile 7 -- 10:03.68 - 1:12:55.24 (10:25 gun)

Mile 8 -- 10:38.71 - 1:23:33.95 (10:27 gun)

Mile 9 -- 11:16.37 - 1:34:50.32 (10:32 gun)

But by the time I got back out to Chisholm Trail Road, I was hurting a little and where there wasn't an uphill, there was wind (out on the prairie!)

Mile 10 -- 11:22.58 - 1:46:12.90

Mile 11 -- 10:36.59 - 1:56:50.49 (10:38 gun)

Honestly, looking at the elevation on the course map, I should have gotten more out of mile 10, but did get the time that I should had in mile 11.

Mile 12 -- 11:49.87 - 2:08:40.36

Mile 13.1 -- 12:28.13 - 2:21:08.39

Mile 12 was an uphill and the last 1.1, well, I was just exhausted even though it was pretty flat at this point.

Hills, wind (which left me a little partched) and too quick of an attempt to "race" - by my definition - left me with a not so solid performance.

The final "chip" time, according to my watch, will be 2:20:51.

The Waco Striders were using manual timing so my time there will be listed as the gun time.

I had a chance to visit former Houston Strider (and Houston Running Blogger) Bill Cox, who is trying to get back running again - and drop some weight.  He took the early start at 7:15 a.m. and made it to the finish before me.  I crossed paths on the road between mile 6 and 7 - for me going out.

It was really good to see him.  I didn't get a chance to see Monica and Keith come in as I wanted to get back to the hotel, relax a little, shower and then I grabbed lunch at Chuy's.

With the way that Highway 6 is completely two lanes each way all the way from Waco to Waller, the complete drive in return, including a stop in Navasota, was just under three hours.  Nice.

So this was my 89th half marathon and a race in my 77th Texas city or town.

Have to have some things to shoot for when you're not as fleet of feet as others.

Thanks for reading!

Ocean Drive Marathon Race Report

It is 4:15 a.m. Eastern, so it seems to be the best time to knock out a race report before getting on the plane back to IAH – and to sleep!

Yesterday’s Ocean Drive Marathon gave me marathon finish #49 and in my 31st state.

My chip time was 5:36:23, which isn’t what I hoped for but it is reasonable given the preparation.

I made my reservations to come to New Jersey less than two weeks after dropping at mile 32 at Rocky Raccoon.  My thought process was that I could get back to my 5-6 workouts a week and be completely ready to put down a cold weather, 5-hour marathon.

However, heavy involvement with both the Fidelity Investments The Woodlands Marathon and the Seabrook Lucky Trail Marathon, which includes a lot of pre- and post-work behind the scenes, cut those weekly 60- to 90-minute workouts to 2-3 times per week.

In between, I announced for the Exygon and Baptist Hospitals Gusher Marathon in Beaumont, which still required about a half day to prep, and took out most of my Saturday.

I’m constantly surprised about how much that those activities take out of me – outside of my normal work day.

The follow-up from Seabrook, which included attending a city council meeting where the city of Seabrook approved increased funding for the event in 2014, had me getting in workouts on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.  So much for taper, right?

Heck, I hadn’t even gotten the miles in, to be honest.

And I’m not sure that my head was completely in this one, like it was for Portland, Maine last fall.  It was one of these things that if I hadn’t traveled so far, I might have just stayed in bed Sunday morning.  How did I know this?

One, I didn’t notice when I was at packet pickup on Saturday afternoon – after our flight being delayed three hours coming from IAH to Philadelphia – that I didn’t have pins for my bib.  And, two, even after I bought some extra strength Tylenol to take before I ran that I had left the two tablets that I had taken out of the bottle until after I was en route to the race site.

Some of this comes, I think, from not always enjoying travelling by myself to these races out-of-state.  I enjoy working towards a goal, but doing it with others who are doing it at my pace would be much more enjoyable.  And when I say pace, I’m not just talking about minutes per mile.

I know many 50 staters, if you will, who it seems like their meaning for existence is wrapped up in seeing how many they can do and so on.  Not me.  I take them when I can get them.

With a 9 a.m. Eastern time start and deciding not to go to Sea Isle City where the finish was (to take the shuttle to the start), I made it to the front of the Residence Inn that I was staying at in Somers Point to get a bagel and a breakfast muffin.  I had some Gatorade (because I had read that there wouldn’t be any electrolytes on the course until about mile 11), but I still realized that I needed something to hold my bib in place.

So I found a Rite Aid Pharmacy and bought binder clips and shipping tape.  When the binder clips didn’t seem like they were going to hold on the top that I was wearing, I used the shipping tape – and it stayed in place the entire race. I went to the restroom, along the seawall, and then made my way towards the start.  I was able to stay in my car until after the National Anthem.

I hadn’t been there too long when I spied a running hat that looked familiar.  I thought to myself, “No way”.  But, yes, there in New Jersey was a Seabrook Lucky Trail Marathon hat!  I made my way over to another surprise – a good friend of mine from the Houston Striders, John DiMarco.  He was starting back on his state chase and this was going to be number 24 for him.

The woman with the Seabrook Lucky Trail Marathon hat was Terry Allen from Lake Jackson and she was with Sue Wheeler from Houston, who was a BARRA member that submitted their club report for Inside Texas Running when I was the editor of HARRA’s Footprints.  Small world.

