Marathon 6 in 50 of the #50in50: Rocket City (Huntsville, AL)

On 12/8, I completed marathon #6 in my #50in50 goal (50 marathons, 50 states, 50 weeks) at the Rocket City Marathon in Huntsville, AL. We are gaining more awareness for our foundation and its mission.

I arrived early on 12/7 into Huntsville and headed over to the Huntsville Museum of Arts to pick up my packet.

It was a small expo with a relaxed atmosphere and small town feel

I got my race bib, 1776, which I thought was kind of cool.

The next morning I arrived at the race start, prepared to in cold and rainy conditions. I had an unused rain poncho from the Seattle Marathon from a couple of marathons ago. It came in handy this marathon.

Many of the runners waited inside the Von Braun Center, where the marathon starts and finishes, to stay out of the cold and rain.

Finally, at 7:00am on the dot, the race started. I thought about running a 4:04-4:05 marathon, but decided to run with the 4:15 group instead because of the weather. I didn’t want to wear myself out early and wanted to play it safe.

The course was pretty nice with some small rolling hills. The course winded by the US Space and Rocket Center where runners got to see several rockets and space vehicles. The biggest challenge was the weather. It was rainy and cold the entire time. It reminded me a bit of the Hyannis Marathon that I’ve run for the past 2 years. It takes place in Cape Cod, MA. It’s been cold and rainy for the 2 years that I’ve run it. I finished the race in 4:15 thanks to my pacer Katie.

The post race food was great. They had bagel, PB&J, and soup.

The medals are really cool.

I got my obligatory pic with the race’s signage.

After the race, I showered up then drove down to Birmingham to see my old co-workers/friends from my Mental Floss magazine days with Will, Cary and Winslow.

Will’s family took me to see Birmingham’s famous Vulcan statue.

We got a couple of pics with the statue.

Here’s the view of Birmingham from the observation deck.

And a view from inside the informational exhibit next to statue.

Overall, I enjoyed the Rocket City Marathon and recommend if you are looking for a southern marathon in the December. It’s a nice small town marathon with easy, rolling hills.

Next marathons on the schedule:

• AL (Rocket City in Huntsville) 1/13

• FL (Walt Disney in Orlando) 1/20

• LA (Baton Rouge) 1/26

• MS (Mississippi Blues in Jackson) 2/9

• TX (Austin) 2/17

Join me on the #50in50 for the Gweneviere Mann Foundation, with many ways to get involved.

PLEASE DOWNLOAD GWENEVIERE’S SONG

She was excited about releasing an album that she had just finished, but she passed before she could realize that dream, so we just recently released a single "What I Can Be" off of her album for her so that we could fulfill that dream for her. Download it here

Together we will save lives through early detection programs for lung cancer and brain tumors.

I ❤️ you Gwen.

Remembering Gweneviere

Today I’m missing and remembering Gweneviere as I do every day. Today is a little harder because of the season. I feel a big void without her.

Last year (2017) Gweneviere and I spent Christmas Eve by seeing the new Star Wars at the IMAX in Manhattan. We loved seeing movies at what she called our ‘lay down theaters’ with cushy, reclining seats. We used to bring throw blankets, take off our shoes and change into comfy socks and hold hands throughout the movie (unless we were digging into popcorn or drinking seltzer). I miss her.

I have a break until marathon #7 of 50 in a couple of weeks at #disneyworldmarathon on Sunday, 1/13 (see full schedule and learn how to join us on the #50in50 to fund early detection of lung cancer and brain tumors at gwenmann.org/50in50)

The Gweneviere Mann Foundation thanks you all for all of your continued support. Wishing you and yours a wonderful holiday season. We’ll see you in the New Year!

 -Yasir

Marathon 4 and 5 in 50 of the #50in50: Seattle 11/25 and Memphis 12/1

Marathon 4: Seattle, WA 11/25

Marathon 4 of the #50in50 was the Seattle Marathon. 

I randomly saw my Instagram friend Warren (@kingpiggy), a fellow triathlete and runner from NYC, at the start line and ended up running the whole race with him. I knew he would be at the race, but I hadn’t asked him if he wanted to do the race together. Warren’s brother is Wayne Algenio, a YouTube personality.

Warren had just finished an Ironman 2 weeks earlier and was in Seattle for the Thanksgiving weekend, and he signed up for the marathon on a whim. 

