Month: December 2025

2025 was a year with a couple of major life transitions in our family. Although these events did not upend running, they certainly had an effect.

We spent last week of 2024 and celebrated New Year’s in Spokane, Washington, where were planning to move before this summer. We met with a realtor, looked at neighborhoods, and had our family stay with us while we scouted the area. We got in some nice runs along the Spokane River and had some very interesting cross country skiing outings on the snowy trails of Mt. Spokane.

We were looking forward to the move.

Things did not turn out that way, in fact they changed rather quickly. Before dawn on New Year’s day I took my son and his new wife (their wedding was in August) to the airport and sent them off. They piled out of the car with their gear, I gave them a hug and she said goodbye. At that moment I did not realize that goodbye meant just that. Not see you later as you would expect.

We wrapped up our trip on January 2nd and headed back to Colorado. A week later the daughter-in-law informed our son that even though they had been together for more than eight years and had gotten along quite well she did not want to be married. She had to find herself. That was an utter shock to him and to us when he broke the news about a week later. Our family was reeling with shock for weeks and months. And the big question even though they had a two year engagement why did she even go through with the marriage? We do no have that answer and maybe they don’t either.

That surprising revelation early in the year did not affect my day-to-day running that much–other than my thoughts, which for months and sometimes even to now, have been what the heck was all that about?

Nevertheless, we have moved on figuratively and literally. Our ex-daughter in law had grown up in the region a few hours away from Spokane and we had thought that living in that area would be a good change from an overcrowded, increasingly expensive Colorado. We made plans and put our condo on the market.

However, in mid-March and on the same day, Tamara and I separately realized that eastern Washington might not be the place for us to move. Our son had set up his life in Wisconsin. He had finished his residency and fellowship at the university, and was now working two jobs.

Why then would we want to go to Spokane, which was already remote from everyone in our family? On that day we decided to move to the Midwest. I had wanted a place with a decent airport nearby, and with reliable cross country skiing. Running won’t last forever, but hopefully I can ski into old age after my legs have given out. A couple years ago we had considered places Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota but leaned to the West. Within a day of reconsidering our plans, we decided on the Twin Cities in Minnesota. And here were are!

I do miss Colorado, the mountains and our friends, and Spokane had a fair amount to offer. However, six months after making the move this was a great choice and a better location for skiing, for running, and actually for quality of life.

Highlights of 2025

This was my third year and in the age group, and once you get into your 50s and 60s you can usually each year you can expect a drop off in performance level and placings in competitive races and championships. Some masters athletes only compete in their first or second year of a five year age group. As long as I’m healthy, I like to keep going.

The First Half of 2025

At the beginning of the year I had pegged three key races/race weeks plus I decided to keep going with the USATF Masters Grand Prix, which scores your best five races on an eight race circuit. In that series I knew I would have greater competition this year, with younger athletes moving into the age group in particular Dan King the ace middle distance runner from Boulder, CO. The Grand Prix events would include 8K cross country in January, 10K road race in April, as well as the World Championship races, which would provide Grand Prix points depending on how you finished with the US runners.

I do like to fill the year with about 15 races on the schedule. Some I just work through them as a training or hard run, others I might go for a fast time and include a taper. Longer races require some recovery time. At the beginning of the year I placed the local BolderBoulder 10K and the Lilac Bloomsday 12K back in Spokane on the schedule. Those would follow the USATF/World Masters winter-spring races and would be more for fun.

The first half of the year could hardly gone better, I took a 2nd to King at the US Nationals Cross Country championships in January. By the time of the World Masters championships arrive in late March we had already decided to to move to Minnesota, and the house was on the market. I cut that trip short because I was needed back home for showings and packing. Woah, the move was getting real!

For World Masters, I put all my all my effort into one basket the 8K XC. That race was heated and close! On a hot morning I was within 3 or 4 seconds behind the leader, Jukka Kaupila of Finland with 2K to go, but I could not close that gap and finished with silver medal just 5 seconds back. However, the US dominated as a team and we won Gold, as we had in Sweden the previous year. You cannot beat a team victory at a world championship!

Meanwhile, in late winter the World Athletics canceled the World Road Racing championships altogether, and there went the half marathon which is my best distance. I would have to find another race (shorter) on to fill the calendar.

I think I peaked for the year in March-April. A month later after World Masters we had the US 10K road championship in Dedham, MA. I did not have a club team this time, and ran unattached. This was a hard fought win, but I ran 38:17 to win the age group and place second overall in age grading (91%).

Three days later we moved out of our foothills condo and had to spend two months in an AirBnb, while we wrapped things up and prepared for our move.

The May-June races were solid, but I did not feel at my best. I was first in the age group at the Bloomsday and BoulderBoulder. And was a late entry to the US masters 4 mile championship in Peoria, IL, where I placed 2nd to King again. However, this time he was a full minute ahead. And I was only 7th in the age grade ranking. That wrapped up a long spring campaign.

2025 the Second Half

We settled into our temporary apartment in the suburbs of St. Paul on July 1st. Settle is an understatement. We had no furniture. We bought a couple of office chairs and a table to get buy for the first couple of weeks, and a friend lent his air mattress after learning that we had been sleeping on the floor. That’s not too bad when you’re in your 20s, but in your mid-late 60s? uh uh. No good.

The best thing about being here has been finding a great group of masters running friends. What a team! They were very welcoming and we had a large gathering on our first weekend. I have been running with them every week and look forward to future races, workouts, and adventures.