John and I ran for about the first mile, talking about The Woodlands Marathon.  He is good friends with Marnie Staehly from San Antonio and was there to follow her after he completed the half.  He was also telling me about how much of a nice guy that Colorado’s Matt Levassiur was, as well as sharing some observations about some things that took place on the course.

In our conversation, I totally missed mile 1 and when I got to mile 2, I realized that the 19:49.20 was definitely faster than I needed to be going.

Therefore, I purposedly backed off to a 10:52.22 in mile three (30:41.42 cumulative), but the next four miles were just disconcerting because you didn’t know if the entire course was going to be this way – as the mile markers were way off.

11:31.87 - Mile 4 (long)
  9:02.63 - Mile 5 (short) - 10:17 between the two
  8:16.25 - Mile 6 (really short)
12:38.47 - Mile 7 (really long) - 10:27 between the two

I was still running pretty easy and the weather, albeit cold, wasn’t that bad nor was the wind.  The forecast was for but about 8 miles an hour after being in the double digits the two days before.

However, I knew that there was going to be a point in time that without taking something for the pain – and not having the miles on my legs – that the wheels were going to come off the car.

The next three miles still seemed pretty easy, but mile 11 is the first one that I sensed that things may become more of a challenge.

10:25.97 - Mile 8
10:59.85 - Mile 9
10:40.73 - Mile 10
11:01.92 - Mile 11

I held steady for miles 12 and 13 and hit the latter mile marker in about 2:17:43 overall.

At the halfway mark, though, I got in under 2:19, which normally is about where I want to be, but I knew that the back half wasn’t going to be as kind.  If you’ve been running long enough, you just kind of know.

11:07.07 - Mile 12
11:06.87 - Mile 13
  1:11.87 - Mile 13.1
10:26.37 - Mile 13.1 - 14 (11:37 for the entire mile)

So at mile 14, I figured that I was at 2:30.  It was time for “marathon math” and I figured that 12 miles at 16 minutes a mile was 3:12 – or a 5:42-5:44 finish.  I could live with that.

I had already signed up for the Illinois Marathon in Champaign, Illinois for in five weeks, plus I wanted to get back to my 5-6 workouts a week.

The next four miles were a little bit of a struggle, but I was still on PR pace (4:47:32) through mile 17 and just slightly over at mile 18.

13:21.82 - Mile 15 (~2:42:33 ... 11-min per is 2:45)
12:20.24 - Mile 16 (~2:54:53 ... 11-min per is 2:56)
12:40.26 - Mile 17 (~3:07:34 ... 11-min per is 3:07)
13:24.63 - Mile 18 (~3:20:58 ... 2 minutes over 11 min per mile, which is PR pace)

It was here that I pretty well decided to shut it down and it was final once I hit the mile 19 marker.

13:52.55 - Mile 19 (~3:34:50 ... 5:26 at 16-minute per mile)
15:49.50 - Mile 20
15:15.60 - Mile 21

Things were OK until mile 22.  I thought the mile marker might had really, really been off because it came through as 18:09.83, but I could feel myself being kind of disoriented.  I was looking for vehicles along the route where I could have gotten into and warmed up.

I went through 6:26.48 of mile 23 before I spotted the City of Avalon’s ambulance.  I got their attention and was able to get in their ambulance to warm up.  I could tell that maybe hypothermia might have been coming on.  After I finished my 50-miler in 2008 at Huntsville State Park, Bill Dwyer forgot to warn me that once I stopped that my core body temperature would plummet.

I assumed that this is what was happening here.

After spending another 6:47.56 in the ambulance, it was another 11:34.66 walking until I made it to mile 23, which was over the final bridge.  You had to get to this bridge by five hours and 30 minutes to be counted as an official finisher.

It was at this bridge where the only visible damage that I saw from Superstorm Sandy.  It had really mangled parts of the road that the county and DOT had worked to make sure that runners would still be able to pass it – even though vehicles are far from going through there.

The next two miles, once again, weren’t pretty, and I didn’t realize until after I got back to the hotel that I only have a 30-lap watch and not a 50-lap so I couldn’t tell how much I picked it up in the last mile when I alternated a run and a walk every 100 steps.

15:47.64 - Mile 24
17:00.85 - Mile 25
3:37.51 - MIle 25 - 25.2

All in all, it was simply another state for a 5:36:23 finish.  Have had lots better and some worse even; however, I would not recommend this marathon for anybody chasing states and looking for New Jersey.

While the course is primarily flat, there are a lot of turns in the last half of the course.

Law enforcement and the volunteers were excellent.  This is not the place to come looking for a crowd, though.

But it was these three paragraphs in the pre-race story in the Press of Atlantic City that spoke volumes to me.

The road will have less foot traffic than in previous years. As of 3 p.m. Saturday, 650 runners had registered for the marathon. That marked a decrease (approximately 20 percent) for the first time in the 15-year history of the race. Another 540 had signed up for the 10-mile race and approximately 250 are scheduled to participate in the five-kilometer run.

The ODM can be tough on runners. Besides having to traverse five bridges, they have had to deal with a head wind for 12 of the 14 previous editions of the marathon. But weather may not be as big a factor this year. The forecast for today, according to weather.com, calls for temperatures in the 40s with winds from the southeast at seven miles per hour.

