Ordinary Marathoner

It was a great Father’s Day weekend at the Ordinary household. A bike ride, squeezing in a quality long-run and the coldest beer on the hottest day. I couldn’t have asked for a better day with my family.

Training is going well, and it’s appearing that some races may be coming back sooner than later. Ironman Lake Placid rescheduled from late July to August 30. Will it go off as scheduled or will it be postponed and/or canceled? I can’t wait to see how things develop, but I’m hopeful to start to see the racing world come back to normal.

Robert Hardy had a bone marrow transplant in his battle against Leukemia. A few years later, it was a hip replacement. These procedures caused him to battle dizziness and balance issues, which wasn’t good news for his cycling hobby.

So, Robert took up running. Only, he couldn’t really run. The balance issues forced him to walk, and even then he struggled. So, he sought to remedy the problem. Robert now uses a race-walker. And he doesn’t let that get in his way, either.

Robert participates in some big races – marathons and ultramarathons alike. He’s gotten his marathon time under 5:30 and, at 69, has even higher aspirations. How cool would it be if he qualified for Boston!?!? Don’t laugh, it’s on his radar and I, for one, wouldn’t bet against him.

Busy, busy times here at Ordinary Marathoner. Last Thursday’s Zwift MeetUp Ride was great, and thanks to me they have fixed “Keep Everyone Together” Mode. Friday night’s Happy Hour was even better. Our guest, motivational speaker Stephanie Lueras was great!

And we finally have a guinea pig for our Couch-To-5k Program! That’s right. June Walker from Gramma Junie has a Potty Mouth has decided that it’s time to get herself back in gear. In order to do that, she’s agreed to become our test subject with our new Couch-to-5k. We’re looking forward to cheering her on and watching her succeed!

At times I can be a very superstitious person. Sometimes so many little things go wrong, you can’t help but think the world is out to get you. Lately, every time something goes wrong, Stefany and I just roll our eyes and add it to the list. But there’s always reason for optimism and now the mojo seems to be turning around.

We have our new Couch-To-5k Program out on the TeamOrdinary page. Some people have asked about it and we hope to find at least one volunteer to go through the program with us on the podcast.

We also have officially announced our coaching deal – One Month Free with a 3-month commitment. So far, it has been well-received and we are setting up consultations for new athletes to answer any of your questions and find out if coaching is right for you. Runners, triathletes, beginners or seasoned athletes – if you have always wondered if coaching was right for your training plan, now is the time to try it out.

We’ve been super-busy over hear at the home office. Good-busy. Maybe that’s why it seems hard to believe that it’s June already! Another big race bit the dust recently – the Boston Marathon itself is canceled since the City of Boston decided it was impossible to ensure the safety of a group of people outdoors. The City of Boston cares. That’s why they don’t allow groups of more than 10 people to congregate outdoors. It’s just not safe.

And Stefany says I’m not allowed to talk about it. So I won’t. I won’t discuss it. Back to running.

We’ve been busy building up the infrastructure for the 2021 Ordinary Marathon, which is now OPEN FOR REGISTRATION! Get involved now and don’t miss our summertime raffles. One will be coming up soon – likely before the end of the month! Get involved!

Our virtual race was such a big success this year! Stefany and I got to write the donation check this week, but due to COVID we had to mail it and couldn’t hand-deliver it personally. Still, delivering $835 to a worthy charity is something that should make us all proud.

After getting some feedback from this year’s race, we’ve decided to make a few adjustments to next year’s format. The race itself will stay the same. 10-Days of celebrating running and being supportive and grateful to the running community! We want to bring more and more people to this incredible event, and we listened to some of your ideas.

We are bringing the entire registration process in-house next year to control the process and make you experience more personal. Scott Frasard is still on-board with us! We are also making your registration more of an “a la carte” experience. And because of this…. drum-roll, please… REGISTRATION WILL BE ONLY TEN BUCKS!!!

That’s right… register for ten bucks! Want one of our premium medals? Add it on! Want a race shirt? Like prior years, add it on! And lastly, we will rely on your generosity to raise money in support of the charity we select for next year’s race. You will have additional options to add donations which will go directly to the charity we select.

We are very excited about upcoming changes and hope to have registration open REALLY SOON! Keep an eye out.

Thank you all for making this year’s Ordinary Marathon such an incredible success! Today we’ll recap some of the highlights from our 10-day virtual race. Together, we raised over $800 for The SamFund. But that was just the beginning… some of the things you guys did out there over the past 10-days were just incredible!

We’ll go over a few of those on today’s podcast, and looking forward to the 2021 version!

We are now in DAY 8 of the Ordinary Marathon! Congratulations to all who have already reached their running goals for the race! And don’t worry… there are still three days left if you haven’t. (I haven’t… yet.)

Thank you to all who have participated. We are adding up the totals and getting ready to deliver our check to The SamFund. Thank you also to our sponsors who have once again made this race possible by donating money and raffle-prizes. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

Recently I had a conversation with a friend whose son was experiencing some anxiety when it comes to participating in team sports. The kid is good enough to play athletically, but just doesn’t want to play. It’s that grey area as a parent. Do you push a kid hard to do something he is capable of doing in the hopes that the kid will flourish (and eventually become grateful that you pushed him)? Or do you hold back, encourage, and risk your child not reaching their potential? Eventually they may say, “I wish you would have pushed me harder, Dad.”

It all reminded me of some experiences I had earlier in life. Without those experiences and that regret… would I have ever chose to get involved in running and triathlon? Who knows! It’s fun to sometimes think about. And maybe it’s something that will help someone else to gather up the courage to participate in something they may not feel comfortable doing, but they may be successful doing. Or maybe I’m just talking to myself again.

This year’s Ordinary Marathon has really taken off! Participation levels are at all-time highs. It’s so great to see so many people come together. The Midnight Madness Mile continues to grow into an annual tradition – what an amazing night!

With two raffle giveaways in the books, we’ve got plenty of stuff left to go so continue to get out there and post your runs! Great job so far!

For me, this event has been a great success already. The Midnight Madness Mile is not longer a cute little formality and is now actually a thing. Also, three days in and I have biked and ran each day of the race so far – CONSISTENCY. It’s something I’ve been lacking in my running of late.

Last but not least, this race has gotten me to connect with an old friend who has been going through some challenging times. We’ll be having Rich Funchion as a guest on the podcast in the near future to discuss what his life has been like ever since he lost his foot!

BJ Williams is a hockey player. Growing up, it was his future – so much so that he moved to the town of Lake Placid to train.

If his future in the sport was ever in doubt, he never quite got the option to make that decision himself. A vicious accident on the Mass Pike made that decision for him.

So what was next for BJ Williams? Wallow in misery at the fact he’d never play hockey again? Clumsily go on through life with no meaning or focus? Maybe… had he not seen the Dick and Rick Hoyt documentary on TV. It changed his life, and the lives of others.

BJ Williams doesn’t claim to be fast. But tell him that he can’t do something, and he’ll go out of his way to prove you wrong. It was my honor to have him as a guest and tell his story.

Follow BJ’s progress towards the World Marathon Challenge on Facebook.

Join the Official Ordinary Marathoner team at TEAM ORDINARY!

Check out our homepage at www.ordinarymarathoner.com.

Or join the conversation at our Ordinary Marathoners Facebook Discussion Group.

I’ll also follow you back on Twitter if you follow me @OrdMarathoner.

Check out our annual virtual charity race, The Ordinary Marathon. Register early and be eligible for giveaways between now and race day.