His PR was Philadelphia Marathon in 2016 4:09:30. So I suggested we run with the 4:10 pace group. He had never run with pace group, but he was open to doing it. It saved us a ton of effort.

We finished together at 4:07 and he PRed.

And while I was I Seattle, the weather was incredible and I also got to see my good friends and competitive eating duo Juan ‘More Bite’ Rodriguez and Sarah Reineke  

Marathon 5: Memphis, TN 12/1

Memphis is a nice town. The people are super friendly. 

I arrived into town on Friday night and quickly ran over to the Expo to pick up my bib​ before they closed down. The race was the following day on Saturday.

​Because of rain in the forecast they pushed the start back by 1 hour.

​I was staying in a hotel right next to the starting line so it was very convenient.

The weather was relatively hot for running and humid (65 degrees and 90%). I took it daily easy on the run.

During the run I met a very interesting character named Vicki who loved the donuts a family along the route was giving out. Turns out Vicki is a recent widow as well and she’s running 30 marathons in 30 states and she had just run Seattle as I did. It was surreal to meet her of all people.

We ran about 14 miles together until the finish line. I’ll see her again at several other marathons next year.

Great marathon, great cause and a really huge medal. 

​And I got to meet Elvis! I saw several Elvis impersonators in Las Vegas’s Rock n Roll marathon. 

Another medal to add to the series!  

Next marathons on the schedule:

• AL (Rocket City in Huntsville) 12/8

• FL (Walt Disney in Orlando) 1/13

• LA (Baton Rouge) 1/20

• MS (Mississippi Blues in Jackson) 1/26

Join me on the #50in50 for the Gweneviere Mann Foundation, with many ways to get involved.

Please download Gweneviere’s song

She was excited about releasing an album that she had just finished, but she passed before she could realize that dream, so we just recently released a single "What I Can Be" off of her album for her so that we could fulfill that dream for her. Download it here

Together we will save lives through early detection programs for lung cancer and brain tumors.

I ❤️ you Gwen.

Marathon 3 in 50 of the #50in50

‪Marathon 3 in 50 (@aacr @philly_marathon) in my #50in50 for the Gweneviere Mann Foundation done! My buddy Ferdinand ran it with me. He ran NYC with me and will run a total of 12 of the 50 marathons. The next one Ferd will do with me is the Disney Marathon (Florida) in January.

This was the 2nd time that I’ve run this race. The first time was years ago and I didn’t remember the route. It’s a fairly even course, except for around mile 8-11 as the elevation map shows.

I saw the great Bill Rodgers and mayor of running Bart Yasso.

 And Boston Marathon champion Des Linden.

And running legend Meb.

 I attended the Philadelphia Marathon press conference, saw Mitch Stoller of the American Association of Cancer Research speak and met him afterwards.

I did several media interviews about the foundation and why I’m doing this project, including this wonderful one in Runner’s World: Why This Man Wants to Run 50 Marathons in 50 States in 50 Weeks

Ferdinand and I finished in about 4:17.

The Philadelphia medal incorporates a replica of the Liberty Bell that actually dings!

3 states down, 47 more to go. Seattle Marathon tomorrow!‬ ‪

Next marathons on the schedule:

• WA (Seattle) 11/25

• TN (Memphis) 12/1

• AL (Huntsville) 12/8

Join me on the #50in50 for the Gweneviere Mann Foundation, with many ways to get involved.

PLEASE DOWNLOAD GWENEVIERE’S SONG

She was excited about releasing an album she had just finished, but she passed before she could realize that dream, so we just recently released a single "What I Can Be" off of her album for her so that we could fulfill that dream for her. Download it here

Together we will save lives through early detection programs for lung cancer and brain tumors.

I ❤️ you Gwen.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving.

I’m thankful for all of your friendship and love. This time last year, Gweneviere & I were at my friends Marina and Murat’s place (pic from then).

Today I’m back here, and with our cats Hunky and Miwee, thinking about the good times with Gweneviere. Today also marks 4 months since she passed. Tomorrow I fly out to Seattle to run the Seattle Marathon on 11/25, which also happens to be the 10th anniversary of Gweneviere’s craniotomy, or Craniversary as she called it, to remove a brain tumor. After that, she lived nearly 10 great years full of thriving, love and fulfillment and I’m lucky to have been her soulmate during that wonderful time in her life. She touched so many people, she lived so fully, and loved so deeply. I’m thankful for the life I had with her.

