The years 2008 and 2009 were my best years, things went pretty well. The 2008 and 2009 Provo River marathons started up in Provo canyon and ended at Utah Lake State Park. I set my lifetime PR at the 2008 Provo River marathon. This one is a very small race, the entire group going up in 2009 fit onto one bus, although it was crowded. At the start I realized that in my life I had never led a marathon. I ran out of the start gate at a very fast pace, beyond my ability to maintain

One of the things I have done all through my marathon experience is to listen for things people say, I have created quite a list. Here are a few of them I have actually heard, with where they happened. 1. Volunteer: You’ll have to back out and go to the other parking lot because this one is full. Runner in car: Where is the other parking lot? Volunteer: I don’t know. -Valley of Fire 2. Well, you may have beat me, but at least I don’t feel like I’m going to throw up now. -St

Be careful when giving running advice: Back in the early part of the century I got on the bus to ride to my second Deseret News marathon, my fifth marathon in my life.  This marathon is unique because we travel to the start line each year in nice buses rather than school buses. Ended up sitting next to a young woman who told me in our conversation that she was running her first marathon.  She asked several questions about running a marathon, I provided what I thought was pret

The 2008 St. George marathon caught us by surprise due to a rainstorm which was predicted to not come until the evening after the marathon.  Waiting at the start was very cold, and one of the Firemen there watching the fires told me that someone had said to him “I will pay you $500 if I can wear that coat for an hour.”    There were garbage bags available for us to wear at the start, which I took advantage of. After starting the race, the bag quickly became a personal steam b

One of the challenges I have faced in the marathon is feeling very poorly at the end of the race.  It’s often the same thing, where we run our best race, sprint in at the end, and then stop cold.  I end up being faint immediately after, and apparently others have noticed this happening to me. At the Park City marathon one year, this happened once again.  This time I ended up being helped over to the medical tent.  When I went in, the doctor looked at me and said “I think I re

My first marathon was an incredible experience.  After overcoming a spot of heart trouble and with a clear “go ahead” from the heart doctor, I started running 20 years ago.  It took 4 years to get up enough courage to try a marathon, along with support from two awesome friends. From the picture, it is obvious we never discussed what was appropriate to wear to one’s first marathon.   I’ve run all of my marathons with music.  Technology wasn’t as good then, as evidenced by the

I ran the Casper Wyoming marathon one year.    It was a beautiful marathon on a nice warm spring day. Everything went well until the end. The race spends several miles running on paved trails similar to the Jordan river Parkway, especially near the end, or at least it was the year I ran it.  There are lots of curves in the trail.  The mile 26 marker went by, I couldn’t see the finish line from there.  Then the trail curved, and came up to a street.  Based on the curve of the

On Christmas morning several years back, my dad and I got up at 7:15 in single-digit temperatures to go running. Then we got up on New Year's Day at 7:45 and went for a run. Most people would question the conventionality of running both of these mornings (especially Christmas), and I would forthrightly agree. I had never run on Christmas morning either....but it was great!! I start this post by talking about running because, well, I simply want to talk about running. Out of a

In 2009, I ran a northern Utah marathon, and failed to remember to NOT take my high blood pressure pill on race morning.  During the ride to the start, I heard the driver ask us “so, do I wait here until you finish”?  Someone told him No. At the end of the race I felt awful, and the medics quickly invited me into the medic tent.   For some reason, I was extremely cold, shivering visibly in my wet clothes despite having a blanket on.   I heard one of the other medics walk in a

This post outlines how I grew from boy to man and figured out who I really was through high school cross country. The pictures are from my race days -- I know I was a skinny skinny boy! Getting married and becoming a father has changed that, though ;) Muscles tense, hands clenched as feet steady themselves on the frosted white line. Just hours before, fresh paint laid upon clean cut grass, marking an unmistakable path to follow. Arms touch, the individual becomes a sea of hus

Over the past several decades, the Bonneville Salt Flats have been thinning. This is due largely to potash mining. The salt flats are a very unique landscape in the United States and deserve to be preserved, not only for our race, but for the unique place that it is. The world land speed record has been set here. Movies have been filmed on the Salt Flats. They are unique to Utah, and they are in danger of disappearing. I recently read this article in the Salt Lake Tribune by

In 2005, I ran an Idaho marathon, noted for large temperature swings during the race, up to 60 degrees.  It was very cold at the start, so we waited on the buses after arriving.  I shared the bus with a group of “Marathon Maniacs”, and listened to their predictable conversations, with questions like “how many marathons you run”?   Then I heard one of their wives say “I don’t care how many marathons any of these people have run”. Shortly before gun time, the bus drivers decide

So, some people think I'm crazy to run 1 mile, much less marathons. They don't understand why I do this and why I think it's fun. I'm not sure I fully understand it all the time, but I'm going to try and make sense of it here with my Top 10 Reasons Why I Run (in no particular order). 1. I learn something about myself when I run Running gives me a lot of time to think. I learn who I am as I run, not only because of all that time, but also by how I run. If it's a hard run, I