an amazing run

2026 Broken Anvil Backyard Ultra Race Report

Date: September 19, 2026

Where: South Park/Pollmiller Park – West Point, Iowa

Time: 14 Hours (officially), 12 hours, 25 minutes (watch)

Results: 14 Yards – 58.33 Miles, Tied for 28th place

Link: https://ultrasignup.com/results_event.aspx?did=130360

This was my fifth time at Broken Anvil to run their backyard ultra/last runner standing event, and I made the most of it. My previous best in this format was 13 yards (54.16 miles) in my first time there in 2022. Upon reaching that distance this time, I decided to follow the unofficial motto of backyard ultras and do one more loop, ending my day with 14 Yards (58.33 miles) and a new personal record. Let’s get to the details. (For clarification, a “yard” equals 4.167 miles and is one lap/loop of the course.)

All checked in, set up, and ready to run.

This new PR brought to you by…

❤️ My wife Kari. Let’s just cut to the chase right off the bat. My wife is the most supportive and helpful person in my life, and without her helping me manage these races, I would not have had the success at them that I have had. She helps me lug my stuff around, set up our canopy and camp, gets everything organized, keeps tabs on what I have had to eat/drink, makes sure I am ready for the next lap, and pushes me when I need to be pushed. Without her, I would not be typing up this race report for this event. I usually save my thanking of her for the end of the report, but this new PR was made possible because of her help.

🎵 Music. Running with music really wasn’t possible back in the late 1980s when I started running, and therefore I never really bothered with it. I always kind of felt like it was a burden more than an aid. But I utilize my watch to alert me to run and walk as part of my pacing plan, and I just can’t hear the alerts very well anymore. I remembered that my Garmin watch can play music through Bluetooth headphones, and it will also broadcast the alerts through the headphones. So why not listen to music while doing it? I must admit, music certainly keeps your mind distracted from what you are doing, and helps the miles pass by quickly. There was one lap in which I decided to charge the Shokz headphones I have been using and forgot to take them with me on the next loop. I almost felt lost without them. I am becoming a music-listening runner convert.

Race Director Nic greets everyone with a fist-bump at the finish of each yard.

🥤 Coke. OMG. I don’t know what magic elixir is in Coca-Cola, but it is amazing. I was on either Yard 7 or 8 and could feel that I was struggling. I had turned a 55-minute loop on Yard 7 and a 54-minute loop on Yard 8, and that is a clear indicator that things are heading in the wrong direction because I typically come in around 52 minutes. Honestly, I was ready to quit after the 8th yard. Kari pulled out a bottle of Coke, and I drank about 6 ounces of it. On Yard 9, I felt like a new man, finishing in 52:28. I wanted the rest of the bottle on the next loop and had another good loop. After that, Kari started rationing it, mainly to keep me from overdoing it, and to also make sure we had enough for several more loops.

🤺 Battle Buddy. I was not quite a mile into Yard 4 when a kid who jogged up next to me started talking to me.

“Can I ask you a question?” Sure, buddy, what’s up?

“If I want to quit, do I have to run the whole loop?” You aren’t quitting. I’ll get you through this loop.

His name was Owen, and he was nineteen. He told me that this was his first time doing Broken Anvil, and he had never run a mile in his life before today. His buddy Mitchell had talked him into joining him. I deduced that he hadn’t been keeping up with fueling, and he was just drinking Gatorade at the end of each loop. I was surprised he had made it to Loop 4. I gave him a GU gel that I carry with my handheld water bottle and told him to eat it. I advised him that I was just running and walking every minute and that if he could manage that, I would get him back before the hour. To his credit, he perked up and was appreciative of everything I was telling him to keep him focused. The gel was making a difference.

“This is so amazing – You are like my battle buddy!”

He was making it sound like I was dragging his wounded butt out of the jungle in Vietnam or something. I told him that I have plenty more gels and stuff in camp if he needed more. We made it back in time, and I told him to go get something to drink and eat, and I would help him pace the next loop. He didn’t return for Yard 5. His buddy Mitchell didn’t make it back before the hour. I hope he holds that fact over Mitchell’s head for the rest of his life.

l-r: Frank and me, helping Owen finish the fourth yard.

☁️ Weather. Every year, you don’t really know what type of weather you’ll get on race weekend, but you are almost guaranteed that you will have some sort of rain. This year, I didn’t make it to the rainy yards later in the overnight hours, but we had humidity instead. Like, 99% humidity. Some loops were warm and humid, then some were cool and humid. We were all soaked with sweat, and there were a lot of apparel changes, with most men going shirtless. I wasn’t comfortable with that due to the breeze making some loops feel much cooler. I felt the warmest in camp, and Kari eventually dragged my reclining chair outside of it to keep me from getting too hot in the pop-up canopy. There were several times between loops that I cooled myself with a wet towel. At least the rain held off for me.

👋 Friendly people. The 105 or so people who started the race were some of the nicest people ever. Certainly, there were the hyper-focused who wore their game faces every yard, but friendly conversations were plentiful. I was surprised at how many knew me by name. Some remembered me because I always wear my Ironman visors. It’s amazing to me that I spend one day out of the year for the past five years here, and it’s like we are all long-time friends.

➕1️⃣ Do One More. It’s not recommended to make goals in a backyard ultra. You’re supposed to go until you can’t. But I definitely wanted to get to the nighttime loops this year, and I thought I could go further than I had in the past. But I got to Yard 13 and thought that I was running out of gas. Mentally, I was running very low on desire, and I thought at least tying my personal best of 54.16 miles would be enough. When I finished that yard, I fist-bumped the race director, Nic, who greets everyone at the finish of each yard with a fist-bump, and I said that ties my personal best, and not sure I wanted to do another. I sat in my chair, didn’t really take any food or drink, and was content to wait in the chair as the next yard started. But with about 30 seconds to go, I decided to at least start the 14th yard. I didn’t bring my handheld water bottle or anything with me, as I fully intended to head back to the chair. But as I got in the corral, a guy who I was chatting with on the last loop looked me in the eye and said, “DO ONE MORE.” At the top of the hour, I plodded forward with the group. As I passed one tent with a group of runners and crew that had been cheering me during the day, I received more encouragement, but I advised them that I was probably just making a loop around the soccer field where we start and head back to my tent. But as I was walking the grassy field, I remembered that I always struggled with “doing one more” yard, and here I was already into it. Something switched me on at that moment, and I decided to straight run the yard at my normal running pace, with no walk breaks.

