Running

Wings for Life Run: Where are the zombies?

June 3, 2015 By Danny

When I first heard about it, I thought it would be like running from Zombies.

There were no Zombies. But there was running, lots of running.

At a race expo in February of 2014 I approached a booth with wings all over it. The volunteers in the booth told me about their race, Wings For Life World Run. There was no distance to the race. You just started to run and 30 minutes after you started the finish line would start behind you and chase you. Your race ends when the finish line, a chaser car, catches you. I decided the chaser car was probably driven by Zombies.

The race was happening simultaneously in over 35 locations across the globe. All at the same time. I was complaining about our 7am start and the guy quickly pointed out how much worse it was in Denver and Los Angeles.

Cool…but it would be better with zombies.

The guy agreed, and offered to take my entrance fee and my advice all at the same time. I paid up, went to the race which was biking distance from my house, and had a great time. There were the big TVs up showing the racers all across the globe on a live feed. I just ran until I couldn’t anymore, not for any set amount of distance, and it was just fun.

I decided then that I would do this race each and every year, but at a different location.

For 2015 we had initially planned to go to Poland to run in Poznan, but we ultimately had to cancel that trip and stay closer to home. Somehow we ended up choosing the race in Niagara Falls, Canada. We roped a couple of friends into joining us and off we went for a lovely weekend with a giant waterfall and some scheduled running.

The race itself is also interesting for yet another reason. All of the fees go to support spinal cord research. Let me repeat, all of the fees go towards research. The race itself is sponsored and run by Red Bull and some of their corporate friends. This year they told us they raised €4.2 million.

The run itself went smooth enough. I saw Niagara falls with my friend early in the morning when nobody was there hogging the views. I ran my butt of when I saw that chaser car behind me. I managed to run a little further than I ran in 2014. I met a Red Bull BMX athlete, competing a few weeks from now in the X-Games. The crisp air felt nice and we all spent the rest of the time relaxing and enjoying ourselves.

This years winners ran 79.9km (male) and 56.6km (female). I ran 14.4km. That seems a decent distance for outrunning zombies, some of them anyway.

Now the question remains, where are we going next year…and will there finally be zombies.

For more information about the Wings For Life Run, please visit: http://live.wingsforlifeworldrun.com/en

Turn my hair PINK and PURPLE for my 70.3 Triathlon

October 20, 2014 By Danny

Working towards taking items off a bucket list is a pretty awesome feeling. Being able to cross item #1 off that list is even better.

On October 26th, that’s this coming Sunday, I am going to compete in the Miami Half Ironman 70.3 race. This is 1.2 miles of swimming, 56 miles of cycling and then a half marathon. In total 70.3 miles. I’ve been training hard for about four months now. Getting up when it is still dark in the morning to swim, bike and run my to work each day to hopefully make it to the office by 9am. My weeks have consisted of anywhere from 10 to 20 hours of exercise. I’ve lost weight, purchased a fancy bike, eaten gobs of food and [luckily] managed to avoid major injury. The worst part, Florida’s summer sun and time away from my family.

With the race so close though, some friends have asked me if I’m racing to support any charities. Until yesterday, I had not set anything up but…..that was yesterday.

In the past, I have done an occasional race in support of the RSDSA in memory of my sister, Rachel. The problem with this is that this charity is more a memory of Rachel’s death rather than her life. In life my sister was interested in three things: helping people, helping animals and doing things with glitter glue. (I’m sure there was something else but those three are pretty encapsulating.)

Specifically, I remember my sister in her younger years collecting wildlife card files, books she would fill with information about wild and endangered animals. In her ‘later’ years she and I spent a lot of time working with what was then called the National Conference for Community and Justice (NCCJ). The mission was to stop racism and hatred of all types. Unfortunately, NCCJ has not survived the test of time but the Miami Chapter lives on as the MCCJ. Most important to the sparkling memory of Rachel’s life was her constant obsession of decorating everything with glitter glue.

