The spring training block is just about done. Phase I of the final exam was last weekend and the Phase II is next. That’s actually the real final. Meanwhile, I’ll be attending my 50th high school reunion this weekend.
Last week’s 4 mile was an A effort. I might have eked out another 5 or 6 seconds in that third mile, as I dropped off just a bit between about 2.7 and 3.5 miles before winding up for a strong finish. Even if I had managed to push through I don’t think I would have pulled off a 90% grade under those hot-humid conditions. In age grading I was 89% top six out of all participants. The naysayers on a place like Letsrun would say that still sucks. But we grade on a curve. That’s an A.
Here’s a deeper dive into the training this spring. We’ll go back 10 weeks, plus a few more. In March I just built up from about 20 miles a week to 40s by the end of the month. Workouts started in April with threshold sessions ending with some faster short reps at 5K to 1500 m effort. Nothing fancy.
April
I battled some tendon pain on the posterior tibialis insertion, in my ankle. I think it started from my new ski boots which were pressing on that point. For the most part the pain has been in the 1-4 range although there were some days when it hurt to even jog. In May I got some inserts and stretches and it has improved since then.
In the middle of April I got in some repeat 1K reps at 10K effort on the Get in Gear course and I felt pretty decent that day, hitting some wind-aided reps in the 6:15-6:20 range, which was goal pace. Typically, I did tempo/threshold type workouts or repetitions with progression in pace. I did not do any work faster than about 6 minute pace. On the double threshold day the morning workout was repeats at sub-threshold (7:00/mile down to about 6:35). A single tempo day would be closer to 6:30 pace on average. I only mixed in CV or V02 max type work in shorter reps at the end of some threshold running.
The work paid off and my 10K race was solid. Although I did not run under 6:20 I still ran 90% age grade, which is kind of my standard goal for sea level races.
Summary – Ran 27 days with seven workout days, one was a double threshold. One race with a two day cut back. 221 miles total.
May
I wanted to increase the miles in May and continue with the workouts. The May races (12K and 5K) were not A races, but I did cut back for two days leading up to each event. I ran the 12K at threshold effort (LT2), so not quite all out but still a challenging effort to maintain for nearly 50 minutes.
If you include that as a workout and not a race then I ran five workouts for the month, capped off with a “Michigan” in the last week. (1600 at 10K, 0.9 threshold, 1200 at 8K, 0.9 mile threshold, 800 at3K, 0.9 threshold, and 400 at 1 mile effort. That was my capstone workout. I also got in three decent long runs of 13, 14, and 15 miles.
The 5K was decent (90% age grade) but I did not feel fresh on race day.
Summary – I ran 265 miles with one day off and one day of cross training (cycling). I did six workouts if you include the double threshold and 12K race as a threshold workout. Three long runs.
June
June is when it counts. Most of the workouts and training are done and I have two big races this month. The first week was a full taper for the 4 mile road championship. I came in with a lot of doubts about my fitness, which were compounded by the sudden onset of seasonal heat and humidity over the previous 10 or 12 days. Turns out the training was decent and heat adaptation enough to have a good day of it. I did not get the 90% age grade, nor did I reach my goal of matching last year’s time on the same course, but considering the conditions I exceed expectations and came out with an age group win by a pretty large margin–not expected. Last week I jumped back in and logged in 62 miles with a couple of solid workouts to prepare for this weekend’s half.
Am I ready? Ask at about 7:00 or 7:30 AM on Saturday. The A+ goal would be under 1:24. My workouts have not indicated that I am ready for that. My Garmin and Strava apps have been predicting 1:26-1:27. My knowledge and experience say 1:25. I’d really like to be under 1:25, and that’ll be my goal pace starting out.
Other than taking a couple of recent runs in the middle of the day in recent weeks, I did not prepare much for the heat and humidity. By the day or two before last weekend’s race I was beginning to regret that. And even then, the actual conditions were worse than expected. Earlier the week the forecast called for race temperatures to be in the mid-high 60s with a dew point of 61. A day before they were saying 70 degrees and a dewpoint of 67. By 7 AM on race day it was already 72 degrees and sunny. Jogging to the start line on Saturday we knew we were in for a hot one.
Reluctant A Race
Over the past eight or nine years springtime has been my best running season. I tended to build a good aerobic and strength base over the winter, without much racing, and then by March I was ready to roll. This was my first year back in the Midwest after more than a decade in Colorado and like the slow slide into spring weather that we had, my fitness seemed to just lumber along at its own pace and not according to what I wanted. Add to that some spring travel delayed my racing season, which did not start until late April this year. I was left with a five race season with a good rust-buster 10K (90% age grade), the Bay to Breakers 12K last month in San Francisco that was more of a B race that I trained through and paced at threshold effort, and the following weekend I did a 5K that you might call A-/B+ both in priority and in outcome. The short on that is that I was aiming for a 91% age grade or so and to win my age class. I ended up matching my lower end goal of 18:57 and 90% age grade but ended up second in my age class. I was a tiny bit disappointed but not broken about that. It was all part of the process.
My A-level races for the spring of 2026 were the 4-mile last weekend and a half marathon in another two weeks. I do not consider the 4 mile to be a great distance to race do not even have an age group personal best for the distance–which I last raced, hmm maybe around 2000. Even though this was a championship race on the USATF circuit, it just did not seem like that big of a deal. Furthermore, I am now on a great masters racing team (not that the last one was bad–it was one of the best in the country for runners aged 50+) but was not expecting to be a scorer. The top three on our team are five or six years younger and a lot faster than have I been running in the past two years. So I would just be a filler, or maybe put on the B team.
In some ways, this felt more like a no-pressure situation, where I would travel, hang out with my teammates for a weekend, and maybe run well enough to also get an individual medal.