"I have no idea why our numbers are down this year," DiPalma said. "The only thing I can think of is people from other parts of the country were a little hesitant to register because of the way Hurricane Sandy hit the area."

No, I think it is because other marathons – even though the number of marathoners is starting to trend down – take care of their runners much better than this race does.

Granted, it was cold, but I’ve worked marathons were it was cold and the show still goes on to give runners what they pay for – and that’s a lot of recognition and attention as well as decent food at the end.

When it is cold, you wanted something warm to hit the spot – oranges, bagels and sandwiches from Wawa (a local convenience store) isn’t going to cut it.  I don’t know if there was any coffee around because I don’t drink it, but if there had been some hot chocolate, I would have taken a stab at it.

While I saw somebody on the bus back to the start that had won an age group award, which were really, really nice, the medal – and I’m not necessarily a big medal guy – was just a step above what you would order from Rainbow Racing.

And it was almost punishment for not catching the pre-race shuttle that the driver on the post-race shuttle seemed to take the circuitous route when everybody just wanted to get there.  Oh, this was aside of almost running a red light and then coming to an almost screeching halt at another.  Crazy stuff.

Hope I didn’t bore you to sleep if you’re still reading … but if you did make it this far, thank you for reading.

Some Different Inspirations

If I spent time writing about all of things that I get to experience in supporting local road races and triathlons, among other service opportunities, I wouldn't have time to get much else done -- and things such as faith, my daughter and work need to take priority.

One of the most challenging things for me over the years - in what I get the opportunity to do -- has been the arrogance of some of the athletes that I've encountered.  It is a very small percentage, but enough to be a major discouragement.

For every one of those, thank goodness, there's 10, 20 or 50 individuals who are truly inspiring.

I witnessed one last weekend at the Exygon and Baptist Hospitals Gusher Marathon when 32-year-old Iram Leon pushed his six-year-old daughter Kiana in a borrowed stroller to win the race after the race directors, Rich and Amie James, bent their rules to give him an opportunity that many other races wouldn't.

Why?  He has brain cancer, but also because he's doing his best to create memories for his daughter if the worst shall happen.

I interviewed, during our Running Alliance Sport Marathon Preview Show from the Houston Marathon Expo two months ago, Brandon Adame - a blind athlete with an incredible personality and spirit who doesn't let that challenge stop him from achieving what other adults only dream of.

One of those accomplishments is a finish - with his guide, Nigel Willerton - in the inaugural Memorial Hermann Ironman Texas almost two years ago.

Even if you see Iram and Brandon dressed in non-athletic attire, you might perceive them to be athletes.

In the same way, more than likely, you'd stereotype Missouri City's Peter Raybourn as one who wasn't.

La Porte fireman Tony Constanzo - a recent Rocky Raccoon 100-mile finisher - and I had a chance to visit with the 51-year-old at the completion of today's Seabrook Lucky Trail Half Marathon and I gained an even deeper appreciation about how every person that signs up for a race or competition of any kind does it for their own reason.

And the one thing that I wish that I could impress on everyone is that your reason or your ability isn't any better than anyone else's.

Peter's a big man.  Your first instinct may be to think why a 330-pound man, if he was going to come out and participate in such an event, wouldn't work more diligently to lower his weight to better his performance.

I can't speak for Peter in my short conversation with him today, but he's been down to as low as 270 - and is aiming to get back there.  However, for many, many years, he weighed 465 pounds.

That's a loss - in body weight - of an entire athletic female!

He's completed the Rocky Raccoon 50 miler not once, not twice, but five (5) times.

I know of some accomplished athletes that won't even try it once.

My best friend, besides my daughter, once told me that if you can train to run a marathon that you can finish a 50-miler.

And Tony will have to correct me if I misheard, but I believe that Peter has completed the MS150 distance five times.

Of course, that's really nothing to many Ironman athletes who'll do up to six century rides in getting ready for the 140.6-mile journey.

But Peter's legally blind.

His corrected vision is 20/300.  His field (or range) of vision is, I believe he said, about five percent (or degrees) now.

He hasn't driven a vehicle since 1998.

His primary goal was - and still is (if he can get under the new 15-hour, 50-mile time limit at Rocky) - to get to 500 miles to get the special jacket that Joe Prusaitis gives out.

If not, he's still happy in finishing half marathons - and an occasional marathon - at Steve and Paula Boone's Texas Marathon, Daryl Beatty's Surfside Beach Marathon and Robby Sabban's Seabrook Lucky Trail Marathon as well as a variety of Joe's trail races.

And he's most appreciative of those races versus other large events that dispatch him - and others - to the sidewalks after 10 miles.

It is men and women like Iram, Brandon and Peter that keep me giving what talents that I have in supporting and recognizing their accomplishments long after the less-gracious athletes are  off and away pontificating their smackdowns of those that they think that they're better than.

Running Into Busy

When I help out and work a lot of events (namely the Fidelity Investments The Woodlands Marathon, the Exygon and Baptist Hospitals Gusher Marathon and the Seabrook Lucky Trail Marathon), which I sincerely enjoy doing, my running typically suffers.

Last year, it was really bad as I didn't do much between the 52-mile effort at Rocky Raccoon and the finish at the Garmin Marathon in Olathe, Kansas on April 21, which I was fortunate to get done under six (6) hours (5:54:49).

