This is run that is run in Olathe, KS, on a paved walking/running trail 3/4 mile around a park. Actually it is 115 feet shy of 3/4 of a mile. It was overcasted, rain throughout, and 10-15 mph wind, which of course was against you about half the time. It starts at noon and ends at 9:11pm. It was in the 60's and 70's. My plan was somewhat open, since I am running the Lewis and Clark Marathon on Sunday, which will be Donna and mine's first anniversity. I will start out running around 8:00 miles the first 5 miles, then pick out two locations on the trail to take short walk breaks as I did at Flatlanders two weeks ago. The trail will be a lot more crowded. At Flatlanders there is 70 runner limit here they have over 175 runners on a much shorter and narrower trail. I hope to run 6.5 to 7.0 hours then drive 15 minutes to work. I want to run at least 43 laps (about 31.2),I will stop at 50 laps ( 36.3 miles). Donna will be out after work around 5:00. At the start I go out first, but I am not going all that fast. After a few laps a few runners pass, then we start the you pass me and pass you routine. I finish about 5.2 miles a little under 42 minutes. Now I start my walking breaks. I feel goood, but not quite the way as I did at Flatlanders. I have a lot of friends here. This run is very popular with 50-Staters. Three of them have over 600 marathons each. One of them, Jim, once told me Donna was worth a million dollars. We joke about that when we see each other. Ray, who is only three states away from being the first runner to run all 50-states 10 times. He is also the runner I have looked up to the most and I tried to pattern myself after. Ray has just turned 75 and is a living legend among 50-staters. He is a very well liked guy with lots of friends and respect. Henry travels a lot with Ray, since they are both from Wisconsin ( Milwaukee and Green Bay). Henry is a big source of information on new and unusually marathons/ultras around the country. My tenth lap is finished at 1:01 about 7.3 miles. It is almost impossible to know where you are. I have been passing my three fiends about every other lap. They are running with or near each other, which is not uncommon. I finish 19 laps at 1:55 (13.8 miles). I am still feeling great and I am still passing many runners each lap. Near mile 19 I start feeling pain in my right hamstring. Here I start cutting back, since I still have a long ways to go. I am still passing a lot of runners. Nearing the marathon distance, about 4:30,I am pretty sore the pain in my right leg comes and goes. I am still able to maintain my pace and walk breaks. I do add a third walk break, that has helped me. At the end of my 39th lap Donna arrives. She is early. It is really helpful to just to have her there. More than she realizes. After my 40th lap I am thinking about stopping after 43 laps to get my ultra and it would give me time to go home and have Donna get rid some of this soreness before going to work. I did to think about Lewis and Clark on Sunday too. The next three laps are a little slower, not to bad time wise, but soreness is around my right knee too. Raul Flores, the time keeper, is someone I have ran trails with before. He is also from the Kansas City area. I ask Raul for my count of laps. They have me at 40 laps, but it may not be complete. I go for another lap instead of waiting. At the end of this lap his count is 44 laps and I told him that I am cashing it in. One of the officials tell me that I am in 1st place, which surprises me at first, but a lot of runners have stopped. My time is around 5:30, but I did not really look. It just was not important at the time. It was a miserable day with all the rain, but I liked it, since it never rained hard for long. The wind could of went somewhere else. I felt, that I was the only one not over dressed. I felt it really helped me the last 15-20 laps, when I took off my running singlet. When we get home it is about 6:15 and I have an hour before leaving from work. Donna puts Bio-freeze on my legs and fixes me a dinner of a Sweet Potato (one of my favorites) with nothing on it, the way I like it, mixed vegetables, and a soy burger. Along with my favorite tea, Earl Grey. Boy, did I feel much better. I could of pushed myself for 50 laps and went to work afterwards, but in the big picture I made the correct choice. I got my ultra and another display of love from Donna. One guy at work told me he hates driving 32 miles to work each day. He cannot see how anyone can run that far. I tell many more runners do it than you think. He is the same age as me and works right next to me. He says he does not think he can run and he is not going to try. I let him know that my life is not complete without running. Donna knows how I am when I am injured and cannot run. Next is Lewis and Clark on September 14th, in St. Charles, MO. I hope to break 5:00. It has been raining and overcast for the third day in a row and it is not to stop until Monday the 15th. Hopefully the rain is light and the wind not strong. Well, Donna thinks I should get ready for our trip. TomD

Another great race, Tom. You have some pretty impressive friends and that's saying a lot when one considers what you've done and continue to do. Good luck tomorrow. TomS

Off to work after that!! Wow, amazing. And that is pretty cool that you were in first place before you quit.

Amazing TomD....simply amazing! Thanks for sharing this. Happy Anniversary to you and Donna! CNYrunner/Karin

Wow, that is amazing! And you make it seem so normal and natural. Its great when you have someone to take care of you, too. huskydon