Training
I put in about 60 miles a week of training for the past eight weeks and it has been solid but not spectacular. The first five weeks or so included a double threshold day, another day with a moderate workout (easy tempo or fartlek), and a longer run. Over the past three weeks I did the Bay to Breakers in just under 50 minutes (which for me was pretty hard, but not quite race level). Recovery from that was slow. Then eight days later I did the 5K race, followed by my longest run of the block (15 miles) and three days later a Michigan workout (nearly 10K of work at threshold or faster effort). With three hard days in a five day span I was hoping for some supercompensation. My teammates exclaimed that such training might be considered crazy. I tapered over the last five days prior to the race, and hoped that would be enough of a recovery.
The Trip and the Race
Peoria is 7 hours away by car and almost the same by air because there are no direct flights. So we drove. It wasn’t too bad, although keeping our driver from getting distracted took some teamwork at times.
We took a short 25-30 minute shakeout run on Friday afternoon, surveying the course, which is out and back on parallel streets, but not quite a full loop. It only has one hill of note, from about 0.15 in to 0.5, and it features a nice long gradual downhill finish. They were expecting fast times and perhaps some American records.
The race also hosts the professional USATF championships for men and women, and has done so for decades. The pros were the headliners, the masters have been but a graying to gray sideshow over the past two seasons. As it should be.
At the start of race it was 77 degrees with a dew point of 71, a good deal warmer than forecast. I was not confident of doing well in this race. The masters runner who beat me by nearly a minute at last year’s Bix 7 was entered, and my teammate who had finished ahead of me in two of the previous three races was also racing. I figured first place was out of the question, especially seeing my opponent do some strides just before the race–he looked so smooth and fast! Like an elite runner. And in this heat and humidity, I thought I might be fighting for third or fourth. Or just to finish on my own two feet.
The elite women and men took off at 8:00 and 8:05. We, the masters runners aged 40-89, lined up with our own double traffic lane and the citizen runners had their lane next to ours. We’d merge at about 0.2, at bottom of the hill. It’s not a huge race (with some 1,400 participants overall), so things would sort out fairly quickly.
Last year I took the hill a little cautiously and never really got back into it. My time was okay and I did score an 89% age grade on a warm/humid morning (but about 10 or 12 degrees cooler than Saturday!). This time even though it was hot I wanted to engage a little earlier, while not trying to be too aggressive. I had three athletes I wanted to key off from, including my masters rival who is tall and wearing a light blue singlet–easy to pick out–and a couple other friendly competitors who I have raced against many times in previous years, and we are pretty even.
My age group rival already had 40 meters on me before we even crested the hill at 0.4 miles, and I figured he was gone. But I was right with the other two and actually not feeling too bad. The street has some big trees along it and the shade was ample. I felt in control and the heat was not bothering me.
By a half mile I could see that my age group rival was not pulling away, and if anything his cadence was slowing! At the mile he was 8 seconds ahead but was slowing. Maybe I had a chance, but I put that out of my head for the moment and just focused on running.
By about 2 km I caught him and passed him, and I just looked ahead trying to keep up with my other competitors as one by one we picked off some of the faster starters. Last year I really slowed down at the slight uphill just before the turn around and 2 mile marker. I stayed more focused this time and was 10 seconds faster than in 2025. It’s a long stretch, about 1.5 miles, on the same street and if not for the tall shade trees along the route you would be able to see the downtown buildings. I felt pretty strong through about 2.5 miles but some doubts the heat, my breathing, and ability to maintain this effort for another 8-9 minutes. I dropped off a little, my friend pulled away by about 5 seconds and I was kind of falling into survival mode. Fortunately, the blocks through the residential neighborhood went by quickly and we passed three miles. I was slower than last year but had not really lost much ground. I knew it was just a matter of holding on until that final 0.4 mile downhill. One km of grind as we approached the downtown area. The streets actually came up quickly and I could see where we would turn!
I was extremely surprised to see two of my teammates about ready to make the turn. They had been out of sight since the first half mile of the race and I figured the would be 60-90 seconds ahead (like they had been last year). But here they were, and slowing down. I passed them both just after the turn, gave some encouragement, and focused on striding out, accelerating each block, and getting to that finish line!
I crossed 18 seconds slower than last year, but was elated to win my age group, as unexpected as that may have seemed only 15 or 20 minutes prior. My two teammates rolled in within 15 or 20 seconds, but with me the back up as second runner it was obvious that we would not win the team title. My age group competitors whom I thought I would be either behind or battling to the finish would finish 1.5 and 2 minutes later.
A lot of runners really struggled in the heat, and for injury or health reasons, but I only slowed 4.5 seconds per mile compared to last year. I’ll take that as a win, and will go so far as to say that this was my best result since the USATF 10K in Massachusetts back in April 2025.
At one time the Bay to Breakers was the biggest, most famous, non-marathon race event in North America if not the entire world. It would boast some 150,000 registered and non-registered runners; host some of the deepest elite-professional fields of the year; feature fast centipede teams, outlandish costumes, naked runners, as well as being a 7.5-mile block party. Those days are in the past, but it’s still a favorite event for many in San Francisco. I have wanted to do Bay to Breakers for decades but never got around to it. This year I put it on my calendar and signed up in January.
The 2026 field had about 30,000 runners total with 22,000 in the 12K on a course that stretches from the bay on the east side of the city through its streets for about 4 miles and into Golden Gate Park for a long downhill finish to Ocean Beach.
Race day weather was perfect, in the mid-50s, with a bit of a headwind (but not bad) and clear skies. My plan was to run the first 2 miles at sub threshold effort, get up the massive Hayes Street hill. The steep part (7% grade over 0.4 miles) starts at about 2.3 miles but you are climbing most of the first half of the race.
I lined up close to the front, next to a couple of the women’s centipede teams, about 8-10 meters behind the start line. It seemed that 70% of the people were wearing costumes, I had surfer shorts and a colorful race singlet from another race and figured that’d be good enough. Just a minute to go before the start a group of about 5-6 guys standing right next me who were wearing chef hats and aprons stopped dropped their shorts and would run the course as bare butt chefs.
