Lives: I live in the Cincinnati area
Works: I work as an IT administrator at a K-12 public school district.
Hobbies: I work in IT and education, so gadgets and educators are a requisite passion. Personally, I love to cook, read, draw, paint. More than anything, though, I love being a dad. I am 35 years old, married and have three children (7, 5 and 2).
How long have you been running?
I was a sprinter/hurdler/jumper through high school, and was fortunate enough to have track pay for college. After school I noticed that my weight was the same (around 185 lbs) but where I felt great racing at that weight, i felt sloppy and tired and didn’t look like myself a couple of years removed from competition.
So, I started running 3 miles a few times a week with my father-in-law. One day i decided to try 5 miles, and I was training for a marathon shortly thereafter.
What are your goals? Goal races? Any bucket list running goals?
My immediate goal is to get my marathon down around 3:15 (it’s just under 3:30 now). Boston is my goal race (obvious!), but bucket list? IRONMAN. I love the training as much or more than the racing, and I really love the nerves that set in when you step up to the line.
You know it’s going to hurt so much that you might not even finish, but there you are, accountable only to yourself and the people who trained you to get there. There are so few opportunities to feel any real intensity as an adult.
I feel transformed anytime I run the marathon distance, and I suspect the joy and suffering of the ironman amplify that ten (or ten thousand) fold.
What has been your proudest moment as a runner? Are there any particular races that you are proud of?
I fought my butt off for 3rd place in the 400m hurdles at the MAC outdoor championships. That race is brutal, and it was everything I had to compete at the D1 level, so I was really pleased.
When I turned the corner to head to the finish of my first full marathon, I spotted my little girl in the crowd (she was 2) and picked her up and carried her across the line. That was pretty magical.
What had been your favorite race or race experience?
I have two, but neither is related to distance running.
1.) I was in Knoxville running at the Sea Ray Relays. Due to some combination of scratches and timing, we ended up in the fast heat of the 4×4. I am running lead leg out of lane 9, and they announce the teams in the race. Nike 1, Nike 2, Adidas, Tennessee, South Carolina, whoever, whoever, Ball State University (me).
I am hanging on for dear life over the last 100m, and Justin Gatlin just FLIES by me. I mean absolutely blows my doors off. He was at Tennessee at the time, I saw him run 19.60 earlier that day over 200m. I ran a 2 second PR in the 400 (46.80) in that race and got destroyed by almost the entire field. It was amazing.
2.) I got to race Roger Kingdom over the 110 meter high hurdles. Well, I raced him out of the blocks, anyway. After that, we were just on the track together, haha. It was really cool.
Oh, one time I yelled “TRACK!!!” at some girl who was in my lane while I was warming up. It was Marion Jones. We were at NC State and she was the best female sprinter in the world at the time. So, that went well.
What is your favorite race distance to run?
Marathon, for sure.
Have you ever had any set backs or injuries that you had to overcome? What was the issue/injury? How long did it take to get through? What did you learn from the experience that made you a stronger runner?
Aren’t we all a little bit injured all the time? 🙂
When i started RC I was dealing with an achilles issue. Coach Jeff gave me a nice list of exercises and treatments and made sure my first training cycle was appropriate for the injury and it faded over a couple of months.
I am now dealing with plantar fasciitis, which I have learned a lot from. Coach Jamie helped me with the science of aerobic conditioning, the dangers of running my easy runs too fast, etc.
What were your biggest struggles before joining RunnersConnect? Example, what part of training did you struggle with the most?
In retrospect, I can think of a ton a problems I didn’t know I had. Lack of specificity in training, lack of any good resources when questions arise, etc. I know a lot about sprints, hurdles, etc., but very little about distance running, so having a program crafted by experts is a big confidence boost.
What did your training look like prior to working with us? Why do you think it wasn’t working? Were you writing your own plan, using a book, etc.
I had coincidentally followed one of Coach Jeff’s training templates on the RunKeeper app for my last marathon before joining RC. It worked, generally. I was able to complete the race, I enjoyed the consistency of the program, but there is a BIG difference between a training template and the programs we are on with RC.
What prompted you to start looking for a better solution? Was there something that sparked the need to try something new/different?
I found RC because I was researching an achilles issue that was really impacting my running. I stumbled onto one of Coach Jeff’s articles, dug a little deeper and realized I had found a new running home.
Did you have any doubts or fears before joining RunnersConnect? After you first joined, were you intimidated or nervous about the schedule? The community? If so, what helped you get over these fears (if anything specific)?
I really did not. I missed having coaches and team members, and I really love the access to experts when issues arise.
What is your favorite part of RunnersConect now?
Accountability to the coaches and community, and the motivation that comes from seeing the successes of team members. I am SO jealous of the Boston runners right now!
What recent results have you been able to attain since joining (PRs, staying healthy, new outlook, etc.)?
I have PRed twice in the marathon and once in the half since joining, I kicked the achilles tendonitis that led me to RC initially, and I trust that a nice PR is coming my way later in May.
