Fridays with Frank: Bus Trouble at Idaho Marathon

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 decided to go turn the buses around, so they drove away.  Assured we were just turning the buses, we stayed on. The first one stopped, then backed into the sand and got stuck.  Then I watched the bus I was on do the same thing.  Now we were over a mile away from the start, with 15 minutes to gun time.   

Some of the runners jumped off and started running back to the start, others stayed and waited as the drivers worked to free the stranded buses.   After a significant effort, one of the buses got free, so we all got on that one, picked up those who had started back, and got to the start line.  I left my gloves on the bus, so I went back into the bus, and heard the gun fire.   I retrieved my gloves, ran out of the bus and across the starting line, in dead last place.  

Fortunately, I wasn’t dead. 

#FridayswithFrank #DusktoDawnRelay #SeizetheNight

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Frank has run 103 marathons and 3 ultras. He considers any exercise that's not running a waste of time. His running music of choice is Nightwish. Frank currently lives in West Jordan, Utah

Frank has run 103 marathons and 3 ultras. He considers any exercise that is not running to be a waste of time. His running music of choice is Nightwish, though he is also a huge fan of Cher. Frank currently lives with his wife in West Jordan, Utah.

Race Directors Note: Frank is a good personal friend that I have known for many years. We currently run together on a weekly basis, and I have run several marathons with him. Through these many interactions I have heard many of the stories that we are sharing on this blog, and I thought it was about time for the rest of the world to hear them. So I hope you all enjoy Fridays with Frank.

-Andrew

Top 10 Reasons Why I Run

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 find out that day if I'm strong or not. I may realize something about myself as I think about my life and what is important to me. Or something I see along the way may remind me of something from my past. Running can be a very introspective experience.

2. I'm a social runner

• Every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday I wake up at 5 am to go and run. I don't have to wake up this early to run and get to work, but some of my friends do, so I do it. This is three times a week where I get to go and run with my dad and a group of our friends and just chat, swap stories, and have a good time, all while also running. We sometimes even run races together, which makes it all worth it.

Me and my friend Frank running the entire South Jordan Marathon together. We have just a few hundred meters to go here.

3. I strengthen myself

• So, this one is kind of two-fold. I am obviously strengthening my body in many ways. I won't go into that here, but there's lot of research on that. What I'm talking about here is more an emotional and mental strength. When I get to the last three miles of the marathon and I'm basically dead, it's this strength that gets me through. I know that I have trained for it and that I can finish. As we've all heard, "Running is 90% mental and the rest is physical".

4. It helps my mental health

• Speaking of strengthening myself emotionally and mentally, running is good for my mental health. This strength that I gain does more than just help me at the end of a marathon. It helps me to fight off the depression and anxiety that I sometimes experience and gives me the mental fortitude and discipline to do the things I need to in life to make myself better. How's that for a benefit of running!

5. I can eat what I want

• As an athletic trainer, people assume that I eat correctly, but I don't. I know I should and I'm working on it, but one of the benefits for me of running is that I can eat what I want and most the calories get burned off as I run. I just have to be careful with this, because if I stop running but keep eating....

6. I sleep better

• I've had trouble sleeping since I was a teenager, so this one is just great. When I am consistently running, I sleep better, which ultimately makes me a better person, or at least a less grouchy one.

7. It gives me bragging rights

• Let's be honest, if you run a marathon, you tell everybody about it. This is part of being a runner. I love to tell people that I've run 11 marathons, or that I ran 15 miles that morning and it was no big deal. It's the vain side of me, I know, but I like it. And I'll continue to do it. Let me know when you find somebody who has run a marathon and never told anybody about it.

8. I get to set and (hopefully) achieve a goal

• So, sometimes my goal is just to finish the race. But you know what? That's more than can be said for many people. Other times I have a time goal and I train to achieve it. Sometimes I do, but sometimes I don't. If not, it gives me a chance to assess what I did wrong, and then to try again. My marathon PR of 3:34:59 may not be record setting, but it's something that I'm proud of and gives me a goal to beat someday in the future.

9. I get to try new things

• I did a race this last January that I never thought I'd ever do, and it was awesome! It was the Frigid 5K and Penguing Plunge in Utah County. After running the 5K with my wife, we went and stripped down and jumped into a hole cut into Utah Lake, in the middle of winter! I would have never done this if I was not a runner.

This is me, emerging from the freezing waters of Utah Lake in January

10. I just think it's fun and it makes me feel good

• At the end of the day I don't think I really need any of the above reasons to like running or to justify to anybody why I like it. When I'm out running, I just like it. It makes me feel good and I'm going to keep doing it as long as I can.

#DusktoDawnRelays #SeizetheNight #Running