Marathoner, Soon-To-Be-Ultramarathoner

One of my former co-workers at IMA Consulting, Inc., Rob Jones, of West Chester, Pennsylvania was one of the individuals who influenced me to start running. He came down to Houston to run in 2001 and finished 17th overall (16th among the men) in 2:51:21. (It was the first year that there wasn't prize money and Chris Ciamarra from Pittsburgh was the winner.)

Rob's a little guy, but most importantly, he's a good friend and has encouraged me through the years. His marathoning history since then looks like this:

1/14/01 - 2:51:21, age 32, Houston Marathon, 17th overall, 16th male
10/13/02 - 2:57:27, age 34, Steamtown Marathon, 35th overall, 33rd male
10/19/03 - 2:50:12, age 35, Chesapeake Bay Bridge Marathon, 7th overall, 6th male
4/19/04 - 3:44:16, age 35, Boston Marathon (he finished ... in the medical tent with the heat)
6/19/04 - 2:50:29, age 36, Grandma's Marathon, 75th overall, 66th male
11/21/04 - 2:43:36, age 36, Philadelphia Marathon, 45th overall, 40th male
4/17/06 - 2:50:05, age 37, Boston Marathon, 421st overall, 400th male
6/16/07 - 2:49:19, age 39, Grandma's Marathon, 112th overall, 103rd male
2/10/08 - 2:57:20, age 39, Bank of America Tampa Marathon, 13th overall, 11th male

Grandma's he told me that he backed off due to the heat this past summer and you'll see in a couple of e-mails below that Tampa was a training run.

When I sent my race report to him from Rocky Raccoon, here's what he wrote back:

Congratulations on finishing a 50 Mile Ultra!!! I’m excited to receive your email. You’re the only person I know that has done one of these things.

Interestingly, something has inspired me to start running ultras too. Perhaps is testing physical & mental limits, or perhaps stupidity? Nonetheless, I’m curious about your training methods, nutrition during the race, sodium intake, etc… I’ve been infatuated with going longer for the past several months; I plan on competing in the 50k National Champs next month in NY. In fact, I’m running the Tampa Bay Marathon next weekend as a long training run (3 weeks out). I plan on running my first 50 miler this summer. I’m looking at Mohican (in Ohio) &/or White River (in WA). I also have the JFK 50 in my agenda & planned to run ROCKY RACCOON, for my first 100 Mile race next February!

I’ve watched on the videos on Western States, MMT, Tahoe Rim, Anton’s Indulgence, etc… I’ve also read many blogs about these races. Despite all my years of running, I never knew this running sub-culture existed. I love the purity these events offer, the ground breaking training ideas, and the connectedness of the runners.

Anyway, congrats and I look forward to hearing/learning anything you’re able to share with me. It would be great if we could plan ahead & do one of the races together in the future!

Fast Recovery,
Rob

So certainly, I watched with great anticipation this past weekend for the results from Tampa. I noted to him that the "only two women to get you down there are both now OT qualifiers" and that the "only one registered for the USATF championship for the 50K in March is Michael Wardian - who, of course, led the first 10K of the Olympic Trials." His response was as follows:

Thanks for the email. Tampa worked out to be a great long run for me. I was curious to see how I would feel without tapering and averaging about 65 miles per week. Generally, I felt decent. Not a lot of zip, but felt strong and ran a very consistent race with a 1 minute negative split. Assuming my training and racing goes as planned, I’m looking at something in the 2:40 range at Boston.

My 50K race in March is questionable now, because I have a wedding to attend the night before (my niece). It’s killing me because there’s not a ton of 50k’s or any ultras on the east coast. Needless to say, I’m in a no win situation.

Interestingly, I raced against Michael Wardian in the late 90’s. I ran a very small Ten Miler in Maryland and got beat by someone I never heard of named “Michael Wardian”. He has a ton of natural ability, and is out of my league. I’m assuming Wardian and (Greg) Crowther will battle it out assuming Crowther runs the USATF 50 Champs this year? I was hoping to compete with the 2nd tier guys running in the 3:25 - 3:35 range like Glen Redpath and Mark Godale, but again this damn wedding….

Jon, that picture is hilarious, especially the way you’re holding the shoe. After reading the information, it sounds as if you should run for President. Jon Walk vs. Hillary Clinton?

Good luck with your relay!

If we lose, I might be joining him in the 100-miler at Rocky Raccoon in February. At least I'll get to see Rick at the Seven Hills Running Club aid station. :)