Jesse Davis and Jackie Dikos represented Personal Best Training in the 2012 Olympic Trials Marathon in Houston on January, 14^th.  Both Jesse and Jackie had a frustrating time managing freakish injuries during their trials buildup and ran very close to what I thought  was the best for which we could hope.  Jesse was 68^th of

Lucas McCabe, Kenny Nichols, Liz May, and Amy Herrin ran the Tecumseh Trail Marathon on Saturday.  Returning from his Monumental Marathon success Lucas placed 2nd on the trail with a 3:08:21.  This is almost a half hour slower than last month on the roads.  This should give you an idea of the trail difficulty and why this course is something that helps runners remember their Tecumseh experience for a long time.  Great jo

It was a very special and memorable weekend of racing.  Saturday was the Monumental Marathon and Half Marathon.  Blake Roberson found the 4^th time was the charm as he figured out the marathon and was able to finish with his fastest miles of the day and lead the yellow Athletic Annex singlets across the finish line in 2:40:42 (PR).

The Marine Corps Marathon beat me in 2006 so I wanted revenge when I went back to try again this year. I'll call the result a draw! I ran the first two miles 30 seconds per mile slower than my goal pace and made it through the first 8 miles of hills without doing too much damage to my legs.

Coach suggested that we give race reports here in hopes that any race, good or bad, can be a helpful learning tool for others. I know I've learned a lot reading about and hearing about others' races. I hope this proves to be helpful to someone down the road.

The highlights this week come from Indianapolis, Columbus and Grand Rapids.  The weekend started on a very good note with Lucas McCabe winning the Indianapolis Half Marathon in 1:17:04.  Art Letzler was just a few minutes behind in 1:22:16.  Lisa DeVries had a top 10 finish in 1:36:31.  All 3 plan to run the Monumental Marathon in 3 weeks.  Cindy Reynolds completed her first half marathon on the hills and in the wind in

Lack of clear directions cost Aziz the win in Columbus.  He was on pace for a sub 1:04 half marathon close to the finish when things went wrong.  Here is a link to an article about this and the other races yesterday in Columbus.

Sunday's was my 6th Chicago marathon and my lucky 13th marathon overall (6 Chicago, 5 Boston, NYC, and Tecumseh). Not sure what my favorite marathon is but I certainly know it's not Tecumseh and I'm not in love with the bridges of NYC although I want another shot there. I love Chicago for the crowds, location, spectator friendly course, and how fast the course is. I prefere to run in early October over November due to my peak training is usually mid August. As most of us are now aware of, it's hard to wait until November when you're ready in September.

I ran the Chicago Marathon this past Sun. Oct. 9, 2011. This was my first marathon and I am extremely pleased with myself to have completed it. I am not a fast runner, finishing in 5:26:11, but am none the less pleased to have completed it! I have had knee issues for about the 4 weeks leading up to the marathon, so was not sure how I would do. I decided to give it my best shot as I had invested so much time and effort in the training and decided I would finishing walking if I had to. I was able to run the whole thing!