I have talked a lot about the World Marathon Majors and thought I would take some time this week to explain more about this marathon challenge.

In 2006 Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York kicked off this series of marathons and offered the top male and female marathoners in the world each $500,000.  The goal is to advance the sport of marathoning, raise awareness of its athletes and increase the level of interest in elite racing among running enthusiasts.  These five marathons have much in common:

Each attracts an international elite field of both women and men

Each has a mass participatory field completing the same course as the elites

Each takes place in a major international market

Each has a history of 25 years or more

Each is considered among the very best of all marathons

Together these marathons attract more than 5 million on-course spectators and more than 250 million television viewers.  More than 300,000 runners apply to run in these marathons with 150,000 participating.  More than $80 million dollars are raised for charity.

In addition to these 5 races two other events are included: the IAAF World Championships Marathon and the Olympic Marathon.

Runners earn points by finishing in the top 5: first place yields 25 points, followed by 15, 10, 5 and 1 for second through fifth place respectively.  Points are tallied over a 2 year period with the top female and male runners each receiving the $500,000 prize.  Two year scoring periods overlap allowing for champions to be crowned each year.

To get a little flavor of the elite runners competing and the excitement of these races click on the link below:

http://www.worldmarathonmajors.com/US/videos/9/

Be Healthy

Howard                                                Miles:   1020.6    Steps:   1,487,745

Isaiah 40:31

For last couple years the Boston Marathon has used the theme - “It’s All About the Promises”.  The idea behind the theme was the many promises made that brought runners from around the world to take on this historic race.  Those promises included:

   I am determined to beat my own time

   I will make the best run I can

   I will turn my run into money toward a cure

   I will prove 26.2 is in me

   I’ll achieve something I never thought possible

   I will make my own dream come true

   I have survived the worst and run again

With Christmas being this week the theme “It’s All About the Promises” works well for us in our CSI schools as well.  God fulfilling his promises by having Jesus come to earth; bringing hope for every person.  As you gather this week with family and friends may your celebrations of this promise fulfilled be rich and meaningful.

Be Healthy

Howard                                                Miles:   1020.6    Steps:   1,487,745

Isaiah 40:31

That’s what I told Myra repeatedly in the late winter of 1999.  She had decided that she wanted to take up running but to do so she wanted me as a running partner.  As I mentioned before in this blog I used to not like running and that was the case in 1999.  But Myra kept asking.  Working in her favor was the fact that my metabolism had been starting to slow and my weight had started creeping up. Because of that I knew I had to become more intentional about my physical activity.

Chris Theule, one of Unity Christian High School’s cross country coaches at the time gave Myra a 12 week walk/run program to help her get started. The program involved 30 minutes of walking and running with the first day being 14 minutes of walking and 1 minute of running followed by another 14 minutes of walking and 1 minute of running.  Gradually the walking time was reduced and the running time increased until at the end of 12 weeks you end up running for 30 minutes straight.

Eventually I caved in to Myra’s request and we headed out on our 12 week journey.  While I don’t recall the running being fun it was nice to head out into the streets of Hudsonville and have 30 minutes together at the start of our day.  Finally we arrived at the big day - 30 minutes of running with no walking.  I still vividly recall stopping at the end of our driveway after successfully running for 30 minutes.  Myra turned to me and said “I don’t like running I think I will just take walks instead.”  Well my thought was that I had just invested 12 weeks into working up to 30 minutes of running and I didn’t want to lose that so I decided to keep running.  And so for the next couple of years I did; 4 days a week 3 miles at a time.

Today Myra and I laugh about how she had to “twist my arm” to get me to run with her and now I am the runner and her preferred exercise is walking.  If you would like to try a similar program to the one Myra and I did Runners World has an 8 week program at -http://www.runnersworld.com/cda/smartcoach/beginner/0,7146,s6-238-277-278-0,00.html

In 2001 my friend, Mark Baumann, ran the local 25K River Bank Run.  That got me to thinking about trying such a challenge.  So I spent the winter of 2002 training and in May 2002 I ran my first 25K River Bank Run.  I found the challenge of training to be stimulating and loved the race itself.  Since then I have completed the River Bank Run each year.  If you get a chance I encourage you to participate in this very well run race.  Having run in world class marathons I can attest that this is a world class event. There is also a 10K run, 5K run and 5K walk.   You can get more information by linking to their website - http://www.53riverbankrun.com/

