Race #50 - Flemington Turkey Trot - 29:48

Today I completed my goal of running 50 races in my 50th year. When I contemplated running 50 races when I turned 50, I knew I needed the support of my family and friends. I immediately got both so it was just a matter of lining up all the races. It was a special finish to have all my family with me as well as my nephew Andrew, his girlfriend Kate and my neighbor Ken White. This journey started on a very cold January 1st New year's eve with Brad Hunt, Jackie Barnes and her sister. There were many fun races along the way as well as some nice destinations. I met many new friends and hooked up with lots of old ones.


The Flemington Turkey Trot has become one of the largest races in the state. There were over 3400 finishers today on what turned out to be a beautiful day for a run. Ro was walking the course and I was planning on running with Leigh, Bob and Michael. They were planning on running under thirty 30 minutes, so I was going to pace them. Unfortunately we all got lost at the start but I found the boys on the course and ran with them. Leigh and Ro were towards the back so they got stuck in the pack and couldn't work their way up towards us..

Bobby sprinted towards the finish and finished in 29:36 while Michaela and I finished in 29:43. My nephew Andrew ran a 27:40 which was very good time for him. We all met at the green where the food and refreshments were given out after the race. There I met up with Ken White, Mark and Rosemarie Strawn.

I have met a lot of great people this year and it has been a blast running almost every weekend although I was getting a bit tired the last few weeks.

I have a lot to be thankful for on this Thanksgivng day, especially being married to my wife Ro who allows me to do these crazy things. We will be married 25 years in February and I have been running long before I met her. Maybe after my anniversary in February, I will do a 25@25 but it won't be races and hopefully it will be mor than 25.

I thank everyone who joined me as well as everyone who has made a donation. Although I reached 50, I still have about 4 more races to run, including the Charlotte Marathon in December. I am also running tomorrow in Freehold.



I won't be running 50 races next year, but I still hope to have people join me at the races. Please consider getting out there.

Race #49 - The Saddle River 15K - 1:07:25

John Liptak and I have been doing long runs (14-18 miles) every other weekend and today's race was meant to be the other weekend's run. We wanted to run something with distance and at a comfortable 7:30 per mile and maybe push it the last few miles. This wasn't a big race, actually it was the first time it was held. I rarely run up in Bergen county so it was serving two purposes, a long run and a change of scenery. I had to convince John to run with me otherwise I was going to do a 5K in Somerset on Saturday. John has been a great runnng patner and it doesn't take much to convince him to run a race. I think he has run about 10 races with me this year

Today's race was held exclusively in Wild Duck Pond so I really didn't see much of Saddle River. The course was like a double out and back and we had to dodge the slower runners on the back portions, as they were running 3 across a narrow path. The weather was just about perfect as the rain left us the night before. In fact, it was a bit warm for a November 15th race. It was run very well except no t-shirts.

Core Therapeutic was at the race working on runners which John and I took advantage of. The 10 minutes of pressure in certain spots really helped. We also met a few folks along the way.

John and I went out faster than we wanted, hitting the first mile in 7:20 and then the second one in 7:14. We couldn't get a consistent pace, mainly due to switchbacks on the course. It seemed like we were always turning somewhere. We did speed it up the last mile running a 6:52 but I think it was a little short. Overall we were happy with the time, but not thrilled that we hurt at the end. We are both running the Charlotte Marathon in December with hopes of qualifying for Boston. We need to run sub 3:30. We have one long run next week and then we take it easy for the last few weeks leading up to that race.

I write today's blog as with only one race to go to complete my goal of 50 races. Race #50 will be on Thanksgiving with my whole family plus a nephew or two. I am looking forward to the Flemington Turkey Trot because everyone will be there. I think there will be 3 more races after that so it will actually be 53@50.

My one regret is that more of my friends couldn't make one of the 50 races. I really appreciate the company of those who have joined me. It has been a blast.

Race #48 - Run with the Vikings 5K - 21:57

This race is my baby. I started it 5 years ago with lots of help from my wife and the Viking Athletic Club. The club needed a fund raiser and I suggested a road race. I always wanted to organize a race, but knew I needed help. I brought my proposal to the VAC and they thought it was a great idea. To date we have raised over $35K and energized the community to get out there and exercise. My goals are to raise at least $10,000 each year and attract over 500 runners and will continue to work towards those goals. I have run over 450 races and I think I know what runners want in a race. I try to give them more than a t-shirt and a bottle of water.

We had 282 finishers in the 5k which was down 20 runners from last year. I attribute that to the Yankee game running late, Halloween the night before and the early rain in the morning. It was a successful day and made better by Phil from IHOP who donated his time and over 1000 pancakes for the runners. I received lots of emails and one call saying it was a great time.

I saw lots of my friends from South Brunswick running today but not many of other friends there. Taugh Lynch who is a regular at the RWTV5K and Chris Kelly showed up which was much appreciated.

I ran a 21:57 running much of it with Taugh. My son Mike ran with my nephew Andrew which was nice to see.

Only two more races plus a few bonus races including the Charlotte Marathon. Holiday season is coming so I think you should get out and exercise a bit. That way you won't have to pass up the egg nog. It's never too late to get back in decent shape, unless of course you like having 3 wardrobes.