Everybody has a story about how they got into running. Mine, like a lot of others, was for health reasons. I had let my weight get out of control and for years I had ignored it. When I look at pictures now (below is my embarrassing before and after photos), I just have to shake my head. “What was I thinking?” If not for running, I’m not so sure I’d still be around today. After training for the Las Vegas Marathon in 2006, I dropped 65 pounds and became a new person.

That brings us to this: What’s your success story? It doesn’t necessarily need to be related to weight loss. It could be overcoming injuries, physical disabilities, etc.

Thanks to @gdarsi for posting this on Twitter. Hilarious. I love the last scene.

Jeremy and Melinda Kunz (wife) at the start line of the Ragnar Relay Las Vegas.

This weekend, a great event turned into tragedy. During the Las Vegas Ragnar Relay, Jeremy Kunz was struck and killed by a drunk driver. While I have no connection to the race or the Kunz family, the news of this tragedy hit me hard. For the news story, CLICK HERE.

In an official statement from the Ragnar Race officials:

In the early morning hours of Saturday, October 10 Jeremy Kunz was struck by a suspected drunk driver while providing support to a runner on his team. Police and Rescue responded quickly, as did several Ragnar teams. Unfortunately Jeremy could not be resuscitated. Special thanks goes out to team 184, “The Dog Pound,” which was first on the scene and provided immediate aid to Jeremy. Jeremy’s family has asked us to thank team 184 and other teams who were there. Thank you!

The driver was apprehended and arrested for DUI and other charges. He is currently in custody. Police have released very few other details.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the Kunz family and those closest to him. As runners, I think we form a bond with runners and what happens to them affects us all.

There is now a way to make a donation to the family. You can do so at www.jerandmin.com there is a link at the top of the page inside the photo of Jeremy. They will be setting up an account with Zions Bank tomorrow. For now this is the best way to donate. Donations will benefit Jeremy’s children.

You can read and add your sentiments at the Ragnar Relay Facebook page.

It has been one week since the 2009 Portland Marathon and I expect many of you who participated in our brief survey last week are wondering what my finishing time was for this event, Right? Not hardly.

You are wondering though, what decision I made after receiving the ultimate runner’s challenge from my wife, (and fellow marathoner) Tiffany. If you recall, Tiff threw down the ultimate challenge to me and pretty much dared me to run this year’s Portland Marathon with NO RACE PLAN!  That’s right, no goals, no splits, no GARMIN! Yes, the dare was to run completely free; no expectations, fears, or worries.

Easily said and a bit of a carefree/careless approach to a major marathon event, don’t you think? Well, I clearly thought so, considering that my training regiment for this event was pretty intense, including constantly measuring progress, times, splits, heart rate, sweat rate, VO2 Max, lactate threshold levels and every other metric you could possibly imagine. Why? One word…Stat Rat! Remember prior to my running life, baseball was my fitness food of choice (not much fitness involved there).

Back to the story. This challenge evolved from a simple conversation with Tiffany (during a recovery run of course), to other challenges by friends and colleagues. I had Dave McKinnon (fastest runner with 5 kids in Meridian, Idaho) tell me, “Throw away your Garmin and run free!” Not too shocked from a man that runs 26.2 sub 3:00!

Scott Robertson clearly took the challenge to a whole new level, “No Garmin. No pants. One pirate eye patch.”  Thank goodness I didn’t run without my pants…that would have been a pretty scary sight!

With that said, the survey results were more than clear to me: With an overwhelming consensus (sorry Geoff), the results suggested the best choice was to run WITHOUT the Garmin! It wasn’t even close (sorry again Geoff). While it was clear to me what I should do, the pressure was really turned up. Not to mention, survey participants (you guys), spun this back to me in a way that I clearly wasn’t prepared for:

“Your wife is always right” or “Not a good idea to go against your wife” and “Probably best to listen to your wife”.

Thank you for turning up the heat and applying a little fuel to the fire. It was just what I needed. Ultimately, the choice came down to one question: ”If you really have trained so hard, then why do you need the Garmin?”

It turns out, runners do actually run with their legs (and heart), not their watches! Unbelievable. I decided to take the challenge from my wife and all of you and run WITHOUT the Garmin. The results:

My wife was right. Okay, I will say it again, my wife was right. One more time, because I am sure she likes the ring that saying makes…you were right. (p.s. so were the rest of you)

What an incredible day! The most peaceful, calm, and enjoyable run I have had in my short marathoning career. No tech, no Garmin, no monitors, no music…just me. Thanks for playin’, thanks for keeping it light, thanks for the advice, thanks for the pressure and thanks for the support.

*I have to mention, I reversed the challenge on Tiffany when we arrived in Portland. She was scheduled for a 20 mile “rogue runner” training run during the Portland Marathon in preparation for The Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco (this week). During the expo I threw down the gauntlet and dared her to just run the full marathon at Portland! She took it head on and threw down an easy 26.2. I am looking forward to watching her in San Francisco this week. Run without a Garmin? Big deal. Run two marathons in 2 weeks…sounds a little “Karno-esq” (Dean Karnazes), if you ask me!

Congrats to First Time Marathoner, Michele Schiedler (baby sister). You have joined an elite group and can call yourself a Marathoner! Michele finished her first 26.2 in Portland as well. Give her credit, she watched from the sidelines in 2008 and said, “I am running this next year!” (how many times have we heard that from spectators?) Too many and it never happens. Well, she did and that’s impressive. Great job staying with your training and finishing one of the toughest runs you’ll ever do!

