Running Year In Review

"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift." - Steve Prefontaine

In 2012, I vow to train my ass off and quit making excuses.  I know that I can compete on a higher level, but only if I put in the dedication and effort.

Marathon PR Times & Avg Marathon Times
Year	PR Marathon	PR Date	PR Time	Pace	Avg Time
2008	Philadelphia Marathon (PA)	2008/11/23	4:39:42	10:40	4:50:44
2009	New York City Marathon (NY)	2009/11/01	3:56:07	9:00	4:20:51
2010	Houston Marathon (TX)	2010/01/17	4:05:11	9:21	4:36:15
2011	Portland Marathon (OR)	2011/10/09	3:36:53	8:16	4:01:58
2012	Myrtle Beach Marathon (TX)	2012/02/18	3:26:29	7:52	3:36:27
Lifetime	2012 Myrtle Beach Marathon (TX)	2012/02/18	3:26:29	7:52	4:16:08

*Marathon indicates road marathons and excludes trail marathons and ultras.

I ran my first marathon in 5:00:15, back in 2008.  I went on to PR the first five marathons I ran (and first 6 out of 7).  It took until my 15th marathon to break 4 hours, at the 2009 Asbury Park Relay Marathon, with a time of 3:59:41, with the help of Marco Cheung & Mike Moschitta who helped pace me.  Two weeks later, I bested that time with a 3:56:07 at the 2009 New York City Marathon.  In 2010, you can see that I regressed.  That was mainly due to coming off a calf strain injury (from the Beast of Burden Summer 100) and focusing on conquering the 100 by running many doubles (and not focusing on marathon times).  I regained my form in 2011 by running 14 sub-4's (6 in 6 straight weeks, all in different states + Germany), and setting 5 new PR's.  I experienced a major breakthrough at the 2011 Berlin Marathon with a 3:38:21 marathon with a huge help from Steven Thunder Lee who paced me for the second half of the race, helping me to negative split.  I lowered that PR, two weeks later, at the 2011 Portland Marathon with a time of 3:36:53, despite being halted momentarily by a passing freight train.  As for my average marathon times, if I didn't run any doubles (2 marathons in 2 days), my average would be significantly lower.

100 Milers
Year	PR 100	PR Date	PR Time	Pace	# of 100's
2010	Javelina Jundred (AZ)	2010/10/23	28:23:21	16:47	1
2011	Jerseyville Fat Ass 100 (ON)	2011/04/23	27:12:00	16:19	2
2012	Rocky Raccoon 100 (TX)	2012/02/04	29:21:23	17:36	1
Lifetime	2011 Jerseyville Fat Ass 100 (ON)	2011/04/23	27:12:00	16:19	4

*100 Milers used to indicate traditional distance-based 100's and excludes timed races.

I tried to break 26 hours at 2011 Umstead 100, 2011 Beast of Burden Summer 100, 2011 Javelina Jundred 100, & 2012 Rocky Raccoon, but for unexpected reasons like injury and torrential rains, my efforts were thwarted.  Again, my ramped up more rigorous training in 2012 will prove to yield faster results, barring injury and freak weather conditions.

24 Hour Runs
Year	PR 24 Hour	PR Date	PR Distance	Pace	# of 24 Hour 100's
2010	20in24 (PA)	2010/07/17	80.224 miles	17:56	0
2011	NorthCoast 24 (OH)	2011/09/17	104.79 miles	13:44	2
2012
Lifetime	2011 NorthCoast 24 (OH)	2011/09/17	104.79 miles	13:44	2

After placing 10th overall at 2011 FANS24 and 29th overall at the 2011 USA Track & Field 24-Hour National Championships (NorthCoast 24), my eyes were opened to what I am potentially capable of.  I will try my best and make the most of 2012 for my running and improve upon my results.

Total Marathons & Ultras
Year	Marathons	Ultras	Total	New States	New Sub-4 States
2008	3	0	3	3	0
2009	18	2	20	11	2
2010	19	6	25	9	0
2011	23	11	34	13	11
2012	5	1	6	2	5
Lifetime	68	20	88	38	18

2011 was a successful and prolific year in which I was fortunate to have traveled to many states and countries (Hong Kong SAR, Japan, Canada, & Germany) for running, shared lifelong memories with the best of friends, met a lot of inspirational and quality individuals, and set PR's in all distances from a marathon and up (50K, 50M, 100K, 100M, & 24hr).  I also achieved Marathon Maniacs 10-Star Titanium status and have made it into a couple press articles (Examiner.com and Pavement Pieces).

