I live in Mattawan, MI and am an Information Technology Business Systems Manager in the Laboratory Sciences division at MPI Research.  I'm a proud father of two boys and happily married to my beautiful wife, Susan.  I will be turning 40 this year (2013).

Rebooting the System

In 2008 (during our second pregnancy) I decided that it was time to loss the 'husband baby' weight as I hit my highest weight at one time of 230 lbs.  I joined a local gym (SWAT) and begin a three day a week strength conditioning plan (LesMills Body Pump) and soon realized that I needed to add in some cardio.  I began to run on the treadmill once a week.  Starting running 1 to 2 miles a week and then gradually up to 6 miles a week.

During the early spring of 2009 my sister-in-law convinced me to run a local 5K.  At that time I was running roughly 6 to 8 miles a week.  I didn’t know what to expect for the 5K as I’ve never raced over 400 meters (I was a sprinter in high school and competed in the 100, 200, 400 and long jump).  My sister-in-law warned me that once I did a 5K I would be hooked.  Well, she was right.  I ran a decent race (23.47) and I think what really got me hooked was that I saw my name in the paper the next morning (was listed in the top 15 of my age group).  After seeing that I made a goal for myself to try and get into the top 5 of my age group at the next race.  Thus 2009's training/workout plan quickly turned to getting lean and faster.  I entered and competed in several more 5Ks that summer and started to learn some of the race logistics and training programs specifically for runners.  

The fall of 2009 was a turning point in my training as up until now I had been running alone on the roads and not running with a group.  I ran into some friends from high school that lived in the area and started to join them on weekly group runs.  This was fantastic!  Having fellow runners to have a conversation with on runs that I thought would be too cold, too fast of pace, too far to run...quickly proved that I could do these distances/paces.  Mileage at this time was around 20 miles a week.  These were my founding brothers that I still thank today for the accomplishments that I've achieved. Thank you MIT brothers (Dan Reisner, David & Wes Seeley, Scott Perkins)!

Birth of a Maniac

2010 was the year that being ‘hooked’ turned into being ‘nutso’ as family and friends would refer too.  In February I signed up for the Chicago marathon.  Other MITers signed up for the Grand Rapids marathon which was 7 days after Chicago thus our training programs lined up.  Besides the training, 2010 also brought a total of 23 races (5K, 10K, 15K, 25K and a half marathon).  Needless to say if there was a race in the area, I ran it. 

When October arrived, I was ready for Chitown!  I’d been training to finish it around 3:50.  I’ll cut to the chase...we all know Chicago was unbelievably HOT that year!  Not only that but at mile 14 my 8:30 pace was incredibility hard to keep and I had to slow up.  As the miles went by I started to get very sick (later that night I realized that I got the flu that afternoon).  I was told twice by medics on the course that I should stop.  I said HELL NO!!!  All this training, I’m NOT quitting!  I finished it!  Scared my family though as they kept track of my pace online and noticed a huge drop in pace but I finished it though (4:51:48).

After getting home from Chicago that Monday, I was happy and disgusted with myself.  Happy I survived “Hell and Back” but ticked that all of that training I did was trumped by the flu.  That week on Thursday I told my wife that I want to run a 26.2 miler somewhere in the area just so I could prove to myself that I can get the 3:50 goal that I had trained for.  She recommended that I take an easy run on Thursday afternoon to first see if my body could take more beating.  I knock out an easy paced 8 miler and it felt GREAT!  Once home she told me to sign up for the marathon in Grand Rapids (which was on Sunday).  So I did.  Two marathons in 7 days I kept asking myself?!  Am I nuts?  Guess I’ll find out.  And I did!  Ran the Grand Rapids marathon in 3:38:40!  Marathon Maniac #3338 was born.

Baby Weight Gone!

By the end of 2010 I hit the scale with 168 lbs (lost 62 lbs).  Success!  It felt incredible to wear clothes that I haven't been able to wear since college.

Trail Running is Okay

In the spring of 2011 I completed my first ultra race (Kal-Haven Trail Run - 34 miles) and was hooked.  I learned that I did have a 7th gear that I could connect with in the later miles of the race.  This was the 'ultra' hook that took me to the next level of my training.  I began to run more and more trails as my recovery days from my longer road training runs on Saturdays.  They were grueling at times but being consisted at it definitely paid off especially in my road marathons.  That spring I ran the Bayshore Marathon (my 6th marathon) and achieve my fastest marathon time to date (3:19).  

To Date (June 3rd, 2013)

With 21 marathons and 9 ultras under my belt, I'm still going at it.  From the competitive side to the joy of running with friends and sharing in there accomplishments, running is a part of my life.  I run to: shed the weight and keep healthy as I've been diagnosed as a pre-diabetic in 2011, manage stress, enjoy the beauty that surrounds us on the trails and on the roads, enjoy the conversations with close friends, support amazing fundraising organizations (OAR RUN FOR AUTISM, Susan G. Komen), and enjoy the freedom of the simpliest means of moving...one foot in front of another.