Its all about Goals

In 1986 I ran a half marathon.  I was 29 years old and in what I thought was peak physical shape of my entire life...

What I learned in that run.  Half marathons to me were not attractive.  I liked the shorter distances where I could run faster.  The sport has advanced greatly since then of course.

I traveled to Kenosha, Wisconsin to watch my son run in the Kenosha Racine Challenge Series Frosty 5 this weekend.
This race series was being put on by the Kenosha Running Club to assist Trent Morrow aka Marathon Man achieve his goal for 2013 to make history by setting a goal to run 160+ marathons in a year.

I met Trent briefly in October after he'd run the Chicago Marathon.  He was with my son when I and my mom were picked up at the Milwaukee Airport.
Trent is a charismatic character, full of charm. 

Thursday night arrived and I went to watch the beginning of December 5th's night race.  The day before had been mild, and the temps were dropping fast.  It was cold, but little did we know just how cold it could get.

Friday morning my son's alarm woke us up at some ungodly hour.  It was time to get moving.  Another marathon event was starting at 6am.

Frigid was the word.  I think it may have been about 15 degrees, but the wind chill temps were below zero.  Way below, ... 
I hooked up with a lady who was taking water and other supplies to the halfway mark in Racine.

We passed my son running with a friend of his near Carthage College.  I'd planned on taking photos of him during the race.
We got a text message saying that my son's knee injury took him out of the race.

Bummer.
Well I had my camera and a lot of time on my hands so I decided to start taking photographs of the other runners who were running.

These people are all fantastic athletes, braving the cold temperatures and bone chilling winds to run.
It was so cold that some of the runners had their drinks freeze on their belts.

The Chancery in Racine was kind enough to let the runners come in and warm up and use their facilities.

The Best Western Harborside in Kenosha was the place for the staging for the start and end of the event.

 
I met up with my son and his wife and we watched as Trent and Andy made the half way point and warmed up briefly before turning around and heading south back to Kenosha.

I wondered briefly about the sanity of it all and then recalled how much I had loved distance running and later distance bicycling, and more recently ... distance riding [equine].
It is all about setting goals to achieve.
Goals are great motivators.

I guess that is what it is all about.  Goals and attaining goals.

Best wishes to Trent Morrow, aka the Marathon Man.

Watching him helped me realize how much I did miss distance running and how eager I was to set my next goal.

Maybe not in running but an achievable goal none the less.