After the start I got shoved around a bit and had to weave and dodge around costumed runners over the chaotic first half mile. But after that the foot traffic smoothed out and we were strung out over the wide streets, or packed into small groups.
The Impalas women’s centipede team was just ahead. They had a dozen runners wearing green hula skirts that went swish swish swish as they strode along. They were a good pace group so I stayed near them until half way. My effort and pace for the first two miles were right on.
There is no easy easy way to get up a long steep hill and the 150 foot climb with some pitches exceeding 10% was tough going. I slowed considerably but the effort level went up. Once we crested the hill we dropped down steeply for a quarter mile and then had another mile of gradual ascent before the course flattened out. By then we were into Golden Gate Park and I passed the hula skirt centipede and ran the rest of the way with group of five or six runners who were keeping about the same pace.
Half way!
Occasionally, another runner would pass and leave us in their wake, but the rest of the way went smoothly and the gradual downhill felt great.
We got to Ocean Beach with about 600 m to go and made a sharp left toward the finish. I had a state championship 5K road race on the following weekend and felt no need to hammer. Some runners pulled away in the stretch but I kept it at threshold effort. Got exactly what I wanted out of it as a workout. And as an event, Bay to Breakers was everything I had hoped for. With family in the Bay area, I might return for the race.
Ideally this would not have been a season debut but I have had a slow start to 2026. So in the final weeks of preparation the race sort of transformed from an A/A- effort to just run and see how it goes.
As I mentioned in last weekend’s post, over the past decade I have often had my best races of the year in the spring. However, my training was different during that time and I would be up to 60-70 miles a week by February or early March and not cross country skiing as much.
The three long ski races in February took a lot out of me, and recovery was more like from a road marathon and much of March was just getting my legs back. My build up was gradual but I did get 50 mpw average over the past 4 weeks, and that’s a good foundation. Nevertheless, last year on this same weekend I ran 38:16 for 10K. Originally, I had visions of trying to match that this year on th course here, but I could tell it wasn’t coming together.
A lot of my workouts so far have been sub-threshold and those have felt okay, but running at anaerobic threshold effort or under has not felt easy at all! I came in thinking that 6:20 (39:20) would be a solid goal pace for current fitness, over 6:30 (low 40s) would mean that I was off and would have a lot of work to do.
Race day was cool at about 45 F, a bit drizzly off and on, but hardly any wind. The course is a loop along the Mississippi River and it’s scenic along residential streets and bluffs that tower over the river. This race has been around since the 1970s and for a long time it was fairly big, and sometimes with some national class results in the open division. I actually ran it once in 1981 when I was working nearby for part of that year. I went out way too fast (10:10 for 2 miles) and finished 33:35 or 40 after struggling over the second half with mile splits in the 5:30s-40s.
Fast forward to 2026, I remembered that experience from all those years ago, and even though the race has a downhill start I put on the breaks within a couple hundred meters. The first two miles felt too easy but my split mile split of 6:22 was right on and 2 mile at about 12:42.
The course has just three hills of note but they are only about 30 to 38 feet (10-12 m) each, the two bridge crossings (at 2.4 and 5.5 miles into the race) are gradual at 1-2%, the middle hill is steeper, at 3.2 miles, roughly 5-6%. My 5K split was at 19:47, so a little off but not by much. The last 3 miles were difficult and I had to keep focus in an attempt to maintain pace. Fortunately the last km is a gentle net downhill and I could pick it up a bit as we crested the high point of the second bridge. I ended up running 39:33 (6:22/mile, 3:57/km) which was good enough to win my age group win (my teammate was close behind and ran with me through 5 miles) and 88.6 age grade–both of which I’ll gladly take for a season opener.
Next up a 12K next month for fun and grins, a fast 5K here, and then in June a masters championship 4 mile and then a bucket list (with a fast course) 1/2 marathon.
No races to report and I have been neglecting any updates, as in there has nothing to write home about race-wise. However, to get race ready you have to do weeks or months of groundwork. Here’s the post-ski season springtime update.
I love skiing and I think it has added years onto my running life and probably a fair amount of cardiovascular benefit, but for the short term it does slow you down. Over the past decade in Colorado I only skied 15-20 times a year on average and any slow down was very short term, just a day or two where I’d feel sluggish. In that time, however, the late winter-spring races were typically my best of the year and I had it dialed in pretty well. During my full seasons in the past (1980s-90s) and the Alaska years (2004-14), it would take about a month to getup to 40 miles a week and then about another month to get my legs back to the point where I even would want to line up for a race.
This was my first year back to the Midwest (since 1997) and for an actual ski season since 2014. I skied about 50 days and raced 130 km in February. I kept on the skis at least a couple of times a week for the first three weeks of March before calling it a year. Ski season was a success and I met most of my goals and I’m looking forward to next year.
The transition to running has not been as smooth as I would like. After the Birkie 50K I took a very easy week and just jogged a couple times and skied a couple more. By March 1 I turned the focus to running. With a good aerobic base I was able to jump into lighter workouts fairly seamlessly, maybe too quickly, but nothing was hard until the end of March when I did a 5K time trial (Park Run) at about 10K effort.
The table shows the miles each week and type of workout, in short hand. The key to the abbreviations are footnoted below the table.
Lactate threshold 1 (HR 130-140, pace 7:00 to 6:40/mile) ↩︎
Critical velocity (HR 148-152,pace under 6:30/mile) ↩︎
Speed (5K to 1500 m pace, pace 6:00 to 5:30/mile) ↩︎
This weekend’s 10K will be the first test of the year and I don’t really know where I’m at. To put this in perspective, over the previous three springs, last year I did 10K at 6:10/mile on a tough weather day, in 2024 25K at 6:26/mile, and in 2023 10 miles at 6:09/mile.