I am now on pace to run my 100th marathon + ultra at Comrades on 6/3/2012.  I am also set to finish my 50 States quest on 12/9/2012 at the Honolulu Marathon in Hawaii with my one of my best friends and impressive runner himself, Steven Thunder Lee.

Total Yearly Mileage
Year	Miles	Miles/Week	Race Miles (%)	Training Miles (%)
2008	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
2009	756.50	14.55	697.85 (92.25%)	58.65 (7.75%)
2010	1,115.19	21.45	1,023.09 (91.74%)	92.10 (8.26%)
2011	1,563.70	30.07	1,424.76 (91.11%)	138.94 (8.89%)
2012	Goal: 3,000.00	57.70	1,470.00 (49.00%)	1,530.00 (51.00%)

My training miles above are very shameful, and I have no one to blame other than myself.  Many of my race-time bonks could have been avoided with adequate training.  I have made it a resolution to train hard in 2012 and not lose "the gift" as Pre calls this gift of running, see the quote at the top of this entry.

After being inspired by my friend & VCTC + USATF teammate Michael Arnstein aka The Fruitarian, and watching his The Fruitarian YouTube channel, I became inspired to incorporate running more into my daily life.

In particular, this video made me realize this and provided me with the passion to love training and not disdain it:
"Exercise Each Day As If Your Life Depends On It!"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tQA3Tvkg_s
You don't have to be a fruitarian to take in his message of a healthy lifestyle.  I no longer view "training" as a chore.  I now use it as a mode of transportation to get from place A to place B, as part of my daily life.

I have started my #RunStreak on 12/25/2011 (it ended on 2/6/2012 after Day 43 due to a sprained toe sustained at 2012 Rocky Raccoon 100, but restarted on 2/9/2012), by running 10 miles with my running buddy Jim Pease and have kept it going since.  The idea of a #RunStreak was first introduced to me by my friend Dave Shannon from Minnesota.  The next time you think, "It's too cold to run outside today", try thinking about Dave and him keeping up a #RunStreak up in St Paul, MN!

With increased training miles in 2012, I anticipate faster road marathon times and better 100 mile & 24 hour results.  Big things are in store!  It is all thanks to friends making me accountable for my training now and to useful tools such as DailyMile and my Garmin watch, to push me to run further and more frequently.

50 States + DC and 7 Continents

Running marathons is fun and all, but there are so many out there to choose from.  Take a look at how marathoning has exploded in the U.S. the past 3 years since I started running them, according to MarathonGuide:
 - 2008: 477 marathons
 - 2009: 501 marathons
 - 2010: 620 marathons
 - 2011: 710 marathons
In 2000, there were only 220 marathons in the country!  In the span of a decade, the number of marathons has nearly tripled, and this doesn't even take into account ultramarathons, which have increased with an even more upward trajectory.

So, with so many races, how does one go about choosing which to run?  From my PoweredByDimSum running club teammates, I had heard of their marathoning adventures in various states and countries.  I decided to focus on knocking off states and becoming a 50 States Marathon Club Finisher.  Right from the get go, my first three marathons were all in different states.  In fact, my first 10 marathons were all in different states + DC+ Quebec Province.  After knocking off those initial 3 states (NY, IL, & PA), finishing Dean Karnazes' 50/50 book (about running 50 marathons in all 50 states in 50 days), and becoming a Marathon Maniacs member, my quest to run all 50 states became solidified.  Since childhood, I wanted to visit all 50 states and had been tempted to start collecting those state-shaped tourist magnets to commemorate each visit.  Luckily, I never started up such a collection, and could now use marathon/ultramarathon finisher's medals as state visit mementos.  I would say that's better than a refrigerator magnet collection!

I began marathoning on 9/20/2008.  With my marathon finish in Baltimore, MD, a year later (on 10/10/2009), I had run my 10th state + DC, thus qualifying me as a member of both the 50 States Marathon Club and 50&DC Marathon Goup!  As soon as I returned home from that marathoning weekend (which also happened to be my first marathon double: Baltimore+Steamtown), I sent my 50 Stater paper application and my 50&DC paper application to become an official member of each group.

