Any Marathon Runners?

Antar

Antar

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Congrats Antar, that is incredible!!!

I've been running for 42 years and have done 9 marathons. My personal best was the Rock n Roll Marathon in San Diego, at 3:11 which qualified me for Boston. I did Boston the next year but it was hot and windy (81 degrees at the start, 85 at the finish).

I haven't done a race for awhile but I'm still getting miles in. The year I turned 55, I challenged myself to run everyday that year (4 miles a day), somehow I made it with no injuries. Now, at 58 my body complains more but I still love to run. It's going to be a hard thing to give up.

Congrats again!!
 
Antar said:
Totally unrelated to my love for E9’s. But I wanted to share this News report regarding my Tokyo Marathon Trip. If not allowed, please remove.

https://www.fox5dc.com/news/marylan...r-covid-delayed-his-plans#lf0oesu8g9rwx7m2hdm

It’s been a long wild journey to complete the 6 World Marathons. Which got me thinking do we have any other marathoners in our group?

Antar Johnson
Click to expand...
Congratulations - that is a amazing achievement.

While I would never call myself a marathon runner, I did finish the London Marathon three times, with the first being 1983 and the last being 1996 - long time ago now.

Funnily, as a youngster I was a 100-200 meter schoolboy level runner, then in 1982 a friend gathered five entries to the London marathon for a children's charity and said " Pete, you were a runner, come and help the kids out".

From that day forward I started pounding the streets, thighs shrunk and knees and ankles gradually eroded, remember the shoes we ran in in those early days were not impact friendly :) But I ran everywhere, my first ever internet moniker done by a friend who showed me what to do in an internet cafe, was Forest Gump, he picked the name not me.

I always found it the most relaxing time of my day, the easiest way to see any city I arrived in, and to clear jet lag. I am 63 now and the injuries are taking serious toll, but then at 27 years old I was told to stop running by doctors, so I have lasted a little longer than expected. My time of pounding the streets as a form of relaxation, may well be on their last legs - pun intended . But, like any drug, I will always have a hankering to do one more great long run, even if its only destined to be in my dreams/memories :)

Congratulations again !
 
I ran the 2010 Rock-n-Roll Marathon in San Diego with my Marine son. I was almost 63 at the time, ran a 4:29 time, and crossed that off my bucket list.


2010marathon.jpg
 
Congratulations! Man, the Tokyo Marathon sounds like an incredible experience. I remember joining the crowds of runners one day around the Imperial Palace moat. There's a pretty big group that does that daily in multiple waves. So many lovely places to run in that city. I think a lap around the palace was like 5 miles. There's also the paths along the Sumida River and Meguro Canal, the latter was especially nice for the shade. Sounds like a trip of a lifetime, and a real achievement.
 
Not a marathon runner. I’ve always been terrible at running even when active in HS sports. Now I only run if a dog is chasing me. :D

I learned a lot about the sport after multiple consulting engagements at Brooks Running. The company is full of people that run the Boston Marathon annually. I actually didn’t know that it had a barrier of entry until working there and it was mentioned in passing. Marathons and running is a major part of the company culture. For instance, at the end of a long hallway they have a large Citgo sign, which as some may know is the landmark in the Boston marathon that lets you know you are nearing the finish.

To no surprise the product designers are the major athletes. During and after lunch in an otherwise business casual environment, lots of workers would be wearing your typical super short running shorts or the craziest colored spandex pants you could imagine. It looked more like a gym, and was a result of the shear number of employees that leave the building to run the Burk Gillman trail that is immediately outside the headquarters.

The company uses employees to test the shoes. I would get these emails with demo opportunities for employees who ran *at least 30 miles per week. Needless to say I never demo’d any shoes. :D

Lots of historical marathon content on the wall. This is where I first learned of Katherine Switzer, as the photo below was framed in a hallway. This year my son had to give a presentation on an athlete. He isn’t the pro sports type and gave an engaging presentation on her while his peers focused on multi-year contract professionals. For those that are unaware, it was an unwritten rule that women were banned from official marathons. The picture below is her running as an official registered participant in the Boston Marathon in 1967. Photo is of her being accosted by organizer/promoter Jock Semple. Her running coach thought that women were “too fragile” for marathons, but by the ‘80’s women were hitting under 2.5 hours in Boston.