This year, breaking 39:20 (6:20 pace) for the 10K will seem like a big win. I just have to take it as it is and know that although my overall training volume (hours opposed to miles) is right where I have been in previous years, although I’m barely at half of the running miles. So I have to keep faith that know that I have built a solid running foundation the racing fitness will come, be it this weekend (say surprise sub 39), next month, or maybe even later in the summer.
Parting words in short, my philosophy is do the work, listen to your body and don’t overextend, and enjoy the process even when things are not quite where you would want them.
Now we are back to the Upper Midwest after 30 years (from end to end of the continent!). Cross country skiing may not be king here, like in Scandinavia (hockey and basketball rule) but the ski culture is well embedded. I mentioned in earlier posts that access to reliable skiing was a motivating factor for moving to the Twin Cites. As my first season back here is wrapping up, I am not disappointed. The skiing was good. Although we had a colder than average winter, there have been a couple of thaws to mess things up. Other than that, I have been really impressed with the amount and quality of trails available in the cities, as well as the number of good skiers.
Trails of Dreams. Build the tracks and the skiers will come.
There are dozens of trail systems here, and four in the Cities have snowmaking. Through the 1990s cold and snow were the winter norm for at least a few months but that has become sporadic and unreliable in recent decades. I have been to each that have snowmaking and my only wish is that they would have a more kilometers with manmade snow. I like Hyland in Bloomington the best, it has a 5K loop that flows fantastically. We live near Battle Creek, located the eastern side of St. Paul, has a very challenging network totaling about 4 km of manmade snow. The best known is Wirth Park in northwest Minneapolis and it boasts 13K. Elm Creek is the smallest with a 2K section of manmade snow. It would be great the three areas could get up to 8 or 10K each. But I’m not complaining. These are world class trails and you can get in some great skiing.
When it snows enough it gets even better because you have so many options. This year I have tried Lake Elmo, Como Park, and Phalen Park as well as natural trails at Battle Creek, Hyland, and Wirth Park. All of this is within a 30 or 40 minute drive.
Trainingfor 2025 and 2026
I did not do any dryland preparation this year and rarely do. After the marathon in November I took some down time and the rest of the month was recovery running. I did add a little bit of upper body work, but just some push ups and chair dips a couple times a week. I started skiing as soon as we had enough snow, just after Thanksgiving.
Skiing in a new community is an adaptation process because you have to get used to the snow and trails. I have skied close to every other day for three months now. Mostly just getting out for some 50 to 80 minutes, with a longer ski once a week or so of 1.5 to 2.5 hours. I got in a handful of workouts starting in mid-January, with some tempo type work on a few occasions and faster repetitions as the race season was upon us.
Races
There are not many races here in the Cities, so I did not get in a full season of competition. I did sign up for an early season 10K at Elm Creek, but it was sub zero with -20s wind chills and I was not too disappointed that they cancelled the event.
By mid-December I had dialed into just three events. The City of Lakes Loppet 31K (make that 32.5!), the Vasaloppet USA 50K, and the American Birkebeiner 50K (which I had been planning for more than a year). They were all skate races. Ideally I would not have minded having a 10K-15K classic race in there, and maybe one other skate race (still possible). Four or five races makes it a full season, doing three races in four weekends makes for a very short campaign.
City of Lakes Loppet, Minneapolis, MN
The weather forecast seemed to be all over the place in the week leading up to the race. They predicted some snow and temperatures in the 20s. On race morning we got about 3 inches of snow and the temps were in the teens, with a brisk wind. This made for slow going.
My son also raced this one and the shuttle bus barely got us to the start line in time! We had just a minute to spare before the second wave (of about 60 skiers) started. Within a minute or two I could tell this would be one of those long and tough days on the snow. Even though I was near the back when I lined up I was still getting passed by skiers from behind and quickly dropped from those ahead. The narrow sections through the first few Ks allowed the faster starters to get even farther ahead. Wave 3 skiers were passing me by the the time we hit 8K, onto the first of four loops through Wirth Park. Each loop (nearly 6K) was hilly, with maybe just a 1K of of true flat with each circuit. I did not bonk but was pretty gassed by the end, finishing mid-pack and over 2 hours (3:50/km) in a 200 skier field. That was a humbling experience. There are good skiers in the Twin Cities and I now feel just average. Nevertheless, did get 3rd in my age group, but the leaders were well ahead.
Looking way too stiff at the end of the City of Lakes 32K skate race.
City of Lakes was a good rust buster and reality check. Overall, I felt my endurance was decent but strength (power up the hills) was lacking. My technique is fair to okay, it has definitely slipped a lot from 12-15 years ago and probably some from the past few years in Colorado. I’m definitely a more cautious and less aggressive skier than in the past, when I’d really go after it.
I picked up some new boots the week before the race and had my ski bases ground for the first time in a dozen years. The boots were great compared to the beat up old Atomics, fraying and held together with duct tape and glue, but my heel was very sore with the new fit. My skis felt slow. They had been hot boxed (waxed and placed in a heated box for a day to allow the wax to soak in deeper) but maybe the skis needed a few more layers of wax to be race ready and fast.
Overall grade B/B-
Vasaloppet USA, Mora, MN
I have wanted to do the Vasaloppet for almost ever. Well, 40 years! I had some friends from Colorado who had done it a couple of times in the 1980s and said it was a great event. We then lived in NW Minnesota for several years in the 1990s but I did other races those years. Even before we moved here last summer, the Vasaloppet was on my radar and I was considering traveling from out of state for the race instead of the much larger, more famous Birkebeiner. I really wanted to do well at the Vasaloppet and made it my primary race for 2026.
We had some warm weather early in the week, followed by cold, so the tracks were somewhat icy and fast. I took the 90 minute drive to Mora on Wednesday to check out the course and liked it. It was a winding 15K loop through forest regrowth and what looked to be an old gravel pit. The start and finish would be on a street in the town where it ran for two blocks before crossing a bay on a lake and onto the loop at about 1.5 km. Easy.
