Charlotte Observer Running Blog Features The Old Runner


If you’re a runner in the Charlotte area you most likely already know about the popular Charlotte Observer running blog, “Run, Theoden, Run,” which is written by local running enthusiast and Observer entertainment editor Theoden Janes.
Theoden was very kind in profiling me in his blog today and in case you missed it here’s a link so you can read it…
Thanks Theoden!

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The Finish Line

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After 15 years of having fun (mostly) at the races, it's finally time for me to hang up my running shoes. The last race I blogged about was #574, but I ran two more after that: the Ocean Isle Beach Half Marathon on October 25, 2024, and the Police Donut 5k the following week on November 2, 2024. After the half marathon, I felt generally fine, but the following week, I began having some back pain. I managed to run the Donut 5k without too much of a problem and felt pretty good despite having to eat a half dozen donuts halfway through the race. The day after the donut race, I took the day off since my back was hurting, and my right leg had also become painful. To make a long story short, over the next couple of weeks, I became unable to walk or even stand without extreme pain. I ended up seeing an orthopedic surgeon, who did an MRI that revealed a stress fracture in my right tibia, and a spine doctor, whose MRI showed a severely pinched nerve at L4. I ended up in a wheelchair for the...
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Race #574 - Rocktoberfest Half Marathon - Rock Hill, SC - 10/12/24

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Earlier this year, I decided it would be fun to run 26 half marathons for the year, one every two weeks. I had started the year off recovering from hernia surgery last November 30th, which was followed by six weeks with a Foley catheter. Two weeks after the catheter was removed I ran my first half marathon and felt great just to be somewhat back to normal. At 72, I'm slower than ever, so I felt the need to challenge myself to stay motivated, and I thought it would be fun to at least try to run more half marathons than I've ever run previously in a year. In 2015, I ran 16 half marathons, the most I'd run in any year. This was my 16th for 2024, and I'm registered for two more, so I should surpass my previous record, but the goal of 26 has recently hit a snag. Hurricane Helene devastated the North Carolina mountains, where my next two half-marathons were scheduled. We're not in the mountains but are close enough that the hurricane affected us, and on the morning my Dav...
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Race #509 -- Novant Health Lake Norman 15k/5k -- Cornelius, NC -- 09/26/21

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Back in 2009 when I first ran this race it was called the Lungstrong 15k/5k and it was one of the Charlotte area's major racing events. That year there were 929 finishers in the two races combined. Last year (2020) the race was canceled because of Covid and there seems to be a hesitancy for people to come back to the races. In the fall of 2019, just before the pandemic, the race size had fallen off some but there were still about 700 in the two races. Anticipating a packed parking lot, I headed out early to get a good parking spot but I arrived to find an empty parking lot so I had plenty of choices. The parking lot never did fill up, and as we lined up to start the 15k a few minutes before the 5k began, there wasn't a lot of need to jockey for position to get near the starting line. It turns out there were fewer than 200 runners in the two races combined this year (130 in the 15k and 66 in the 5k). That's disappointing, and it leaves me wondering if there will be a next ye...
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Race #462 — 08/03/19 – Eagles Scholarship 5k – Concord NC

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A lot of races are held at the beautiful Frank Liske Park in Concord, which is great if you don’t mind unpaved but smooth trails. I’m not a trail runner but this type of trail is not a lot different from running on roads as long as it’s not muddy. This was the 5th year of this race and they really should take a different approach for the awards. The top age group was 50-and-over and they only went 1-deep. Worse than that, the overall winners also won awards for their age groups… double dipping. Somebody please clue these people in. Race Name: NCCU Eagles Scholarship 5k Location: Concord, North Carolina Date: August 3, 2019 Race Rating: 66 Winners (Top 10 Overall): Course: Elevation: Weather at Start: Click Here for Race Results Click Here for Race Finish Video on YouTube My Stats: Time: 23:35 Pace: 7:35 Age Group (50-and-over): 2 of 14  Overall: 8 of 90 Average Heart Rate: 155 Maximum Heart Rate: 170 Age Grade Percentage: 72.44% R...
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Race #474 -- Novant Health Lake Norman 15k/5k -- Cornelius, NC -- 09/29/19

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I've run this race several times previously back when it was the Lungstrong 15k and I always ran the 15k until this year. With my self-imposed limit of 10k I decided the 5k would be better for me this time around and when it was over I was glad I chose the shorter distance. The temperature was warm for this autumn race that's usually on the cool side, and the 72 degrees felt fine to me although the 100% humidity made things a little more difficult. It's a pretty big local race with 327 finishers in the 15k and another 349 in the 5k, and when I arrived an hour before the race I was surprised at how many runners were already there. Guess I'll have to leave a little earlier next year. I wanted to run under 23 minutes but I didn't quite make it, finishing in 23:19, but I was happy with being 14th overall. Race Name:  Novant Health Lake Norman 15k/5k Location:  Cornelius, North Carolina Date:  September 29, 2019 Race Rating:  94 Winners: Course (5k...
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