After joining the 50 States Marathon Club, don't forget to also join their 50StatesMarathonClub Yahoo Groups email list:
http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/50StatesMarathonClub/

Although it is a bit more difficult to finish 50+DC, there is less fanfare attached to it when compared to completion of the regular 50 State circuit.  The 50 States club is more active and visible.  You'll see 50 Staters in their 50 State gear on most marathon courses, but that is not the case for the 50&DC.  Many members are in both clubs, as am I.  Membership in either club does not preclude the ability to join the other; they are not mutually exclusive.

Had it not been for US Air, I would have already celebrated my 25th state finish (Charleston, South Carolina), but that is a whole other story.  My 50 State progress looks like this:
2008: 3 States (NY, IL, PA)
2009: 11 States + DC (LA, DC, DE, VT, MT, NJ, WI, MD, VA, IN, GA, NV)
2010: 9 States (FL, TX, CA, NH, ME, CT, RI, AZ, TN)
2011: 13 States (MA, AR, AL, NC, KS, MN, WA, ID, CO, OH, WV, OR, MO)
2012: 14 States is the goal in order to complete the 50 States
Total: 36 States + DC

An easy way to keep track of which states I have run, I use this 50 States Map Maker: "Map Maker Utility" hosted on a Texas A&M server (http://diymaps.net/).  To see my personal 50 States Map, click here.  A lower resolution version of the map also appears at the top of this blog entry.

Now that I have run 24 States + DC (roughly mission halfway accomplished), I have reflected back on which particular races I would recommend for the states I have already run in the list below.  Likewise, I have done the same for those questing to run a marathon/ultra on all 7 Continents, to become a Seven Continents Club finisher.

The greatest part about my 50 States+DC & 7 Continents quest is the fortunate experiences I have had being able to visit all the great places, domestically and globally, and meet such inspirational people hailing from backgrounds so different than myself.  This quest definitely instills in you a better sense of what "America" truly is and the cultural vastness and sheer raw beauty that this land of ours has to offer.

As I continue to run races and receive feedback from other runners, I will continue to revise both of the below lists.  Also, new marathons spring up all the time, so those might be better options in the future.  We shall see.

Kino's Recommended 50 States Marathons / Ultras
[States & races that I have run and recommend are in bold.  The others were recommended by others, or ones I selected based on my own research.  Currently finished with 38 states + DC.  Updated as of 02/21/2012.]
AL - First Light Marathon, Rocket City Marathon, Mercedes Marathon
AK - Frank Maier Marathon
AZ - Javelina Jundred 100M (Trail)
AR - Little Rock Marathon
CA - Western States 100 Endurance Run (Trail), Death Valley Trail Marathon (Trail), Big Sur International Marathon (Natural Beauty), LA Marathon (Big City)
CO - American Discovery Trail Marathon (Trail), Pikes Peak Marathon (Trail), Leadville Trail 100 (Trail), Hardrock 100 Endurance Run (Trail)
CT - Hartford Marathon
DC - National Marathon
DE - Delaware Marathon
FL - Miami Marathon
GA - Atlanta Marathon
HI - Honolulu Marathon, HURT 100 (Trail)
ID - Pocatello Marathon
IL - Chicago Marathon
IN - Indianapolis Monumental Marathon, Tecumseh Trail Marathon (Trail)
IA - Des Moines Marathon
KS - Oz Marathon, Eisenhower Marathon, Heartland 50/100 (Trail)
KY - Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon, Ironman Louisville (Ironman), Land Between The Lakes 60K (Trail)
LA - Rock 'n' Roll Mardi Gras Marathon
ME - Maine Marathon, Mount Desert Island Marathon
MD - Baltimore Marathon, JFK50 (Partially Trail)
MA - Boston Marathon
MI - Detroit Marathon, Grand Island Trail Marathon (Trail)
MN - Twin Cities Marathon, FANS 12 & 24 Hour Runs (Timed Ultra)
MS - Tupelo Marathon, Mississippi Blues Marathon
MO - GO! St Louis Marathon
MT - Missoula Marathon
NE - Lincoln Marathon
NV - Death Valley Trail Marathon (Trail), Red Rock Canyon Marathon, E.T. Full Moon Midnight Marathon & 51K
NH - New Hampshire Marathon
NJ - Ocean Drive Marathon, Atlantic City Marathon
NM - Jemez Mountain Trail Runs 50K & 50M (Trail), Run the Caldera Marathon
NY - NYC Marathon, Beast of Burden Summer 100 (Trail)
NC - Umstead 100 (Trail)
ND - Fargo Marathon
OH - NorthCoast 24-Hour Endurance Run, Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon, Akron Marathon, Burning River 100 Mile Endurance Run (Trail)
OK - Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon
OR - Portland Marathon, Crater Lake Marathon, Eugene Marathon
PA - Steamtown Marathon (Partially Trail), Philadelphia Marathon, Back on My Feet 20in24 Lone Ranger Ultra Marathon (24 Hour Ultra, Pavement)
RI - Newport Marathon
SC - Myrtle Beach Marathon, Kings Mountain Marathon 
SD - Deadwood-Mickelson Trail Marathon (Trail), Crazy Horse Marathon (Part Trail), Lean Horse 50K, 50M, & 100M (Trail), Black Hills 100 (Trail)
TN - Harpeth Hills Flying Monkey Marathon
TX - Houston Marathon
UT - Wasatch Front 100 Mile Endurance Run (Trail), St George Marathon
VT - Vermont City Marathon, Vermont 100 Endurance Run (Trail)
VA - Marine Corps Marathon, Grant-Pierce Indoor Marathon
WA - Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Marathon, Cascade Crest 100 Mile Endurance Run (Trail)
WV - Freedom's Run (Marathon), Highlands Sky Trail Run 40M (Trail)
WI - Green Bay Marathon, Sandbox Indoor Marathon (Indoor Trail)
WY - Bighorn Trail 100 Mile Endurance Run (Trail)