I had plenty of time to get ready for this one. The start was self-seeded. and I lined up about in the middle of the couple hundred skiers doing the 50K. That may have been too far back. The loops went by fairly quickly, and were mostly flat with a few rollers and lots of twists and turns to keep it interesting. Over most of the first two laps I felt held back by large (6-20 racers) groups of skiers ahead, and managed to pass just a few faster starters as we went. Most of the course was too narrow to pass more than one skier at time. The going felt pretty easy and I started to feel antsy in the 2nd lap. As we approached the high school the course widens to road width and I rocketed past the group of six I had been tailing. I expected them to go with me, but they did not and the chase was on!
Moving up through the field at the Vasaloppet.
I picked off a number of skiers on the final lap and nabbed an easy age group win (and a wooden dala horse as a prize). Skiing 50K in 2:39 (3:11/km) I could not have been happier. I do think going forward this will be my favorite race.
Dala horse for age group placing at the Vasaloppet USA.
Self assessment: I used my son’s (I guess rather stiff) skate skis that he had used in college, and they were great! My glide was as good as anyone’s and the course is not technical so corners and transitions were fine. Again,though I was not aggressive until the final 16 km when could break away from the group I had been following and unable to pass. I passed another dozen or skiers over the final lap and finished fairly strong.
Overall grade A-/B+
TheBirkie, Cable to Hayward, WI
This is the big one. It’s a major international event, and the one ski race in the US that is known outside of cross country skiing circles. I liken it to being the Boston or NYC of ski marathons and it’s the race that people, even some non-racers, talk about all year.
I have a little history with the Birkie, having skied it in 1993 and 1996, where I had mixed results. As a first timer in 1993 I was relegated to Wave 3, but made my way through the crowds to place about 350th. Returning three years later and ostensibly in better ski shape (skiing over 100 days that year in Bemidji, MN) I hit the slowest day in the skate (post 1985) era, with 6 inches of fresh snow, warm temps in the 40s and 50s, and only a single lane groomed for much of the way. The day was frustrating, but I improved by about 20 places to 330, it wasn’t a total disaster but I felt I should have been approaching top 200 (and “elite wave” status).
Also memorable from that outing was that we brought our baby son with us, he was just 10 months old at the time. I hoped that someday I would be able to ski the Birkie with him. We moved the following year to Massachusetts for short stint and then Colorado. I didn’t have time to train or money to travel for many years and then we moved to Alaska. There was just no incentive to go back. However, our older son did his medical residency in Madison and skied the Birkie in 2023 and 2025; he asked if I’d join in 2025 but having not done much racing in a decade, and nothing longer than 20K I would be relegated to the back waves. Plus I had masters running competitions that would have conflicted with the Birkie.
That day to race with the kids finally arrived in 2026. Our other son (born a year and a half later) also joined us. You can’t beat that!
Race day was cold and a bit windy, with start line temps at about 11 degrees and a wind chill in the low single digits. The Birkie is an amazingly well run event–it’s massive and an an institution but they do everything to help make it a good experience. The only thing I might want to change is the start area procedure where you have to line up in staging areas or 20 or 25 minutes before you start. There is nowhere to drop your clothes, so you’re out there in spandex in the cold with the 500 skiers in each wave.
I was shivering but made it. But once again, I think I lined up a bit too far back.
Our wave started just before 9:10. I was about the 12th or 15th row back and it took me about 20 seconds to get to the start line and for the chip timer to start. It was pretty crowded to the Power Line section (about 1.5K in) and I mostly double polled lightly and stayed off to the side lane in the 3-4 wide traffic. There were only a few hiccups, people were respectful. It’s a lot like driving in heavy slow and go traffic and nobody wants a fender bender or crash. We hit the first major hills at 4 or 5K and that’s when the traffic gets backed up. The fortunate thing about these slower early kilometers was that I wasn’t going out too hard, breathing felt fine and easy. The downside was that I knew those who had faster start would face less traffic and would flow along easier.
The course climbs some 140 meters over the first 11K to High Point, with a lot of small rollers and a few bigger climbs. The course does not have much flat at all until the final 3K. However, after High Point the net drop is some 200 meters, and Saturday’s conditions were perfect for gliding a long ways. There was so much free time to be had. In addition, the traffic let up substantially after the climbs to High Point. The most challenging parts were to keep a check on your speed on some of the downhills (the 15-35 years ago me would have tucked and skated all out!) and to avoid some ice patches.
I got into a group of about skier of similar speed from about 12K to 42K. We just jockeyed back and forth, passing some slower skiers and after about 20K getting passed by some fast skiers from wave 3. The next big landmark was the Highway OO crossing at 22K, which is also the start area for the 29K Korteloppet, which is held on Friday.
My wife, daugher-in-law, son’s girlfriend, and a friend’s wife were there cheering and I was fresh enough to give a wave and get a drink.
Slightly better double pole form compared to City of Lakes Loppet.
The going was pretty smooth, and I never felt like I was straining. However, I did ski past a couple of fairly big crashes but managed to stay out of trouble. Our group started breaking up at about 40-42K and I managed to get ahead of some the skiers I had been with for 30K, while reeling in skiers who were slowing. I just kept it steady, not dipping into the well because I knew the lake section can be brutal. I bonked there in my previous two outings in the 1990s.
Just cruising along over the final 10K of the Birkie 50K skate.