For each of the first two items, I’ve decided to create fund-raising pages with The MCCJ and The Wildlife Conservation Network (WCN). Their connection to my sister should be obvious to all who knew her. To memorialize the glitter glue is a bit more difficult so instead of donating do the American Association of Glitter Glue Enthusiasts (gosh, I hope that’s not a real organization) I will instead place one centimeter of glitter glue on my helmet for each $50 donated to the above charities. And to make sure it is clear I’m memorializing my sister, I’ll use purple glitter glue for donations to MCCJ and pink for donations to WCN. (If you’re curious, the helmet is black.)

There is one other item about my sister that is relevant. This Friday, October 24th, would have been her 30th birthday. So, with only a few days to go we’ll set the fund-raising target at $3,000. It’s a stretch, I know, but as an incentive if $1,500 or more is raised for MCCJ, I’ll dye my hair purple. If $1,500 or more is raised for WCN, I’ll die my hair pink. If we meet both goals, I’ll be running the triathlon as the Miami Beach version of the villain Two-Face from the Batman comics.

The race is THIS Sunday, October 26th. I’m not going to do this again. Click the fund-raising links (MCCJ | WCN), share this post on facebook, and help give my race outfit some serious style points!

That time I finished a race in first place…and didn’t realize it!

October 18, 2014 By Danny

Checking items off a bucket list is always a lot of fun. Checking an item off and not even realizing can be even more rewarding.

In early 2013 I challenged a couple of friends to walk with me from Washington, DC all the way to Harper’s Ferry, WV. We did it, unfortunately that item wasn’t on our bucket list. Several months later, one of those friends challenged the group to another silly idea, competing in a really long triathlon.

We all took the bait.

This past August, six friends and a pair of one year old twins descended on Penn Yan, New York for the Peasantman Triathlon. The friend who challenged the group to the event was planning on competing in the Steel Distance Triathlon, effectively a half iron man. His girlfriend and I signed up for the Olympic Steel Triathlon, while Jillian and the other pair of athletes took care of the Half Steel Relay. We focused on keeping the race low-key and fun.

We all finished our triathlons, some of us in first place.

Fast forward to the end of the race… when the two of us who ran the Olympic distance triathlon got the surprise of our athletic careers…we were first place in our respective divisions. Despite coming in the bottom half of the overall race field, we cleared the first place position in our divisions and, that means item #46 on the bucket list has been achieved. I came in first place in a race, it doesn’t matter that I was the only one in my division, my certificate says 1st and so… item #46 has been officially checked off the list!

Just don't ask how many people I had to leave in my dust.... — Just don’t ask how many people I had to leave in my dust….

The only problem is that in training for that Olympic distance triathlon (which I WON!), I somehow managed to sign up for a half Ironman race, something I like to call the “Aluminium Man”. The reason I signed up is that completing the aluminium man (70.3 miles total) happens to have been the first item on the bucket list. Wonder if I’ll come in first again….

I just ran a triathlon

August 12, 2013 By Danny

It may have been a short triathlon, taking place in North Miami Beach, but it was the maximum length allowed to be called a sprint and it was a good stepping stone for me in trying out this new sport. The race was the 25.75 North Miami Triathlon and it felt great to get out there and even better to finish!

First. What is a Triathlon?

A triathlon is three sports; swimming, cycling and running. The three sports are always in that order, it’s pretty logical when you think about it. In this race, the swim was 750 (.46mi) beautiful meters of open water swimming in Miami’s Biscayne Bay followed by a 20k (12.4mi) bike ride and a 5k (3.1mi) run. My job was very simply to do those three events, in that order, as quickly as possible.

But Wait, What about those Adventure Races you used to run?

So yes, the adventure races are far more involved, take a lot longer, and involve lots of alligators. This was NOT that. My best hope for wildlife was a manatee or two but we didn’t see any of those. Last year Jill did an Xterra Triathlon in the same waters and other swimmers did report a manatee in the water, but I digress. In an adventure race, the racer uses a map and compass to navigate the wilderness, sometimes on bike and sometimes on foot or in a boat, in whatever direction he or she chooses. I view adventure races as a more difficult undertaking than a triathlon, simply because of how long it lasts and the mental anguish of poor decision making. But, the events are very different and require a different type of fitness and mental fortitude. An adventure race can last for 6 hours to 6 days, this triathlon took me just over 90 minutes while the longest available – the Iron Man – will take the winner just over 8 hours. Because it is shorter, the triathlon requires a different sort of athleticism and a lot more hustle and no real opportunity to sit down and breathe. Added benefit of the triathlon: finishing in time for brunch!

