Dean, Lance and then there's ... Chuck Engle

Dean Karnazes. Bib #50. 3:00:30.
Lance Armstrong. Bib #1002. 2:59:36.
Chuck Engle. Bib #1007. 2:49:54.

Here's Chuck Engle's e-mail report --

"I’ll fix it…give me a bigger hammer.

New York was the last marathon of the US Major Marathons that I have not raced.

In an ocean of marathons, New York, Chicago and Boston are the top predators. I have done Boston and Chicago several times and have failed miserably at getting a spot into NYC. There were 97,000 applications this year and only 37,000 slots available. Those are given out as a “random” lottery and a few thousand charity entries.

I am not a gambling man and thus I had opted to take my chances running in a small West Virginia marathon on the 5th.

However, my rather impractical plan this year had me running a multitude of sub 3’s using a Polar 625X. And before you think me a shameless coward for covering up a sneaky advertisement, I use and paid high dollars for my Polar 625X.

I have sworn by its ability to pace me for the past 3 years. So fueled have I been about this watch that during the Boston Expo this year, I made a quick drop by the Polar booth and mentioned my little stunt to a few of the reps in attendance. I did not know any of them at the time. I just thought someone should hear a word of praise about their product.

Enter Matti Rinta-Tuurii. He was the tech at the Boston Booth who I chatted with and he introduced me that day to Wayne and Eileen, also at the Polar Booth. It was my assumption that most booths hire local reps to sell their wares and I really didn’t think my comment would matter.

These people wanted to hear more. So I explained that I was attempting to run 52 marathons under 3 hours. I don’t think they took me seriously at first. Most of us know that there is a multitude of people who have run 52 and more marathons in a year.

When they heard my times I think it sat them in their chairs. Unbeknownst to me, my journal was being passed around the Polar shop a little bit. Several months pass by and I am still chugging out sub 3 marathons when Wayne emails me and starts pushing this new Polar running watch. I am a gadget junkie too.

With an air of jocundity in my question I asked which arm or leg he wanted in order for me to obtain such a technically superior gizmo. Before I could send him a frozen extremity I had a RS800 in the mail.

Now you understand how I pace Chicago to such a dead even pace.

Soon I was getting ready to go to New York to run on a treadmill for a few days. Polar and Adidas had asked me to demo their new RS800sd multi function speed distance watch and the new Adidas Fusion footwear and eyewear.

I will take a quick digression here to plug the Polar product. This watch measures cadence, heart rate, stride length, velocity, auto lap, and can be calibrated or not. Now most of my subscribers will note here that last week I pulled out of a double due to an aggravated shin….AGAIN. I erred on the side of caution.

Stroll with me, if you will, down memory lane.

In my youth I always felt that if something needed doing is was worth doing with force to make sure the job would get done and as fast as possible. My dad always said I would reach for the “bigger hammer” on every task. This is great for opening cans, splitting firewood, pinning some guy named Erwin to the wrestling mat with a busted nose (yeah I got away with it). This type of force is not so good when it comes to opening locked doors, tightening lug nuts, or relationships. It took me several torque wrenches, a few busted knuckles, and a broken door lock or two to learn this lesson. Just because a little hammer is good doesn’t always mean a bigger hammer does a better or faster job. In fact, the bigger hammer will almost certainly break things.

And now back to my nagging shin injury. Like horseflies on the ranch and mosquitoes in the Delta, my shin seemed to slow me down the last several races. So if a 3 or 4 easy miles didn’t help….how about 59.2 miles? No? How about 85.4 and in four days?

As agreed upon I would be running on the treadmill for two 3-hour bouts on Thursday inclusive of two ½ hour breaks. During the two segments I managed to run 33 miles. Not bad for about 5 hours. There may be a 50K in my near future.

I knew that on Saturday I had agreed to run a full marathon on the treadmill to demo the new product as well. The temperature at the NYC Expo was 76 degrees according to several Polar watches on site. So pulling off a marathon in those conditions would, I think, be tough for anyone. And after 5 hours of running in these temps the day before with no wind I was quite dehydrated and low on energy.

