South Dakota Bankers Association

I was so looking forward to speaking at the South Dakota Bankers Association in Pierre!
Everything went well including my flight from Austin to Denver. It was there that things started going "south" Pierre was in the middle of a big blizzard so the flight from Denver to Pierre was canceled and there were no other flights the next day that would have got me there in time for my noon keynote talk.

Unfortunately I had to fly back to Austin that night. The good news is that I am already on their calendar to speak at the 2009 event!

Toughest Race in Texas

The Toughest Race in Texas! The name definitely defines what this race is all about! It’s a great event that is an absolute ball of fun!

The Tuesday before the race I had the opportunity to speak to the kids at St. Stephens Episcopal School. I spoke to two different groups of kids during their morning chapel time. I had about 15 minutes each time, not a lot of time to go into great detail but enough to hopefully get the point across.

Saturday was the Toughest Race in Texas, held on the trails of St. Stephens Episcopal School. They had close to 800 runners! You could run one of two races, the 10K or the 5K. I ran the 5K with my wife Jill and our friend Laura Nye, we really had a good time!

We also had a booth at the start/finish area for the Dick Beardsley Foundation where our good friend and board member for our foundation Stacey Conley stayed and handed out information.

After the race I helped with handing out awards for the winners. All of the proceeds from the race go to help with scholarships for kids to be able to come and get a great education at the school.

Thanks to everyone at St. Stephens Episcopal School for the wonderful time I had and for letting me be the honorary chairman.

Keep up the great work!

Skier Gala, Minneapolis, Minnesota

From Asheville it was right onto Minneapolis! My good friend and co-owner of Rainbow Resort up in northern Minnesota, Amy Xu invited me to speak at her running club that Sunday afternoon which I did. We were all going to go for a run afterwards but it was pouring cats and dogs outside, so a few of us jumped on some side by side treadmills and did our run together that way! If there’s a will there’s a way!

Afterwards we dashed off to the University of Minnesota campus where I was the co-MC with champion XC skier Chad Geise. Chad and I did announcing together at a XC ski event earlier in the winter so it was good to see him again.

We all had a great time and it was very appropriate that as the banquet was going on, it was snowing a bit outside! Thanks Amy for the wonderful time I had in Minneapolis!

Napa Valley Marathon

I was very fortunate to have won the Napa Valley Marathon back in 1987, setting the course record, which still holds to this day! For the past 11 years they have been kind enough to bring me back as a speaker and I also usually run the race.

My wife, Jill, and I went out a few days early for our honeymoon. We were married last November but did not have the chance to go on a honeymoon right after the wedding. Jill had never been to the Napa Valley before. We had a wonderful time! The first three days we stayed at a quaint little bed and breakfast, Brannon Cottage Inn, in Calistoga, CA noted for their hot mineral baths. We really enjoyed the area and even rented bikes one day and went for a little bike trip in the valley.

Friday we headed back to Napa where we stayed at the Marriott Hotel which served as the race headquarters. That evening at the race social hour I got to catch up with my old friends that I see every year at Napa. Joe Henderson and his wife Barbara, John and Ann Keston (John holds many world records for his age from 70 now up to his age of 83) Helen and Norm Klein (Helen holds many world records for marathons and ultras and she set another at this years’ Napa race. She is 85 years young, and her husband Norm has directed many races including Napa and Western States at one time) Dave and Mary Cordt (Mary has won Napa a few times and is one of our Dick Beardsley Marathon Running Camp coaches, she also qualified for the Women's Olympic Marathon Trials with a 2:46) David and Nancy Hill (Dave is co-race director) Rich Benyo (co-race director) along with his wife, Rhonda who is the medical director for the race, Jan Seeley my good friend and publisher and part owner along with Rich Benyo of Marathon & Beyond, and my good friend and legend Joan Benoit Samuelson and her husband Scott. (Joanie was the keynote speaker this year)

Saturday was a busy day for all as I was on a couple of panel discussions, signed books and autographs at the Marathon & Beyond booth, and spoke at the special pasta dinner they had that evening up in Calistoga.