Run Brilliantly,
-Forrest (Schrenk)

I have two young boyz and they’re some of my biggest fans. They don’t think much of dad heading out for a run and coming back two hours later. I’ve been doing it long enough that it’s not that big of deal. They’re not really into sports. Neither of them wants to go out for baseball or soccer and are content with their Nintendo DS, Wii or computer.

With that being said, I’ve tried to coax them towards running – at least every once in awhile. We trained for and ran in Mickey’s Main Street USA 5K in September and we had a blast. This year, with the Competitor Group taking over the Las Vegas Marathon and making it a Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon, they’ve added some cool things.

Kids Rock Las Vegas is a training program for kids grades K-6. Upon registering, you receive a training program that totals 25.2 miles. You do it in short segments and on your own time. Then, on the Saturday before the race, everybody will gather to run the last mile of the “marathon” together.

In a country of access and lethargy I think we owe it to our kids to keep them active and healthy. It’s programs like this that are going to make a difference. If you’re running Las Vegas, I highly encourage you to bring along the kids and enter. You know what they say…the family that runs together, stays together (or something like that).

Running used to be a big ordeal for me when I first started. It was an accomplishment just to get dressed and get out the door. Now, after running is a significant part of who I am, I’ve started to expand my roll in the world thru running (see A Runner’s Prayer and Run With Grace). This is not a novel idea and I see and am inspired by others doing the same thing.

Dean Karnazes recently posted about how he is “Passing The Buck” while on his runs. Inserting dollar bills under random car windshield wipers. While it may just be a buck, it makes a statement about who he is and what we can do as individuals to make the world a better place. If you get a chance, read the comments and see what you’re fellow runners are doing and you might be inspired to do the same.

By now, many of you have heard about Jerry Johncock (aptly named). If not, here’s a summary:

This past weekend, Jerry, 81 years of age, ran in the Twin Cities Marathon. At mile 21, he said he had a blood clot that was preventing him from urinating. Not carrying a catheter at the time (go figure, we carry just about everything else), he borrowed and used one from a spectator (who just happened to have one). After inserting the borrowed catheter, Jerry completed the race and finished first in his age division. After the race, there was controversy over whether he was going to be disqualified because he left the course.

OK, this story perplexes me in so many different ways.

• I’m all for runner’s being mental and crazy in some of the things we do, but putting your health on the line just isn’t one of them. A blood clot and the first thing you can thing of is how can I go on? Sorry, but that’s just plain reckless. There’s a line and it’s been crossed. There’s always another race…go get help.
• Sharing a towel (not gross) – drinking out of the same glass (a little gross) – using somebody’s else’s catheter (huh?). I’m sorry, you using that? Mind if I stick it inside me? Do I need to expand?
• He left the course to insert the catheter in his Johncock (I’m sure nobody wanted to see that on the course). He reentered the course and did not take an advantage in the race. Race officials wanted to disqualify him. I’m sorry, an 80 year old man has a blood clot, uses a catheter and finishes the race. Anybody else think the controversy is centered around the wrong thing?

With the recent deaths of long distance runners in big name races, I would think USATF would focus on runner safety before $225 in prize money. We run because we enjoy it and have fun. Nobody should have to mimic Pheidippides and actually die at the end of the marathon.

Running USA wants to know why you run. Take this survey and on the first page where it asked which organization type OneRunnersBrain.com in the other field. The survey takes about 10 minutes. CLICK HERE.

RMFR is the official/unofficial mantra/gang sign here at One Runner’s Brain. Big ups to Troy for sporting this in the Portland Marathon this weekend. If you don’t know what RMFR stands for (Hint: the R’s stand for Run and I think you can guess what MF stands for), CLICK HERE for the history of our Runner’s Gang Sign.

I love running early in the morning. With the changing of the seasons, it’s getting lighter later and darker earlier which means most of us are running in the dark. It’s a goal of mine to make runners more safe on our nation’s roadways and you’d be surprised how many people I see and pray for their safety. I’m not talking about somebody just out for a leisurely jaunt, I’m talking about serious runners that I see on a consistent basis. From what I’ve seen, I’ve come up with some suggestions:

Against Traffic. Run against traffic when you’re running on the road. Most roads have a shoulder or bike lane and you should stay near the edge (away from traffic) if at all possible. Running against traffic let’s you see oncoming cars and cyclists. Those running with traffic will never know if somebody didn’t see them before it was too late.

Warning Signs. Watch oncoming cars and cyclists. Is there a car coming around a curve wide and fast? Is there a large group of cyclists riding 2-3 wide? Does that car making left turn see you approaching the intersection? Be aware of your surroundings. Expect the best…prepare for the worst.

Anticipate. When you see the warning signs, anticipate what actions need to be taken. 99% of the time when you take action first, you can avoid many of the dangers. Car’s coming wide and fast? Move off the road or to the extreme side in case they don’t correct their actions. Car doesn’t see you? Make yourself seen or get out of their eventual path.

Reflective Clothing and Lights. If aware started with an R, this would be first. I consider this the most important thing runners can do. Make people see you. While you may wear bright colors, they lose their impact with no light. Find clothing with large areas of reflective print – the tips of your shoelaces don’t count. Use a headlamp or carry a small flashlight. I run with a small flashlight – not to light my way but to make sure cars and cyclists can see me from a distance and know I’m there. Blinking lighting is also another option. Most units are small and unobtrusive.

Enjoy Silence. Music is great but don’t use it in the dark. When one of our senses is dulled, the others take over. You can’t see as much in the dark and using your ears is important. You may hear an obstacle before you see it. Save the tunes for your car or at work. You’ll thank me later.

We’re looking at creating and offering reflective running wear either in partnership with sponsors or on our own (let us know if there’s any interest). As part of the running community, I pray that you all be safe and tear it up on the pavement.