Fortunately, on the opposite corner from our Polar booth we had caught the eye of the Gatorade Endurance folks and they were very happy to provide me with huge bottles of the product that would be on the course for the race. Having fresh bottles of Lemon Lime Gatorade Endurance was one bastion of relief in the stagnant and hot air surrounding the treadmill. Keep in mind that I was in NY and would fly back to race West Virginia on Sunday. Thus staying hydrated would be a huge factor if I was to pull off a four day mileage total of 80 plus miles.

I woke Friday and was a bit lethargic after my late night dinner at Biricchino’s. I am sure the 33 miles on Thursday had tired me as well. With hopes for a successful marathon on the treadmill I walked to the expo as a warm-up.

My Polar Team was, albeit tired, excited about the day. I would run, answer questions and work to keep my fluid levels somewhere above the crash and burn level. Wayne and I began to berate the ING booth across the way for an entry into New York while showing off the new RS800.

We had approached one or two people about an entry but today we had a microphone, speakers and a large treadmill to operate from. Our bigger hammer had arrived. Several people heard our cries for an entry and a multitude offered up their number for me. To be in New York for the race with my marathon addiction and not run was unthinkable at this point. Wayne and I continued with our microphone tirade and mentioned my desperation for an entry about every 8 minutes during my 3 hour treadmill marathon.

During the final two miles of the treadmill run Wayne V. worked the crowd into a huge frenzy and made one last plea for an entry. Our constant begging and the crowd’s cries to get the Marathonjunkie an entry drove the nail home.

When I was finished Matti walked me to the “Orange Room” and introduced me to Ian, the elite athlete coordinator. His questions were simple and so was my response. “Why did you wait until the last minute?” I told him about my last minute deal with Polar. “Why should I give YOU an entry.” I said because I will guarantee a sub 3 performance. I was truly hoping my mouth didn’t just write a check that would bounce. He stated “those are the right answers” and I was rushed off to another private closed booth and handed bib number 1007.

After three days off beating on a treadmill and beating on the NYC race committee, I had my number. I really need to offer a huge word of thanks to Polar for the entry and to Marathonguide.com for making the return trip possible. I spent Saturday biking and swimming and visited the expo one last time to thank the folks at Polar for making it all possible. Eileen, Wayne, Matti, and Maribeth provided me with some of my best marathon memories.

Although our time together was short, I feel like they are family. It was great to see such a team working together and their close knit relationships should be a model for other businesses. I rose Sunday morning to a moonlit sky and chilly 39 degrees. The one hour bus ride to Staten Island from the New York Library was spent on a charter bus with athletes from all over the world.

With the help of a running translator, we all shared our marathon experiences. I arrived into the green village and quickly found a warm spot against a fence to sleep for a few more hours before the 10:10 am start. I woke at 9:30 to scarf down a bagel and two Clif Bars.

Five minutes later I was stripped down to my loin cloth like shorts and Race Ready t-top and standing in line for the restroom. My skin began to bump up and I knew that I would have to start running soon or risk the chance of really shutting down. I wiggled my way through the sea of runners to my starting coral and place myself next to an electric generator to let the exhaust warm my legs. Others soon took notice of this heat source and began to huddle around.

Within minutes of my entrance to the coral, we were crammed against a chain link fence and baby stepping up to the Verrazano Bridge. The first mile was up hill and I completed it in 7:58.

Not even Chicago was this jammed and backed up. I began to revert to some of my college steeplechase days and bounded a few curbs and even a shoe tying runner or two. After a few shoulder blocks and elbows, I cleared mile two in just over 5 minutes.

The rest of the race I seemed to settle into my planned sub 2:50 pace. As we climbed the first hill I could see Lady Liberty way off to my left. I knew I was clearly in New York.

A few quick turns, several bridges later and I found myself entering Central Park. The park rolled gradually to the finish line and I felt as fresh and crisp during the last 10K as I had at any race. Realizing I was about to complete my first NYC I began to well up with tears.

I had waited 3 years for the opportunity and it was handed to me by friends. The crowd seemed to respond to my surge. Thousands cheered and roared as I blazed to the finish line just under the 2:50 mark.

I had hammered through just over 85 miles in the last 4 days and my legs were absent from any pain. I had beat my legs with a large hammer and for the time being nothing seemed to be broken. My legs will survive for one more weekend. Until then I hope you will pick up your hammer and pound out your goal before the end of the year. See you at the races. Godspeed."