I took off and was passing people left and right. I was running with the leaders for the first time, and at one point I think I was leading the pack. But soreness in my legs was telling me that walking may be a better option. I dialed it back around 2.5 miles into it, and walked when there were hills. I kept an eye on my watch and could see that I was about 10 minutes ahead of my normal pace for the yard. When I got back to the point where I could see the finish area, I decided to walk it in, partly as a way to cool down and prep for recovery, and partly because I had just burned all my matches.

I had done one more, for a total of 58.33 miles/14 Yards. Kari, having realized that I hadn’t taken my drink with me, nor eaten anything before that last yard, figured I was making my last trip. I came back to having most of the stuff already packed up, and just needed to spend an hour recovering from what I had put my body through. At almost 63 years of age, I can’t just toss everything back into the car and drive off.

I laid in my recliner with my feet up, covered in a High School Musical blankie that we brought along just to keep me warm at this point in the race. I enjoyed some conversation with the mom of another runner who had come from New Jersey for this race. It would take two total hours before I was packing the last of the stuff into the truck and sliding myself into the passenger seat for the ride back to the hotel. A shower did wonders, and it was time for a solid night of sleep.

The winner was a surprise for me, as I hadn’t really taken notice of him. He went 31 Yards/129 miles. The assist went to Nicole, who I chatted with on a couple of the yards. She finished with 30 Yards, 125 miles. Impressive stuff from a pretty stacked field of quality ultra runners.

🏁 So there you have it, a new personal best distance for me in the backyard ultra format. Glad I got it done. Thanks for reading.

Minocqua “No Frills” Marathon Race Report

Date: September 6, 2026

Where: Bearskin Trail, Minocqua, Wisconsin

Time: 4:53:37

Place: 34 out of 68

Results: https://results.raceroster.com/v3/events/xunc43t6vwag5rnu/race/305075?filter_search=

I’m still putting in miles training for my ultramarathon in two weeks and needed one more long run, so today I opted to run a local marathon in Minocqua called the No Frills Marathon. I had been up here and crashed this race several times because I would forget that it was happening. This time I remembered.

It truly is no frills, but at least it was chip timed, has aid stations, and has some of the best Northwoods scenery that you can get.

Temps were upper 50s, maybe low 60s at the start, and felt perfect. My pace plan was to run/walk, but I picked sub-5 hours for a goal, so I settled on 1.5 minutes of running with a one minute walk to get me somewhere near an 11-minute mile average pace.

I started off pretty strong and quickly moved to the left so people could pass me without having to go around me. I found myself leap frogging a couple of runners who were running a steady pace. I would pass and get ahead, then walk and get passed back. They finally got just enough ahead of me that my run segment couldn’t catch them. The woman in the pink top would be up ahead of me in my sight for most of the race.

Coming to the 7 mile mark and trading my empty bottle of Tailwind for a fresh one from my best race supporter Kari.

I carried a water bottle with me and I was glad I had because the aid stations were pretty far apart and it would not have been enough for me, plus I was drinking Tailwind so I was really self-supporting myself. The plan was to renew my bottle four times, about every 6-7 miles. Kari handed me my first replacement, then I refilled it at the 13.1-mile turnaround. I met Kari once more at 19 miles or so for the last bottle. I supplemented the Tailwind with a stroopwaffel, a Payday fun size bar, and one gel. It worked for the race, but I might need more for the backyard ultra coming up.

Last bottle exchange with Kari. I had picked her some wildflowers, which I had to carry for a couple miles because I didn’t realize how far away I was at the time.

I started catching slower runners on the return trip and finally started seeing pink top girl up ahead. I bargained with myself about when or even if I should start to kick to catch her and a few others, but I waited until about 2 miles to go because she was walking occasionally and looked to be struggling. I passed her at mile 24 and kept looking over my shoulder to see if she was coming, but no one was there. I decided to coast in the last mile and finish without wrecking myself too much.

Ben, Emily, and Kari met me at the finish line and helped me recover a little bit before heading home. I was pretty happy with my time and coming in under 5 hours. Time to rest the legs and celebrate with a great dinner with my family.

Thanks to Ben and Emily for cheering me on, and to Kari for once again, making sure that I am well prepared for and taken care of after these crazy races I do.

2026 Little Apple Gravel Race 50K – Race Report

August 9, 2025 – Manhattan, IL – 50K Open Division

Results: 50K Open – Male: TBA

Watch data: 32.21 miles – 2:05:21 – 15.4 mph/ave.

I returned to this local race again for the second time because I had a pretty good time at it last year. I opted for the 50K Open category because that is about my limit of what I can take on a mostly gravel race route.

If you registered early enough, you got your name placed on the race plate. There are also stickers to add flair if you choose to.

The race starts with a slow roll-out, where we are supposed to just easily pace until we get through this little chicane spot on the course, but of course, most people started gunning it right away. I wanted to try to keep up with the main group, but they quickly gapped me. I looked back and saw about a dozen riders in my same predicament, so I figured I would just have to slowly work my way up to catch riders who went out too hard.

The start location. The guy behind me had some interesting pre-race moves. I ordered a new custom Gunners cycling jersey and was pleased it arrived in time for the race.

I opted to use a hydration vest instead of water bottles this year, and it certainly made drinking easier for me, without having to fuss with getting the bottle in and out of the cage. The only downside was that it made my back hot on this warm day.

The race had a 2km detour due to a bridge being out, so my time is a little longer than last year due to the increased distance. I didn’t mind the detour, as it was mostly paved, and I could push a little harder on it than the gravel sections.

Last year I saw two people wipe out, but didn’t see any crashes this year. The usual culprit is going too hard into the turns, and I rode them slowly, thinking that maybe I should practice that more.

I was alone in riding for most of the first 8 miles when I decided to peek behind me to see if anyone was back there, and I was surprised to see that someone was right on my wheel. He was wearing a white t-shirt and riding a mountain bike. He passed me shortly after a bit and said: “Hey, let’s work together for a while.” I was all in on that, but I was thinking that he was greatly overestimating my ability to keep pace with him. I grabbed his wheel and quickly felt the benefit of the draft. We quickly caught a couple of other riders ahead of us and were a group of about five riders for a while. I eventually lost track of him.

The course didn’t offer any surprises, but there’s one section of gravel that is just insanely difficult to ride on. I found some space along the very edge, but I was almost tightroping it, with what seemed like 8 inches of gravel to my right and a big drop-off into a ditch to the left. That mile or so section on Barr Road is miserable.

