Hometown

Boise, ID

Current P.R.

2:51:11 (Seattle, 2010)

Where were you born?

Chicago, IL

Number of marathons

70ish (incl. Ironmans and ultramarathons)

Favorite marathon

The next one.

Typical pace

3:10 – 3:50

Favorite running music

Most everything under the sun, even the occasional podcast.

Occupation

Transportation Engineer

Favorite running food

Pizza…oh, wait, that’s for after the run.  Gatorade is good, but it’s not a food…I’d have to go with Clif Bars.

Any hobbies?

Aside from running, cycling, swimming, golf, music, word games/logic puzzles

Who do you train with?

Mostly alone, sometimes with others.

Favorite book, what are you reading now?

Mostly non-fiction, best recent read:  “Manhunt:  The 12 Day Search for Lincoln’s Killer” by James Swanson.

A quotation you like…

Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. - GOETHE

Personal goals

Still have hopes of breaking 2:45 in the marathon and 1:17 in the half marathon.

Why do you run?

Because there is no better form of therapy, and it’s cheap.

Describe your best marathon memory.

My best marathon memory does not involve one that I have run, but rather my coaching experience in 2004 when I lived in St. Louis.  I was one of the coaches through the local YMCA for a group of about a dozen marathoners preparing for the St. Louis marathon.  Most were first timers; some had never run more than a couple of miles.  Through wind, rain, snow and perseverance, all finished. I learned that imparting knowledge to others through one’s own experience is powerful medicine indeed.

Why do you pace?

Having run marathons for 13 years, I like to think I have learned a thing or two about running.  It’s my chance to pass this on to others who are part of the “marathon family”.

Tell us your best pacing experience.

Kentucky Derby Marathon, Louisville, KY, 2007 – Pacing 3:30 on a warm spring day, I caught a gentleman (professor at Purdue) running his first marathon.  He was hurting, and I kept providing encouragement, telling him to stick with me and cross the finish line together.  He was in a rather negative state of mind, but he ran right beside me.  Finished right under 3:30, and he couldn’t have been more ecstatic.  Striving together toward a common goal is tremendous motivation by itself.

Why should someone run in your pace group?

I’ll never be the fastest runner, but I know there is one thing in running I can do and do well is hold a pace.  That, and the corny jokes.

Any tips for runners about to join your group?

If it’s not familiar to you, don’t eat it the day before a marathon.  Normally quiet and reserved, marathon pacing gives me a chance to prove that’s not always the case.  I have a good time on the run and if I can impart that to others I have done my job.  That and hit my pace to the second…

Anything else you’d like to share?

Great quote from the legendary George Sheehan:

“Some think guts is sprinting at the end of a race. But guts is what got you there to begin with. Guts start back in the hills with 6 miles to go and you're thinking of how you can get out of this race without anyone noticing. Guts begin when you still have forty minutes of torture left and you're already hurting more than you ever remember.”