Papa-Bear-NYC Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 This goes back 10 years ... You may have noticed that I have not been Benchmark hunting much this year. For those who know I'm also interested in hiking and mountain climbing , I haven't been doing much of that either. No, I'm not injured or terminally ill - just the opposite. I'm as fit or fitter than ever. I've been running. And running and running. Saturday is the culmination of all that running when I do the St. George Marathon (Utah). Then I can stop running -- but only for a while. What's with the 10 years? Easy, that's when I retired, and my first project was to train for a marathon and qualify for the Boston Marathon as a 60 year old. Well, I did. The qualifier was the Dublin Marathon (Ireland) in October 2001, and Boston was in April of 2003. In between, through most of the summer of 2002, I hiked about half the Appalachian Trail (the good half). After Boston 2003, I said "That's my last Boston" (it was my 4th) "I'm retiring from marathons, they're getting too dadgum hard". So I did. And a few years after that I began Benchmark hunting and joined this group. This year, like certain baseball players, I decided to un-retire and try just one more time to qualify for the Boston Marathon (that would be the 2013 Boston -- the lead time is quite long due to the registration process). This time it would be as a 70 year old. Yikes!. I've gotten slower (surprise!) but the age specific qualification times have also gotten slower so I have a good shot at it. So think of me on Saturday and wish me luck. Next summer you may see me Benchmark hunting again (and of course hiking and mountain climbing and running), and then the following April 15th I'll be in Boston (I hope). Then I think I'll retire from marathons, they're getting too dadgum hard. No, really. Quote Link to comment
ArtMan Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 I think about the only hobby as weird as benchmarking is marathoning. Best of luck on Saturday! ~ArtMan~ Quote Link to comment
+BlueDeuce Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 Think of me on Saturday Oct. 1st I definitely will. Quote Link to comment
2oldfarts (the rockhounders) Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 Saturday is the culmination of all that running when I do the St. George Marathon (Utah). A must do when you are done with the run, go see the Temple. It is an awesome building to behold. Have a fun run. Shirley~ Quote Link to comment
TillaMurphs Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 PBNYC, Quite frankly I don’t know how you can possibly get a decent time when you have 6 marks along your route. If you figure a minimum of ½ hour to recover each mark, then that will add 10,800 seconds to your time. Good luck qualifying for Boston with that! The 2oldfarts (2OF) have already nicely recovered 4 of the 6 marks so that may shave some time off of your searching. The good news is that the mark with the most glory potential is at the start of the race. HO0278 has not been found since monumentation. After that you have HS0277, HO0276, HO0273 and HO0272 (all found by the 2OF). Lastly there is HO0357, the lowly steel rod that has not been found since its 1982 monumentation. Papa Bear – in all seriousness – congratulations on your achievement, dedication and hard work. We will be wishing you luck on Saturday. Quote Link to comment
foxtrot_xray Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 Congrats, and good luck. Quote Link to comment
Wintertime Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 Quite frankly I don’t know how you can possibly get a decent time when you have 6 marks along your route. If you figure a minimum of ½ hour to recover each mark, then that will add 10,800 seconds to your time. Good luck qualifying for Boston with that! LOL!! Obviously, he'll have to be at the top of his game and spend only 5-10 minutes looking for each mark! Patty Quote Link to comment
southpawaz Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 If you have free time and any energy left after the marathon, the level run from GQ0430 (first mark on the Arizona side of the border) south is a nice drive on a good gravel road that a rental car could handle. Quote Link to comment
+BlueDeuce Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 Think of me on Saturday Oct. 1st I definitely will. Quote Link to comment
+t4e Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 wooow best of luck and i will definitely think of you even though i played professional basketball for close to 15 years i always hated the long distance running Quote Link to comment
TillaMurphs Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 (edited) According to the posted results, PBNYC did very well. Congrats Papa Bear! Nice job. Now how many marks did you recover along the way? Edited October 2, 2011 by TillaMurphs Quote Link to comment
Wintertime Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 (edited) Papa Bear, I don't know whether Boston qualifying is based on chip time or clock time, but either way, it looks like you got over the line in time! Hope you're pleased with the results. Patty Edited October 2, 2011 by Wintertime Quote Link to comment
Papa-Bear-NYC Posted October 2, 2011 Author Share Posted October 2, 2011 YES! Boston 2013, YES! Yesterday on a hot, mostly downhill course (quads are wrecked fo a week) I broke my qualifying time by almost 9 minutes with a 4:16:09 and was 15th in the 65-69 age group (out of 65 runners in the group), which I am now in. I will run Boston on April 15th 2013 when I will be 70. This was my first marathon in nearly 8 years. I guess I am now un-retired from marathoning! YES! Quote Link to comment
AZcachemeister Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 (quads are wrecked for a week) OWWWW! >WINCE!< AWESOME! I am encouraged to dust off the old road bike and head off into the sunset! Quote Link to comment
Papa-Bear-NYC Posted October 8, 2011 Author Share Posted October 8, 2011 Here are the pictures of what we were doing while I was not running the marathon: https://picasaweb.google.com/112264703949200509077/20110930StGeorgeUtahSnowCanyonCoronadoInn https://picasaweb.google.com/112264703949200509077/2011100304ZionNationalPark https://picasaweb.google.com/112264703949200509077/2011100456GrandCanyonNorthRim And as for benchmarks, I was on vacation and did not look for one. I found one anyway (on the front step of the Kaibab Lodge near the north rim of the Grand canyon where we stayed for two nights) but I ignored it! I figured I paid my dues by running the race. The rest of the time I was off duty. Quote Link to comment
AZcachemeister Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 You are a better man than I, sir. Or at least you have more self-control. I couldn't possibly make such a trip without recovering at least a few marks! OCD OCD OCD OCD OCD Congratulations on your qualifying time! Quote Link to comment
johnlvs2run Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 YES! Boston 2013, YES! Yesterday on a hot, mostly downhill course (quads are wrecked fo a week) I broke my qualifying time by almost 9 minutes with a 4:16:09 and was 15th in the 65-69 age group (out of 65 runners in the group), which I am now in. I will run Boston on April 15th 2013 when I will be 70. This was my first marathon in nearly 8 years. I guess I am now un-retired from marathoning! YES! Awesome Quote Link to comment
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