With about 10km to go, the road climbed, but the gravel was better. I started pushing a little harder, and when I got to the paved road portion, I started getting out of the saddle more to build speed to the end. I turned to look behind me again and found the same white-shirted rider that had been on my wheel before. I kept pushing, and I was able to hold him off at the finish. He rode back to the parking lot with me and told me that he had fallen/crashed. I assumed that he was in front of me. Impressive ride by him, nonetheless.

Back at the truck, I was soaked with sweat. I went and grabbed a couple of waters and downed them quickly. I had sweated a ton and needed to rehydrate. I didn’t stick around for awards because I knew I wouldn’t be in the running in this event. Very strong competition at the race today.

Another fun race for the year, and my second time racing a bike race on gravel. I may have to find some other events to do, because I am enjoying it.

Running Longevity

I was on a ten-mile run the other day, which I stretched into almost twelve, when I started thinking about running longevity and why I have been running for as many years (about 37) as I have. You can look at longevity in a couple of different ways, but for me, I was generally thinking about how I have been able to keep putting one foot in front of the other for as long as I have. Here are some of the things that came to mind in my experience:

Running Builds Strong Joints

My neighbor will ask me on occasion if my knees are still holding up. He’s amazed that a runner like me can run and not wear out my knees, yet he’s done no running at all and hobbles around on achy joints. I’m a firm believer in “use it or lose it”, and studies have shown that running is a benefit to the joints in your lower body (Northwestern Medicine article). Yes, I have overdone it and had knee pain. I had a spell of knee discomfort for the past couple of years. But this year has been injury- and pain-free, and I’m not really sure what I am doing differently. So I have to believe that running has actually benefited my overall health in ways beyond just cardiovascular health and weight management.

Attitude

Some people wouldn’t run if their hair were on fire. Somehow, for me, I took up running, got through the “this sucks” phase, and started having fun pushing my limits. Getting over the five-mile mark one day, I had an epiphany. I felt like I could have gone many more. Once I wasn’t finding the effort to start to be a challenge, I started working on getting faster, and getting faster led to running races. I now had a reason to keep running other than just to keep the waistline in check.

I am fortunate to have a beautiful nature preserve to run through. I can’t imagine having to run miles next to a road full of cars. This helps me enjoy running.

Having Running Goals

I just mentioned how racing was a dangling carrot for me, and having goals in running certainly is a reason I keep toeing the start line. Unless the race was a real dog, I almost always signed up again the following year because I wanted to be faster or place higher in my age group. At a certain point, I might have grown tired of a certain event, or did as well as I possibly could. It’s then that I might change direction and look for other races and running goals to pursue. For example, I declared in 2024 that I was done running the Chicago Marathon and marathons in general because I think that I have accomplished all that I wanted to, marathon-wise. My personal marathon best was set at Chicago. I qualified for the Boston Marathon three times there. I just don’t know if the event is what I want anymore. So I have shifted gears and am now mostly focused on ultras and other newer-style events that I have yet to experience.

Adapting to Aging as a Runner

You can’t stop aging, and I have found that trying to run with the same intensity that I did in my younger days is not possible. I’ve had to shift and refocus. Switching from marathon running to ultramarathon running would seem like I would be making matters worse for myself, but I have experienced the opposite. Ultras require you to run slower, running slower means less wear and tear, less wear and tear means I can wake up the morning after a long training run and not feel like I have been hit by a truck. It’s pretty common for a runner to feel beat up after racing a marathon. But when I finish a similar distance training run, building to an ultra, I can have another productive run the following day without much soreness.

I owe a lot to changing my pacing for longer distances. When I started running ultras, and in particular, backyard ultras, I found that using a run/walk method of 2 minutes each was about perfect for me. Now, when I run any training run of ten miles or longer, I will almost always use the 2-minute run/walk as my pacing plan.

Triathlon as Cross Training

Before I took up triathlon, my running was somewhat stagnant. I had plateaued; I wasn’t getting any better, and I was becoming bored with running. My buddy John kept putting triathlon in my ear, and I finally joined him and his brother Dave in racing tri’s. That forced me to add swimming and cycling to my workout routine. The biking helped strengthen other parts of my legs. And I had to cut back on running to fit swimming and biking into my day. The reduction in my running miles was key because I was spending too much time running without the benefit of getting faster. The marathon PRs and the BQs both came after I started doing triathlons.

To add to that, triathlon was my introduction to following a training plan. Before that, I was just winging it. Following a training plan taught me how to build in phases, keep the workouts in Zone 2 mostly, and keep the race pace stuff for races rather than going at it hard in training. It definitely improved my ability to train smart and make it through 30-weeks of training to get to race day without being injured or burned out.

Laying off when necessary

In 2015, I started a running streak. Being a “streaker” in running generally means that you consecutively run at least one mile a day. My streak was great for me until I started to get a little burned out, and I felt like I was overtraining. I was tired of having to put in a mile after big races as well. So I decided to end the streak. You can read about my streak here: RIP Running Streak

Also, I’ve learned to skip it when I don’t feel like it. It doesn’t happen often, but sometimes life has other things to take care of, and I don’t worry about missing a day when I decide to.

What Can I Improve On

I feel like I’m pretty dialed in with my approach to running, but there are some areas I can improve on. People often say weight training is a benefit. I really dislike weight training. I don’t really like any of it – being at a gym, the physical lifting of the weights, the boredom of it, and the fact that it often doesn’t seem tangible to me. I should probably focus on building abdominal core strength. That would improve my running fitness, as well as my overall fitness. And yes, I should stretch more. I also loathe stretching. And lastly, nutrition and diet could use some improvement. Now that my wife and I are both retired, I believe that we both desire to eat healthier foods.

Conclusion

Running for me was something that I grew into and grew to love. I can’t imagine not having running in my life. Missing a day used to make me miserable, but I’m smarter about having a day off to give my body a chance to recover. I’m grateful that over the years I was able to have a long running experience that I intend to keep building on.

What have you found in running that has given you longevity? I’d love to hear. Thanks for reading.

Retired

There’s no more morning wake-up alarm for me, but my brain didn’t get the message. My eyes popped open at 5:30 am. The difference for me this Monday morning is that I don’t need to go to work. I have retired. Should I get up? Should I try to go back to sleep? I got up.

July 10, 2026, my last day at work. They gave me a much-appreciated send-off.