Kino's Recommended 7 Continents Marathons / Ultras
Africa - Comrades Marathon 89K (56M Road)
Antarctica - Antarctic Ice Marathon & 100K (Trail), The Last Desert (250K 6-Days Trail), McMurdo Marathon (Trail), Antarctica Marathon (Trail)
Asia - Tokyo Marathon
Europe - Berlin Marathon, London Marathon, Paris Marathon, Edinburgh Marathon
North America - NYC Marathon, Javelina Jundred 100, Back on My Feet 20in24 Lone Ranger Ultra Marathon
Oceana - Buller Gorge Marathon, Gold Coast Airport Marathon, Sydney Marathon, Solar Eclipse Marathon
South America - Maratona do Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro Marathon)

50 Sub-4 Marathon Club Aspirations

50<4 Club Apparel

With today (2/3/2011) being Chinese New Year's and the Year of the Metal Rabbit, speed comes to forethought.  Though my primary goal when running a road marathon is to successfully finish and avoid a road marathon PW ("personal worst", which for me is 5:00:15 set at my first marathon, 2008 Yonkers), my secondary goal is to run it as fast as I can when possible, and to PR (setting a "personal record", which many refer to as a PB or "personal best") it ideally.  Scheduling (e.g. running doubles or too soon after a 50/24hr/100) and course elevations prevent this from happening oftentimes, and those are the times I like to run with a camera and document my journey.  However, when I can pull off a fast race, it feels great to finish ahead of half of the race field.  What I personally define as fast is running a marathon in under 4 hours, the elusive "Sub-4" finish for many of us.  So during this year of the Rabbit, I hope to run in that sub-4 realm once again and maintain consistency while running road marathons in various states, something that my friend and Powered By Dim Sum teammate, Wei Chen, is adept at accomplishing.

Wei is one of 93 members of an elite group of marathoners (along with 50 Stater/Marathon Maniacs friends Steve Boone and Mark Ott) who are members of  the 50sub4 Marathon Club.  The meaning behind 50sub4 is: completion of a marathon in all 50 states in under 4 hours for each marathon.  Though simply running a Sub-4 is impressive, it is something that most marathoners are capable of.  What makes a 50sub4 finish so alluring is that it rewards speed, consistency, longevity, and logistical planning skills.

While regular 50 States Marathon Cub admittance is irregardless of finish time (you only need to finish a marathon/ultra in 10 different states and pay annual dues to become a regular member), the exclusive 50sub4 Marathon Club requires 10 states to be run in a sub-4 marathon time, in order to be admitted as a regular (non-finisher) member.  Once all 50 states are completed, a member is considered a "finisher".  The club makes available its Current Membership Roster (93 members) and its Finishers Roster (12 finishers).

Of those 93 members, there are only 12 (there are more in this world, but only 12 have actually registered to join the club as members) who have completed this difficult 50sub4 task.  The most recent finisher was fellow 50 Stater/MMer Gary Krugger, who finished both the 50 states and 50sub4 on 10/30/2010 at the 5th Annual Spinx Marathon in Greenville, SC.  That race was also significant because Gary's Maniacal girlfriend, and also fellow 50 Stater/MMer, Morgan Cummings, became the youngest woman to finish 50+DC.  Gary is more of a sub3 marathoner, the likes of Joe Bowman, and has a legitimate shot at the more prestigious and daunting task of becoming a 51sub3 club member!  As far as I know, there are only 2 members (Joe and Toby Skinner) of this elite club, maybe 4 if Maniac "Marathon Junkie" Chuck Engle and Michael Wardian have both completed the task?

