The Running Professor

Long Distance Running Personal Records from October 1, 2013 to August 31, 2014 [Age Grade Score: 88.38% Equivalent: 14:36] Oct 6 2013 Syracuse, NY [AG Score: 89.03% Equivalent: 1:19.4] May 10 2014 Grand Rapids, MI * All times are chip times/net times, not gun times, if known; age-grading scores based on the 2010 tables that were approved at the tim... e of the race. Running Background. I went out for the track team in spring of my sophomore year in high school [Lexington, MA.] and was, frankly, not very good. I stuck with it, though through X-country and track seasons, took a semester off my freshman year in college. By fall of my senior year in college I was a journeyman runner, able to pace in the low 5 minute per mile range for X-Country distances between 4 and a half to 5 miles long. I was the Captain of an undefeated small college (Tufts University in Medford, MA.) X-Country team. I was strictly a depth runner, however, coming in as the 4th or 5th runner for the team. Make no mistake, though, it was a great honor to be Captain of such a fine group of runners. I was incredibly lucky. After college I said goodbye to distance running to focus on graduate education. I stayed active but did not regularly run until I hit my mid-30s and was trying to figure out the next steps in my career. I was a recreational runner then and took part in a few 10Ks but with times in the mid-30s. After that I focused on career and raising a family until I was in my late 50s. I took up recreational running again and decided to participate in a few 5Ks just for fun. I wanted to set a good example for my kids, a teen and a pre-teen, and felt it would be good for my health and outlook and could easily be fit into a busy schedule. For the next ten years I ran only about 10-12 miles per week, ran in local 5K races usually in times ranging from mid 20s to 22 minutes and typically winning my age group. When I decided to step down as Chair of my Department and began looking towards retirement, an idea started to shape that now might be a ...Read More