So what's a guy to do?  Get busy, right?

Here's a very tentative schedule through mid-May:

3/24/13 - (1) *Ocean Drive Marathon (Cape May to Sea Isle City, NJ - New State)
3/30/13 - (2) Chisholm Trail Half Marathon (Crawford, TX - New Texas City)
4/ 6/13 - (3) Fairview Half Marathon (Fairview, TX - New Texas City)
4/ 6/13 - Announce Muddy Trails 5K/10K (The Woodlands, TX)
4/ 7/13 - Announce Texas 10 Huntsville (Huntsville, TX)
4/ 7/13 - TWRC Sunday Night 5K (The Woodlands, TX)
4/13/13 - (4) Davy Crockett Bear Chase Half Marathon (Groveton, TX - New Texas City)
4/14/13 - (5) Run For The Rose 5K (Houston, TX)
4/20/13 - (6) Danish Capital of Texas Fun Run 5K (Danevang, TX - New Texas City)
4/26/13 - *Presence Covenant Medical Center Illinois 5K (Champaign, IL)
4/27/13 - (7) *Christie Clinic Illinois Marathon (Champaign, IL - New State)
5/ 4/13 - (8) Finish Line Announce CB&I Sprint Triathlon (The Woodlands, TX - Tentative)
5/ 5/13 - TWRC Sunday Night 5K (The Woodlands, TX)
5/11/13 - (9) Announce El Chupacabra de Houston 5K/10K (New Caney, TX)
5/18/13 - Cover Memorial Hermann Ironman Texas (The Woodlands, TX)

And here are the footnotes to above:

(1) - State #31 and Marathon #49.  Hope to get to visit with my good friends, Rob and Lysa Jones.
(2) - $30 before 3/22.  Sure, gas will be more getting to and from, but maybe George W. will come out and run it.
(3) - Totally tentative.  A new event from Libby Jones.  If not, will probably run a 5K in La Porte to support another friend.
(4) - Totally tentative as well.  One of Steve and Paula's race that I stopped announcing because I started to cover the Memorial Hermann Ironman 70.3 Texas.
(5) - Can run this and make it back in time for church on Sunday.  Otherwise, I'd sit this one out.
(6) - Four races in Montgomery County that day and I'm making a drive.  Yes, all for a new Texas city.
(7) - State #32 and Marathon #50.  Got a $179 round-trip air fare to Chicago which gets me back on Saturday night too!
(8) - Tentative as well.  Long story as to why I didn't in 2012 after doing so in 2010-2011, but our church is hosting a race that day and they may be in need of assistance.
(9) - Bill Gardner has hired me to announce another one of his races after doing the Sandcrab 5K/10K last August in Galveston.

So, that's the plan (or vision, as somebody once said). 

I haven't run a race since February 2 and haven't finished on since January 20th.

Therefore, it's time to get to work - and have a little fun!

What I Learned At Rocky Raccoon on Saturday

I think many people would think that I’m disappointed after dropping at mile 32 with blisters at yesterday’s Rocky Raccoon 100.  I’m not.  Far from it.

I attempted it – actually twice now -- because I thought that I could complete it.  I still think that it is possible, but it will have to wait for another time.

A friend of mine wrote to me on Wednesday, “Look deep.  Sometimes what we thought we were “searching” for through some goal or end result is something completely different and we may find it in the journey.”

I had a minor motivator last year as a result of the arrogance of a few, but that’s really not natural – and not right.

Waverly, my daughter (for any new readers), got me for my birthday last month a day-by-day calendar of Tony Dungy.  It still sits on January 23 this morning, but it reads:  “What’s important is not the accolades and the memories of success, but the way you respond when opportunities are denied.”

Very, very true.  I’ve failed in that area before and the outcome wasn’t good in many ways.  I’m deeply regretful of the last time that I actively recall that happening and I’ve apologized for how I responded.

What I did learn through the exercise of attempting a 100-miler yesterday – and something that I sure that I already knew (and not in a prideful way) – is that I am an individual who is very deeply loved by many, many people and by God.

People who really know me know that for as many people who know me or know who I am know that I never seek attention for myself.  There’s a verse in the Bible, and I can’t find it (even with an online search), that speaks to the “edification of the Saints”.

And I believe that it is where my spiritual gift is – and it is why my abilities – verbal and written – are used to encourage and bring positive attention towards others.

At one point during each of our first loops yesterday, I was running close to Dallas’ Libby Jones and between the two of us it seemed like we knew half of the field.  I chuckled and smiled to myself at the time.

During packet pickup the day before, I had a chance to visit with Rich and Amie James, the race directors of the Gusher Marathon in Beaumont, Bill Moeller from Spring, Claude Hicks, Jr., who had just finished the H.U.R.T. 100 in Hawaii two weeks before, Les Ellsworth from The Woodlands, Francisco “Paco” Garza and I saw many others that I knew but didn’t get a chance to say “Hi!” too.

Before the start, I spent a good long time (for a short 10-15 minutes) primarily talking to a very kind, warm Christian man, Robert Lott, Jr., who I’m proud to call a friend.

