Ted Corbit

On December 12 2007 a legend of American Ultra running died, it was the day after my 54th birthday so I didn't want to write anything. 6 weeks have gone by and I am settled back in New York so now is the time.
I was fortunate enough to know Ted quite well, I can say he was my friend, as he was the friend of everyone he met, he was that kind of person.
I had heard of him long before I met him for the first time, but when you meet him it is something special. He is the embodiment of humility and was forever willing to share all the knowledge he had gained over the years with anyone who asked.
I remember on one occasion we were talking at an art exhibition we were both attending, he asked me about my running and I told him about a problem I was having with my left ankle. He immediately told me that he thought there was not a big problem, then told me some exercises to do to help it.
I had the chance to run with him a few times over the years and again the sense of calm and gentle control he had was so inspiring. He touched and inspired so many people over his 80+ years and he will be greatly missed, but I also think that ideals will spur the efforts of many runners for years to come.

Cold Weather Running

This is the third day in a row that I have gone for a run in below freezing temperatures. I was talking with a friend this morning about running in the cold and we then got into marathons we have run in cold weather.
Almost 30 years ago a group of us used to go to the Prevention Marathon in Pennsylvania the first Sunday in March. Prevention was a magazine that promoted healthy living. Anyway the second year we went down the temperature was really cold, I think around 12 F but it was bright sunshine and windy. The course was out and back then out and back again. On the way out the wind would be at your back and it would feel quite comfortable and of course you would sweat. When you turned around to run back it would be freezing and then all the sweat would freeze. I remember someone telling me that I had an icicle hanging from my ear and discovering that indeed I had one about 3 inches long. It was a tough marathon but everyone there seemed to enjoy it.
After the race was over there would be a huge buffet meal, with lots and lots of health food type dishes. Which was a great treat and made all the hard work worth while.

Cold Sunday run

It's quite interesting what you can see while out running. This a scene that greeted me while out for my run a couple of weeks ago in the UK.
This morning in New York it was 24 F with a 21mph wind and the run out to Flushing Meadow was challenging, but Utpal, my regular running partner and I managed to run about 9 miles and I was very glad we did.
From time to time I go on running streaks, the longest one to date being from March 1997 to September 2001. So it seems I have started another one, with today being the 20th straight day I have run this year, we will see how it goes.

I'm back racing

I know it's 3 weeks into the new year, but this was my first Saturday morning back in New York. Despite being woefully un race fit and with the temperature hovering around freezing, I ran the local 2 mile race. There were about 20 runners and it was nice to be back. My first mile was 8:05, second mile 7:59, giving me a time of 16:04 setting an easy for the start of the year. It didn't feel too bad and I shook up a few cobwebs. So my racing year is off and started.

Across The Years

Tony Mangan, who I met for the first time in Quebec last summer, just recently won the Across The Years 72 hour race. He finished with a total of 273.7 miles, which of course is an average of 91 miles a day, pretty impressive. The first woman was Martina Hausman, fast becoming a German legend. Her total was 233.5 miles. I have been lucky enough to run in a few races with her in New York. My old friend Ray K drove from his home in South Carolina, taking 50 hours, then ran 200.3 miles, then drove another 46 hours back. Which I think shows you the kind of dedication some Ultra runners can have. He had nothing but praise for the organizers of the race. I offer my congratulations to all who participated in the 72,48,24 hour races and to everyone who contributed to the success of the event.

Acton Trussle

OK so I am in the UK, Penkridge in Staffordshire to be exact. Sunday after recovering from my flight over, I went out for a run. This is England, so of course it was raining, though not too heavily. I ran from the Village out on the A 449 to Acton Trussle, which is about 3 miles from my sisters house and then back. It seemed to clear out some of the stiffness from sitting on a plane and then a bus the day before.. I went out again yesterday for an easier run in colder but drier conditions. I actually feel more relaxed than I do when running in New York, but that may be partly due to the fact that I am on holiday.

First Snow

It started to snow shortly after I woke up this morning. By the time I went out for my run with Abichal there was already snow on the ground and the temperature was around 23 F (-5 C ). As we started our the wind in our faces made it feel much colder, even though I was wearing wool gloves my hands were very cold. Maybe this is the result of losing some fat in the summer.We did of course warm up. My plan was to run 10 miles like last week, Abichal had a slightly different plan so we only ran together for about 7 miles. I was happy again with the stronger pace and felt better than last week. The fact that I hadn't run 2 races earlier may have something to do with this, but I like to think that I am getting stronger.