As mentioned earlier, when running marathons, my primary goal is finishing, which goes along with my primary focus of becoming a 50 State Finisher.  However, it would be nice if I could start reeling off more Sub-4 state finishes.  I have made it a secondary goal of mine, when attempting to conquer the states.  This 50sub4 goal will take much longer than simply finishing a tour of the 50 states.  While the 50 states circuit is expected to take me 5 years to complete (2008-2013?), finishing all 50 states in a sub-4 time will require roughly 10-15 years (if all goes well).

Currently (as of this blog posting date, 2/3/2011), of my 41 marathon finishes (not counting my 9 ultras), I only have 2 sub-4 states completed.  Surprisingly they occurred within a 3 weekend span, with a 4:00:28 finish (missed a sub-4 by 29 seconds) at MCM in between.

PR's By State
Sub-4 State Count: 18 (as of 02/18/2012, these states are listed in bold.)
AL - 3:52:07, 2012 First Light Marathon, 1-for-1
AK - ?
AZ - 14:54:48, 2011 Javelina Jundred (100K Trail)
AR - 3:58:37, 2011 Little Rock Marathon, 1-for-1
CA - 4:35:08, 2010 LA Marathon, 0-for-2
CO - 4:27:04, 2011 American Discovery Trail Marathon, 0-for-1
CT - 4:43:26, 2010 Hartford Marathon, 0-for-1
DC - 3:54:03, 2011 National Marathon, 1-for-2
DE - 4:20:37, 2011 Fortitude For First Descents Marathon, 0-for-2
FL - 3:39:52, 2012 Miami Marathon, 1-for-3
GA - 4:10:55, 2009 Atlanta Marathon, 0-for-2
HI - ?
ID - 3:54:33, 2011 Pocatello Marathon, 1-for-1
IL - 4:52:16, 2008 Chicago Marathon, 0-for-1
IN - 4:14:27, 2009 Indianapolis Monumental Marathon, 0-for-1
IA - ?
KS - 3:52:49, 2011 Oz Marathon, 1-for-1
KY - ?
LA - 4:35:36 2009 New Orleans Mardi Gras Marathon, 0-for-1
ME - 4:48:54, 2010 Maine Marathon, 0-for-1
MD - 3:43:13, 2011  Baltimore Marathon, 1-for-3
MA - 5:27:00, 2011 WMAC Fat Ass 50K (31M)
MI - ?
MN - 24:00:00, 2011 FANS 24 Hour Run (102.89M)
MS - 3:35:33, 2012 Mississippi Blues Marathon, 1-for-1
MO - 3:55:14, 2011 Rock 'n' Roll St. Louis Marathon, 1-for-1
MT - 4:34:36, 2009 Missoula Marathon, 0-for-1
NE - ?
NV - 3:58:08, 2011 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon, 1-for-3
NH - 4:55:18, 2010 New Hampshire Marathon, 0-for-1
NJ - 3:59:43, 2009 Asbury Park Relay Marathon, 1-for-1
NM - DNF, 2010 Jemez Mountain Trail Runs 50K
NY - 3:56:07, 2009 NYC Marathon, 1-for-4
NC - 11:49:51, 2011 Umstead 50
ND - ?
OH - 24:00:00, 2011 NorthCoast 24-Hour Endurace Run, 104.79 miles
OK - ?
OR - 3:36:53, 2011 Portland Marathon, 1-for-1
PA - 3:48:17, 2011 Pocono Mountain Run for the Red Marathon, 1-for-4
RI - 4:27:06, 2010 Newport Marathon, 0-for-1
SC - 3:26:29, 2012 Myrtle Beach Marathon, 1-for-1
SD - ?
TN - 4:41:13, 2010 Flying Monkey Marathon, 0-for-2
TX - 3:28:18, 2012 Houston Marathon, 1-for-2
UT - ?
VT - 4:11:17, 2009 Vermont City Marathon, 0-for-2
VA - 3:39:15, 2011 Marine Corps Marathon, 1-for-3
WA - 3:59:39, 2011 Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Marathon, 1-for-1
WV - 3:56:39, 2011 Freedom's Run, 1-for-1
WI - 4:03:09, 2009 Lakefront Marathon, 0-for-1
WY - ?