I quietly watched one of the classiest women in Houston’s running history, Donna Sterns, and her daughter, get their husband and father, Darrell, ready for his 100-mile adventure.  It was very cool to watch and see, especially since Donna’s running history is truly a great one (that she would never tell you of).

It is also just how that generation of runners is.

Somewhere after the Nature Center (the first three miles), I ran into very good friends, Allen Lazenby, Jr. and Kevin Kline, of a good friend of mine, Becky Spaulding.  We shared a lot of good conversation in covering a good bit of the next 6-8 miles or so as we ran into the Dam Nation aid station and through much of the 6-mile loop back.  Robert had caught up to me to the very end of the loop and we went into the aid station together.

When I got to the Park Road aid station, there was Jim Braden.  What a pleasant surprise and as I have stated before, such an honor.  Jim is like Donna in that he’d never tell you all that he’s accomplished – and out of respect to him, I won’t recount it here.

What I learned from Bill Dwyer after I had dropped is that he showed up for Bill’s Volte group run, ran a little bit and asked Bill if I was on the start line and wondered if he could make it there before I made it to the 15-mile mark.  He did, and I, once again, was very, very grateful for the show of support.

I’ve done stuff like that before.  It is fun and is greatly appreciated by people that you show that support to.

Before making it there, I talked to a gentleman who wearing his Toughest 10K Kemah technical shirt and we carried on a good conversation for a mile or two about Seabrook and the Texas Bridge Series.  It is good to talk about good races to another runner.

At the Park Road aid station, I saw Libby Jones, a race director from Dallas, a fellow writer for Texas Runner and Triathlete and a good friend.  She introduced me to her friend, Lesley Jones, who she ran the whole way with, and we carried on a good conversation until we separated for the final three miles in to wrap up our respective loops.

Once I ended the first loop, I was encouraged by the 4:41:56 split in; however, I took about 15 minutes going to my car and making some changes, such as a short-sleeved shirt (for the second loop, which started to warm up.)

The start of the second loop was uneventful.  I saw Amie James early in the loop and when I got to the first aid station in 42 minutes, I was encouraged that it was a little bit faster than the first loop of the morning. 

Probably the biggest mistake that I made was not switching shoes in between loop one and two or at least taking my socks off and re-vaselining my feet up.

Working the Nature Center aid station on the second loop - much to my surprise - was June Harris, a Bay Area Running Club member.  It is always good to see people that you know working the races that you love to participate in.

The next three mile segment, things were moving along OK, but with it beginning to warm up, I knew that chafing may become an issue (which really hurt me physically at the Chevron Houston Marathon three weeks before).

There was a funny moment on the way to Dam Nation when I stopped to … ah … adjust the shorts a little bit.  Amie was coming up from behind with another runner and they chuckled about what happens on a trail versus the things that don’t occur during a road marathon.  The next young woman who came up shortly thereafter boldly said that she “enjoyed the show” (not that I “really” showed anything). 

I found out from talking to her for next mile or so that she was from Kansas and had done the Heartland 100 a couple of times.  It reminded me of somebody (the comment not the 100-milers) and I quickly let it go.  She was a pretty woman though.

When I rolled into Dam Nation, even though I was on the money with my salt tablets (two every hour on the hour), I wasn't getting enough to drink.  The North Texas Trail Runners, who man that aid station do a great job there, were clearly advising me that I needed to drink more.  So I went out on the 6-mile loop with a cold bottle of water and Gatorade.

I soon caught up with Allen again and we walked on a pretty good pace to beyond the turnaround until he got away from me up on the spillway.  And it was here, where the 50-milers joined us from their shorter loop out of Dam Nation, that I began to slow down even more than a 15-minute mile.

When I got back into Dam Nation, I was really hurting.  Every step hurt with a blister on my right heel.  (It still hurts on Sunday.)  I started down the path to the Park Road Aid Station thinking that Bill Dwyer would have made it there by then.  But when I saw a golf cart delivering supplies to Dam Nation, I stopped them and asked them if they were going to be going out soon.  They were, asked me to stay put and they came back – in about 10 minutes – and got me.

I saw Annabel Dixon and Claude Hicks, Jr. before the cart came.  Annabel encouraged me to keep going, but Claude knew where I was at and still congratulated me.

The Community Emergency Response Team with Walker County came, put me on their cart and took me to the spillway.  I saw my friend Becky with three runners that were with her doing the 50-miler and I told her that I had the same “disease” that she did five years earlier in her first 50-mile attempt:  blisters.

The C.E.R.T. cart took me to the spillway, where I got a boat ride across the lake from another trio of C.E.R.T. and event volunteers.  I got out of the boat and immediately turned my timing chip in.

I called Bill, thinking he might have been waiting at the Park Road aid station (~mile 35), but he hadn’t made it to Huntsville yet.  It would have been good to have seen him (and Mary Carter who were planning on making the drive up) as well as Waverly, who was planning on coming up after she got off work.

I thought about staying, like I have many other years, but I knew Waverly was going to be getting home – and when she’s going off to school in six months, I wanted to get back home.  I think most people can understand that.

And I was so very thankful for everything that she did to help me that evening.

She went across the road to HEB to pick up a few things and she cooked dinner for me – chicken alfredo.  And then after I had watched more TV (two and a half hours) then I had in a long, long time, she went and got a couple of blankets out so I could sleep on the couch.

