• Medal for the Tunnel of Light marathon in front of the Snoqualmie Falls

    Looking for the Light at the End of the Tunnel

    Join us this week as we unpack the incredible journey our kidney donor athlete underwent to qualify for the Boston Marathon. Through a tough path, he went looking for the light at the the end of the tunnel at the Tunnel Light Marathon. The Long and Short of it “Great moments are born from great opportunities.” – Herb Brooks The Short Version: Did the work. Believed. Crushed the goal. The Long Version: Although the short version sums up what happened, I hope you’ll take the time to read this. So many feelings and emotions about the buildup and this race that I’m not sure I have the words to adequately…

  • Sculpture of a yellow unicorn, which a man peeking behind it

    Boston Marathon 2024 Recap

    Usually after a race, especially a big one, I can’t wait to sit down and write a race recap to share with y’all. I’m not really sure why it took me three months to get around to writing about this year’s Boston Marathon but here ya go. I hope you enjoy reading about it much more than I did running it this year. Good Beginnings The day of the race always requires an early alarm. We were fortunate to stay with some new friends in Cambridge at a great little Air BnB. Although Patrick and I were taking different routes to the start line, it was nice that we got…

  • Woman holding a beer and showing off her tee shirt that has a shamrock on it and the word "Shenanigans"

    Boston on the Holy Day of St. Practice

    As you may recall, we found ourselves having the weekend of St. Patrick’s Day completely free of obligations. Last week we talked about the plan we hatched to drive the snakes out of South Boston (otherwise known as drinking a lot of beer at Irish Pubs.) This week we will explore the fun that can be had when you’re in Boston on the Holy Day of St. Practice. But first, a little run Since we were up unreasonably early, we decided to kick our day off with some exercise. The mister headed down to the treadmill, while did a little solo urban exploration. I’m not much of a runner these…

  • Man in running clothes standing between a woman dressed as the Genie in a I Dream of Jeannie and a man dressed as the astronaut, Major Nelson

    Beating a Genie to the Finish Line

    Greetings Friends! Even though Halloween is just around the corner, we are going to take a break from all things scary to share Stephen’s race report from this last weekend’s Cocoa Beach Half Marathon. So let’s unpack our bags and talk about beating a Genie to the finish line. I Got No Plans Following my pacing gig at the Chicago Marathon two weeks ago, I didn’t really have any plans to run any more races this year. With my heart related health issues, my training has been sporadic at best. But then…I got a text from my friend, Phil on Wednesday. He wanted to know if I’d be interested in running…

  • Medal from the Berlin Marathon in front of the Brandenburg Gate

    Surprising Things We Learned about Berlin

    With the Berlin marathon fast approaching, I thought it might be fun to do a little post mortem on the surprising things we learned about Berlin. What we already knew Now I had NEVER been to Germany and Stephen hadn’t been since he was stationed there back in the early 90’s. So we knew SOME things like: But there were a LOT of things about Berlin that surprised us. Like… 1. It’s prettier and greener than we expected Maybe it was because of all the Jason Bourne-esque / spy thrillers that show Berlin as this industrial, post-cold war, gray, concrete city, but I was a really surprised at how beautiful…

  • Image of a woman with her arms held up under the chrome statue known as the Bean

    The Best of the Windy City

    Whether you’re heading to Chicago to run the marathon or you’re planning to do a little shopping on the Magnificent Mile, our recommendations for the best of the Windy City will help you know where to go, what to do, and even better…what to avoid while you’re there! First up…let’s talk food Where to go Il Culaccino Walking distance from McCormick Place, Il Culaccino is a great escape from the pace of the Convention area. Not only is the food is excellent, they have a great patio to enjoy on a warm day AND it is decorated with pictures from mob movies! Who wouldn’t like a little al dente pasta…

  • Statue of Paul Revere riding a horse with the old North Church in the back ground. There are a line of trees on either side between the two

    The Very Best of Beantown

    Maybe you’re in town for the fun run from Hopkinton to downtown Boston. Or maybe you’re a sports fan and want to make your way to Fenway. Whatever the reason, let us help you plan your trip with the very best of Beantown. First up…where you should eat The Union Oyster House Do you know how many times we visit the Union Oyster House when we’re in Boston? EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. It’s THAT good. You can choose to eat family style in the dining room but we usually choose to pull a couple seats up to their cozy bar and talk “running” with all the athletes nearby. They have a…

  • Woman standing in a red telephone booth

    London – the Rest of the Story

    Though we were in London for the marathon, we did make time to see a few fun sites about town before we had to skip back across the pond. Of course, we did manage the secret bar crawl in the evenings during the week, but we took advantage of THE WHOLE day Saturday and we want to share the highlights with you. So grab a cup of your favorite beverage and join us for a look at London – the Rest of the Story. First…Finally saw Ben in ALL his glory So this wasn’t our first time in London. In fact, this was third time I attempted to see Big…

  • Image of a pint of light beer with a Tokyo Marathon Finishers medal on it. The bar beneath it is marble.

    How to Celebrate Surviving a Marathon while Concussed

    Our journey through Japan is coming to a close and in case you missed it, last week we shared about the “Great Cookie Toss at the Tokyo Marathon”. This unfortunate incident was caused by a significantly small room and one wrong move. But this week we want to share with you how to celebrate surviving a marathon while concussed. Hopefully you’ll never need to apply this to your life, but just in case, be sure to book mark this page. The Victor Returns Cold, concussed and triumphant, Stephen made it back to the crevice after completing the Tokyo Marathon in 3 hours and 20 minutes. After he unpacked the story…

  • Tokyo Marathon Finishers Medal in front of a cherry blossom tree

    The Great Cookie Toss at the Tokyo Marathon

    If you’ve been traveling with us on our journey through Japan, you know that each day has been leading us closer to the reason we were there. We visited grand toriis; drank sake in a roof top igloo. We played with snow monkeys and rode on fast trains. It’s been an amazing ride but now we need to unpack the great cookie toss at the Tokyo Marathon. First, remember the Collision at the Crevice In case you missed it, let me recap. Our hotel room in Tokyo was small. How small was it? If it were any smaller, the bidet could have doubled as a shower. It was so small…