We did have some big hills in the final 10K, but were rewarded with long run outs where you glide down the trail with no effort. The lake was a little challenging. The surface had melted during the week of the race and while it was nice and frozen at 15 degrees on Saturday, the trail itself was only about 6 or 8 feed wide and what snow cover it did have was very thin. You could only pass by double poling. It got backed up a little and I had to slow to the speed of the skiers ahead. It was kind of like slowing to 45 or 50 on a construction zone when you want to go 70. Finally over the last K the path to downtown Hayward opened up and I was able to scoot by a dozen more skiers before making one last little climb over the International Bridge. Just 300 m go, I skated in comfortably in 2:45 (3:21/km) and 7th in my age group.
Meters to go before the finish!
After finishing my third Birkie, but first in 30 years!
I was thrilled with the time, and had fun out there. So really my main objectives were accomplished. My sons did well in their respective divisions, and should they return they’ll be bumped up to wave 1. I think I’ll hold onto a wave 2 spot next year.
I knew traffic would be an issue and my goal was just to get through it all. However, I do think that I could have saved a couple of minutes and maybe moved up a couple of spots in the age group if I had started in the first three or four rows of the wave. Again I wasn’t very aggressive out on the course, the snow was fast but it was also slick and I did not want to fall and break some equipment or get hurt. Indeed my friend who traveled with us fell at 20K, broke his pole, scraped up his face pretty bad, and ended up with a slight concussion. He dropped out at 22K. That’s no fun.
Overall I give the Birkie experience an A! My race itself a B+/B. I think I actually raced better in Mora earlier in the month. But I’m not disappointed. There are things I can do to improve at the Birkie next year and I was just thrilled to be out there and share my birthday weekend with my family.
Best birthday present was spending some time with my family, and extra bonus for the boys to also do the 50K!
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.
I have been running turkey trots/Thanksgiving race since the early 1980s, and if my counting is correct Thursday’s 10K in Minneapolis was my 27th. I enjoy these events, which have become hugely popular with some very large events, into the 10s of thousands in some places, and it now it seems that every town or community has its own local turkey trot.
I chose this one because it would have a relatively fast and certified course. Two laps around Lake Harriet, southwest of downtown. The course is flat most of the way, but there is a decent hill at 1 and 4 miles, and a smaller incline just before 3 and 6 miles. Enough to keep you honest.
Training since the marathon has been a gradual add-on of miles without any workouts other than a tune-up fartlek last week at a local park.
We have had pretty warm weather this fall, and prior to last Tuesday only a few days when it was below freezing overnight. That changed on Tuesday night with a fast moving front that dropped a few inches of snow on the ground and brought the temperatures down into the 20s. We got an instant winter, but unlike Colorado when it gets cold here it tends to stay that way for weeks or months at a time.
Get used to it.
Thursday dawned clear and cold at 25 F and 8-10 mph winds, bringing the windchill down to about 15. I was concerned about ice on the course and spent 45 minutes doctoring my oldest pair of super shoes (Vaporfly 3s from 2023) with a half dozen hex spikes on each shoe.
Making my way to the start area from a nearby side street was the most difficult part because the streets sidewalks were mostly ice covered and I was glad to have the hex screws in my soles. However, the course around the lake was in fine shape, with nary an ice patch. So I opted to go spikeless.
I layered just right, with tights and compression socks underneath, a merino wool shirt long-sleeve and my old Alaska Salmon Runners singlet and arm warmers. Ski cap and running gloves. I was just about right for temperature management.
They sent us off at 8-sharp, I was in about the 3rd row with nearly 1000 runners behind me. The first mile felt okay, not too fast not too slow but hitting that first hill I got kind of gassed and knew I would be able to hold this effort. Crossing the mile in 6:28 (6:23 GAP) should be about right for a 10K–but more mid-season. Twenty five days after the marathon I’m not yet ready for prime time running and I eased up. A few runners passed and the group I had been with pulled away. I settled into what a month a go would have been a moderate tempo pace. This was more like threshold, a pace I could hold on for an hour.
Did not feel the wind much for the first two miles but as we rounded the north end of the lake we got some headwind. I was not really close enough to draft much. Passed 5K in just over 20:20, so not near my pre-race goal of sub 40 for the full 10K. However I was maintaining okay. A woman passed me (1st woman) soon after but I caught up to a teenage runner who had fallen back. On the far side of the lake I did try to pick it up some but it wasn’t enough to speed up my splits or drop the runner. An older guy (not in my age group) caught up with about 2K to go and pulled away swiftly the youngster went with him so I was in no man’s land into the wind, nevertheless holding on okay. I wasn’t slowing down, they were just speeding up.
As we near the end of the lap, we had to turn right to extend the distance to a full 10K. I picked up the pace with about 500 m to go and carried it in. A masters runner caught me in the final stretch but I did not mount a counter sprint. Just took it in. Splits (remarkably close the mile markers on the course for once!) were 6:28, 6:40, 6:40, 6:35, 6:37, 6:40. I have a good baseline for upcoming tempo runs weather permitting as temps are dropping and snow is falling.
My first turkey trot in Minnesota was a success. The goal for these is to run hard but not too hard, and have some fun but also get a decent workout from the effort. Success. I’d go back.
Background and Training. This was my second attempt at the NYC Marathon. I ran it in 2009 with a bum knee that gave out on the Queensborough Bridge, and by 18 miles I could not run another step. It has been my only DNF in more than 40 years. The damage to my knee from that mishap nearly ended my running career and it took me out of running for about 18 months.
I signed up this year not just to complete some unfinished business but it also was the Abbott World Marathon Majors masters championship race for 2025, and because it was a huge bucket list race that I have wanted to do for decades, going back to the late 1970s when I was in college. I did try to get in for 2021 and 2022, but got froze out on the internet pile up with so many applicants filing at the same time.
For training since early July I averaged 62 miles a week, ranging from the high 40s (for race taper weeks) to mid-70s, with two or three threshold (dialed back to LT1 for the most part) workouts plus a long run every week or two through July and August.
Training block.
By September I was doing a more more traditional schedule with a weekly 10K-5K pace workout and tempo run, and long run. I got in three 20+ milers and a bunch of 16-18 milers since early July. It was a pretty good build, although I sometimes felt that I should have done more volume and fewer races if I had really wanted to prepare for the marathon.