I ❤️ you so much Gweneviere

Next marathons on the schedule:

• WA (Seattle) 11/25

• TN (Memphis) 12/1

• AL (Huntsville) 12/8

Join me on the #50in50 for the Gweneviere Mann Foundation, with many ways to get involved.

Download Gweneviere’s song

Gwen was excited about releasing an album she had just finished, but she passed before she could realize that dream, so we just recently released a single "What I Can Be" off of her album for her so that we could fulfill that dream for her. Download it here

Together we will save lives through early detection programs for lung cancer and brain tumors.

Marathon 2 in 50 of the #50in50

‪Marathon 2 in 50 (@runrocknroll Vegas) in my #50in50 for the Gweneviere Mann Foundation done! This was a great course that starts at 4:30pm on the Las Vegas Strip, and ends on the strip. It was a 26.2 mile dance party with live music, lasers, vegas lights and A LOT of cheering Elvis impersonators.

I ❤️ you Gwen. ‬ 48 more states to go. Philadelphia Marathon tomorrow!‬ ‪

Next marathons on the schedule:

• PA (Philadelphia) 11/18

• WA (Seattle) 11/25

• TN (Memphis) 12/1

• AL (Huntsville) 12/8

Join me on the #50in50 for the Gweneviere Mann Foundation, with many ways to get involved.

***Please download Gweneviere’s song***

She was excited about releasing an album she had just finished, but she passed before she could realize that dream, so we just recently released a single "What I Can Be" off of her album for her so that we could fulfill that dream for her. Download it here

Together we will save lives through early detection programs for lung cancer and brain tumors.

Marathon 1 of 50 in the #50in50

Marathon 1 of 50 complete: New York City!

We are now on the road to 50 marathons in 50 states in 1 year.

This race was all for my love Gweneviere and to honor her memory through the Gweneviere Mann Foundation (gwenmann.org).

This year's run was a deeply emotional and meaningful experience. If you don't know the story, back in 2008 Gweneviere survived a brain tumor/had a craniotomy. The procedure caused her to have anterograde amnesia, but she was a fighter and continued to thrive through her music, writing, and running. After her surgery, we set a goal to run the 2010 NYC Marathon, and had run it every year (except for 2012 when it was canceled; we ran Harrisburg that year instead). She went onto graduate with honors from New York University writing program, attended The Juilliard School, and was due to start her MFA in Creative Writing at Columbia University this Fall. With every amazing accomplishment, Gweneviere inspired me to set new goals for myself whether it was serious (like learning how to swim so that I can complete 4 Ironmans) or not so serious (like winning championships in the Tour de Donut bicycle races).

I am humbled that the Gweneviere Mann Foundation received incredible press coverage on ESPN, CBS New York, ABC7NY, StoryCorps, Committed Podcast.

I met and was inspired by fellow NYC Marathon runners Nev Schulman, Tiki Barber, Teri Hatcher who were all running for great causes themselves.

Next marathons on the schedule:

• NV (Las Vegas) 11/11

• PA (Philadelphia) 11/18

• WA (Seattle) 11/25

• TN (Memphis) 12/1

• AL (Huntsville) 12/8

Join me on the #50in50 for the Gweneviere Mann Foundation, with many ways to get involved: http://gwenmann.org/50in50

***Please download Gweneviere’s song***

She was excited about releasing an album she had just finished, but she passed before she could realize that dream, so we just recently released a single "What I Can Be" off of her album for her so that we could fulfill that dream for her. Download it here: https://www.gwenmann.org/music/

Together we will save lives through early detection programs for lung cancer and brain tumors.

Monthly marathon race report: Naked Prussian Marathon

I really love running small marathons where race directors maintain a personal touch on every aspect of their race. I enjoy gathering in a small circle of a few dozen runners before the start to listen to a race director go over the course. My March, 2018 marathon (30th overall) was one of those races - the Naked Prussian trail marathon in Leesport, PA. The race was on March 31st, barely getting it in before the month’s end!

I told myself I wasn’t going to do a trail marathon this year, but I had to skip the marathon I was planning to do on March 24th due to a small sprain. This trail marathon was my backup. 

The welcome party is a guy playing the accordion. How great is that?!

The race took place on the Blue Marsh trail system. It’s really well-maintained. 

The start/finish was right on the shore of the lake and next to the parking with plenty of parking. 