All the while, I scanned through the dial on the television and started watching Charles Stanley, a pastor of a megachurch in Atlanta, Georgia and the founder of In Touch Ministries.  Stanley is one of the few “television” preachers, if you will, that I have ever given any time to, but as I explained to Waverly, I first heard of Stanley listening to the radio in conjunction with programming around James Dobson’s “Focus on the Family”.

He talked about how, in his life, there always seemed to be something missing – and not just that his father had been but that he never allowed himself to fully realize that God loved him.  I think it – like many things – was something that I needed to hear.

I am sincerely happy for each and every person that I know or know of who successfully accomplished their goal on Saturday and Sunday – and for whatever their reason was of pursuing it.

I’ll close a great experience with the ending words of a status update from a first time 50-mile finisher, who feared putting themselves on the wait list (especially after finishing a marathon two weeks before):  “An ultra run ain’t about you, your feet, your hunger or your discomfort.  It’s about the people, the humanity happening all around you.”

So.  Very.  True.

Thanks for reading.

100 Days Challenge - Daily Log

"The rules are simple.  Choose to move, intentionally, for 30 minutes every day for the first 100 days of 2013." ~ John Bingham

Tuesday, January 1 -- 12.5 continuous hours on my feet announcing and volunteering for the Texas Marathon in Kingwood.
Wednesday, January 2 -- 60 minutes on the treadmill (5.3) and 30 minutes on the stationary bike (12).
Thursday, January 3 -- 60 minutes on the treadmill (5.3)
Friday, January 4 -- 60 minutes on the treadmill -- 34 (5.3), 16 (5.5), 5 (5.7) and 5 (5.9).
Saturday, January 5 -- 28:45 5K in Diboll.  25 minutes on the treadmill (5.0) followed by 25 minutes on the stationary bike.
Sunday, January 6 -- 50 minutes on the stationary bike followed by a 30:05 5K (TWRC Sunday Night 5K in The Woodlands).
Monday, January 7 -- 60 minutes on the stationary bike.
Tuesday, January 8 -- Life won out.
Wednesday, January 9 -- 10 kilometers running on the track at Knox Junior High.  (8 of 9 days)
Thursday, January 10 -- 21:40 on the treadmill (legs felt heavy) followed by 40 minutes on the stationary bike (9 of 10 days)
Friday, January 11 -- Working the Expo.  On my feet the entire time.  Calling it a workout day!
Saturday, January 12 -- 39:17 5K at the ABB 5K in Houston with the red-headed princess, Waverly.
Sunday, January 13 -- 4:57:56 Chevron Houston Marathon.  5th best marathon ever!
Monday, January 14 -- Chafing recovery.
Tuesday, January 15 -- Chafing recovery.
Wednesday, January 16 -- Four (4) miles at the track.
Thursday, January 17 -- 10 minutes on the treadmill, 45 minutes on the stationary bike and 10 minutes on the elliptical trainer.
Friday, January 18 -- 30 minutes on the treadmill.
Saturday, January 19 -- 60 minutes on the treadmill.
Sunday, January 20 -- 55 minutes on the treadmill and 28:46 5K in Point Blank. (17 days total.)
Monday, January 21 -- 60 minutes on the stationary bike.
Tuesday, January 22 -- Rest.  And my Dad's 66th birthday.
Wednesday, January 23 -- 80 minutes on the stationary bike (average rpm 95) and then at least 10 kilometers on the track.
Thursday, January 24 -- Life wins again.
Friday, January 25 -- 15 minutes on the treadmill followed by 50 on the stationary bike.
Saturday, January 26 -- 60 minutes on the treadmill, 36:25 on the stationary bike (got bored) and then 20 minutes on the elliptical machine.

Top 2012 Texas Marathons, Companion Half Marathons and Marathon Events

Top 10 Texas Marathons in 2012

1.  7,614 - Chevron Houston Marathon
2.  4,871 - MetroPCS Dallas Marathon
3.  3,898 - Livestrong Austin Marathon
4.  3,112 - Rock 'N' Roll San Antonio Marathon
5.  1,424 - Cowtown Marathon (Fort Worth)
6.  1,006 - Fidelity Investments The Woodlands Marathon
7.    699 - Big-D Texas Marathon
8.    613 - Scott & White Healthcare B-CS Marathon (Brayn-College Station)
9.    367 - Michelob Ultra El Paso Marathon
10.   307 - Fort Worth Marathon

Top 10 Texas Companion Half Marathons in 2012

1.  16,515 - Rock 'N' Roll San Antonio Marathon
2.  10,381 - Livestrong Austin Marathon
3.   9,876 - MetroPCS Dallas Marathon
4.   9,374 - Chevron Houston Marathon (Aramco Half Marathon)
5.   6,326 - Cowtown Marathon (Fort Worth)
6.   3,110 - Fidelity Investments The Woodlands Marathon (St. Luke's The Woodlands Half Marathon)
7.   2,098 - Scott & White Healthcare B-CS Marathon
8.   2,064 - Big-D Texas Marathon
9.   1,075 - Chosen for Adoption Marathon (New Braunfels)
10.  1,059 - Michelob Ultra El Paso Marathon