The September-October races went well, I ran 1:24 for the half, 1:04 for the 10 mile, and wrapped up with ~18:50 for 5K (19:07 for 3.16 miles) a couple of weeks ago. These could arguably point toward a low or sub 3 marathon, but I was not all that confident on breaking 3 this time out. I could just feel it in the long runs, 6:50-55 felt too fast. However, I did feel that 7:00 pace or a bit under would be an achievable goal.
There were no glitches during the training block, although my knees did get a little sore over the final month and I wore a patellar strap to help with that. In the final week I had a couple nights of bad sleep before the trip, waking up at 2 AM on Friday, several hours before I needed to for our early flight, and that got into my head too much.
Flying into the city on Friday morning, with Verrazzano Narrows Bridge and Brooklyn under a gray sky.
Travel. We traveled to NYC on Friday and breezed through bib pick up. You actually had to schedule a block to get your bib and that spread out the crowding so there were no long lines. However, the wind howled all Friday night and into the morning enough shake our building and whistle through the windows so I did not sleep great on Friday. I was utterly boring on Saturday, only venturing out for a shakeout run in Central Park and for dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant.
Central Park shakeout run.
Race Day. I slept better than usual for the night before a marathon, waking up at 3:30 but did not get up until 4:00, and arrived to the ferry terminal at a bit after 5:00 and took the 5:30 ferry to Staten Island. We arrived at the athletes village at about 7. It all went pretty smoothly. I tried to relax and stay warm, gnawing on bagels (2) and taking in some caffeine and fluids. Visited the porta johns more times than I can ever recall before a race. But the lines weren’t bad, they were set up very well for that.
Athletes Village on Sunday morning.
Made it to the packed start corral with a healthy 6 minutes to spare but got kind of chilly waiting for our move up to the bridge, I should have kept my sweater. I was dressed in half-tights, a singlet, and had a pair light gloves.
The Five Boroughs. We lined up and a few minutes of announcements the cannon fired. It took about 40 seconds to get across the line and we were off. The Staten Island section was brief, before we got over the water. The first mile was slow because it climbs the massive bridge, second mile fast because it drops 120 feet into Brooklyn, and third mile just about right, and I was 21:30 at 5K. I kept having to hold back, because every time I checked my watch my saw the pace creeping in to the 6:40s. The group I had started with pulled ahead as others caught up and passed.
I still was under 7:00/mile pace through 8 miles but had been feeling too warm in the half tights, so when I saw Tamara and my cousin I peeled those off to my split shorts but had to dig my gels out of my pocket and would carry them by hand for the rest of the way. That pit-stop cost about 40 seconds, but I think it was worth it in the end.
Brooklyn was crazy! It was 10 miles of nearly continuous scream tunnel, with the Hasidic section of Williamsburg being the only quiet interlude. Hardly anyone was out, I remembered more activity in 2009. Once we got back into the other neighborhoods, where it was more lively, it was a mixed blessing. Surely raucous and fun, but people were getting wild sometime darting into the field of runners or crowding onto the street so much that we slowed considerably. And some were setting off confetti poppers practically in your face. And some narrow sections had a bit of a Tour de France feel with people in the streets reaching out and hollering. On few occasions it narrowed so much the entire field had to slow down to 7:20 pace for a block or two.
My legs started feeling tight at about 10 miles, not always a good sign in a marathon! I would prefer not to get heavy legs until at least 15.
I crossed the half marathon in 1:32, so with that 40 second stop, I was holding that 7:00 pace. I was not feeling too bad, but still had 13 miles to go!
The short section in Queens was almost as rowdy as Brooklyn they were really loud, but the street was wider than some of those earlier sections. The Queensborough Bridge was a respite from the noise and mostly you could only hear was the pounding steps of the runners and a lot of heavy breathing. I started to pick off lots of faster starting runners, and that continued for most of the rest of the race.
1st Avenue was packed 10 deep with people on both sides, for miles, but it was maybe not as noisy as I remember. Still there was a lot of enthusiasm. I passed the infamous 18-mile point with my knees in reasonable condition and relished that from there on I would be setting course PBs.
However, the miles were getting tougher. My splits for miles 19-20 had slowed to 7:10-15 pace but overall was still at low 7. I think the miles in north Manhattan and the Bronx were the toughest of the day. I split 20 miles at 7:01 or 7:02 pace. However, the next few miles were the toughest of the day and even though my effort level was increasing I dropped to 7:20s. By 21 miles, rather than passing people I was just maintaining position, passing some but getting passed. I saw my wife and cousin at 35K and that cheered me up.
A face in the crowd at 35K.
Even though we started with a long climb after returning to Manhattan, turning onto 5th Avenue was a boost and I started passing more runners again. This is where the race for the medals really played out. I passed two or three other age group competitors over the final 3 miles.
Carnage on the course was beginning mount, as runners suddenly stopped or veered in front with some ailment or another. I had to do some dodging and start-stopping.
Central Park was a blast and I was able pick off many dozens of runners, although my pace had not picked up. Turning onto 59th Street felt great, knowing I had less than a mile to go. I put in all that I had and crossed in 3:06, a few minutes over goal time but I felt that it had been a solid effort. I didn’t think I had placed well in the age group rankings but was just happy to bring home a finishers medal and satisfaction of finally finishing this great event.
Half mile to go!
Post Race. I stumbled around for about a half hour, huddled in a NYRR insulated poncho, before finding my family. The restaurants were too crowded to get a meal, so we just headed back to my cousin’s place.
New York City Marathon finisher medal (right), which I waited 16 years to earn, and the bronze medal for the Age Group World Championship.
