I am in the final stages of finalizing plans for my 15th marathon to be held in Ashton, Idaho. The race is called the Mesa Falls Marathon and it is mostly held on trails with some very scenic views of Idaho along the way. This marathon will also be my 7th state, as I work towards membership in the 50 States Club. After this marathon, I am planning on visiting with my Uncle Ted and cousins who live nearby. I am planning on several days of traveling and seeing the Yellowstone/Grand Tetons while out there.
Running marathons has been a way for me to get out and see other parts to the country. I had planned on going to Sunriver, OR to run the Pacific Crest Marathon, but the times did not work with my job. I am hoping to do that one in 2009.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
My 10th Marathon in 4 Years
[This my very first Blog ever.]
In less than 3 days I will be heading to VA Beach, VA to complete my 10th marathon -- the Shamrock Marathon. Somehow, even though I have run 9 others this one is bothering me a little more than expected. I have the same marathon anxiety that I had when I went to New Orleans in 2004 to run my first marathon. I imagine I will have the same feelings of accomplishment when I near the finish line on the boardwalk with the beach to my left and the crowds of cheering spectators urging me to push forward. My heart will be strong and my sights will be clear. I will hold my arms held high and a great big smile across my face. This 10th marathon will be exactly like my first. The marathon is on the day before my 41st birthday -- St. Patrick's Day -- so it has a lot more meaning to complete it.
But getting here has been a wonderful journey. I had never run more than a mile in my life. So back in 2003, when I signed up with the National AIDS Marathon Training Program, I did not know that I was embarking on such a Bounder Experience. An experience that would change me life. I did it partially because I wanted to get back into shape and partially because the training program supported the Whitman-Walker Clinic, DC's largest HIV/AIDS medical clinic. Little did I know that 3 years later I would be working for the very Clinic that I ran my first marathon for. I am the outreach coordinator for AIDS Walk Washington and today I have been working on directing my first marathon being held in Craftsbury Common, Vermont called the Sterling College Environmental Marathon. For more information on AIDS Walk Washington, click on www.aidswalkwashington.org.
This marathon is spin-off from an solo ultra-marathon I organized last year called the Bounder 50K. Each of these running events are spin-offs on my annual run at the Vermont City Marathon held each year over memorial day weekend. I have been doing these particular running events to bring awareness and media attention to an unsolved murder case of two women hikers.
Almost 12 years ago, Lollie Winans & Julie Williams were thru hikers on the Appalachian Trail and they came to the Skyline area just outside of Front Royal, VA. I remember being with my mom down in Ormond Beach, FL over memorial day weekend in 1996. We both knew Lollie when we lived up in Cabot Plains, VT. Actually Lollie and I had graduated from Sterling College in different years. We were soul mates -- lifelong friends. I remember Lollie being such a generous and wonderful person -- I knew that one day she would grace the world with love and hope. However, she was never able to fulfill her passions of helping youth in her outdoor leadership abilities. She and her girlfriend Julie Williams were murdered near the Appalachian Trail in Virginia in 1996. Their deaths have forever changed my life.
So back in 2005, when I was looking for another marathon to do, I met someone who worked at Georgetown Running Company in Washington, DC. He had run the Vermont City Marathon and recommended this race to me. Then it clicked! I would run the 2005 VCM as a memorial to my friends Lollie and Julie. I then made it into a charity marathon to raise funds for Outright Vermont (an LGBT youth organization in Burlington, VT.) This year will be my 4th VCM in memory of my friends.
But now I want to do even more for them and last year with my Bounder 50K run, it established a scholarship named after Lollie & Julie at Sterling College. So this will be the first in what hopefully will be a long-lasting marathon weekend to raise funds for the Winans/Williams Environmental Action Scholarship. For more information on Sterling College, please go to www.sterlingcollege.edu. You can find some photos of my Bounder 50K event on the site.
Well there is so much more to report on my life-long bounder experiences. I am hopeful that one day, those responsible for the deaths of my friends will be found and that each of our friends and their families will have some closure. But until then, I will keep on truckin' or runnin' that is.
In less than 3 days I will be heading to VA Beach, VA to complete my 10th marathon -- the Shamrock Marathon. Somehow, even though I have run 9 others this one is bothering me a little more than expected. I have the same marathon anxiety that I had when I went to New Orleans in 2004 to run my first marathon. I imagine I will have the same feelings of accomplishment when I near the finish line on the boardwalk with the beach to my left and the crowds of cheering spectators urging me to push forward. My heart will be strong and my sights will be clear. I will hold my arms held high and a great big smile across my face. This 10th marathon will be exactly like my first. The marathon is on the day before my 41st birthday -- St. Patrick's Day -- so it has a lot more meaning to complete it.
But getting here has been a wonderful journey. I had never run more than a mile in my life. So back in 2003, when I signed up with the National AIDS Marathon Training Program, I did not know that I was embarking on such a Bounder Experience. An experience that would change me life. I did it partially because I wanted to get back into shape and partially because the training program supported the Whitman-Walker Clinic, DC's largest HIV/AIDS medical clinic. Little did I know that 3 years later I would be working for the very Clinic that I ran my first marathon for. I am the outreach coordinator for AIDS Walk Washington and today I have been working on directing my first marathon being held in Craftsbury Common, Vermont called the Sterling College Environmental Marathon. For more information on AIDS Walk Washington, click on www.aidswalkwashington.org.
This marathon is spin-off from an solo ultra-marathon I organized last year called the Bounder 50K. Each of these running events are spin-offs on my annual run at the Vermont City Marathon held each year over memorial day weekend. I have been doing these particular running events to bring awareness and media attention to an unsolved murder case of two women hikers.
Almost 12 years ago, Lollie Winans & Julie Williams were thru hikers on the Appalachian Trail and they came to the Skyline area just outside of Front Royal, VA. I remember being with my mom down in Ormond Beach, FL over memorial day weekend in 1996. We both knew Lollie when we lived up in Cabot Plains, VT. Actually Lollie and I had graduated from Sterling College in different years. We were soul mates -- lifelong friends. I remember Lollie being such a generous and wonderful person -- I knew that one day she would grace the world with love and hope. However, she was never able to fulfill her passions of helping youth in her outdoor leadership abilities. She and her girlfriend Julie Williams were murdered near the Appalachian Trail in Virginia in 1996. Their deaths have forever changed my life.
So back in 2005, when I was looking for another marathon to do, I met someone who worked at Georgetown Running Company in Washington, DC. He had run the Vermont City Marathon and recommended this race to me. Then it clicked! I would run the 2005 VCM as a memorial to my friends Lollie and Julie. I then made it into a charity marathon to raise funds for Outright Vermont (an LGBT youth organization in Burlington, VT.) This year will be my 4th VCM in memory of my friends.
But now I want to do even more for them and last year with my Bounder 50K run, it established a scholarship named after Lollie & Julie at Sterling College. So this will be the first in what hopefully will be a long-lasting marathon weekend to raise funds for the Winans/Williams Environmental Action Scholarship. For more information on Sterling College, please go to www.sterlingcollege.edu. You can find some photos of my Bounder 50K event on the site.
Well there is so much more to report on my life-long bounder experiences. I am hopeful that one day, those responsible for the deaths of my friends will be found and that each of our friends and their families will have some closure. But until then, I will keep on truckin' or runnin' that is.
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