I found myself reading a story about the USA Olympic Marathon Team looking at the Akron Road Runner coarse for their trial run. It gave me the idea that at age 39 I was going to run my first marathon. The farthest I had ever ran before this was 3 miles. With the blessing of my wife Jen, my two children Tori 3 yrs old & Collin 19 mo. old, I started my quest to accomplish my goal. I started my training program with the help of Vinnce Rucci February 28, 2006. I ran one mile. I am currently running with the Saturday running group, and try to make it to the Monday evening trail 101 runs as well. My first 5K I ran in 26:26 and took 3rd place in my age group. I ran my first Rite Aide Cleveland 10K in 54:48, and just completed half of the Buckeye Trail 50K in 3 hours 10 minutes. I am looking forward to running the full 50K next year. I am currently running 30+ miles a week and I am keeping my pace at a 10-minute mile. I also need to mention I am a Chef and worked with Vince and Melissa Rittenhouse, Sports Nutritionist, to create a cooking demo & nutritional information seminar for the Vertical Runner’s Training Group. Thanks to my wife I have been able to keep up with the demand of my training schedule, and with help from everyone at Vertical Runner I am determined to run and finish my first marathon in September 2006.
Chef Bill Bailey