Later in the day I learned that I had finished 3rd for the World Marathon Majors championship (but 4th in age group, because the overall age group winner did not sign up for the championships) and was in the top 100 overall for age grading. That could not have gone better. But more importantly I am simply thrilled to finally have had the full New York City marathon experience.
I have now finished all three World Marathon Majors in North America (Boston 2018, 2022 and Chicago 2023). Not sure if I’ll ever go for six or eight or wherever they land with new additions to the tour but this is good for now.
Now. Rest. Rehab my sore knees, cross train, and get ready for winter–then 2026. No marathons planned. I want to focus on the half and under next year.
This was my fifth race on the USATF masters national points circuit this year, following the 8K XC championships in Lubbock, TX in January (2nd), World Masters 8K XC in Gainesville, FL (1st American), 10K road race in Dedham, MA (1st), and the 4 mile road race in Peoria, IL (2nd). Note, there was no 12K, 15K/10 mile, or half marathon this year, but that’s different story.
I came in with 390 points and was second in the standings. I needed to show up in Atlanta to secure second (maybe first if DanK does not race the 5K XC race in San Francisco next month) in the best of five series.
I’m at the end of a marathon block and have averaged about 60 miles a week since July 1, with some peak weeks in the mid-70s. I had no injury setbacks along the way. In August I decided not to give the New York City (NYC) Marathon top priority. That would require training through the fall races, and I decided those would be just as important as the marathon. With that in mind, I ran the half marathon my new city this September and the 10 mile road race in October. Both went well, in course record time and I was happy to check those boxes and to establish some local street credibility.
Regarding last weekend’s 5K in Atlanta, I don’t like approaching a championship race with a heavy training week so cut back after Wednesday, with some easy runs. This meant that I would be starting marathon my taper a little early.
Did You Bring Your Singlet?
We arrived in Atlanta on Saturday afternoon, only to find out that one of the guys forgot his singlet. We had to have matching singlets to compete as a team, so we spent the remainder of the afternoon hunting down a set of jerseys. Traffic in the city was bad, but we got it done in time to do a 25 minute shakeout run in the evening to preview most of the course. The course would have a lot of sharp turns and two big hills.
Race Day
A front moved through on Sunday morning, and it was blustery and cloudy during the warm up. Rain started falling about a half hour before the start and it was a downpour as we did final stride outs and started lining up.
I lined up on the 4th row of the narrow start, which had a right-turn within the first 30 meters. Great. Why do they do this?
The horn sounded and we crossed and I was immediately met with a few elbows as runners got past me before the turn, which I took fairly easily. Within the first 400 m I noticed that my mesh shoes were already saturated and holding water. It was going to to be a squishy 5K.
Splish splash it was a bath.
The goal was to run about 6:00 for the mostly flat (but with many turns) first mile and then handle the hilly second and third miles the best I could. My watch had me right at 6:00 (maybe 6:03 to cross the mile marker), and I was situated in a fairly tight pack with runners from our rival team, plus several more from younger age groups. My chief competition in the individual age group was about 30 meters up. I was right about where I need to be.
As expected the climb was arduous. About 600 meters of steady climb at 4-6%. I did what I could do to hold with the group of five or six other runners, and crested the hill in reasonable condition. We made a right onto a side street and had another short incline. There my arms got a little numb there and I was feeling near the edge. However, breathing was decent and I wasn’t slowing down.
One of the rivals from the other team surged ahead. I crossed the half way timing mat in 9:12. The guy who surged suddenly slowed up and now we were in a pack of four as we made some winding turns and sharp downhills. The course hits a low point at 2, which I crossed in 12:09 on my watch (12:17 by the marker). Les, my rival from Atlanta pulled away as we turned into the wind and up another 600 m (but less steep at 2-4%) hill and I fell back 20 meters. I pulled away from a guy in a younger age group but did not like running into the headwind so eased up slightly and he and another guy went around. I tucked in and saved my energy for the final kilometer or so. We got to the top of that grinding hill and I worked on catching up to Les.
I felt pretty good on the long gentle downhill, and it seemed that Les might be struggling a bit. In hindsight maybe I should have gone all in then, with some 800 meters to go, and tried to get a gap on him. That hesitation may have had some implications in the team race.
Making the penultimate turn.
Instead I just maintained the gap of a few meters back, and decided to wait until the final few hundred meters. We turned past the start line and the course marshal said “400 meters to go!” Les surged a few times and I matched his pace, but did not pass. Instead, I kept a meter or two behind. With about 120 m to go we had a sharp right and then a left to the final 80 or so meters to the finish line. I was a step behind on the turns and then threw in what I had left. I pulled slightly ahead for a moment. But he surged back and half a half a step. One more push to the line! We finished in a dead heat.
Lean baby lean!
So team scoring would come down to how our other runners did.
Results came out, and they determined that I had outleaned Les by less than 0.1 of a second. I finished 2nd in the age class, and he would be fifth in his. The team score came out at the awards and it turns out we were second by just a handful of seconds. Each of us kicked ourselves a little, I think you can always find a place or two where you maybe could have made up a couple of seconds. For me it was on that stretch with 600 or 800 to go. But you also never know, I might have flamed out and lost more time there.
It was all in good fun. We may be rivals on the course, but when the race is over we’re friends. Less and I have raced many times over the years and this year I beat him in cross country, while he was ahead in the 10K and 4 mile road races. So we’re even in this head to head. Kudos to Les. And I was happy to contribute to my new team after a summer of running unattached. We locked up the age group title with our showing, and that was really the main mission.
Post Race
After a rather chilly awards ceremony, in front of a Victoria’s Secret store of all places, we got a good meal in the shopping area and then spent the afternoon touring the city, seeing some historic sites like the Martin Luther King National Park, Carter Library, and many sports and cultural venues. Also took in a tour of the College Football Hall of Fame. We had a late flight and I did not get home until nearly 2 AM, about 20 hours after I had got up on Sunday. Phew. Glad that is behind.
rrunnin234 