There were 2 race lengths going on concurrently, a marathon and a 50 miler. Most of the course was covered trails, but occasionally went through open fields and along a couple of roads.

The weather that couldn’t have been better and I just loved the view along the lake. 

More trees. They’re everywhere! As I was running, I thought about an article I once read on Dr Jack Schultz, Professor at the University of Missouri, who said that’s plants are just ‘slow moving animals’ that see, hear, smell and respond. Fascinating. 

​I finished the race in the middle of the pack, which was ok by me since I was still a little sore from my injury a week earlier. 

Award winners received these fun growlers. 

​They had a ton of warm, delicious savory food for finishers!

​I got this nice finisher’s mug 

Overall I would recommend this race if you live in eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey or even NYC and are looking for a trail marathon you can drive to and get back home the same day. It’s a beautiful time of the year to be out in that part of Pennsylvania. Check them out and sign up for next year’s race! 

Monthly marathon race report: Hyannis marathon 2018

In 2018, I'm continuing to run 1 marathon every month like I did in 2017. All except 2 of the marathons I'm running this year are completely new to me. The ones I'm repeating this year are Hyannis, which I ran last week, and NYC, which I've run since 2010. 

Many of the same things I reported on last year are the same: 

• It is one of the most picturesque races I've ever done
• The marathon course is 2 loops and passes by the beautiful beaches of Cape Cod
• Hyannis is an awesome little race & town in the Cape Cod area
• Very scenic, mostly flat course along the beach
• You get a nice medal!
• You can find chowder and cod everywhere 
• Everyone we met in Cape Cod was nice 
• Both the marathon and half marathon courses are USATF certified

Here's my video race report from the 2017 race:

One thing was a bit different from last year—it was very wet. It rained the entire race. It was also pretty cold, but I didn't mind that part as much because I've gotten used to cold runs living in NYC. I noticed the weather forecast for the race before we drove to Hyannis and I was hoping it would clear up before race day, so I didn't pack rain gear. 

The day of the race, it was clear that the rain was going to happen for sure so I got a big trash bag from the hotel staff, poked holes for my head and arms in it, and planned to run with the first few miles of the race. 

I arrived at the race an hour before the 10:00am start and stayed warm at Race Expo inside the Hyannis Resort & Conference Center, which was right next to the starting line. I met the great Bill Rodgers, while wearing my garbage bag, and he gave me some great advice: "keep it steady and stay warm". He seemed to get a kick out of the bag.

3 miles into the race, the rain and wind weren't letting up, so I kept the bag on. I also kept on some cheap cloth gloves I bought at the expo I counted at least 2 dozen others with bags on, so I felt a sense of camaraderie with them. 14 miles into the race it started raining a little harder and the wind was blowing much harder, so I decided at that point I wanted to wear the bag for the rest of the race just for the fun of wearing a bag for an entire marathon. I was also happy being dry and warm underneath it. I had to wring the water out the gloves at this point. 

Up until the 23 mile mark, I was having a decent run considering the conditions, but then I felt a throbbing pain in my right knee joint. It got to the point that I had to walk the last 2 miles. It has since cleared up and not lingered. I hope it was because of the cold and the rain, and not something more serious. Several years ago before I got into running, I tore my right ACL (and got a patella tendon repair) and I haven't had any trouble with it. I've been lucky.I also had to take the insert out of my right shoe because it kept bunching up and making walking uncomfortable.

I was happy to finish the race. It wasn't pretty, but it's finish nonetheless—with the bag still on on my shoe insert in hand.

My wife picked me up after the race. It was still so windy, that our big golf umbrella broke into pieces when it caught the wind.

I love the finisher medals they give at this race.

Think about putting this race on your calendar for next year! http://hyannismarathon.com

Monthly marathon race report: Icebreaker International Marathon

I ran my 1st monthly marathon of 2018 on January 28 - the Icebreaker International Marathon & Half Marathon in East Meadow, NY on Long Island. This was a new marathon for me. In fact, 9 of the 12 marathons I’m running this year are new to me. There are so many marathons every weekend (and some weekdays!) and they all offer a different experience. Notably, I don’t have any indoor or trail marathons on my list this year. I ran two of each of those last year. 

This race was a short 40 min drive for me from Manhattan, and inside Eisenhower Park. There were about 100 runners, most of them were running the half, and about 40 us were running the full.

The half was 4 loops of the park and the full was 8 loops. 

