I feel very fortunate to be able to do what I do – even when my body is whacked – being out there running, walking, helping out and volunteering at the races. Taking part, that’s what it’s all about.

It’s three weeks into 2009 and I’ve already been to Vegas (Fleet Feet & Running from an Angel Marathon) the first week of this new year, Green Bay Marathon kick off the next, Phoenix for Rock n Roll Arizona…and no, I didn’t go to watch the Cardinals defeat my team, the Eagles. Posts to come on all. I am now en route to Miami. Alexis Garcia and his wife Marlene offered to pick me up at the aiport in Ft. Lauderdale. Alexis is a runner I met during my comeback marathon at San Francisco last summer. If you’re at the Mimai Marathon expo this weekend, stop by my both and say hi. I will also be showing my slide show at a seminar on Saturday. 

Coming up next week: San Juan, Puerto Rico for a few days before the Caribbean running cruise, www.cruisetorun.com – a perfect time to escape winter. Then it’s  back-to-back trips out west: Running USA in San Diego followed by the Austin Marathon and RD conference, and a potential visit to the White House. Spring events will include the Pittsburgh Marathon kick off, Little Rock Marathon, Cooper River Bridge Run, the inaugural Illinois Marathon, Boston, Big Sur and Santa Barbara Wine Country Half. I am most excited about a July trip to Iraq, yes Iraq, where I will visit our troops at seven different bases in seven days. Stay tuned.

During the second week of the year I was in the coldest place on the planet – Green Bay, Wisconsin. It took planes, trains and automobiles – and two days – to get there so of course I had to make a pilgrimage to Lambeau Field. Cellcom Green Bay Marathon does an event kick-off in the dead of winter that is impressively attended by the local running community, newbies and grizzled vets alike. It felt like a thousand degrees below zero the night I was there but that didn’t stop 600+ brave (crazy) souls from showing up. The program included a highlight video from last year along with an overview of the 2009 event, the 10th running. I gave a talk and answered questions. Thanks for inviting me to be the guest speaker – and yes, that is a piece of cheese I am wearing on my head -not a turban.   

Here is a link to an article in the Green Bay Press Gazette:

http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20090108/GPG0101/901080583/-1/archive

Happy New Year!

I apologize for being a poor bloggernaut in ‘08. I promise to catch you up-to-date in the coming months on some of my more interesting travels and races from last year. A quick tally of where I was yielded 6 countries including my first visit to Iceland where I ran the Reykjavik Marathon. I also ran the SF and Maui Marathons – a return to marathoning, kind of, after a four-year hiatus due to complications from lyme disease. 

The TSA folks at our local airport know me by name. I love the travel but our cat Mojave doesn’t and has taken to packing himself in my luggage. See photo. 2008 book signings, speaking gigs, race announcing, work (and vacations) brought me to more than 50 events in Canada, the Caribbean, and 22 states including numerous trips to California and Texas. It’s been great meeting other runners and hearing their stories…some of which I will share with you in future posts.