Marathon Dog

Say hi to the Marathon Dog.

Who? Moi? Nah, I just got to wear Alpha's medal when he (finally ;-) got home.

No, this time, Alpha's the marathon dog. As in dog-tired and dog-slow (hee, hee)


Here was Alpha at the beginning of the Königsschlösser Romantik Marathon in Füssen, Germany.

Doesn't he look so happy? If only he knew ...


So here is his first rude awakening.

Of course, you want to keep your running shoes dry -- after all, you'll be in them for 26.2 miles.

And this was at mile 5!


Oops. That would be rude awakening #2.

What the heck -- they are already wet, right?


OK, now we have a different rude awakening. That's right, Alpha had been in front of the 4:00 hour pacemaker.

But ... not any more!

He never saw that dude again ... ever ;-)


Oh look -- more water!

So this time they run a water pump and put in planks to run on.

How thoughtful (hee, hee).


Well, do you know what this all means?

It means it is time for some more photos. If you can't run fast, you might as well enjoy the views.

Oh yeah, that and the lack of adequate training and dead-tired legs.


And that view, my friends, is why we run. Beautiful church with Neuschwanstein Castle in the background.

Awesome. And Alpha at least finished the race. Just don't ask him for his time (hee, hee).

No pictures of Alpha racing you say? Well, right you are. So here are some additions from the photographers along the course:


Oh Alpha. Glad to see you really made it!

Looks like he did it again ...

That's right -- he ran another marathon. This time in lovely Lucerne, Switzerland (and I got to come along!)


Here's Alpha at the start. Notice how he is smiling, seemingly oblivious to the upcoming 42.195 km (hey, we're in Europe donchaknow).


Well now take a look at him. He'll be lucky to beat that guy. Only about a mile more to the finish line now.

And how did Alpha do? Well, his goal was to break 4 hours. And he did it -- he ran in 3:54, which was 17 minutes faster than his previous PR and 21 minutes faster than his last marathon. So I'd say a hearty woo-hoo is in order. That's my alpha ;-)

Run, Alpha, Run

Guess who just finished his second marathon? Woo-hoo Alpha!

Alpha ran in the 2nd annual Eugene, Oregon marathon, and did pretty good (4:11), and a notable improvement over his first marathon (4:28). He had hoped to do even better (sub-4:00), and ran a very fast (for him) half marathon (1:51), but for anyone that knows distance running, that's a recipe for a crash and burn at the end. Apparently so!

But we're proud of him anyways ;-). And being his training partner, I intend to enforce some discipline in preparation for his 3rd marathon in Lowell, MA this fall.

Perhaps you can see the entry name he used for this race ... "Alpha". And he's wearing his running shirt that Alli gave him with pictures of moi on it, that says "Run, Alpha, Run." Anything I can do to help!


Oh yeah, and it looks like there were lots of people. Well, not like Chicago, New York, or Boston, but still about 5,000 I'm told.

Oh yeah, and do any of you remember Dan, my Dog God Father? He ran the marathon also. He's even faster than Alpha (3:46 for what I believe is his 12th marathon), and not to proud to wear his finisher's medal either, is he? (Hee, hee) I liked seeing Dan!

That's my marathoner

Guess what. If you are reading this post, it can only mean one thing. Alpha actually dragged his old bag 'o bones across the finish line in the Portland, OR marathon.

Congratulations from your favorite training partner ;-)

OK, Alpha, that makes ONE! Good start.

Now, I'll expect to see you on the trail as soon as you get home!

For those that are interested, Alpha has posted some photos from the marathon:


This shows the early morning start, and just a fraction of the runners. Wow.


Here's Alpha before the race begins. Note the smile (hee, hee). Actually, I understand he was smiling most of the way (but then, we know he's a nut).


It had been bretty crummy weather in Portland this week -- but check this out, the sun came out (fortunately, only briefly). But really, the weather was perfect for running. And no rain!


This is the "big hill" in the Portalnd Marathon (really, not all that big). Yet, you can see quite a few folks walking. Alpha wanted me to pass along that HE never walked at all. Ran the whole thing (woo-hoo).


Here's the bridge that the hill leads up to. That was kinda cool.


And here is the view from the bridge -- really purty.


Ahhh, the finish line. Alpha's time was actually a little better than what you see there. So many people ran, that they gave each one a "chip" that went on their running shoe, and their official time was recorded whenever they ran over the start and finish line. For the record, his was 4:28:31.