The decision to retire was somewhat spur-of-the-moment for me. I was very happy working my part-time job in the neighboring town. I enjoyed the 8-mile e-bike commute to work and the same trip back on the good weather days. What pushed me to pull the plug was that my wife, Kari, had made the decision to retire from her career. After spending 30 years working at a super-high-level and stressful job, she decided to retire on July 1. She was very proud of what she had accomplished in her career, and rightfully so. But it was time to get out of the rat race. When she made her intention known at the beginning of the year, she stayed until July.

When Kari made her decision, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do the same. But when the opportunity exists to make up missed time with the love of your life and make the most of your golden years, I decided that I wanted that option. I hinted around with my bosses that I was thinking about it, but finally requested a sit-down conversation and advised them that I was leaving in July, too.

College

I had an unusual career path to retirement. When I was entering college at Western Illinois University in 1982, I learned that I needed to declare a major. I flipped through the college handbook that they give to incoming freshmen, which lists majors and classes. Most of those majors were not going to be easy for a kid who barely had a C average in high school. I came upon a major called “Law Enforcement Administration”, which seemed like something that I could get through easily enough and enjoy as a career. It was basically a major leading to a job as a cop.

Sometime in that freshman year, I sat in on a cold case presentation from the Lake County, IL, Sheriff’s Department. They covered the death of a young girl by the name of Lisa Slusser, including the crime scene and all the forensic evidence that came with it. I was in awe of the whole presentation, and immediately wanted to study to work in the field of forensic science.

I met with my academic advisor, who had already seen that I had struggled with Accounting and Computer Science classes, and was not sure if she thought that I could pull it off. Her advice was to take some science-based classes and see how I did. Not knowing anything about Chemistry, Physics, and Calculus, I somehow found myself getting through it. Most of the credit for that goes to my roommate, Dave. Dave and I have been lifelong friends, having gone from kindergarten to college together, and he was studying Pre-Dentistry and taking many of the same courses. Dave’s homework assistance and study work ethic rubbed off on me, and it allowed me to get through some of the toughest subjects that I had ever attempted.

Dave is sitting at his desk next to mine. Our dorm room didn’t have A/C, hence the reason he’s naked. 😂 Without him, I probably would have quit college after freshman year.

I declared a double major, adding Chemistry to the Law Enforcement Administration major, but with my sister coming to Western my senior year, and the need to add a fifth year for me to get the remaining coursework done to satisfy the major, I opted for making Chemistry my minor.

My last semester in college was an internship, which I was able to do at the Chicago Police Department Crime Lab, at 11th & State, Chicago, Illinois. What I learned there in one semester was more educational and interesting than what I learned the entire time I was in college.

The Career Path

Upon graduating, I ended up working at my late father’s former workplace, a liquid fuels pipeline facility, where I would mow grass and do basic maintenance around the facility. A month or two after working there, I got a call from a private crime lab director asking if I would be interested in interviewing for a position at his lab.

Forensic Scientist – Northern IL Police Crime Lab, 1986-1996

The Northern Illinois Police Crime Laboratory was located in Highland Park, Illinois. NIPCL was a private lab that provided crime lab services to about 35 police agencies, designed to give an alternative to the very backlogged Illinois State Police and Chicago Police crime labs. My name had been passed to the director (a former CPD lab guy), and he was looking for a trainee. I was hired in August 1986.

Working at the NIPCL was an experience that was just what I was hoping for. I succeeded in finding a job in forensics. My main duties were in Chemistry, analyzing toxicology (DUI) cases, and drug cases. Seeing that we were a small lab, I was more of a generalist rather than a specialist and would also be involved in trace examinations and some fingerprint work as well. Imagine my surprise when I found a box of evidence-related items on the shelf one day labeled “Lisa Slusser Murder.” It was a full-circle moment, seeing that the lab had handled the same murder case that had piqued my interest in the career back in college.

Our desks consisted of two filing cabinets with a cabinet top thrown on top of them.

Of course, we were screwing off just as the boss came walking in with a cup of coffee. He was a tough boss, but he did have an impact on me, especially the part where he insisted that I start saving for retirement. I wasn’t worried about retirement, and really just wanted to have some cash to spend. Taking his advice back then is one of the reasons I’m typing this post today.

I got to be included in a lot of high-profile cases, including the Laurie Dann shootings, the Dr. Martin Sullivan killing, the Suzanne Olds killing, and the biggie, the Brown’s Chicken Massacre in Palatine, Illinois. I played a significant role in the finding and retention of the evidence that convicted the killers in that case.

I have no idea what I’m holding here, but I was having some fun.

The lack of a degree in a natural science would lead to my position being eliminated due to the lab seeking accreditation at the time, which had a natural science degree requirement. After almost ten productive years, I packed up my stuff in a box and headed home to my wife and new baby in February of 1996.

Kari was very supportive as I looked for a new job to keep us afloat. It was scary losing a job while having a new baby as well as a new home, wondering how we would be able to keep living there. Kari asked me if I would mind if she also looked for a job. Of course, I had no problem with that at all. She would find an entry-level position at a major health insurance company in Chicago, where she would quickly rise up the ladder, and lead to a 30-year career as an executive. My losing my job was serendipity. Her finding that specific job and succeeding the way she did is 100% the reason why we are both retiring comfortably and at an earlier age than most people.

By July 1996, I would answer an ad for a Civilian Evidence Technician and be once again gainfully employed.

Civilian Evidence Technician – Schaumburg Police Department, 1996-1999

Schaumburg, Illinois, is a fairly large western suburb of Chicago. The department was fairly large as well and could employ a non-sworn civilian in the role of evidence technician. My background in evidence helped me get the job. My responsibilities were to process crime scenes and to also work in the darkroom, processing mugshots and crime scene film, and printing photos.

July 9, 1998 – I would take a photo of myself to use for color balance when printing up mugshots. Apparently, I was living in a dull grey world.

There were some interesting crime scenes to process, and I worked on one case in which the evidence I gathered helped convict a couple of guys who had killed a guy in town. I also backed up the property room guy, helping with maintaining the evidence and property we kept. That guy was eventually fired, and I’m not really sure why, but I was told that I would be moving into that role. I wasn’t sure I wanted to do that, and the sergeant informed me that I really wasn’t in a position to say no. Seeing that our day care provider was moving out of state, I thought I might be more of an asset raising our two young kids as a stay-at-home dad. Kari agreed, and I left SPD in 1999.