First run in July with the new Twin Cities club.

July was just getting adapted to the hot and humid climate and to get in miles. By August I was was getting used to being here.

My friends from my club in Colorado had asked me to do the Hood to Coast Relay in late August, so while building for the November marathon, I worked toward that as well. Doing a number of threshold and double threshold sessions. Hood to Coast was a great trip and experience, truly one of the highlights of my running career, and it was great to know that I still have so many friends in Colorado.

Age group 1st place team at the Hood to Coast Relay.

The downside of running three legs totaling 16 miles in the heat, on top of my weekly long runs, was that my knees started to ache with some tendinitis which I wouldn’t shake until after the marathon. It didn’t really set me back much, but most of my runs were uncomfortable.

In September-October I had two big local races, a half marathon and a 10 miler. I managed to set the state record in the half (as well as the 10 mile split that day) run an age grade 90%, and win the age group at the Twin Cities 10 miler on an unseasonably warm morning (it was near 70 at the 6:55 AM start). To cap off the Grand Prix I traveled to Atlanta for the 5K road race with the new team, where we wrapped up the team championship for 2025. I placed 2nd for the age group and locked up a 2nd place for the Grand Prix with 485 points, with King winning it with 495 points.

The finale would be the NYC Marathon/World Marathon Majors masters championships. I put in about 62 miles a week from July 1 through the end of October and had some decent long runs but nothing out of the park. Although I wanted to break 3 I wasn’t confident I had the fitness to hold a 6:52 pace. 7:00 or so, maybe. New York was an experience of a lifetime, although I was a good 3 minutes off from my goal time and did slow down over the second half, I closed better than my competitors (having the 3rd fastest final 13.1 miles in my age group) to finish 3rd in the championship with a 3:06:17. That was huge! Two world medals in one year.

Celebrating a bronze medal at the World Marathon Majors masters championships!

Challenges and Disappointments

Sure it would have been nice to win everything and score above 90% age grade four or five times instead of twice. However, I have nothing to complain about in 2025 and feel blessed to have held onto my fitness through a year that had huge disappointment and a major life transition. I’m glad that my achy knees held out through the end of 2025. Although the late spring races were not as strong as I would like I do not believe I had a single disappointing race.

Lessons Learned

I’m not superman, I’m in my late 60s and feeling my age creeping up every year. It gets harder each season, but this is what I do and what I love to do. I think an outsider would say maybe I had too many “big” races, with four Grand Prix races, a World Championship cross country race, a grueling 20 hour relay, a smattering of fairly big “A” (or at least A- races) along the way, and a championship marathon. That’s an ambitious schedule for anyone, let alone one into their golden years. I could learn from a less is more philosophy with the racing.

Next Year, 2026

I have not picked all of my races but have a pretty good plan. I do not think I will do a full USATF Grand Prix in 2026. The schedule is never perfect and this year is worse than most, with the first three of eight races occurring by January 11! And six in the first half of the year. I’ll do a perfunctory two or three with my team for team points and that will be enough.

There will be no World Masters for me in 2026. The championships are in South Korea in early September. I was quite intrigued by the prospect, but it would require a two week trip away from home (and leaving my wife behind), and a lot of money for some races in what promises to be very hot conditions (typically 90s and humid). Instead I have opted to do the Amsterdam Marathon in October. Tamara will travel with me, it’s a flat and fast course, and one more chance for a sub 3 marathon in my 60s.

In between I have a number of great local events and regional events (5K, 10K, 7 mile, and half marathon) and a bucket lister, the Bay to Breakers 12K in San Francisco next May. It’s a great schedule for me, maybe a little less ambitious than 2023-2025! The Amsterdam Marathon is my main goal, everything else just fits in as training, polishing, and fun.

Extensions of Gratitude

My wife Tamara, who can no longer run and race, has been my number 1 fan and supporter for years. I wish she could still participate, even at a casual level but her health does not allow it. I also wish she could travel to more of my races, but maybe that’s for the better–she might get bored–and the events that she does attend are special occasions.

My Colorado teammates. They were a great group. A half dozen showed up for a send off run and brunch last June at Barr Lake, east of Denver. That was a bittersweet parting. I do miss them and appreciate the nearly 10 years of partnership with the Boulder Road Runners. The long weekend in Portland for the Hood to Coast Relay was one of the highlights of my running life. We had so much fun and so many laughs. Thanks to the BRR 50s+ team for bringing an old 60s guy along with them for the running and van ride. I miss you guys too.

The new teammates in Minnesota have been outstanding. What a fun and focused group. They are so accomplished as runners as well as in life. The welcomed me onto their team as soon as we arrived and I look forward to future races, weekly runs, and weekend outings.

And I would like to shout out to my online friends at ARTC and the Moose Refuge. Small groups but they are passionate about running and racing while being supportive and kind.

Final Note and Update

Our son’s divorce was finalize last summer, the entire thing probably should have been annulled. Nevertheless, it was a No Fault divorce with no financial obligations to the runaway bride, and the only downside was that he had to wait six months for it to be finalized. In the meantime, we were happy to learn that he met a young woman who seems more compatible. When he told us about her he said that she’s a medical student who is very intelligent and organized and that she understands him and his life and ambitions as a doctor. He also ran a personal best at the half marathon with a 1:14, off of just 35 miles a week.

We are looking forward to a family gathering over New Years, with both sons.