After a few years of the River Bank Run the lure of taking on a marathon started pulling at me.  In 2005 Laura, my oldest daughter, and I decided to train for a marathon.  We set our sites on the Bayshore Marathon in Traverse City, Michigan.  The Bayshore is held each year on the Saturday of the US Memorial Day weekend.  In 2005 the weather was cool and sunny and all went well for me.  I ended up qualifying for Boston which if you are a runner is an opportunity that is hard to pass up.  So my marathon training continued and I ran Boston the spring of 2006.  By now running had become a part of my life and so I continue today.

I’m not sure where in this process I transitioned from disliking running to thoroughly enjoying it.  I do know that there are a number of reasons why I like being a runner.  Perhaps a subject for a future blog.

Running Quote:

“You have to wonder at times what you’re doing out there. Over the years, I’ve given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement.”
- Steve Prefontaine

Be Healthy

Howard                                                Miles:   987.1    Steps:   1,439,520

Isaiah 40:31

Today I start training for Boston and London.  Since the New York Marathon I have taken it a bit easy, running 3 or 4 days a week and putting in 15 - 20 miles a week.  But now it is time to “get back to work”.

I need to train a bit different for Boston and London than I needed to for the Berlin - Chicago - New York series.  I have structured this training to have 2 big weeks in a row followed by a smaller week of training.  Hopefully this will get me prepared for Boston and London being in back to back weeks.

My training plan is built from Hal Higdon’s Advanced-I Training Plan.  A native of Chicago and an accomplished runner, Hal Higdon serves as a running training consultant.  His training plans, ranging from 5K’s to Ultra Marathon’s, are used by many runners and can be found at http://www.halhigdon.com/.

The training schedule I will be using consists of easy runs, tempo runs, hill workouts, marathon pace runs and long runs.  Each run has a distinct purpose.  The easy runs are days of semi-rest and fall on Sunday’s and Tuesdays for me.  Tempo runs start slow and build up the speed until  the pace gets close to 10k race pace.  After holding that pace for a while the pace gradually slows down. Tempo runs train your body to sustain speed over distance.  Hill workouts involve running up a hill about 2/10th of a mile long at about all out effort, jogging down and repeating a number of times.  Hill workouts build strength.  Marathon pace runs are run at the pace you hope to run the marathon in.  These runs help your body get used to running this pace.  Long runs help build endurance and will range from 11 to 22 miles in my training program.  Thursdays I take as a rest day and do no running.

A challenge of training for a spring marathon is winter weather.  While I am not a fan of treadmill running, Myra and I do have a good quality treadmill that serves as a backup if the roads are too slick.  Hopefully I won’t need to put in too many miles on the treadmill.

Healthy Humor:

A man had been driving all night and by morning was still far from his destination. He decided to stop at the next city he came to and park somewhere quiet so he could get an hour or two of sleep. The quiet place he chose happened to be on one of the city’s major jogging routes. No sooner had he settled back to snooze when there came a knocking on his window. He looked out and saw a jogger running in place. “Yes?” “Excuse me, sir,” the jogger said, “do you have the time?” The man looked at the car clock and answered, “8:15.” The jogger said thanks and left. The man settled back again, and was just dozing off when there was another knock on the window and another jogger. “Excuse me, sir, do you have the time?” “8:25!” The jogger said thanks and left. Now the man could see other joggers passing by and he knew it was only a matter of time before another one disturbed him. To avoid the problem, he got out a pen and paper and put a sign in his window saying “I do not know the time!” Once again he settled back to sleep. He was just dozing off when there was another knock on the window. “Sir, sir? It’s 8:45!”

Be Healthy

Howard                                                Miles:   952.6    Steps:   1,386,916

Isaiah 40:31

Myra and I just became grandparents!  On Saturday November 22, 2008 our kids Laura and Craig were blessed with a healthy baby girl, Kamryn Lyn Peters, our first grandchild.

Of the various roles in my life I have found parenting to be one of the most fulfilling. Now as I move into grandparenting I have high hopes and expectations for my role as a grandfather.

