Pacer Rich

Hometown

O’Fallon, IL

Current P.R.

2:58:28, 2011 Arizona RnR

Where were you born?

Granite City, IL

Number of marathons

Birthday

October 8^th

Favorite marathon

Boston Marathon

Typical pace

3:30-3:40

Favorite running music

U2, R.E.M., Young the Giant, Coldplay, Oasis

Occupation

Physics Teacher

Favorite running food

I crave chocolate chip cookies the night before a marathon!

Any hobbies?

Running, biking, woodworking

Who do you train with?

My running pals Steve C. & Dan R.

Favorite book, what are you reading now?

Dune, by Frank Herbert (fiction)

Born to Run, by Chris McDougall (non-fiction)

A quotation you like…

Without ice cream, there would be chaos and darkness. ~Don Kardong, 4^th place 1976 Olympic Marathoner

Personal goals

Be a great husband and father

Why do you run?

I actually enjoy the discipline of training.

Describe your best marathon memory.

I was on television at the beginning of the 2008 Boston Marathon when the camera swooped over the crowd (my 2 seconds of fame!) Just standing in the corral, knowing I was 26.2 miles from crossing the finish line on Boylston St. was the realization of a dream.

Why do you pace?

At heart, I’m a coach. I’ve coached everything from soccer to basketball to cross country. I enjoy helping others achieve their goals.

Tell us your best pacing experience.

2012 Illinois Marathon, 3:35 group - We woke up to a PR weather day on a flat, fast course - cool, overcast, and some light rain before the race. My group was large and enthusiastic throughout the race, working hard to get their Boston Qualifier. As we hit 20 miles, many of the group had begun to move ahead of me as they made a final push for their BQ. But, a little before 24 miles most of the group began to fall back to me, until we had reformed a cohesive unit of about a dozen very tired runners. I promised each of them that the 25th mile was the toughest; stick it out, then hammer it home. As we hung together, pushing ourselves to the next mile mark, an amazing thing happened - every single runner found some fresh legs. Pushing past 25 miles and heading home the group began leaving me behind while I stuck to pace, finishing in 3:34:33 (just 3 seconds off my target!) The group hug after the finish was one of the greatest moments of my pacing career :) I had more Boston Qualifiers on that one day than I usually see in a whole year of pacing! Nice job crew!

Why should someone run in your pace group?

I love to listen to your running stories and share a few of my own. But, if you just want to tag along and enjoy the run, I’m happy to just keep a steady pace and let you enjoy the run.

Any tips for runners about to join your group?

I’m a straw man. One of the hardest things to do while running is drinking from a cup. Unless, of course, you’re drinking from a straw in the cup! I always bring along straws to share with my runners. It’s your job to have someplace to carry them along on the run.

Anything else you’d like to share?

Be sure to ask me about the tornado marathon I ran in Kansas (where else?!)