Mr. Mom – Home, 1999-2013

Being a Mr. Mom was such a highlight in my life. Watching our now three kids, Ben, Ashley, and Rebecca, was an opportunity that I was grateful to have. I never had a moment of regret leaving the workforce to be a full-time stay-at-home parent. The idea was that I would be a Mr. Mom until they were in school full-time, and then find another job, but as Kari was rising in the ranks in the corporate world, it just wasn’t a necessity to supplement our income. My mother had moved in with us when we built a new house, and it was great having that family dynamic for my kids as well. Plus, it was such a great asset to have a live-in babysitter, too.

Mom took ill and passed away in 2012. By then, Ben and Ashley were in high school, and Rebecca was approaching junior high school, and I decided that I needed to find something to do with my free time, now that I no longer needed to be there for my mom. I replied to a records clerk position ad in the paper with a local police department and got an interview.

Property Room Specialist – New Lenox Police Department, 2013-2026

Kari and I both grew up in New Lenox, Illinois, a southwest suburb of Chicago. It was a sleepy little bedroom community with about 7000 citizens when I was a kid. Now it has about 28,000 people living there. New Lenox is next to our home in Mokena, so when I was looking in the weekly local paper, I spied an ad for a records clerk with NLPD. I applied and interviewed, and was pleased to see the deputy chief in the interview had been a friend of my sister’s when we were young. We had a nice interview, and I went home pleased with how it went. A few days later, I received a call from human resources saying that they were hiring someone else for the position, but were wondering if I would be interested in managing their evidence and property room. I didn’t hesitate at all when saying yes to that job offer. It was a little surprising to say that, seeing that I left Schaumburg because I didn’t want to do that job. But I had experience with managing evidence/property, and a strong background in the software program that they were purchasing to manage it.

I hadn’t seen the property room until my first day, and of course, I was walking into a room full of stuff that hadn’t been managed very well for several years. NLPD was building a new police station, and the goal was to get rid of as much property as we could prior to moving. I got busy and worked hard at reducing our inventory while entering all the stuff we had to keep into our new evidence management system. Eventually, I got the unit to the point where it was “caught up,” meaning that there was more stuff being disposed of than there was coming in. I’m glad I was able to be productive in my role.

I’m proud to leave NLPD with a well-organized property and evidence room.

It was here that I met several people who became my friends. To avoid forgetting to name someone, I won’t list them, but nearly everyone I worked with became a special person in my life. Retiring from NLPD and leaving those people was the hardest part of deciding to retire. I will stay in touch.

So there you have it. Three jobs in law enforcement, none of which were sworn positions, which is quite unique if you ask me. And I’ll never retire from being a dad.

Retirement

I’m not sure what retirement means for Kari and me yet. We don’t have any immediate plans. We just plan to take each day as it comes and see what retirement life leads us to. I’m sure we will travel a lot, and I will continue to do my running and triathlon adventures to keep me busy. Hopefully, someday soon we will have grandkids to chase around. Until then, one day at a time.

Thanks for reading.

BEEP BEEP, beep beep, poof…

As I train for my fall ultramarathon, my long runs are mostly done using a run/walk method. At this stage of my life, I don’t see the point of beating myself up by running long miles at a fast pace. The run/walk approach keeps me from overtaxing my leg muscles, allows me to recover more quickly, and trains my mind to handle being on my feet for long periods of time. I set my watch to alert me every 2 minutes to run or walk. This gives me a running pace of about 12:13 minutes per mile, which is perfect for running backyard ultras. The alert consists of audible beeps and a vibration to make me aware that it’s time to start walking or running. But I miss the beeping because I often don’t hear it. And the vibration is becoming unnoticeable as well. If it is windy outside, or there are car noises and such, the alert can be difficult to hear. If I’m wearing a jacket or gloves that cover the watch, I may not hear it at all. It also alerts me to drink every ten minutes and to down a gel every 30 minutes, which helps me stay on top of hydration and nutrition.

I’m a 62-year-old runner who just can’t hear like I used to. I played drums in grade school through college in school bands, and restarted playing the drum set in my late forties. Drums are loud, and I’m paying for it now. And drummers often drum along to music, which is also played loud. Throw in aging and some heredity into the mix, and well, it is at the point where I just can’t hear high-pitched sounds anymore.

Marching in my drumline at Western Illinois University in 1982. I’m second from the right. Ten snares could play quite loudly.

I’ve been using hearing aids to help me hear better, which have made general conversation better for me to understand. But I won’t wear them while running due to all the sweating that I am doing. Maybe I should look into some waterproof hearing aids, but my preference is the style that is completely in the ear canal. Vanity and comfort are the reasons.

I also suspect my watch is part of the issue. It’s five years old or so, and maybe the beeper just doesn’t beep as loud anymore. Maybe the vibrator thing doesn’t vibrate as hard anymore. Maybe I’m just making more excuses for my failing ability to hear.

Fortunately for me, I began my running life when such electronic gizmos didn’t exist, and therefore I learned to rely on feel. I’m good at knowing my pace. I’m good at guessing how far I have run. And I can be good at knowing when I need to run/walk or have a drink or eat a gel. I will trudge along just fine. But if you are passing me on the bike trail, make that “On your left” a little louder for me. Thanks.

2026 Ironman 70.3 Rockford Race Report

DATE: June 14, 2026

WHERE: Rockford, Illinois

RESULTS: BIB # 154 5:45:37 finish time

What a difference a year makes! Last year was a fight for survival (link to 2025 race report), and I struggled to finish in 7.5 hours. But this year was almost a perfect day for racing a 70.3. Not only did I achieve my arbitrary goals of running a sub-2-hour half-marathon, but I also got under 6 hours for the race – by a lot, setting a new personal best for myself, too!

Training went really well for me this year. My doctor advised me that my blood work showed a very low amount of vitamin B-12. Once I added B-12 to my day, it made a huge difference. My muscles recovered more quickly and were less sore, and overall, I had more energy.

I stuck with my usual training plan, Don Fink’s IronFit Secrets for Half-Iron Distance Success, which has served me well for my three half-iron races. 16-weeks of training made me well prepared.

Prerace Notes

Kari and I got to Rockford midday on Saturday, and I was able to get checked in and put my bike into transition. We had a nice dinner at the same restaurant we ate at last year, Tavern on Clark, and I opted to not overindulge. Our same hotel (Home2) had its act together this year, and check-in went very smoothly. The only issue I had was not getting a good night’s sleep. Lots of tossing and turning, and dreaming.