One interesting tidbit about this race - it was selected by Marathon Adventures to be the North American venue for its “Triple 7 Quest,” involving seven marathons or 7 halfs on 7 continents in seven days. The course was well-marked, staffed with plenty of volunteers, and they and a lot of race food/drinks as well as a lot of post-race food.

There was 1 race food/drink tent set up near the end of the loop. They had the usual Gatorade, water, and also Pepsi. They had bananas, pretzels, orange slices, and my favorite during this race-peanut butter and banana sandwiches cut into quarters.

I ran a pretty good race. We got fairly lucky with the weather, which was hovering around 48 degrees with some light rain during the first hour. I spent all of January cross-training, lifting, and doing a lot of intervals. I think that helped me quite a bit on this race. I tried to take it easy because I had a 24 hour bike race (the Sebring 24 RAAM qualifier) in Florida 2 weeks after this race, where I did 410 miles, won my age group, and qualified for the 3,000 Race Across America bicycle race1

Overall, I recommend this race if you live nearby in NYC or Long Island and really want to run a marathon in January. 

Oh and the finisher medal are really fun. Try this race out next year! 

My full 2018 schedule:

• Jan 28 Icebreaker (NY)
• Feb 25 Hyannis (MA)
• Mar 24 Savin Rock (CT)
• Apr 14 Garden Spot Village (PA)
• May 6 Queens (NYC)
• Jun 30 NE Series (NY)
• Jul 8 Mad (VT)
• Aug 5 Drake Well (PA)
• Sept 29 Hamptons (NY)
• Oct 20 Brooklyn
• Nov 4 #TCSNYCMarathon
• Dec 9 Roxbury (CT)

Check out these great stories from Culture Trip

I was recently honored to be featured in 2 stories by Michael LoRé of Culture Trip. 

The first story is about a profile piece and includes a fun video of our interview. 

The Culture Trip: Profile of Yasir Salem

And the other piece Competitive eating success stems from innovation, intelligence and technique is a chat about how competitive eating has evolved over the years and what the playing field is like these days.

Competitive eating success stems from innovation, intelligence and technique

Race report: Tour de Donut Austin 2017

A couple of weeks ago on Nov 12, 2017, for the 2nd year in a row I won the Tour de Donut of Austin bicycle race, a 24.8 mile ride w/3 donut stops where competitors eat donuts for time credits. 

In this race, each donut eaten gives you 3 minutes credit at the first stop, 6 min at the 2nd stop, and 7 min at the 3rd stop. I ate 37, for a 'donut adjusted time' of -1 hour and 45 minutes. Both new course records. 

Here's a video of the my race from last year. 

Monthly marathon report: NYC marathon

Just a couple of weeks ago, I ran my 7th NYC marathon. This race holds a very special place for my wife and me. NYC Marathon 2010 was the first marathon we both ever ran. To learn a bit more about we ran ran that race, watch this great StoryCorps video about my wife's story—my inspiration for doing all these marathons, triathlons, as well as wacky races and competitions. 

One of my favorite parts of the NYC marathon is actually volunteering at the Expo the day before race—handing out bibs to runners. Speaking off bibs, I had a special bib this year with my name on it!

Follow me tomorrow as I run my 26th marathon overall, 12th marathon this year, & 7th #nycmarathon. I'll be looking to run my best #tcsnycmarathon yet!

221 Likes, 12 Comments - Yasir Salem (@yasir_salem) on Instagram: "Follow me tomorrow as I run my 26th marathon overall, 12th marathon this year, & 7th #nycmarathon...."

There was a bit of hype this year with some of the runners and I was lucky and honored to be included in a Runner's World piece and TV promotions for the race.

And this this fun piece on AM New York: 

The race went really well. The temperature was just right and the rain held up. The crowds and bands in every borough were great as always. I ran my fastest NYC marathon yet (4:41) and came in just 2 minutes behind Prince Royce and 3 minutes behind Tiki Barber

1/2 Honored to be on this! Final #s:
1 Daniel Humm 3:12
2 @KevinHart4real 4:05
3 @TikiBarber 4:38
4 @PrinceRoyce 4:39
5 @yasirsalem 4:41:33 https://t.co/OWaoZc5PhA

— Yasir Salem (@yasirsalem) November 6, 2017

Runner's World did this great follow up on their pre-marathon article:

And there were a few other great articles on the NYC Marathon that I was also honored to be featured in: 

• Competitor Running
• Hollywood Life
• Food & Wine

The medals were nice, as always.