99D6724A-A787-4C95-A341-6FE0BC30F616.jpeg
 
Antar said:
Totally unrelated to my love for E9’s. But I wanted to share this News report regarding my Tokyo Marathon Trip. If not allowed, please remove.

https://www.fox5dc.com/news/marylan...r-covid-delayed-his-plans#lf0oesu8g9rwx7m2hdm

It’s been a long wild journey to complete the 6 World Marathons. Which got me thinking do we have any other marathoners in our group?

Antar Johnson
Click to expand...
Hi Antar
Congratulations, that is a fantastic achievement.
I can only imagine that you must have been practically in tears crossing the finishing line.
I myself don’t run marathons , my max distance for a race is 10miles I signed up for the bay to breakers race in San Francisco when I was only 17
I ran it with my sister in law , we were supposed to be only doing the 5 mile race , but when we reached the turnoff for the 5 mile finish line we decided we still had more in the tank and we carried on and did the 10miles instead.
That was the longest race I ever did and I did it with zero prep or training, I did have youth on my side though .
I am 48 now and I only went back running about 6 years ago. I now only do 5k and 10K runs but I do love the buzz I get from running and now I get to enjoy the company of my teenage kids away from our house also as they now like to go for a run with me from time to time.
Anyway congratulations again
Well done !!!
 
Awesome story! Congrats!
I've finished 9 or 10 marathons and attempted a few trail ultras, finally hitting a 50k at a Big's Backyard Ultra last man standing-style race.
My marathon PR is a 3:26, well off of a Boston qualifier for my age but I'm still proud of the time.
My last marathon attempt was in 2021 in Akron, Ohio. Great race, but a very tough course. I cramped so badly I could hardly walk by mile 24.5. Hit the med tent and that was it lol!
I run for fun and fitness now with a few half marathons here and there.
Congrats again- amazing accomplishment!
 
Barry.b said:
Hi Antar
Congratulations, that is a fantastic achievement.
I can only imagine that you must have been practically in tears crossing the finishing line.
I myself don’t run marathons , my max distance for a race is 10miles I signed up for the bay to breakers race in San Francisco when I was only 17
I ran it with my sister in law , we were supposed to be only doing the 5 mile race , but when we reached the turnoff for the 5 mile finish line we decided we still had more in the tank and we carried on and did the 10miles instead.
That was the longest race I ever did and I did it with zero prep or training, I did have youth on my side though .
I am 48 now and I only went back running about 6 years ago. I now only do 5k and 10K runs but I do love the buzz I get from running and now I get to enjoy the company of my teenage kids away from our house also as they now like to go for a run with me from time to time.
Anyway congratulations again
Well done !!!
Click to expand...
Ah, The Bay to Breakers. I ran that several times in the late 80’s early 90’. A lot of serious runners participated but for many it was practically a Halloween parade. My favorite costume was a guy dressed as the “Exxon Valdez”. Very funny. I was into running up till about 10 years ago. I’ve switched to lower impact stuff like hot yoga and eliptic/stair climber.
Stay hydrated!
 
JMinPDX said:
Ah, The Bay to Breakers. I ran that several times in the late 80’s early 90’. A lot of serious runners participated but for many it was practically a Halloween parade. My favorite costume was a guy dressed as the “Exxon Valdez”. Very funny. I was into running up till about 10 years ago. I’ve switched to lower impact stuff like hot yoga and eliptic/stair climber.
Stay hydrated!
Click to expand...
I ran it in 1991 , so perhaps we actually ran in the same race :)
The main finishing line I am concentrating on at the moment it’s the race to finish my Coupe.
Some day I will cross that line too . :)
 
BMW Pete said:
Congratulations - that is a amazing achievement.

