Celebrating 10 years of running and racing

It is hard to believe but when I run the Twin Cities Marathon next Sunday, I will be celebrating the 10 year anniversary of my first marathon. In 1998 I ran the Twin Cities Marathon to raise money for the cancer wing of the Fairview Childrens Hospital. I finished in 3:55, meeting my goal of a sub 4 hour marathon. Little did I know that in the next ten years I would complete the following:

10 marathons (5 Twin Cities, 1 Grandmas, 1 Boston, 1 Chicago, 1 New York, 1 A-10)
4 Half-Ironman Triathlons
2 Ironman Triathlons (Ironman Wisconsin)
4 50K Ultra marathons (31 miles in length)
1 50 mile Ultra
1 100K Ultra (62 miles)
3 100 mile Ultras (Leanhorse- 19:52, Western States- 23:38, Superior Sawtooth 31: 20)
1 Hood to Coast 197 mile team relay

Clearly I found a passion of mine as I trained for the 1998 marathon. I am very proud of the progress I have made as an endurance athlete, but even more proud that I have fully embraced the notion of living life on my terms. As some of you know, this journey started with Anne's cancer diagnosis. This event woke me up to how I was choosing to live my life at the time. I made a decision that would forever alter my life and that decision was that I will define my life, it will NOT be defined for me by external circumstances.

All of this running is a reflection of that decision. I challenge myself every year to take it a step further than I think is possible- call it my Covey "sharpen the saw" habit.

So, next Sunday I will celebrate 10 years of honoring a commitment to myself which has made an enormous impact on my life and the joy I have in it. I have been blessed by the friends I have made, the wonderful people I have met, the impact we have had for several charities and health I have maintained.

Most of all I am so grateful for the support, patience and understanding of Anne, Allie and Drew. Being married to a endurance athlete is not easy and as a father I am not always present, physically and mentally. I love you guys. Thank you.

SO....the question to you is- What do you want to celebrate in 10 years from now? What can you commit to today that will bring you more happiness and satisfaction? The choice is yours each and every moment of your life. Choose wisely.

P.S.- Don't expect a super fast time from me on Sunday, this will be a training run to get me ready for my fourth 100 miler the following weekend.

Live Big