Top 10 Texas Marathon Events in 2012

1.  21,640 - Cowtown Marathon (Fort Worth) - 10K, 5K, Kids 5K, Ultra
2.  20,593 - Rock 'N' Roll San Antonio Marathon - Mini-Marathon (3-Mile)
3.  19,743 - Chevron Houston Marathon - 5K
4.  15,337 - MetroPCS Dallas Marathon - 5K
5.  15,315 - Livestrong Austin Marathon - 5K
6.   4,797 - Fidelity Investments The Woodlands Marathon - 5K
7.   3,250 - Big-D Texas Marathon - 5K
8.   2,702 - Scott & White Healthcare B-CS Marathon
9.   1,867 - Michelob Ultra El Paso Marathon
10.  1,495 - Tyler Rose Marathon - 5K

Top 2013 Houston Marathon Veteran Performances

Below is a listing of the top times in this year's Chevron Houston Marathon by Houston Marathon Veterans and those who will be joining the ranks (by finishing their 10th Houston Marathon) as a result of their finish.

Eight (8) men and three (3) women joined the latter category to stretch the men's top 25 and women's top 10 accordingly.

The listing below represents the runner's name, age, city of residence and the number of finishes at Houston followed by any significant note from viewing their complete results at marathonveterans.com, a website created by Houston Marathon Veteran Dalton Pulsipher.

An asterisk means that their number of marathon finishes have been achieved consecutively.

Men
1.  2:34:54 - Peter Lawrence, 41, Houston (15th, PR)
2.  2:48:25 - Jose Oviedo, 36, Houston (10th*, 8 of 10 sub-3)
3.  2:51:45 - Stephen Baumgartner, 39, Houston (13th, 9th straight sub-3)
4.  2:52:21 - Francisco Galaviz (MEX), 49, Monterrey (10th, 8th straight sub-3)
5.  2:53:45 - John Yoder, 41, Houston (19th*, 13 of last 14 sub-3)
6.  2:58:35 - Brian King, 33, Richmond (10th*, PR, 1st time broke 3 hours)
7.  2:59:10 - Matthew Padon, 44, Austin (20th*, 11th sub-3)
8.  2:59:19 - Garrett Rychlik, 45, Cypress (13th, 4th sub-3 in last 5 year)
9.  2:59:23 - David Nemoto, 49, Houston (10th, 2nd best ever)
10.  2:59:52 - Francisco Garza, 47, Houston (11th*, 3rd sub-3)
11.  3:03:35 - Robert Walters, 52, Houston (12th, broke a string of 6 straight sub-3's)
12.  3:04:07 - Christopher Ciamarra, 42, Alpharetta, GA (13th, best placing in 3 years)
13.  3:06:08 - Alexander Valdez, 43, Houston (15th*, 5th fastest)
14.  3:10:59 - Abelino Jeronimo, 53, Houston (10th, 2nd fastest)
15.  3:12:04 - Jacob Tonge, 50, Houston (10th)
16.  3:13:04 - Brett Hervat, 46, Houston (15th, first finish in 4 years)
17.  3:13:13 - Richard Peoples, 53, Houston (17th)
18.  3:14:25 - Timothy Nielsen, 46, Houston (17th*)
19.  3:14:54 - Dennis Troland, 47, Katy (11th)
20.  3:16:21 - Agapito Gaytan, 51, Rosenberg (12th)
21.  3:18:57 - Rich Fredrich, 55, Katy (23rd)
22.  3:20:49 - Mark Conran, 53, Pearland (10th)
23.  3:20:53 - Bernie Babinat, 48, Sugar Land (15th)
24.  3:21:59 - Robert Hahn, 31, Houston (13th*, 5th fastest)
25.  3:22:35 - Ed Sturdivant, 46, Missouri City (11th)
26.  3:23:12 - Jeff Eisele, 42, Houston (16th*)
27.  3:23:21 - Eric Stotzer, 45, Houston (14th)
28.  3:24:13 - Scott Spencer, 50, Katy (11th)
29.  3:24:35 - Robert Dunn, 46, Liberty (18th*)
30.  3:25:27 - Peter Schipperjin, 51, Cypress (14th)
31.  3:25:52 - Edward Montana, 41, Katy (18th*)
32.  3:26:32 - Brian Claar, 53, Castle Rock, CO (10th*, PR)
33.  3:27:59 - Paul Lopez, 47, El Campo (13th)

Women
1.  3:24:40 - Barbara Stoll (DEU), 51 (16th, broke a string of 12 straight sub-3:10's)
2.  3:26:27 - Suzy Seeley, 53, Houston (19th*, 13th sub-3:30)
3.  3:26:32 - Dana Barger, 38, Missouri City (11th, 8th straight sub-3:30)
4.  3:27:44 - Marlene Hicks, 47, Georgetown (16th*, 10th straight sub-3:30)
5.  3:28:35 - Caroline Burum, 47, Houston (15th, 11th sub-3:30)
6.  3:29:48 - Karen Anderson, 51, Fort Collins, CO (15th, 9th sub-3:30)
7.  3:34:04 - Melissa Hurta-Crites, 49, Freeport (11th)
8.  3:36:29 - Rochelle Ray, 41, Spring (10th)
9.  3:37:23 - Maribel Aguilar, 37, Missouri City (10th, PR)
10.  3:37:47 - Jacqueline O Brien-Nolen, 47, Kingwood (17th)
11.  3:38:50 - Suzanne Day, 55, Houston (10th)
12.  3:39:39 - Lupe Gomez, 59, Pasadena (24th)
13.  3:39:41 - Therese Novak, 51, Lake Charles, LA (15th)
13.  3:44:47 - Nancy Winchester (CAN), 45, Houston (13th)

Galveston Marathon and Half Marathon Legacy Runners (2011-2012)

The third annual Galveston Marathon and Half Marathon, scheduled to take place Sunday, January 27, 2013, has - to date, in its first two years - featured 21 marathoners and 105 half marathoners who have completed the same distance both years of the return of the event to the Island.