Race Day

The alarm was set for 4:30am, but I got up at 4 and took a shower. Even with giving myself some extra time, Kari and I lost track of it and realized we needed to hustle to get to the Ironman Village to set up transition and catch the bus. Kari pulled up to the parking garage, and I hopped out with my stuff and headed to my bike. I set up my stuff, covered in a plastic bag as it was sprinkling, which would end by 6:45am or so. I then walked to the line to catch the shuttle buses to the swim start. Upon getting there, I realized I had not left my eyeglasses with my bike, so I ran back and put them with my helmet. That might have been bad for me. I could have dropped my glasses off at Swim Start, which the IM people would have then dropped off at Swim Out, but I’m glad I didn’t have to do that.

Although I was relieved to have remembered the glasses, the line back at the shuttle buses was now double in length, and I worried that I might have to hoof it down the 1.2 miles or so of trail to get there. I stuck it out and was able to get on a bus, fortunately.

Last year, I got a push notification from IM that the water was 79 degrees, which meant no wetsuit for me. This year, the water was 72.4 degrees! Plus, the dam upstream of Rockford had been opened, which created quite a current. It was going to be a great day for swimming.

I was a little hyped up with adrenaline at Swim Start, but somehow was able to calm myself down, talking with others and comparing notes. We were waiting in our predicted swim time groups to enter the water (I entered the water about 38 minutes after the 7am start time), and the Race Announcer was telling us that the first swimmer had exited the swim in under 20 minutes! This guy was going to be way into the bike ride before I finished the swim! Crazy.

The Swim – 28:40 / 26th M60-64 / 1062nd overall

As it turns out, 72.4 degrees is pretty damn cold! It was a little bit of a shock to the system. I swam in my new sleeveless wetsuit, and although my arms were cold, I slowly got used to it and worked my way into a good pace. After going under the first bridge, I had gotten a little off course when I swam right of one of two buoys that marked the halfway point, and I was now struggling to slow down my breathing. I saw a paddleboarder and held on to it for just about a minute to reset myself, then I proceeded to swim back to where I needed to be.

I could see the Swim Out and made a beeline for it, and was shocked to see that I clocked a 28:40 swim. I’m the world’s okay-ish swimmer, typically swimming a half-iron in about 43 minutes. This was a shocker. The Rock River was certainly rolling and in our favor today!

Happy as always to be done swimming and off to the bike.

T1 – 6:40

I wasted over 8 minutes in T1 last year, and I was determined to get out of there faster this year. Due to construction in a park where the athlete village was last year, transition was moved a couple of blocks north of there on the road. There would be no quarter-mile run to my bike this time. I was lucky to basically jog 100 yards to my bike, which was right near the entrance of T1. A wetsuit peeler stripped me of my wetsuit, and I quickly sat down, tried to dry myself off, and struggled to get my socks on. I knew the bike would start with me being cold and wet, so I opted to put on a long-sleeve (and super small – 😂) cycling top. Being super close to the Swim In meant I had a long haul to the Bike Out. I stopped and had a guy add some sunscreen to my neck and face, and he shot a bunch into my ear, and we both laughed. I pushed on to the Bike Mount zone and began what would be a great ride.

Me chuckling at the sunscreen volunteer guy who had just filled my ear with sunscreen. Also, why do I look like a stuffed sausage? *Photo credit Chris Farrell*

BIKE – 3:06:32 / 18th M60-64 / 802nd overall

Most of my training rides of 56 miles took me about 3:20 or so, building up to the race. With the day we were going to have – cool temps and what I considered to be a favorable wind direction – I figured I might be able to pull off 3:10 possibly. I reminded myself not to redline leaving Rockford, as it is uphill for maybe a mile or two, but my heart was pumping hard. We got to the first turn, and it’s a super fast downhill with a sharp turn at the end. Just as we were flying down it, the referee motorcycle rode very slowly past. I wasn’t more than a couple of miles into this race and was afraid I was going to get a penalty for drafting, as there was a pretty big group that hadn’t spread out yet. But he kept going, and people tried to behave when they saw him, and I quickly settled back in.

I was so glad that I had put on the extra layer, as I was somewhat cold for the first hour. Hardly anyone else was wearing an extra top, and I thought I was the crazy one. I’m not regretting it at all.

The ride north was into the wind, but fortunately, I was pretty fresh at this stage and feeling good. It seemed to me that the cross/headwind we dealt with when we started heading west was worse than the headwind we had heading north. At the first aid station, I had a near miss when some dumb rider passed me on the right as I was pulling over to the toilets. She got an earful from me, and I wasn’t nice about it. She could have really messed both of us up. There were lots of people riding out of position. Anyway, I escaped the one close call and put it behind me.

About 32 miles into the course, I turned south and started reaping the benefits of a strong tailwind and some speedy downhill sections. My watch clocked a 35 mph max speed, which was more than likely in one of these sections heading back. I was passing riders a lot heading out, but now I was passing people very consistently and with speed.

At about 46 miles, I looked at my speed and realized that if I managed to keep up this 20 mph-plus average, I might get pretty close to three hours. So I started pushing pretty hard.

The fast hill early on leaving Rockford, was now the last beast I had to overcome before rocking Rt. 20/State Street back into the city. Shocked to see my bike split at 3:03 on my watch, which still had autopause running, and the two stops at the porta-potties cost me a grand total of about 3 minutes. Pretty amazed at that.

This is either coming in to finish the bike or just heading out. Take your pick.

T2 – 4:49

As I dismounted from the bike and started jogging to my transition spot, I wasted as little time as I could. I took off the cycling gear and put on my shoes, grabbed my arm sleeves, bib belt, and visor, and I was off to hit the run course.

RUN – 1:58:56 / 14th M60-64 / 738th overall

I told myself to not go out too fast, but I felt good and was ready to beat feet. About a half-mile into the run, I saw a guy rocking a Rush cycling jersey, and I asked him if he was going to see them in Chicago. He said that he was going to all of the shows (four, I believe!). I’m going to the Monday show, so we talked Rush for a brief spell, and then I kept trucking.

First mile of the first loop. Feeling good.

I started to feel the headwind, and I was starting to feel my effort was way too strong, so I dialed it back and tried to run comfortably. At times I was cold, other times I was hot, depending on whether the wind was at my back or in my face. I walked through most of the aid stations, stopping at one or two to pee, but I was still managing just right around 9-minute miles, which I knew I had to maintain in order to get a sub-2-hour half-marathon.

My wife, with her broken foot, was undeterred in being the best supporter for me out on the run course. She positioned herself in the same shady park area as last year, and I had no trouble finding her and letting her know I was doing okay.

I really like the variety of the run course. It kept things new and exciting. Plenty of cheering fans all along the course. The guy ahead of me had just given five to the kid.