While I would never call myself a marathon runner, I did finish the London Marathon three times, with the first being 1983 and the last being 1996 - long time ago now.

Funnily, as a youngster I was a 100-200 meter schoolboy level runner, then in 1982 a friend gathered five entries to the London marathon for a children's charity and said " Pete, you were a runner, come and help the kids out".

From that day forward I started pounding the streets, thighs shrunk and knees and ankles gradually eroded, remember the shoes we ran in in those early days were not impact friendly :) But I ran everywhere, my first ever internet moniker done by a friend who showed me what to do in an internet cafe, was Forest Gump, he picked the name not me.

I always found it the most relaxing time of my day, the easiest way to see any city I arrived in, and to clear jet lag. I am 63 now and the injuries are taking serious toll, but then at 27 years old I was told to stop running by doctors, so I have lasted a little longer than expected. My time of pounding the streets as a form of relaxation, may well be on their last legs - pun intended . But, like any drug, I will always have a hankering to do one more great long run, even if its only destined to be in my dreams/memories :)

Congratulations again !
Click to expand...
Wow. Thanks for sharing your running story. London 3 times! That is fantastic. You know that is one of the most difficult races to get into now days . I had an awesome time running London. I hope to do it again one day . I only started running when I turned 48. And I am also a charity runner. Over my 6 Star Journey, I raised over $25k for charities affiliated with the world marathons.
Mike Goble said:
I ran the 2010 Rock-n-Roll Marathon in San Diego with my Marine son. I was almost 63 at the time, ran a 4:29 time, and crossed that off my bucket list.


View attachment 158468
Click to expand...
 
Antar said:
Wow. Thanks for sharing your running story. London 3 times! That is fantastic. You know that is one of the most difficult races to get into now days . I had an awesome time running London. I hope to do it again one day . I only started running when I turned 48. And I am also a charity runner. Over my 6 Star Journey, I raised over $25k for charities affiliated with the world marathons.
Click to expand...
 
Barry.b said:
Hi Antar
Congratulations, that is a fantastic achievement.
I can only imagine that you must have been practically in tears crossing the finishing line.
I myself don’t run marathons , my max distance for a race is 10miles I signed up for the bay to breakers race in San Francisco when I was only 17
I ran it with my sister in law , we were supposed to be only doing the 5 mile race , but when we reached the turnoff for the 5 mile finish line we decided we still had more in the tank and we carried on and did the 10miles instead.
That was the longest race I ever did and I did it with zero prep or training, I did have youth on my side though .
I am 48 now and I only went back running about 6 years ago. I now only do 5k and 10K runs but I do love the buzz I get from running and now I get to enjoy the company of my teenage kids away from our house also as they now like to go for a run with me from time to time.
Anyway congratulations again
Well done !!!
Click to expand...
Cool, I always wanted to run the Bay to Breakers especially when I was attending SF State. But back then I was convinced that I could not run any further than 5 miles. I didn’t start running marathons until I was 48. The 6 Star Journey was a great way to see and experience some of the world’s cities. Now that I am done it’s time to get back to working on my Coupe. :)
 
mtiger_dds said:
Awesome story! Congrats!
I've finished 9 or 10 marathons and attempted a few trail ultras, finally hitting a 50k at a Big's Backyard Ultra last man standing-style race.
My marathon PR is a 3:26, well off of a Boston qualifier for my age but I'm still proud of the time.
My last marathon attempt was in 2021 in Akron, Ohio. Great race, but a very tough course. I cramped so badly I could hardly walk by mile 24.5. Hit the med tent and that was it lol!
I run for fun and fitness now with a few half marathons here and there.
Congrats again- amazing accomplishment!
Click to expand...
Good job! Great PR too. I started running late at 48. It’s been good for me keeping me off any meds at the age of 54. But now that I have finished the 6 Star Journey I am going to probably just run shorter distances and find other hobbies. Luckily, I have not had a major injury and I plan to stop running marathons before I do.
 
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