The picture above was taken shortly after we found out that Laura and Craig were expecting a child.  They broke the news by handing Myra and I a running shoe box.  Inside was a onesy outfit that said, “If Mommy says no, ask Grandma”.  Also inside was a pair of infant running shoes.  I took those shoes along to the Boston Marathon last spring for a bit of inspiration.  This photo is a picture of those shoes on the Boston finish line.

Running is a lot about actual footsteps; but as I took this photo I reflected on symbolic footsteps.  I wondered if this new grandchild or perhaps any other grandchildren God may give us would follow in my footsteps and someday cross this Boston Marathon finish line.  If so I hope I will be able to be on hand to witness and cheer.

But there are other much more important footsteps that I hope Kamryn Lyn or other grandchildren will follow; just as I have followed in many of the footsteps of my parents and grandparents.  My greatest desire is for my grandchildren to seek God, to accept Jesus as their Saviour and to live a life that honors and glorifies God.  That’s a race and journey of much more importance than any marathon.  It’s a race for each of our grandchildren that Myra and I plan to be involved with.  We will need to work hard to keep that race a priority amongst the many “races” we can choose from.  Running marathons has helped show me that a key to having success with priorities is time.  For Myra and I to succeed as grandparents we will need to be intentional and devote a significant amount of time to that role.

For those of you who are parents or grandparents I wish you success as you too discern what is most important and strive to devote the time needed to succeed at that priority as you run your race and help your children and grandchildren run their races.

“Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”  Deuteronomy 11:19

“Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly.”  I Corinthians 9:26

Be Healthy

Howard                                                Miles:   893.6    Steps:   1,296,874

Isaiah 40:31

The marathon used to be shorter than the current 26.2 miles.  For the 1908 Olympics in London about 2 miles were added. Legend has it that this was done so that the finish line could be in front of the royal family’s viewing box.  This prompts some weary marathoners today to sarcastically shout out at mile 24 - “Long live the Queen!”

The origin of the marathon distance ties back to the supposed run from the town of Marathon to Athens by Greek messenger, Pheidippidies.  After completing the run without stopping he announced victory in battle and then collapsed and died.

When the modern Olympics were being developed the organizers wanted a popular event that would help recall the glory of ancient Greece.  The decision was made to have a long distance foot race approximating the distance from Marathon to Athens.  The marathon distance varied in the first seven modern Olympics.  In 1921 the decision was made to use 26 miles and 385 yards for future marathons.  This is the same distance used in the 1908 Olympics in London.  However, how the 1908 distance was chosen is not as good a story as the legend tied to the Queen.  The initial plan was for a route of about 25 miles.  After publishing the route in the newspaper suggestions for changes came flowing in.  The final plan settled on a route of 26 miles to the Olympic stadium followed by an additional 586 yards for a lap around the track.  A last minute change to give spectators, including the Queen, a better view of the final yards resulted in the distance in the stadium being reduced to 385 yards.

The 1908 Olympic marathon was a dramatic finish between Italian Dorando Pietri and Irish-American Johnny Hayes. Pietri finished first after falling several times on the final lap in the stadium. However Hayes was awarded the gold medal because officials assisted Pietri across the finish line.  In the following years Pietri and Hayes had several rematches all using the 26 mile 385 distance.  In 1921 the International Amateur Athletes Federation set the standard distance for the marathon at 26 miles 385 yards, or 42.195 kilometers.

The exciting finish of the 1908 Olympic race set off world-wide excitement for the marathon.  Today hundreds of thousands of individuals have run a marathon and each year they have more than 800 different marathons to choose from.

Running Quote

“I always loved running…it was something you could do by yourself, and under your own power.  You could go in any direction, fast or slow as you wanted, fighting the wind if you felt like it, seeking out new sights just on the strength of your feet and the courage of your lungs.”  Jesse Owens

Be Healthy

Howard                                                Miles:   893.6    Steps:   1,296,874

Isaiah 40:31

A time of rest can be a great thing.  Since crossing the finish line at New York I have not run a single step.  A week of rest from running has been good both physically and mentally.  After running a hard marathon its a good idea to take some time off from running to help your body recover.  Getting back into running too soon can cause injuries.  Mentally a week off has also been healthy for me.  My 6 days a week of training was starting to wear on me.  I find that a small break from running every so often helps me keep running long term.

