What motivates you?  What makes you set the alarm at 0445 5-6 or even 7 days a week?  What makes you get out of bed without hitting the snooze button once?  What makes you show up in a parking lot long before the sun is even thought of?  What makes you shake off the cobwebs and move full throttle for the next 45 minutes to an hour?  What makes you GO! when your body screams STOP!

For a lot of us, this will work.  Fishwrap’s Hail Mary   For others, it’s the satisfaction of KNOWING that at the end of the day, we did our BEST.  We’ve all been there when faced with the choice….ease up  or accelerate, relent or be relentless, cave in or fight harder.  Even though we will certainly finish, we can all remember the exact time and place when this decision was made to slow down, just a bit.  If we make the easy choice, we lose…just a little.  While others will congratulate you on your finish, you know deep down what’s real.  You quit—you cheated yourself from knowing what you could really achieve.  You didn’t allow yourself to get better.  “Best” will still be just a word and not a place for you.

How can you get to your best?  Be accountable.  Not to yourself, but to me, to your brothers, to your M, to your kids.  Share your goal in the comments below—tell us what you want to achieve and own it.  Know that throughout this race, you will be supported and while alone you may run fast, together we run fast farther.  On Saturday, the crowd will mass, the gun will fire, and the clock will start.  It’s only a matter of time before you are faced with a choice.  Commit now to make the hard choice.  You’ve done the work.  Now go show us.

Event Details

  • Packet Pickup:    Charlotte Convention Center 10am to 9pm….NO RACE DAY PICKUP
  • Friday Lunch:                  We will plan to meet and get lunch-Details TBD

Race Day

  • What: 2015 ThunderRoad Marathon and Half Marathon
  • Where: Romare Bearden Park—F3 Tent (Bring SF’s if you got em)
  • Who: Over 60 Men of F3 and
  • When: Saturday, November 14th
  • 0705: Ball of Man
  • 0730: Race Start
  • Why: Because you CAN

Last minute stuff—

  • It’s taper week—be smart, get some reset—It’s recommended to post and have some high intensity, but cut back on duration. Friday—rest up…..
  • What to wear….Weather forecasted is PERFECT….low of 34, high of 54…..NO RAIN…..what you were is entirely up to you (just saw Giselle picking up his speedo at V-Cleaners—no starch) it’s recommended that you are a bit cold at the start as your body will warm things up quickly.  YHC wears some “throw-aways”….my 1998 cotton turkey trot shirt…just don’t over dress…..also—since most of us really never see the sun during workouts, you may want to wear sunglasses or a hat….it sounds trivial, but all that squinting slows you down…(google it)….
  • Food—have a plan and stick to it. Look at the race website and know where and what they are giving you….everyone should be eating and drinking….half marathon guys—it will impact your last 5k if you’ve done it right….marathon guys—no short cuts on this one….eat something or walk…simple—YHC will eating a gel every 6 miles….plus I drink at every water stop…
  • Hills–don’t forget to take advantage of the downhills…shorten the stride, lean forward, and increase your turnover…your pace will increase while your heartrate goes down…it’s free speed….take it.