Another 10 athletes completed a marathon one year and the half marathon the other.

Marathon
Aaron Blades, Sugar Land
Chris Button
David Davison, Katy
David Jones, Corpus Christi
Donna Palmer, Pearland
Ginger Trimble Knox, Fort Worth
Jacqueline O Brien-Nolen, Kingwood
John Pontikas, Texas City
Jose Amador, Houston
Jose Angel Reyes
Keith Rogers, Friendswood
Kevin Kline, Sugar Land
Lora Lechago, League City
Matt Chauvin, League City
Mauricio Parada, Houston
Richard Buitron, Pearland
Robert Furman, Katy
Terry Frank, Seabrook
Tracy Galleymore
Wendy Clark, Houston
William Schneider, Katy

Half Marathon
Adelaida Cuellar, Pasadena
Alison Brown, Houston
Alison Roos, Houston
Amy Morgan, Angleton
Andrea Adams, Houston
Angela Pina, Seabrook
Anh Hunter, Houston
Arin Gage, Texas City
Billie Vasquez, Humble
Bonnie Humphrey, Lake Jackson
Brian Harper, Galveston
Bruce Boyd, Houston
Casey Hannigan, Corpus Christi
Cesar Guevara, Kingwood
Chris Kidwell, League City
Christene Wood, Humble
Christina Palazzotta, Galveston
Christy Hennigan, Lubbock
Collette Haenes, Houston
Connie Paulino, Spring
Cynthia Everett, Houston
Dawn Burris, Beaumont
Dawn Clements, Houston
Deann Lewis, Pearland
Debbie Miller, Houston
Debbie Rau, Seabrook
Debbie Servantes, Bacliff
Dee Knapp, Lubbock
Deedee Terry, Kingwood
Derek McWilliams, Beaumont
Diane McKernan, Houston
Donna Villarreal, Sugar Land
Dustin Henry, Galveston
Elgin Faulkner, Houston
Elizabeth Eastman, Houston
Emily Shuttlesworth, Hitchcock
Garfield Johnson, Houston
Haley Stransky, Needville
Ilse Bekker, Houston
Jamie Belinne, Pearland
Jammie Barnes, Houston
Jason Arcemont, Spring
Jason Sessions, Pearland
Jeanne Smith, Galveston
Jeffrey Davis, Canyon Lake
Jennifer Dewhirst, Houston
Jenny Renault, Katy
Jesse Sarabia, Houston
Jessica Lewis, Galveston
Jessica Mullins, Houston
Jesus Jijon, Houston
Jimmy Kirkhart, Eustace
Joe Hoff, Galveston
Joe Purtle, The Woodlands
Joe Stokes, Kilgore
John Franciosa, Spring
Jorge Neira, Galveston
Kaley Welsh, Houston
Karen Cook, Houston
Kaytlynn Welsch, Alvin
Kenneth Karam, Houston
Kenneth Stein, Bellaire
Kim Forrest, Angleton
Kimberlee Slaughter, Spring
Larie Cappadonna, Magnolia
Leo Henny, Lake Charles LA
Linda Riviera, League City
Lori Diaz, League City
Lori Kocian, Galveston
Louise Benavidez, Galveston
Lynn Baker, Pearland
Lynne Sustala, Houston
Michael Purvey, Houston
Michelle Crossley, Houston
Michelle Guigneaux, Galveston
Migel Cruz, Pearland
Mike Tersigne, Galveston
Omer Womack, Deer Park
Paul Nielsen, Houston
Rachel Sessions, Houston
Randall Swearingen, Houston
Ray Cartwright, Alvin
Rene Scott, Houston
Rhonda Dean, Houston
Richard La Cour Jr, Webster
Robert Aleksejczyk, League City
Rose Buitron, Pearland
Roxana Harrison, Houston
Sandi Genrich, Spring
Sandra Guzman, Houston
Sandy Robbins, Baytown
Shane McDermott, Galveston
Sharon Metyko, Galveston
Shawn Jackson, Katy
Stan McLeod, Cypress
Steve Fanos, Houston
Susan Rothery Troscinski, Spring
Tanya Lopez, Pasadena
Tina Brooks, Houston
Todd Latimore, Houston
Traci Gou, Tomball
Tracy Osmond, League City
William Garner, Houston
Xavier Loredo, Houston
Zachery Shanks, Huntsville

Marathon and Half Marathon
Aaron Obregon, Richmond
Alan Walker, The Woodlands
Brandi Sanderson, Galveston
David Sanderson, Galveston
Donnie Artley, Lake Jackson
Guy Rozas, League City
Hud Hopkins, Galveston
Kevyn Trammell, Alvin
Leanna Pickens, Galveston
Michael Mullins, Houston