It reminds me of our Christian faith walk where God offers us a weekly sabbath - a regular time of rest.  A weekly day of rest to help us stay focused and energized in living lives that honor and glorify God.

Looking ahead I know that sometime in December I will need to begin the training for the Boston and London marathons.  Between now and then I need to figure out a training program that will help me accomplish two marathons within six days of each other.  In the meantime I will start easing back into running this week.

I hope your efforts at being healthy are going well for you.

     “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”  Isaiah 40:31

Be Healthy

Howard                                                Miles:   878.6    Steps:   1,274,476

Isaiah 40:31

Well The Big Apple yielded a very nice surprise…but more on that later.

As Myra and I hopped on a plane to head for New York City Friday morning I was excited to be getting a chance to run the New York City Marathon.  On occasion I get to New York City and I really enjoy the city.  In addition several times I have been able to go for runs in Central Park.  Central Park, along with Stanley Park in Vancouver, British Columbia, are a couple of my favorite places to run.  So to now go and run the marathon which ends in Central Park was a treat.

On Friday we went to the expo and picked up my race packet and wandered through the vendors many of which were also at Berlin and Chicago.  Later we checked out the finish line area in Central Park.  This finish line was quite different than Berlin or Chicago.  Both of those were on wide flat streets whereas the New York finish line is on a curvy rolling street with trees providing a canopy overhead.  You don’t have a clear view of the finish line until about a hundred yards out.

Myra decided she would be able to walk to the 16 1/2 mile mark and the 25 and 1/2 mile mark where we would try and find each other during the race. 

Saturday I got in my last 2 mile training run - in Central Park of course.  After a trip to Ground Zero, in an effort to help me stay off my feet, we went to the Broadway musical, Mary Poppins. Then it was my usual pre-marathon dinner of pasta and marinara sauce and early to bed.

Marathon day was cool and sunny with a brisk wind out of the northeast.  The temperature at the start was 5 degrees Celcius/41 degrees Fahrenheit and the high for the day was 9 degrees Celcius/48 degrees Fahrenheit.  The 15 mph wind presented a challenge because for most of the course we would find the wind in our face rather than pushing us along from the back.  Much like with Boston all the runners are bused or ferried to the starting area on Staten Island.  Once there it’s a couple hours of sitting, standing in porta potty lines, talking to other runners, retying shoe laces and more standing in porta potty lines. I was in the first wave of runners and needed to be in my starting corral by 9:00 shortly after which we moved out onto the approach to the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.  At 9:40 the gun went off and the race began.  Well sort of…actually the race has eight starts beginning with athletes with disabilities at 7:30, wheelchair division at 8:35, handcycle division at 8:55, elite women at 9:10, five borough challenge at 9:15, elite men and wave start 1 at 9:40, wave 2 at 10:00 and wave 3 at 10:20.

The women’s race was won by Paula Radcliffe from England and the men’s race by Brazil’s Marilson Gomes dos Santos.  These leaves Martin Lel of Kenya and Irina Mikitenko of Germany capturing the top spots in the 2007-2008 World Marathon Majors and pocketing a tidy $500,000 each.

Riding out to the starting area on the bus I was still trying to figure out how fast to try and run the race.  I really wanted to break 3 hours and 30 minutes. While it is not well publicized the New York City Marathon has some qualifying standards that gives you guaranteed entry into the race and avoids the lottery system.  For someone age 50 the time is 3:30.  In addition to this goal I was toying with trying to beat my personal best time of 3:13:46 set in the Grand Rapids Marathon back in 2006.  However, while waiting in the staging area and talking to experienced NYC Marathon runners who said this is not a course to get your fastest time on, factoring in my just having run Berlin and Chicago and noting that we would be facing a stiff head wind I decided not to try for a personal best time.  

Before the race I had printed up pacing chart wrist bands, one for a 3:29 race and one for a 3:13 race.  Each band showed what time I needed to be at each mile mark to be on track for the goal time.  I thought of discarding the 3:13 pace band but ended up leaving it on.  I set my gps unit for a 3:21 race figuring I would go out a little quicker and then if my legs decided to go on strike at about the 20 mile mark I hoped to have enough of a cushion to still get 3:30. 