On the second loop, I pulled the arm sleeves out of my back pocket and pulled them on because I was now getting pretty chilled in the wind. I told myself to wait to kick until about 10.5 miles, and then I started picking off runners ahead of me. I got lots of “looking good” and “you got this” from spectators, so it wasn’t just me thinking I had a good pace going.

In the final stretch, trying to pace with this much faster youngin’. *Photo credit Kristy Suriano*

I got to the final stretch and hit the gas, and then floated down the chute to the finish line. I couldn’t believe my eyes – not only did I go sub-6 hours, I also finished in 5:45, a minute and some change faster than my previous personal best from 2014, twelve years ago!

It was a race of a lifetime for me. Certainly, the swim played a role in my overall speed and time. But I earned that bike split and that run split, as they both had equal portions of hard work into the wind and help with the wind at my back. The results will show 5:45:37, and that’s all that matters.

Post Race

Not a pose I generally strike, but I had the towel and water bottle they handed me in my hands. I kind of like it.

I stood in line to get a finish line photo, then focused my attention on recovery. Recovery is always hard for me at this distance (and most others, too), and I could sense that I’d better keep moving and get out of the finish area. I found Kari, and we walked to the backside of transition. Fortunately, the race official there said I could enter, but advised me that I couldn’t take my things out of transition until 1:45pm, as people were still on the course. I made a beeline for the toilet, as I was starting to feel a strong urge coming on. But inside, after unzipping my onesie trisuit and sitting down, I couldn’t do anything. So I made the best use of the time in there to warm up a little and kill some time.

I made it to my bike, grabbed all of my stuff, and walked to the exit where the staff checks your numbers to make sure you aren’t taking what isn’t yours. I passed through, and Kari and I walked to the IM Village to possibly get some post-race pizza. Ironman makes you walk through the IM Store because they want you to buy overpriced stuff, and I decided to see if I could pick up a name t-shirt and a new visor or hat. I got to the checkout and realized that I didn’t have my phone or wallet, but she said I could use my watch to make the payment. Great! But it wouldn’t work – it kept getting declined. So I cut bait and said I’m better off not spending $140 on three items anyway.

We almost forgot about picking up the morning clothes bag, and I asked someone who was carrying one where they were located. Fortunately, it was in the village, so I made the trek back through the store, this time ignoring the temptation to buy anything, and got my bag. At this point, I was starting to crash.

Kari and I sat for a while until I could find the energy to begin the two-block walk to the parking garage, and as I made my way up the sidewalk, I began to sort of hyperventilate as I walked. I made it across the street, and I sat on a concrete barrier while Kari went to get the truck out of the parking garage. I wrapped the finisher’s towel that I received at the finish around me, and also wrapped myself in my trisuit and sat there waiting. Kari pulled up, we tossed the bike onto the carrier, and my junk into the backseat, and off we drove. I turned my heated seats to high, put on the heater, wrapped myself with whatever towels I had in the truck, and slowly began to feel better. I’m not sure why I get so wrecked post-race (I have had some doozies), but it’s not like you can train for that. I probably needed some food/sugar/liquid, but I didn’t feel like I could stomach that at the moment.

We made it home okay, got unloaded, showered ourselves, and then went to my favorite post-race restaurant for some much-needed dinner.

Conclusion

If you are interested in some of my gear, I used the following:

Zoot one-piece trisuit
Xterra Vortex sleeveless wetsuit
2012 (purchased new in 2013) Specialized Shiv Pro bike
Garmin Fenix 6X Sapphire watch
Hoka Ceilo X1 shoes

Many thanks and love go to my wife, Kari, for always being there for me. This lady had a broken foot in a walking boot and still shuffled around after me. She won’t let me do these things by myself, and I got a feeling that if she were sick with the flu, she would be there to make sure I was okay. I’m forever indebted to her for putting up with me.

Thanks to everyone who posted kind words on Facebook about my race. I was just as awed by my finish as many of you were. I hope that maybe you all can join me in racing this race someday.

Thanks to all the other racers, volunteers, locals, and spectators/fans along the course. You truly make racing at Rockford a special day.

Thanks to local friends Chris and Kristy for taking a few action pictures of me today. And congrats to those locals in the Manhattan Tri Club (which I sorta associate with and follow). Chad, Karen, Dan, and several others did a great job!

And always, thanks to my Number 1 Fan, Carl, for always taking an interest and following my adventures. I appreciate that you are entertained and impressed by my performances.

Thanks for reading and all of your kind words.

Team Gunners (me) placed 123 out of 189 tri teams at the race! Go Me!

Wear A Damn Helmet

As I walked my dog this late morning, I saw my neighbor with his grandson, the boy scooting along on his balance bike, and the neighbor following on his bike. Neither with a helmet. When he saw me, I gave a half-hearted wave and shook my head.

With the dog walk over, I put on my running gear and headed to the nature preserve to get my five miles in. About two miles into it, where the steepest part of the route is, there was a young kid (about 4-years-old) and her mom coming down the hill at a rapid pace. As I took notice, I could see that this girl was flying, and all of a sudden the bike developed the dreaded “death (speed) wobble” (video example), and she lost control and hit the pavement hard. Mom freaked out, grabbing both brakes, and also wiped out right next to her, with her leg folding under her in the most awkward and painful-looking way. The youngster had on a helmet and popped up fairly quickly, declaring herself to be okay. Mom looked to be in pain, but was very concerned about her daughter. After realizing that they were both lucky to not have been seriously hurt, I told the mom that she may want to consider wearing a helmet as well.

Here’s the elevation of my running route. I was climbing the hill near the red X, and they were coming down the hill fast. I can easily hit 20 mph in this preserve coasting downhill.

This mom, I’m sure, felt bad about what happened, but seriously… This hilly nature preserve is not the place for very young and inexperienced riders to be riding on. It’s easy to understand why a 4-year-old is not an experienced rider, but just knowing that mom wasn’t wearing a helmet and riding a mountain bike on a wet, paved slick trail at a really fast pace also tells me that she wasn’t an experienced rider, either. I’m sure she thinks that she’s an adult and can make adult decisions for herself, and that these things won’t happen to her, but there she was, picking herself up and worrying that her kid was alright. The kid can’t make these decisions on her own. I hope she isn’t forced by mom to ride back there again until she’s old enough to handle a bike with speed.

