Run DMZ

  The other week I was doing some deep cleaning and came across this race photo. It resurrected lovely memories from one of my most unpleasant finishes. It also reminds me of how much has changed over the years--to both me and marathons.   Note the slant of the sun . This shot was taken in the last miles of the course, with the sun already inching toward the western horizon. The Richmond Marathon used to start at 12:30 p.m. on an October Sunday to allow locals time to go to church before downtown streets closed. This made weather a wildcard. It could be the cool fall day long-distance runners dream of, or it could swampy. I got both, with heat at the start but a cool breeze at the end.    Now almost every marathon starts early morning to accommodate bigger crowds .   Note the bib number . This race had less than 500 marathoners the first time I ran it. You could sign up race day, especially if you ended up not running that much more popular marathon two hours no...

  This week we were supposed to soak up Polynesian culture, take in Pearl Harbor and a pineapple factory, hike Diamond Head, snorkel in Hunaume Bay and just pretend all of the problems plaguing us in the Lower 48 did not exist.   I also was to run 8.15 miles through the streets of Honolulu with 25,000 others. I figured I could do the early morning race and make it back before our party of eight had finished breakfast. The entire trip and my purported athleticism represented magical thinking on my part, given the streets remain relatively barren and I can barely walk 4 miles at a time, let alone run fast for twice as far.   Well before I called to cancel our resort reservations and those incredibly cheap Southwest flights, the Great Aloha Run had added a virtual option. (See? What did I tell you .) So, in January, coming off a serious illness, I began to plan a seaside route and download a Hawaiian music playlist for this weekend. Then I realized I would be walking for at...

I’ve written numerous times about bathroom issues common among runners and probably anyone whose repetitive movements impact their  gastrointestinal organs ,  kidneys  and  bladder . Pre-exercise nutrition is a key factor; you need to make sure you eat foods and drink liquids that help prevent things like diarrhea and dehydration. But there’s another important factor that isn’t always within the runner’s control. I’m talking about restrooms. If you run or even walk long and far enough, especially if you pre-hydrate to ward off other dangers due to hot-weather workouts, then at some point you’ll need to make a pitstop. This typically isn’t an issue and may even predetermine a select route. But these are still not typical times, despite the relaxing of rules that now allow for more public interaction. Depending on where you work out outdoors, you may need to go and find a public restroom near a still-shuttered state or local park is closed. It’s also not as ea...

Today was about as weird as it comes. I went into it convinced the day would suck and I was right but for the wrong reason. I expected to be fielding calls and e-mails all day after a major work project failed to come out on time. Instead, I was fielding calls and e-mails all day after a senseless rampage that now marks a nadir in U.S. history. It was nice to reconnect with high school and college friends and even to be approached by strangers who noticed my Virginia Tech Alumni license plate holder. I helped my sister in Blacksburg craft a thank you note to go with the hand-delivered baked goods for the local police, who are in for some very dark days and tortured nights. We weighed how she could help the mourners. I admit I only watched a small fraction of the Boston Marathon and had trouble relating to running blogs when there was so much chaos and carnage being reported. I’m sure I’ll be fine in time for the next round of race recaps. The last time I was on campus was on a muggy Mo...

Back in the mid ‘90s, a group of us newspaper staffers formed a corporate running team known as The Deadliners. So good were we that we once placed second in the competitive Bay Days 10k in Hampton, Va. -- and no one knew till the results came out in the next day’s paper. Then, because of our suspicious nature, we exchanged conspiracy theories, not congratulations. Was the sports desk playing a sick joke? Did someone sleep with the race director? The team lineup changed as runners moved on to bigger papers or were called in to cover a murder. But one guy, Randy from tech support, could always be counted on. His standard response when asked his predicted time: “I’m just here to keep fill out the team. You all feel free to finish ahead of me.” And so he did, constantly coming in last among other Deadliners. Once -- I think it was the heavily attended Harborfest 10k in downtown Norfolk -- Randy and a local television anchorwoman were being tailed by the straggler van and a fire truck with...