Ira Gardner to run half in 25th state in August
By JIM BUTTA, Parkersburg (W.Va.) News and Sentinel
NEW YORK, N.Y.-Ira Gardner will be the first to tell you a 45-year-old such as he won't be a serious contender for the overall men's title at the News and Sentinel Half Marathon on Saturday, Aug. 20.
In fact, the resident of Queens, N.Y., will go so far as to tell anyone who asks that he is more than likely to need a couple of hours to complete the 13.1-mile course.
But, what Gardner won't mention is that it is likely he will be the only runner to cross the finish line on Market Street to have completed a half marathon in 25 different states.
"When I was in Indianapolis, I got the idea," he explained. "That was my fifth different state and I had already made plans to run in California. Then, I got on the computer and found one in Oregon."
The rest, as they say, is history.
Ironically, Gardner, who is an accountant with C.B. Richard Ellis Co. in New York, isn't a lifelong runner.
"No, I liked hiking," explained Gardner. "But, I started running and found out that I like it more and just kept entering races."
Mostly in his home state of New York at the beginning. And, all were half marathons-Brooklyn (2:24:45), the Bronx (2:24:35), and Manhattan (2:11:01).
"I started out running marathons, but I found out that it took longer for me to recover after a race," Gardner said.
"Then, once I started running half marathons I realized that it took me less time to recover and I could run more of them in a year."
And, run more Gardner did as 2002 saw him compete in six-three in his home state, one in Canada, one in Connecticut and one in New Jersey.
"Connecticut was the first state I ran in other than New York. It and New Jersey were the obvious ones to do because they were so close."
But, then came a race in Las Vegas, Nev., to open 2003 (February). After that came half marathons in Indianapolis (Ind.), Portland (Ore.), San Francisco (Calif.), Philadelphia (Pa.), Des Moines (Iowa) and Baltimore (Md.).
The former University of New York at Buffalo graduate recorded his personal best time of 1 hour, 53 minutes and 45 seconds in the race in Portland.
It was during that stretch that Gardner became acquainted with Half2Run. The club was begun with the idea of getting its members to run 25 half marathons in 25 states. Gardner will be the first club member to accomplish the feat as the next closest to the New York runner has competed in only 11 states.
"I sent in my money and joined the club and they sent me my shirt and hat back in May or April," said Gardner.
Gardner's travels took him to Phoenix (Ariz.) to open 2004 and from there he ran in Tampa (Fla.), Birmingham (Ala.), Nashville (Tenn.), Green Bay (Wisc.), Chicago (Ill.), Rapid City (S.D.), Detroit (Mich.) and Seattle (Wash.) in 2004.
He added Texas to his list in January of 2005 when he completed the Houston Half Marathon in 2 hours, 3 minutes, 8 seconds.
That got him to 24 states and with one more remaining he returned to the internet where he read about the Parkersburg Half Marathon.
"Runners World ranked it as one of the top 25 half marathons in the country so I thought it would be appropriate for me to make it my 25th state."
But, then another problem arose.
"I've never been to West Virginia," explained the runner. "I had to ask around to see if any of my friends knew anything about the state."
But for someone who has hiked throughout Europe and raced in 24 different states, going to places he knows little about is nothing new to Gardner.
"Some places have a lot more to see than others, but I go for the run and if there are any other things to do then I try to make a weekend out of it."
And, Gardner's travels won't end with the Mountain State.
"I've already decided to run in Nebraska on Sept. 25th,'' he said.
NEW YORK, N.Y.-Ira Gardner will be the first to tell you a 45-year-old such as he won't be a serious contender for the overall men's title at the News and Sentinel Half Marathon on Saturday, Aug. 20.
In fact, the resident of Queens, N.Y., will go so far as to tell anyone who asks that he is more than likely to need a couple of hours to complete the 13.1-mile course.
But, what Gardner won't mention is that it is likely he will be the only runner to cross the finish line on Market Street to have completed a half marathon in 25 different states.
"When I was in Indianapolis, I got the idea," he explained. "That was my fifth different state and I had already made plans to run in California. Then, I got on the computer and found one in Oregon."
The rest, as they say, is history.
Ironically, Gardner, who is an accountant with C.B. Richard Ellis Co. in New York, isn't a lifelong runner.
"No, I liked hiking," explained Gardner. "But, I started running and found out that I like it more and just kept entering races."
Mostly in his home state of New York at the beginning. And, all were half marathons-Brooklyn (2:24:45), the Bronx (2:24:35), and Manhattan (2:11:01).
"I started out running marathons, but I found out that it took longer for me to recover after a race," Gardner said.
"Then, once I started running half marathons I realized that it took me less time to recover and I could run more of them in a year."
And, run more Gardner did as 2002 saw him compete in six-three in his home state, one in Canada, one in Connecticut and one in New Jersey.
"Connecticut was the first state I ran in other than New York. It and New Jersey were the obvious ones to do because they were so close."
But, then came a race in Las Vegas, Nev., to open 2003 (February). After that came half marathons in Indianapolis (Ind.), Portland (Ore.), San Francisco (Calif.), Philadelphia (Pa.), Des Moines (Iowa) and Baltimore (Md.).
The former University of New York at Buffalo graduate recorded his personal best time of 1 hour, 53 minutes and 45 seconds in the race in Portland.
It was during that stretch that Gardner became acquainted with Half2Run. The club was begun with the idea of getting its members to run 25 half marathons in 25 states. Gardner will be the first club member to accomplish the feat as the next closest to the New York runner has competed in only 11 states.
"I sent in my money and joined the club and they sent me my shirt and hat back in May or April," said Gardner.
Gardner's travels took him to Phoenix (Ariz.) to open 2004 and from there he ran in Tampa (Fla.), Birmingham (Ala.), Nashville (Tenn.), Green Bay (Wisc.), Chicago (Ill.), Rapid City (S.D.), Detroit (Mich.) and Seattle (Wash.) in 2004.
He added Texas to his list in January of 2005 when he completed the Houston Half Marathon in 2 hours, 3 minutes, 8 seconds.
That got him to 24 states and with one more remaining he returned to the internet where he read about the Parkersburg Half Marathon.
"Runners World ranked it as one of the top 25 half marathons in the country so I thought it would be appropriate for me to make it my 25th state."
But, then another problem arose.
"I've never been to West Virginia," explained the runner. "I had to ask around to see if any of my friends knew anything about the state."
But for someone who has hiked throughout Europe and raced in 24 different states, going to places he knows little about is nothing new to Gardner.
"Some places have a lot more to see than others, but I go for the run and if there are any other things to do then I try to make a weekend out of it."
And, Gardner's travels won't end with the Mountain State.
"I've already decided to run in Nebraska on Sept. 25th,'' he said.
posted by WalkSports.com | 4:06 PM
1 Comments:
Parkersburg is my home town! I was supposed to run as well, but since the injury I am going anyway to volunteer. I'll be serving pasta the night before and working a water stop on race day!
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