This is one of the toughest race reports I’ve written. I ran the Cascade Express marathon on September 7, a race capping 12 solid weeks of training. The temperature at the starting line was far too warm. I struggle in races and general training in hot weather, so I struggled for most of the 26.2 […]
Boston Beard 2024 week 9 — finding running inspiration where I can
Summer is my least favorite season for marathon training. Or running in general. The heat and humidity zaps all energy and forces paces to slow to the point where I question every goal I have set. So I’m only grinding out the summer miles for one reason: one last shot at hitting a 2025 Boston […]
Boston Beard 2024 week 8 — when challenges come, how will I choose to show up?
Marathon training is never perfect. It is never linear progress, and there are always difficult moments and bad weeks. For me, week eight of my buildup to September’s Boston qualifier attempt could have defeated me. The downward spiral started when I woke up Monday night coughing. So I didn’t make my track workout Tuesday morning. […]
2024 Boston Marathon — survive and choose happiness
Standing waiting to start the 2024 Boston Marathon, I felt a drop of sweat slide down my left arm. I should have known in that moment that it was going to be a rough day. I had moved back to corral seven to run with a group I knew only from Strava interactions. But they […]
2021 Boston Marathon — familiar and not so familiar sights and sounds
I could see something was wrong. Runners were parting uphill ahead of me, with a 2021 Boston Marathon volunteer waving her arms to direct traffic. A runner was down in the middle of the road in mile 8. As I ran past on the right, I realized the runner wasn’t conscious or breathing. Her face […]
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