The first mile of the course was all uphill as we climbed the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.  The field was a bit crowded with runners jockeying for position in hopes of achieving their own predetermined winner circle goals.   As we rolled over the top of the bridge and headed down the other side the pack picked up speed.  As the field spread out I ran at a pace that I thought was a bit faster than I needed for 3:21.  I tend to do that early in a marathon because I’m not sure I can trust the gps to be accurate and I find that in a crowded marathon you actually run a bit more than 26.2 miles because you can’t use the inside lane on all corners as in done when marking out the course.

At about 6 miles I happened to check my time against the 3:13 pace band and was surprised to see I was right on track for a 3:13 race.  Even though I was feeling good I told myself to slow down as I was concerned my legs would now give out even earlier and jeopardize the 3:30 goal.  At ten miles I was still at 3:13 pace and still feeling really good.  I knew that at miles 15 and 16 I would face the Queensboro bridge and I expected that challenge to knock my pace back a bit. As I came off the Queensboro bridge I was disappointed to not find Myra in the crowd.  Heading up 1st Avenue to the loudly cheering spectators I wondered what mile 17 would show about my time.  As I crossed over the 17 mile chip mat to the sound of high pitched beeps indicating that the runners times were getting recorded I was surprised to see the Queensboro Bridge had not set me back at all.  As miles 18 and 19 clicked by I started to give serious thought to a change in my plan.  When mile 20 came and I was still on track for 3:13 I decided to go for a personal best time.  They say the half way point of a marathon is at 20 miles.  I knew that going for a personal best time would be painful and that the hills of Central Park still lay ahead. But I also knew I may never have this chance again and I would regret not trying.

As I hunkered down to finish the race I wondered what Myra and our kids were thinking as they kept track via computer and cell phone.  I had told them that I was not going to try for a personal best time but by now they had to know something was up.  Each mile was quickly getting harder and I had to focus my energy on trying to maintain pace.  As I reached each miles aid station I made sure to get my 5 - 6 swallows of water.  With a little over 2 miles to go we swung into Central Park and I was still on track.  At about mile 25 1/2 I ran right past Myra without seeing or hearing her shouts of encouragement, another disappointment.  At 26 miles I finally knew I could hang on and get a personal best time.  As I came up the last hill the finish line came into view around the corner and the clock confirmed my hopes.  I crossed the finish line very surprised and very satisfied with a new personal best time of 3:12:00.

One of the things I like about running is I can set goals and challenge myself.  It helps keep my day to day fitness running interesting.  I’m also blessed that my fitness routine lets me participate in great events like Berlin, Chicago and New York. When a personal best time gets thrown in it is even more special.  And as with all my life I seek to glorify God in my running.

Oh, and before I sign off one more thing.  Remember the donor who challenged me by offering $100 for every race in which I qualify for Boston?  Well they also threw me the challenge that if I set a personal best time they would donate additional dollars.  So along with the $100 for this Boston qualifying time they are graciously sending in another $312.00 to recognize my time of 3:12:00.  My thanks to them for providing funds to help encourage physical activity for our students and provide for the development of academically rigorous and Biblically based learning resources for the Christian School classroom.

By the way, if you would also like to join with us you can do so by clicking here and donating online to our CSI Annual Fund.

Be Healthy

Howard                                                Miles:   878.6    Steps:   1,274,476

Isaiah 40:31

The Big Apple.  Chicago showcased its neighborhoods.  The New York City Marathon showcases its five boroughs.  Starting in Staten Island the course moves to Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and then on to the finish in Manhattan.

More than 100,000 hopeful runners applied to be one of the 40,000 who get the chance to take on one of the worlds great road races.  Most are not trying for a share of the $600,000 in prize money but all want to excel before the 2 million cheering spectators and 315 million world wide television viewers.

This year the New York Road Runners (NYRR) club celebrates its own 50th birthday by once again hosting one of the worlds largest marathons.  They have brought the race a long way from the first event in 1970 when 55 runners crossed the finish line.

With growth comes change.  This year New York implements wave starts.  Beginning at 9:40 am each wave will release about 13,000 runners in 20 minute increments.  The goal is to alleviate wait time at the start and congestion throughout the race.  Wave starts seem to be a growing trend in large marathons beginning when Boston caused some ripples by adding this concept for the first time a couple of years ago. Another change is happening with the chip mats.  In addition to the typical mats at the start, half-marathon, finish and every 5 kilometers New York is adding chip mats every mile between mile 16 and the finish.  Chip mats record when each runner crosses a mat by way of a “chip” worn on a shoe of each marathoner.  Chip mats help ensure runners complete the entire course and also let spectators track where a runner is during the race via email, text messages or internet tracking.