As I mentioned, I finished in just over 90 minutes, which is fantastic considering my [much too easy] goal was 2 hours. My swim time was tremendously quicker than I had expected, I’d been working on that, while my run, which I did in normal shoes, and bike were right about as good as I could have hoped. Here are my stats:

The setting for the race was absolutely beautiful. Miami’s Biscayne Bay and cycling through Oleta River State Park was a treat as well. What wasn’t a treat was being passed on the bike by more racers than I could count. Basically, if do an image search for the word triathlete, you’ll see what one looks like and the kind of bicycle they have. Sometimes those bikes cost as much as $5,000. My bike, which I use to commute, cost a measly $300 and well, I don’t think I much look like a triathlete. Still, I enjoyed a great morning and have something to build off of. Besides, I had the best looking cheerleaders of the entire race!

IF YOU want to do a triathlon as well the 2575 race series is a great way to start. The races are short, yet still long enough to be a very meaningful distance. Also, the locations are simply phenomenal. Using these races to travel all around the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean wouldn’t be such a bad plan.

How to Finish a Half Marathon When You Haven’t Trained

March 1, 2012 By Jillian

It isn’t a trivia fact I’m particularly proud of, but I’ve completed two half marathons now with very little training. A sprained ankle (the first one) and laziness, I mean a busy life, kept me from my intense training routine the second time around. The most I ran before either marathon was six miles, less than half the total distance. So why do it? Because running that far makes it totally appropriate to eat and sleep as much as you want after the race.

Just kidding.

It’s the incredible sense of accomplishment from crossing the finish line.

Here’s my secret to making it to the finish- be stubborn. Let me explain.
Step 1:
Hopefully you have at least registered for a half marathon that a) starts early in the morning or b) a lot of your friends are running. Both A and B make for the best case scenario but either A or B still increases your chances of finishing dramatically. Early in the morning is best because frankly if you are groggy for the first 3 miles the race will go by a lot faster. Friends and family are helpful because they help quite literally pull you along and will smile even when it takes you five hours to finish the half marathon.

Step 2:
Be stubborn. Sure, it may have taken me twice the time it took you to finish, but I had severe diarrhea during the race and had to pull over seven times. (Ok that part unfortunately is true, but you see where I am going with this- let nothing stop you). Motivate yourself- when you get to mile nine and you’ve hit the wall, remind yourself that if you’ve made it to mile nine you WILL finish. I try to choose someone near me at mile nine and tell myself that we will finish together. I don’t let that person get too far ahead of me and more often than not I finish ahead of them, yup I’m competitive and stubborn.

Step 3:
Bring sport beans/gu/concentrated electrolytes. I like the sport beans because I can pretend like I am eating candy. Just like a five year old I am motivated by candy, or err sport beans. Only two more sport beans before I finish this mile…

Step 4:
Walk when you have to. When you get tired, and you will… remember it is ok to walk. Shuffle if you have to instead of jogging, but keep the body moving. If you stop it is all over. At the Fort Lauderdale Half Marathon I could barely run at the end I was SO tired. But I kept moving like a snail. And like that little engine that could I made it to the end and even had some energy to sprint (thank you sport beans!)

Step 5:
Visualize something else. I try hard not to focus on time or how much distance I have left. Miles 5-8 are the hardest for me so I try to think of something else. I imagine myself swimming towards a boat in the far distance; I make up a story about someone running ahead of me and focus on keeping up with them, or (nerd alert!) I try to list out all the prime numbers from 1 to 1,000 and reward myself with a sport bean.

Hopefully you’ve done a little bit of training before the half marathon and aren’t going in completely unprepared. If you are completely unprepared skip 1-5 and go directly to step six- pray before you run.

Wings for Life Run: Where are the zombies?

Turn my hair PINK and PURPLE for my 70.3 Triathlon

That time I finished a race in first place…and didn’t realize it!

I just ran a triathlon

How to Finish a Half Marathon When You Haven’t Trained

Recent Comments

Banking on the Road

Adventure Guides