Thursday, March 03, 2005

HISTORY OF ZEKE - PART 1 - THRU COLLEGE

So why read my blog? No, I’m not trying to qualify for the 2008 Olympic Trials marathon or shed light on how to lose 50 lbs through running or write about some quest to run 300 miles without stopping. I’m just a “normal” runner looking to improve my race times. I’m 35 and have been running since I was 10. 25 years later I still have a passion for this sport and a passion to see how fast I can get before father time slows me down.

I know what you’re all thinking. How fast is this guy? What are his PRs? At least that’s what I think when I read info about a runner. The thing about how fast someone is, is that it’s all relative. I consider myself to be a decent runner. I’m faster than most people, but there are lots of people faster than me – and those are the ones I compare myself to.

I ran x-c and track in high school where I finished with 1600 and 3200 meter PRs of 5:01 and 10:52. I spent the next 4 years in the Navy where I spent less time running and more time playing basketball – my first love. One day while sitting at sea I was thinking about what all sailors think about – where else I'd rather be. While contemplating whether I should re-enlist or get out and go to college, a shipmate of mine, who was a runner too, convinced me to get out of the service, go to college and run x-c and track again. 6 months later I was at UW-Eau Claire (W is for Wisconsin), trying out for their x-c team. Luckily this division 3 college didn’t cut runners from their program. I was there from 1992-96 and while I was never a force I was able to drop my PRs to 9:40 (3k), 16:50 (5k), 28:00 (8k x-c) and 34:57 (10k).

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