In addition to the 5 boroughs the course crosses 5 bridges.  The bridges are significant in that the largest “hill” on the course is the Verrazano-Narrows bridge and reaches an elevation of 250 feet.  The rest of the course fluctuates between sea level and 100 feet of elevation.  The final miles throw the rolling hills of Central Park at the tired legs of all runners before the finish at the Park’s Tavern by the Green.  100 live bands will be stationed along the course to keep all of us runners marching to the beat of many different drummers.

My taper continues to go well.  The muscle soreness from Chicago is gone.  With less than a week to go the training miles left are few.  Since I am feeling good I am now starting to give thought to how fast to try and run this race.  I would like to come in under 3:35 again.  But having run Berlin and Chicago in the last 5 weeks I don’t know what to expect.  I learned in Chicago that the legs tire out quicker when they have just carried me through a marathon in the last couple of weeks.  I will wait to see what the weathers like and how the rest of the week goes.

I mentioned earlier that the NYRR is also celebrating 50 years.  Both of our celebrations have one goal in common - encouraging fitness in children.  Over 1200 marathoners raise funds for the NYRR Foundation.  These funds enable tens of thousands of children to participate in running based fitness programs.  I applaud them for that and ask each of you to encourage fitness in the children you know…and what better way to do that than to lead by example.

Running Quote:

“It’s elevating and humbling at the same time.  Running along a beach at sunrise with no other footprints in the sand, you realize the vastness of creation, your own insignificant space in the plan, how tiny you really are, your own creatureliness and how much you owe to the supreme body, the God that brought all this beauty and harmony into being.”
  - Sister Marion Irvine, 2:51 PR and 1984 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier

Be Healthy

Howard                                                Miles:   837.4    Steps:   1,217,407

Isaiah 40:31

…and I’m liking it.

Back in June on Fathers Day my training got under way for this World Marathon Majors challenge.  Since then the weekly miles have been building and peaked during the weeks of the Berlin and Chicago marathons.  The day after Chicago I began my typical three week taper with the New York marathon as the end point. (Actually it wasn’t exactly my typical taper.  To help my legs recover from Chicago the first couple days I scaled back the miles more than my training schedule called for.)

Runners have a lot of varying opinions about tapering.  What type of running should be done in the taper, how many days the taper should last, does the taper help or hinder.  The taper in a training schedule is essentially a gradual reduction in the number of miles while keeping the training pace intensity and types of workouts the same.  The goal is to have the runner fresh and strong at the starting line.

Some runners don’t like tapering.  They feel it may leave them under trained or sluggish.  But for me I like the taper and find it helpful.  It’s a time to catch my breath between lots of tough training and the challenge of a marathon.  Tapering leaves me feeling like I am at peak condition when the gun goes off on marathon morning.

So I am enjoying the fewer miles and shorter workouts.  Adding to the enjoyment is being in San Diego for a few days.  This morning I was able to enjoy a nice run by the ocean.

If you have a fitness routine hopefully you too find ways to add variety and get recharged so you can stay motivated and committed to your health.   

By the way, following the Chicago marathon the leader board for the World Marathon Majors has changed a bit.  With her win in Chicago, Lidiya Grigoryeva of Russia has moved up into third place.

2007/2008 Series

Men

Martin Lel                   Kenya            76 points

Robert Cheruiyot        Kenya            55 points

Haile Gebrselassie      Ethiopa         50 points

Women

Gete Wami                  Ethiopia         65 points

Irina Mikitenko           Germany        65 points

Lidiya Grigoryeva        Russia           55 points

Healthy Humor:

               A novice runner entered the New York City Marathon.  The race started and to his embarassment he soon found himself to be the last of the runners.  To make matters worse the guy in front of him kept making fun of him.  At one point the mocker looked back and said, “Hey buddy, how does it feel to be last?”  The novice runner replied, “You tell me” and dropped out.

Be Healthy

Howard                                                Miles:   777.4    Steps:   1,128,358

Isaiah 40:31