And my wife and I celebrated another successful NYC marathon together. We plan to run this marathon as long as we're able to!

There is no run quite like the NYC marathon. If you ever have the chance to run it, do it! It is my favorite run and is a special race for my wife and me. And if you every have a chance to hear the stories of any of the other 50,000+ runners that finish it every year, you'll see that it's a special race for them, too.

Monthly marathon race report: Rockaway Marathon

October's run was the Rockaway Marathon in Far Rockaway, NYC on October 7.

I ran my 2nd fastest ever. The run was on the boardwalk. The course was 4 loops of 6.55 miles.

There was also a half marathon race (2 loops). There were about 50 runners total.

It took me about 1.5 hours to take the subway from lower Manhattan to the start (at the end of the A line).

​Each loop began on the boardwalk at 102nd street, headed toward 57th street (where there was a water station, the other water station was at 102nd st), then down to 30th street, where we turns around and headed back up to 102nd street.

Overall the course was very fast and the course was easy to follow.

On my last loop, the water stations ran out of water, so I drank out the water fountains.

The beach scenery was really great. I sometimes forget how NYC has some amazing beaches out there.

There were also lots of surfers out.

I took the new super fast NYC ferry back to Manhattan (only 1 hr!) and and was back home in time for a big lunch.

Consider this marathon if you live close to NYC and you're looking for an easy, scenic beach marathon in October.​

Monthly marathon race report: Chasing the Unicorn marathon

On September 10th, I ran the Chasing the Unicorn marathon in Washington Crossing, PA.

I just the day before, I ran the Charles River marathon in Boston, MA. I wasn't planning to do 2 marathons in September (or 1 weekend!), but my October plans were up in the air, so I had to fit in another one in September just in case, to make sure I fulfill my goal of running 12 marathons this year.

​Chasing the Unicorn is a fast course. The race takes place in Washington Crossing Historic Park, and consists of two loops of a path along the Delaware River.

There were about 150 or so runners.

It was a nice day, mostly clear with some clouds, and about 65 degrees.

There were a good amount of aid stations with sports drinks and water.

On one side of the path there was the Delaware River.

On the other side, there was typically either farm fields or quiet neighborhoods.

The path conditions were perfect, I like running on firm dirt paths.

I liked these walking/bike path bridges that crossed the river.

Although I was taking it easy since I ran a marathon just the day before, my time was actually faster for the second marathon of the weekend. The finisher medals are bold, colorful and heavy.

Overall, I loved this course and I recommend it if you are in the Northeast and looking for a fast, scenic September race. See http://www.runbucks.com/runbucks-races for more information on the race. 

Monthly marathon race report: Charles River marathon

On Saturday, September 9, I ran the inaugural Charles River marathon in Boston, MA. What a great race with a partnership between RACE Cancer Foundation and the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. The race started at 7:00am and there were around 300 runners. 

The marathon course is a flat 2.62 mile loop on park paths around Boston's scenic Charles River, starting and finishing at the Herter Park in Boston, MA. 

The course was mostly on walking trails along the Charles river. 

Occasionally, there were portions of the course on bike paths. There weren’t a lot of bikes out, probably because it was pretty early. ​

There were plenty of volunteers manning the 2 aid stations on the course. One aid station was near the start/finish with had water, sport drink, and a variety of food (pretzels, swedish fish, bananas). The other aid station was around the 1.5 mile mark and had water and sport drink. 

The weather was great, just cool enough. I ran my second fastest marathon ever that day - until I ran my October marathon (Rockaway Marathon in NYC). 

The finisher medals were really nice. Overall, I enjoyed this run. I recommend it for next year if you’re in the Northeast and are looking for a September marathon that’s super flat, scenic in a great city. Check out the race site for more info:  https://racecancer.org/runfest

Race report: 2017 Tour de Donut Ohio

On September 16, 2017, I won Tour de Donut - Ohio bike race championship for the 4th year in a row, defending my title and smashing my own record for the race with 44 doughnuts eaten, resulting in a record 'donut adjusted time' of -79 minutes. The best time ever for the race.

The race this year was moved from Arcanum, Ohio to Troy, Ohio to accomodate the number of riders. The race has grown from about 600 riders from 4 years ago to ​nearly 3,000 riders this year. What I really love about the Tour de Donut races is that all of them have a charity component. The races are fun with a purpose, and I love to be a part of that as they continue to do grow and do more good. Troy is a great little town with a nice city center.

