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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Race #128 - Cotton Row Run 10k - Huntsville, Alabama - 05/30/11

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This Memorial Day we were back in Huntsville for the Cotton Row Run, the last stop for the Running Journal Grand Prix season. It was already hot and steamy at 7:30 a.m. for the start of the 10k, and the heat was even more oppressive for the 9:00 a.m. 5k start, which Linda ran. Not too far into the first mile I considered just dropping out since I had a lead in the 55-59 age group of more than 100 points in the Grand Prix, but I figured instead I'd just take it a little easy and walk all of the water stops, which is what I did. I think all of the walking might have helped my time since I ended up winning my age group in the race with a time of 44:42. It was a minute or so slower than last year's time when I finished 3rd in my division but the heat seemed to take a lot out of the other runners as well. The Cotton Row Run has been a Memorial Day fixture in Huntsville for more than 30 years and is one of Alabama's premier road races. With around 4,000 runners in the 10k and 5...
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Race #117 - Get Your Rear in Gear 5k - Charlotte, NC - 03/05/11

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Today was a big running day for the Hefner family. Not only did Linda run her first race after a layoff of a couple months due to knee pain, but our 30-year-old son Dave ran his first 5k race ever. It was the first time Dave had even been to one of our races. Yep, it took 117 races before he managed to make it out to see his parents' weekly near-death experience. One of my main reasons for becoming a runner was to inspire our kids and grandkids to become more health-conscious, and Linda and I are both elated that Dave's getting an idea of why we've become so enamored with running and racing... it's fun! This was only the 2nd year of the Get Your Rear in Gear 5k in Charlotte, and with 1,400 finishers in the race this year it looks like it's one of the fastest growing races in town. The hills weren't terrible but there were quite a few ups and downs throughout the race. I lined up near the front and talked with Steve Staley, who always gives me a hard time wheth...
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Race #187 - York Summerfest 10k - York, SC

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I'm really thankful that I'm able to run when so many people my age can't (or won't) run, so even though this was a less-than-perfect racing experience for me, just keeping things in perspective it was really an enjoyable experience. The weather was as perfect as it could be. A lot of friends came down from the Gaston County Runners and for my wife Linda it was her first race in the 60+ age group after graduating to genuine old lady status last week, and she won a beautiful plaque for coming in first place in her age group in the 5k. For me, things weren't quite so rosy. There are very few unpardonable sins that a race can commit, but this one managed to achieve that dubious distinction. By unpardonable I mean I won't be back next year, or the year after that, or ever again. In 187 races it's only the second one to have reached that status. I've been in races before where one or more runners have accidentally gotten off course for some reason. Th...
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Race #519 - Goat Island Games 5k - Cramerton, NC - 05/07/22

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Like last year, this race was again too long by around 0.15 miles. The new 5-mile race was also long by about a quarter of a mile. In addition, there were 5-year age groups, which is good, but they stopped at age 60, which is not so good. Even worse, when they gave out the awards for the 5k they gave awards for the 60-64 age group instead of 60-and-over, so anybody 65 or over was just completely ignored. I was actually 3rd among the 60-and-over runners, but 3rd place was awarded to a 62-year-old who was behind me. This happened for both male and female runners in the 5k, although in the 5-miler they were included. At 70 years old, I think there should be 5-year age groups up to 80-and-over. Does anybody ever wonder how much harder it is for a 70-year-old to run a race than it is for a 20-year-old? Fifty years makes quite a bit of difference. Despite those complaints, I still like the race. It's close to home and Goat Island is a great place for a 5k race. There was also a professio...
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Race #212 - Run for the Money 5k - Gastonia, NC - 04/20/13

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It's nice to finally be settling in for some local races after all the traveling we've been doing for the past few months. This week's race was in our hometown of Gastonia, and it's the biggest local race of the year. This time around there were 1,235 finishers in the competitive 5k race and hundreds more in the 2k walk. The unique thing about this race is that in each 10-year age group the 1st place finisher gets to direct a $500 donation towards any local participating nonprofit group of their choice, and 2nd place directs $250 towards their choice. For the second year in a row I ran for Career Management Group (CMG), one of the lesser known nonprofit groups. They run Gaston Residential Services (GRS), which provides housing for handicapped adults. Linda's twin sister has been one of their clients for many years and they've done a beautiful job over the years in helping her to be as independent as possible despite being debilitated with cerebral palsy. She...
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