Number 100

There was some amount of fear and trepidation (can there be one without the other?) as I lined up for the Cleveland Marathon. Twenty-six miles is a long way no matter how you slice it. I enjoyed seeing the sights of my home town. I enjoyed the crowds cheering me on, and the perfect marathon weather. I responded by running better than expected for much of the race. At eighteen miles I felt so good that I picked up the pace even more. At twenty-two miles, I was almost completely shot. I hobbled in with a time of 3:04 and they placed me in the medical tent. My wife, Debbie found me there. I said, not for the last time, “Never again”.








The date was May 14, 1978. It was the first Revco Cleveland Marathon, and it was also my very first marathon. Here I am coming in, just before they took me into the medical tent.












On May 16, 2010, I lined up for the Cleveland Marathon. It’s now sponsored by a different pharmacy, and the course has changed completely. I wasn’t quite as fearful as that other time, but I still had a few butterflies. Twenty-six miles is still a long way. I enjoyed the sights of my home town and the magnificent marathon weather. I saw, and ran with, some friends, including Ladd, whom I ran with for most of the way. We sauntered past the RR HOF, GL Science Center, Browns Stadium, across the Hope Bridge, through the Tremont, Ohio City, and Edgewater neighborhoods before going by Edgewater Park. We returned on the Shoreway, coming back into the Warehouse district. This was just the first half. We then ran east along the lake and into the wind for much of the second half. It was a relief to turn out of the wind and into beautiful Rockefeller Park. I thoroughly enjoyed the different ethnic gardens. We emerged from the park and onto St. Clair Avenue at mile 21. At this point Ladd was hurting a bit and needed to ease up on the pace. He told me to go ahead and I did. I only hoped that he’d make it, perhaps with the help of some pacing friends. Although it felt like I was picking up the pace, in fact I was only maintaining it. But this was fine. Overall, I ran better than expected with a good solid pace, even in the last few tough miles.




I finished with a time of 3:13 and change. It was my best marathon time in a few years. At this point it appears that this may be good enough for second in my age group. I saw many more of my friends after the race, including training partners Debbie Scheel and Dave Gajewski. Ladd accomplished his goal. Of course we all congratulated one another. I must say that these races are more fun now than ever. I also must say that I absolutely love the Cleveland Marathon. For some reason, many local runners don’t share my views. It would be nice if they did, but I can’t seem to change their minds. That’s Ok.


























In between that first one and this last one, there have been exactly ninety-eight other races of marathon length or longer. It’s strange that I have several friends who have probably run this many or more, but who have not bothered to keep track of them. That’s fine, but I’m happy that I have managed to keep track of all of mine. This observation makes any celebration and congratulatory remarks do seem a bit surreal however. I’ll take all the praise and congratulations anyway, thank you.

Here is the list. To be exact, there have been 87 marathons and 13 ultramarathons.
Marathons:

Number Marathons I've Run Date Age Time
1 Revco Cleveland 5/14/1978 25 3:04
2 Athens 4/5/1981 27 3:21
3 Athens 4/10/1983 29 3:23
4 Detroit Free Press 10/16/1987 34 3:16
5 Sy Mah 3/27/1988 34 3:12
6 Chicago 10/30/1988 35 3:33
7 Sy Mah 3/19/1989 35 3:10
8 Revco Cleveland 5/21/1989 36 2:59
9 Scotty Hanton 9/2/1989 36 3:25
10 Detroit Free Press 10/15/1989 36 3:01
11 Boston 4/16/1990 36 3:19
12 Revco Cleveland 5/19/1991 38 3:16
13 Scotty Hanton 8/31/1991 38 3:29
14 Detroit Free Press 10/20/1991 38 3:05
15 New York 11/3/1991 38 3:27
16 Glass City 4/12/1992 38 3:29
17 Revco Cleveland 5/17/1992 39 3:23
18 Scotty Hanton 9/5/1992 39 2:59
19 Detroit Free Press 10/18/1992 39 3:03
20 Boston 4/19/1993 39 3:50
21 Ohio/Michigan 7/11/1993 40 3:24
22 Scotty Hanton 9/4/1993 40 3:01
23 Detroit Free Press 10/17/1993 40 3:01
24 Ohio/Michigan 7/10/1994 41 2:58
25 Scotty Hanton 9/4/1994 41 3:23
26 Boston 4/17/1995 41 3:04
27 Scotty Hanton 9/3/1995 42 2:59
28 Detroit Free Press 10/15/1995 42 2:59
29 Boston 4/15/1996 42 3:16
30 Ohio/Michigan 7/14/1996 43 2:58
31 Scotty Hanton 9/2/1996 43 3:21
32 Toe to Tow 10/13/1996 43 2:59
33 Detroit Free Press 10/20/1996 43 3:17
34 Boston 4/21/1997 43 3:05
35 Ohio/Michigan 7/13/1997 44 3:05
36 Scotty Hanton 8/31/1997 44 3:24
37 Air Force 9/20/1997 44 3:29
38 Detroit Free Press 10/19/1997 44 3:08
39 Scotty Hanton 9/7/1998 45 3:04
40 Chicago 10/11/1998 45 3:05
41 Detroit Free Press 10/18/1998 45 3:22
42 Honolulu 12/13/1998 45 3:14
43 Boston 4/19/1999 45 3:16
44 Bayshore 5/29/1999 46 3:06
45 Scotty Hanton 9/5/1999 46 3:11
46 Detroit Free Press 10/17/1999 46 3:24
47 Austin Motorola 2/20/2000 46 3:12
48 Glass City 4/16/2000 46 3:13
49 CVS Cleveland 4/29/2000 46 3:07
50 Eriesistable 9/10/2000 47 3:38
51 Towpath 10/15/2000 47 3:06
52 Martian Marathon 3/31/2001 47 3:23
53 CVS Cleveland 4/29/2001 47 3:09
54 GCM Cleveland 5/6/2001 48 3:23
55 Towpath 10/13/2001 48 3:19
56 Ocala 2/3/2002 48 3:19
57 CVS Cleveland 4/29/2002 48 3:14
58 Detroit Free Press 10/6/2002 49 3:04
59 Columbus 10/20/2002 49 3:09
60 Boston 4/21/2003 49 3:17
61 Green Bay 5/18/2003 50 3:12
62 Columbus 10/19/2003 50 3:12
63 Ocala 2/1/2004 50 3:20
64 Martian Marathon 3/27/2004 50 3:15
65 Rite Aid Cleveland 4/25/2004 50 3:10
66 Towpath 10/10/2004 51 3:15
67 Detroit Free Press 10/24/2004 51 3:18
68 Boston 4/19/2005 51 3:32
69 Rite Aid Cleveland 5/22/2005 52 3:18
70 Tahoe Triple Day 1 10/6/2005 52 3:42
71 Tahoe Triple Day 2 10/7/2005 52 3:49
72 Tahoe Triple Day 3 10/8/2005 52 3:58
73 Huntington Marathon 11/13/2005 52 3:12
74 Boston 4/17/2006 52 3:09
75 Columbus 10/15/2006 53 3:18
76 Rite Aid Cleveland 5/21/2007 54 3:22
77 Chicago 10/7/2007 54 3:35
78 Inland Trail 11/4/2007 54 3:14
79 Prague International 5/11/2008 55 3:28
80 Erie 9/14/2008 55 3:28
81 Towpath 10/12/2008 55 3:21
82 Inland Trail 11/2/2008 55 3:17
83 Rite Aid Cleveland 5/17/2009 56 3:35
84 Towpath 10/11/2009 56 3:25
85 Inland Trail 11/1/2009 56 3:20
86 Boston 4/19/2010 56 3:17
87 Rite Aid Cleveland 5/16/2010 57 3:13




Ultramarathons:
Number Ultras I've Run Date Time
1 Olander Park 24 hour (51) 1992 39 51 miles
2 MI Fat Ass 50 (50K) 1995 42 5 hours
3 Roadkill 6 hour (28) 1996 43 28 miles
4 Roadkill 6 hour (32) 1997 44 32 miles
5 Mohican 100 2001 48 26.5 hours
6 Chicago Lakeshore 50 2002 49 8.5 hours
7 Buckeye Trail 50K 2004 50 6.5 hours
8 JFK 50 2007 54 8.5 hours
9 Green Jewel 100K 5/3/2008 55 10.5 hours
10 Green Lakes Endurance 100K 8/30/2009 56 11 hours
11 Run with Scissors 27.5 Mi 10/25/2009 56 5:35
12 Freedom Park 24-Hour 12/31/2009 56 93.66miles
13 Green Jewel 50K 3/6/2010 56 4:50