Sunday was the 30th annual Napa Valley Marathon and you could not have asked for more perfect conditions! It was in the low 40's at the start with sunshine and a nice little tailwind for much of the way.

I went out with the group of gals that were trying to hit the qualifying standards for the Olympic Trials of sub 2:47. Now when I run marathons I have two main goals 1) to win the Grand Masters Title and 2) run sub 2:50, I was very fortunate to do both and ended up with a time of 2:49:08

Honest to goodness, running in the 2:40's now seems harder then when I was running 2:08's and 2:09's 25+ years ago! I still enjoy it though just as much!

Sunday night all the invited guests were taken to a beautiful B&B and a wonderful dinner with the Napa Valley Marathon board of directors, where we were able to celebrate the success of the marathon and of Mary Cordt qualifying for the Women's Olympic Trials coming up in April in Boston.

Jill and I can't thank the Napa Valley Marathon enough for the wonderful time we had, keep up the great work!

Carolina Day School

After the Chicago Tri Club talk, I flew back to Austin and had a 4 hour layover before I left on my next flight for Ashville, NC. My sister Maryann and her family have lived in the area for over 20 years, it’s gorgeous out there! I arrived to their home in Waynesville, NC at about midnight, my nephew, Isaac, was waiting up for me. My goodness he has grown!

The next morning it was out the door for a very hilly 10 miler. I don't think there is a flat spot in that part of the country! My sister Maryann is a teacher at the Carolina Day School in Asheville and she invited me to speak to the students there. It went great, but my sister had never heard me speak before. When I got to talking to the kids about my addiction, I could not look over at her, the one time I did I could see her crying and of course that got me all choked up!

Even though the two of us did not get along to well growing up, both her and my other sister Sheila and their families were always there for me during my toughest times in my life, that my friends is what family is all about!

Besides being there to speak, my main reason was for my niece Molly's Bat Mitzvah. She did an incredible job getting up in front of all the people at the synagogue and speaking many times in Hebrew! I even had to get up and read and my last line was words in Hebrew. I was like a cat on a hot tin roof I was so nervous that I would not say them right, but I did!

Thanks Maryann, Mark, Isaac, David, and a special thanks and congratulations to Molly for a task well done, I had a great time!

Chicago Tri Club

I always love going to Chicago and this time was no different! My good friend Cary Lisota set it up for me to come to Chicago and speak at the Chicago Tri Club.

I was really looking forward to my talk and just as much to see her husband Jay, their Lab "Sam" and there beautiful new baby, Grace. What a cutie she is! Cary picked me up at the airport, I had a quick bite to eat, back to her house where I took a nap, then out for a quick 5 mile run, then off to speak!

It was so much fun! We had a meet and greet when I first arrived along with some good munchies. I spoke for about an hour to 150 club members and they were great! Thank goodness there is a running part of a triathlon, as I swim like a rock and don't bike much better, at least I can still run! I really admire these triathletes! I can't imagine swimming, biking, and then having to run upwards of a marathon! Uff-da!

Thanks Cary, Jay, Grace, Sam, and the Chicago Tri Club for the great time I had!

FFA Annual Banquet, Long Prairie, Minnesota

Flying right from Atlanta into Minneapolis, I rented a car and stayed at my sisters on Sunday night. The next morning it was up early for a nice run in a snowstorm!

Needless to say, the drive from the Twin Cities to Long Prairie, Minnesota was a long one! The roads were very icy but I finally made it there about 2 hours before my talk at the annual FFA (Future Farmers of America) awards banquet.

I always enjoy speaking to farm groups and especially ones for the kids! I was not a FFA member but I was in 4-H for a long time as I was growing up, what incredible organizations both of them are! We had a delicious meal and then it was on for my talk and the awards.

Thank you Long Prairie and the FFA students for making my stay such an enjoyable one!