My Very First Web Log

I've been wanting to blog for a while now so here goes...

Let's start with the title: When I was 7 years old (in 1972) I was at a friends house watching a moment in Olympic history. It was Rome, 1960, and the announcer (a very dramatic David Perry) was telling me that 2 runners (bin Rhadi of Morocco and Bikila of Ethiopia) were leading the Olympic marathon. I was transfixed as I watched Abebe Bikila's expressionless face, economical form, and those bare feet! I was mesmerized by the drama of it all and the way that Bud Greenspan produces his Olympic videos really left an indelible mark on my psyche. I dabbled in all ball and team sports, rather unsuccessfully, through high school and it was not until 1991 that I caught the triathlon bug. That lasted all of one year and then in 1992 I stuck with only running and have been ever since. I set the New York City Marathon in the Fall of '92 as my first marathon. As I was running, I couldn't help thinking about all of the great marathoners that came before me including: Edelen, Moore, Shorter, Peters, Hayes, Bikila, Wolde, Pietri, Clayton, Kelley, Hill, Zatopek, Mimoun, Drayton, Waitz, Benoit, Salazar, Lopes, etc. My finishing time was 2 hours and 42 minutes. Over the past 19 years, I have have been fortunate to run 13 marathons with a best of 2:35 and in 2000 I won the Charlotte Observer Marathon (with my wife and son at the finish line!). The wonderful people that I have met through running over the years are too many to name. What a ride it has been...let's keep it going!