Heartland Marathon

Date: 2015-09-06
Location: Omaha, NE
Finish Time: 4:59:23
Official Results
Race Website
Local Brewery

Highlights:

• Kansas City fun: meeting the creatures at the aquarium, checking out the Royals at Kauffman Stadium and getting our master builder’s certification at LEGOLAND
• St. Joseph’s fun: learning about frontier life at the Jesse James’ house and Pony Express Museum, riding the carousel and scooting into Nebraska to explore the Lewis and Clark museum
• Omaha fun: beating the heat in the pool, standing in two states at once and checking out the animals at the zoo

Low-lights:

• The heat, the humidity, my fitness, my right foot, my marathon performance in general
• None of the hotels accepted my $100, $1 Million or $25 Million dollar bills
• Arguing with your brother all day is tiring

Thanks:

• To Marge and Bill for taking on the challenge of a flying to the midwest for a five day road trip with Shannon, myself and our two small children
• To Shannon for taking on the challenge of flying to the midwest for a five day road trip with my parents and our two small children
• To Luke and Dylan for letting me put them on a plane and then drive them around the midwest for five days

Gallery:

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River to Sea Relay (2015)

Date: 2015-08-01
Location: Milford, NJ to Manasquan, NJ
Finish Time: 11:01:30
Official Results
Race Website

Highlights:

• First relay experience much more fun that expected
• Managed to ignore foot pain / lack of training and run respectable splits
• The 77.3 miles that I didn’t have to run

Low-lights:

• Plantar Fasciitis, my general lack of fitness and temperatures over 95
• Stubbornly running at an aggressive pace, not being able to move on Sunday
• Missing a sub-11 hour run by 1 minute and 30 seconds

Thanks:

• To Shannon for kicking me out of the house while she hosted Leigh’s shower, providing the perfect excuse for a Saturday run across NJ
• To Marge and Bill for watching Luke, Dylan and Eli for the day while I indulged my running compulsion
• To Paul for making me aware that this event even exists and getting me a spot on the 2014 squad

Gallery:

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Superhero Half Marathon (2015)

Date: 2015-05-17
Location: Morris Township, NJ
Finish Time: 1:34:27
Official Results
Race Website

Highlights:

• Successfully talked several co-workers into waking up early on a Sunday morning, traveling from NYC/CT, running a half-marathon and then hanging out in the suburbs of New Jersey
• Found yet another event at which it was socially acceptable for the boys to wear capes
• BBQ not rained on

Low-lights:

• Realizing that no, I’m not going to be able to keep up with that 24 year old who ran competitively in college
• The heat
• Luke Wallace’s race day experience

Thanks:

• To Shannon for hosting a post-race Optimtiy BBQ
• To John, Peg, Marge and Bill for supporting the post-race Optimity BBQ
• To the elite group of Optimity runners who didn’t bail on the event

Gallery:

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New Jersey Half Marathon (2015)

Date: 2015-04-26
Location: Long Branch, NJ
Finish Time: 1:28:26
Official Results
Race Website

Highlights:

• Race provided a solid excuse to get the Newton & Moran children together
• Carrying a little extra weight, managing some planter faciitis in my right foot, still got it in under 1:30:00
• Two Newton PRs

Low-lights:

• Definitely did not hold off the guy in the red shirt down the stretch
• My right foot during the 24 hrs following the race

Thanks:

• To the Newton Foundation for hosting the Morans for the weekend

Gallery:

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If you are going to drive back and fourth along the Route 78 corridor, you might as well run some marathons:
 
1. Blue Marsh Trail Marathon
2. Lehigh Valley Marathon
3. Harrisburg Marathon
4. Run for the Red Marathon
5. Steamtown Marathon
6. Philadelphia Marathon

For some reason I’ve run two marathons in the state of South Carolina.

While enjoyable and definitely warmer than running winter marathons in New Jersey, this is probably a pretty inefficient approach to reaching my goal.

Anyway, here they are:

1. Charleston Marathon
2. Hilton Head Marathon

Its the best (running) day of the year!

I’ve been fortunate enough to run NYC eight times.

1.   New York City Marathon (2015)
2.   New York City Marathon (2016)
3.   New York City Marathon (2017)
4.   New York City Marathon (2018)
5.   New York City Marathon (2019)
6.   New York City Marathon (2022)
7.   New York City Marathon (2023)
8.   New York City Marathon (2024)

 
I was starting to think I would never qualify for the Boston Marathon, so I used another race to check off Massachusetts.
 
Way to not believe in myself:
 
1. Walter Childs Memorial Marathon
2. Boston Marathon

 
I’ve run the same Maryland marathon on two separate occasions.
 
However, only once did I return from the trip with a fiancé:
 
1. North Central Trail Marathon (2001)
2. North Central Trail Marathon (2006)

 
Two times I’ve managed to drag Shannon to Maine for a marathon.
 
Only once did it involve 9 hours of driving in the rain with a screaming infant in the backseat.
 
Pick correctly and discover the wonder for yourself:
 
1. Mount Desert Island Marathon
2. Peak Performance Marathon