I’ve seen numerous posts on the triathlon and cycling groups I’m on where a rider will post damaged pictures of their helmet, with the words “the doctor said thank goodness you were wearing a helmet.” I have a local friend who has crashed twice this year; both times his helmet saved him from a serious head injury.

I know I’m preaching to the choir. I know that you didn’t wear a helmet as a kid and made it out alive. I know that the kid and her mom today got up and continued to where they were going with only minor scrapes. I know. But it could have been very serious.

Wear a damn helmet when riding a bike.

Race Week Taper Time

Race week is finally here! It always surprises me that I still get nervous with a race coming up, even with having done over 130-something races over the years. Ironman Rockford 70.3 is on Sunday, and I’m pretty excited for it this time.

The weather last year played a significant role in the inaugural race, with super-hot temperatures and a reliance on the locals in what was dubbed “Sprinkler Alley” to keep us cool by hosing us down with garden hoses and making it to the finish line. The weather watchers are already back at it again this year, and although we will have some warm temps this week, race day is looking to be a wonderful mid-70-degree day. Man, that is such a welcome relief. My only concern is that the warm week leading up to the weekend may heat the water up some, pushing us out of a wetsuit legal race. Fingers crossed that the additional rain will also help cool it down.

On Monday, I was already starting to plan out my weekend, thinking about what trisuit to race in, what nutrition I would need for the three events, and trying out my new sleeveless wetsuit for the first time in my pool. It’s a little tight around the neck, so putting anti-chafe lotion on my neck will be a must. Glad I pre-swam with it.

With the weather being cool, that means I might need to add another layer for the bike ride, or at least add some gloves and arm sleeves. Being wet after the swim will make 60-degree temps feel even cooler while riding the bike.

One thing I have learned while training this past 16 weeks is that I have been a little underhydrated and behind on nutrition on my bike training rides. That is mostly due to my bringing just enough on those rides and not anything extra. The race will have plenty of extra water and nutrition for me on the course.

I have an easy week to finish out and hopefully get to Sunday to let it rip instead of hoping to survive like last year. So, here’s to a good last week of preparation! Up next is race day!

Texas Outlast Race Report

Saturday – May 2, 2026
Palatine, Illinois
Texas Outlaw Outlast – One 5K per hour for six hours ~18.6 miles
Results – 57th place overall, 43rd male overall, no age group rankings
Link to Results – Outlast Chicago Saturday Results
Total Time – 2:50:44

This race popped up on my Facebook feed last year, most likely due to Facebook knowing absolutely everything about my personal life, whether I like that or not, but it seemed interesting to me, so I signed up for the Saturday race (it ran again on Sunday), and my son Ben decided to join in the fun.

I really like the backyard ultra-type format, where you run 4.16 miles every hour and see how far you can go. It’s not about how fast, just how far, and I wondered what it would be like if there was a speed element added to it. I also often wondered about my pacing in backyard ultra races, particularly whether I might be better off running a little faster than my typical 52 minutes per loop. This race would provide some answers to those questions.

The Outlast format is one 5K per hour, repeated for six hours. The runner with the fastest cumulative time is the winner. There were no age groups for this race, and it bothered me a little knowing that my best 5K effort at 62 years of age would be no match for the North Central College runner winner of this race, who was clicking off 17-minute 5Ks, while doing cool-down jogs in between the loops. Still, I chose to push myself on each of the six 5K segments and see where I would stand against the rest of the runners.

The course was a single loop that was about 3.05 miles long, according to my watch.

This was really a race of two halves for me. The first three loops were pretty good. My splits were consistent, averaging 8:44 pace per mile. It was the fourth loop that I could feel some fatigue and a sort of malaise coming on. After completing that fourth 5K in 29 minutes, I spent some time in the porta-potty with stomach issues. I got back to the tent and really didn’t feel the best. I started the fifth loop, doubling up with another long-sleeve top on, and put my gloves back on. By the time I got about 3/4 mile into it, I was in trouble – I had an urgent bathroom need, but had no place to go. I stopped running and walked off the course to possibly squat behind a tree, but everyone in the race coming along would have been witnesses to some extremely embarrassing stuff for me. I opted to not crap in the open in front of everyone, and thought about calling it a day and heading back to the start and drop out of the race. But I chose to just keep walking, and eventually the need to go subsided. I somehow made it back to finish that loop and immediately headed to the porta-potty. A few minutes in there made a difference for me, and I felt 100% better after. The sixth and final loop of the race went really well, and I pushed myself to a good finish.

Here are my splits according to my watch:

26:19 – 8:37 pace / I started a little too strong and overheated a little
27:07 – 8:54 pace / Held back a little at the start, but a much better lap
26:10 – 8:35 pace / My best split of the day
29:00 – 9:35 pace / Trouble started to brew
34:22 – 11:22 pace / Almost crapped my pants, decided to walk
28:08 – 9:21 pace / Feeling good again, finished with a strong lap

Ben & I at the just before loop 1. I started with pants, took them off after the lap.

Second lap finish. I’m old! But my legs look good. I put the gaiters on after getting a ton of trail crap in my shoes on the first lap.

Ben was running in a strong second place for the first half of the race, but also got derailed with stomach issues.

Overall, I enjoyed the race. My biggest complaint about the race was the conga line that quickly formed in the opening half-mile. The race was run on a combination of grass, dirt, and mud on mostly single-track, which meant that early on, we were in a conga line for at least 1.5 miles, and getting stuck behind a slower runner was annoying at times. The third mile was much more open and wide, so if the race was run in the opposite direction, it would have given the field more room to run and spread out before getting to the single-track portion, and possibly eliminating the conga line.

The race had some issues with timing in the first couple of laps, missing some results for the top ten finishers on those laps. I guess they will figure it out and let us know, but I was listed as being 35th overall out of around 200 runners in the race. Not a bad result, but I might move down when the official results come out.

(Official results came out on Monday. See the results at the top of the page. There was one 64-year-old male who finished ahead of me.)

The race did give me some answers to the questions I had at the top of this post. First, without an age group competition, the need to hammer every lap didn’t really matter unless one was vying for the top spot, or you were interested in seeing how fast your splits could be overall. I can definitely say that I wouldn’t feel so dang sore today if I had just run each loop at a casual pace. Which leads to the second question – I would not last very long running a backyard ultra at a fast pace for each yard/loop. It would end my day very early if I ran a backyarder with the same pace plan I did today’s race. So, I think I will continue running and walking through my backyard races.

So there you have it, the first race of 2026 is in the books for me. Back to half-Ironman training for Ironman Rockford 70.3 coming up in June.