Bob the runner

The Daytona Beach Half Marathon was a real thrill for me!  Not only did I PR (1:55:06) but my family was also there to celebrate with me which made it extra special.  My Dad, brother, and sister-in-law lapped the track (2.5 miles) and my cousins Ken and Karen Woellert walked the half marathon.  Everyone finished under the required time limits so we all had reason to celebrate!   Race morning started at 4am as the alarm clock yelled for me to get up.  I left my parents house about 430am and headed toward the race track.  Traffic was minimal and I arrived at gate 40 of the race track about 450am.  It was dark out and I was tired and anxious until driving through a tunnel and onto the infield of the race track.  I'm not a NASCAR fan but seeing the motor homes, the race track, the stands and realizing I was on the infield of the Daytona 500 race track kinda took my breath away.  I instantly became very excited and couldn't wait to park the car and look around. Being an early bi

I'm Bob from Arvada Colorado and I like to run.  The first time I ran, when not required, was after leaving the Air Force in 1981.  My buddy Mike Lowry suggested we run and so we did.  I'm not really sure why we ran back then or how far we ran but it was never about running races.  Thinking back, the first race I ran was in 1994.  I did a couple 5K's that year and then ran the Bolder Boulder 10K.  My time was 55:55.  Some folks I worked with were into running and exposed me to running races.  Once I ran the Bolder Boulder I was hooked.  For many years I couldn't get beyond 10K without getting injured.  Then in 2011 I ran my first half Marathon, the Rock and Roll Denver Half Marathon.  I was hoping to finish in under 2 hours but ended up finishing in 2:06:19.  OK, now I was mad and was not going to settle until I ran a half in under 2 hours.  I was challenged to say the least.  In 2012, I kept running but hadn't scheduled another half marathon when my wife suggeste