​As in past years, there were 3 race lengths: the mini (16 miles), the full Tour de Donut (32 miles), and the Double Tour de Donut (64 miles). The course was well-marked, and there were tons of volunteers all along the course and at the doughnut stops. At the stops, there were plenty of refreshments in addition to all the doughnuts. The weather this year was nice/mild, the road conditions were very good, and the locals came out to see the race along the course. 

Congrats to Kyle Hanner for winning the Mini-length Championship.

And great to see some new faces, like Derek Jacobs who placed 3rd, and put up some good numbers.

I’m excited that the race has a new home and I can’t wait to be back next year. Next year’s race will be in late August, 2018. Join Tour de Donut Ohio’s Facebook page to get the latest updates. 

Race report: Donut Derby 2017

On Sept 4, 2017, I won the Donut Derby in Trexlertown, PA bicycle race for the 3rd year in a row.

The Doubt Derby is a 36 mile bicycle ride with 2 donut stops where competitors eat donuts for time credits. In this race, each donut eaten gives you 3 min credit.

I ate 61 doughnuts, for a 'doughnut adjust time' of -28 minutes. I broke my own record from 2016 (55 doughnuts; 'doughnuts adjusted time' of -10 minutes).

I teamed up again this year with my friend Thaddeus Kromelis.

Coming in 2nd place was my friend Dave Goldstein with 40 doughnuts. Dave is a great eater and is also set to do his first Ironman is about a month!

Here's some media coverage from this year's event:

Morning Call Newspaper Article and Photos

• The Morning Call photo gallery
• The Morning Call video  
• The Mornng Call article 
•  Television Station WFMZ coverage

Also, Runner's World September, 2017 issue (currently on newsstands) has a full page featuring an interview I did with them chatting about these bicycle/doughnut races that I compete in. 

Tomorrow I'll be defending my Tour de Donut-Ohio title in Troy, OH which I've won for the past 3 years! 

• Learn more about the Donut Derby here: http://www.lehighwheelmen.org/index.php/13-events/13-donut-derby-2017
• Learn more about the Tour de Donut of Ohio here: https://runsignup.com/Race/OH/TROY/TourDeDonut

Photo credit: Thaddeus Kromelis

Monthly marathon race report: Sweltering Summer Marathon

I ran my fastest marathon this year recently in August - the Sweltering Summer Marathon in Pittsfield, MA - and came in 7th in the men's division.

​It was also my 2nd fastest marathon ever. Still trying to crack the 4hr mark this year (4:04 is my PR at the Harrisburg marathon a couple of years ago, which is really fast course). The race organizers ran a great race. This race was 74 laps on a dirt path and each runner had a small area on a table by the path to place their food and drinks.

​They also had a common table that they had all sorts of food and drinks for all runners. They had this electrolyte drink called 'Go Juice' that I had never heard off. It seemed to work. It had no sugary flavor. I liked it! I ate only bananas, oranges, watermelon, and almonds. I love the medals we got, they were made out of wood. How cool is that! This is my 3rd wooden medal, the other one was at last month's Lost Turkey Trail Marathon, and the other as at a 50K ultra I did a couple of years ago in Brooklyn. Fun bit: I recognized 2 people in the race that I had seen at other NE marathons I'd run this year. Overall this was a great race if you are cool with running laps. It's a very flat course and easy on the joints. The race organizers are really nice and the medal is unique. Try it out next year!​

Monthly marathon race report: Lost Turkey Trail Marathon

​Lost Turkey Trail Marathon done! Marathon #7 this year, #21 overall, and my 2nd trail marathon (1st one was last month). What a beast! It lived up to reputation of being "PA's toughest trail marathon" and I enjoyed the challenge.

​There was rain, mud, river crossings, snakes, all sorts of bugs, stinging nettles, no cell service, and huge climbs. My feet took a good beating.

The race staff and volunteers were wonderful and had a variety of food at 5 stations throughout the course. 

They worked really hard and hosted a great race. I recommend this race is you are looking for a serious challenge (or you are a masochist), have a high tolerance for critters, and are a good climber. Make sure you bring a camelbak (required), wear calf sleeves (for stinging nettles), and wear good trail shoes, waterproof socks (I didn't and I'm paying for it), and a good sense of adventure.