PR's by Country
Sub-4 Country Count: 2 (as of 12/04/2011, these countries are& listed in bold.)
CANADA - 4:34:38, 2009 Marathon Oasis de Montreal, 0-for-1
GERMANY - 3:38:21, 2011 Berlin Marathon, 1-for-1
HONG KONG - 4:11:17, 2011 Hong Kong Marathon, 0-for-1
JAPAN - 4:11:10, 2011 Tokyo Marathon, 0-for-2
USA - 3:26:29, 2012 Myrtle Beach Marathon, 1-for-14

Sub-4 Continent Count: 2 (as of 2/18/2012, these continents are listed in bold.)
Asia - 4:11:10, 2011 Tokyo Marathon, 0-for-3
Europe - 3:38:21, 2011 Berlin Marathon, 1-for-1
North America - 3:26:29, 2012 Myrtle Beach Marathon, 1-for-15

50&DC Marathon Group - 2011 Humanitarian Award Recipient

2011 HUMANITARIAN AWARD
Awarded by the 50 States & D.C. Marathon Group.
[This article was originally written by Frank Jobe and featured on the 50&DC Marathon Group website (http://www.50anddcmarathongroupusa.com/awards.cfm) on 12/29/2010. For the purposes of this blog, it has been revised below.]

[2010.12.25] Photo taken by Richard Chung in front of the Tortoise and Hare statue at Van Cortlandt Park in The Bronx, New York City.

When you hear the term cancer, any thoughts you may have will likely be unpleasant ones.  When you hear the term pancreatic cancer, your thoughts may become grimmer yet, possibly along the lines of "low survival rate" or "short life expectancy after diagnosis".  Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death with a five-year survival rate of 6% (mortality rate of 94%).  According to the National Cancer Institute, over 43,000 Americans were estimated to have been diagnosed with the disease in 2010 with roughly 37,000 losing their lives.  75% of patients die within the first year of diagnosis.  The average life expectancy after diagnosis with metastatic disease is just three to six months.

The disease is hard to detect because of the location of the pancreas—it is deep in the abdomen and the symptoms are often vague.  There are no early detection or screening methods as there are with colon, breast or prostate cancer.  The mortality for pancreatic cancer is so high because patients are typically diagnosed when the cancer has already spread to other organs.

Pancreatic cancer is a leading cause of cancer death largely because there are no detection tools to diagnose the disease in its early stages when surgical removal of the tumor is still possible.  Early diagnosis and early treatment are two areas that need to be improved upon.  However, more funding for pancreatic cancer research is needed to enable scientists to fulfill these two research goals.  Despite being the fourth leading cause of cancer death, pancreatic cancer research funding was not one of the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) 10 Most-Funded Cancers.  The NCI spent an estimated $89.7 million on pancreatic cancer research in 2009.  This represented a mere 2% of the NCI’s approximate $5 billion cancer research budget for that year, which constitutes the bulk of the U.S. federal government's cancer research funding dollars.

Low funding hinders scientific progress.  94% of pancreatic cancer patients die within five years from their diagnosis; a statistic largely unchanged in the past nearly 40 years.  In fact, pancreatic cancer is the only one of the top 10 cancer killers that still has a five-year survival rate in the single digits.  Additionally, in the same time frame, the five-year survival rate for all forms of cancer has risen from 50% to 68%, and some cancer survival rates are now 90% or above.  The sad truth is that there are few survivors to advocate for more research funding.

This year's recipient of the 50 States & D.C. Marathon Group's Humanitarian Award is Hideki Kinoshita, an individual who has lost two loved ones to this disease.  His concern for effects of this disease and his love for running were coupled together in a quest to run 14 marathons in 13 weeks.  He partnered with the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network to establish a fundraising goal of $10,000 to help in the research and awareness of this dreaded disease.  He set out to run one marathon a week for thirteen weeks (3 months) and in one of those weeks, he ran a back-to-back double to complete his goal of fourteen marathons.  Hideki experienced some unexpected results along the way: Four marathon PR's were set, the longest distance he ever ran was completed at 60K (37.2 miles), he met a lot of great runners along the way, and exceeded the $10,000 goal.

This 31 year old runner from New York/New Jersey has also participated in a seven person relay that raised over $26,000 for this cause and has since completed a 50-miler, a 24 hour run, and then a 100-miler.  He is halfway finished with his goal of running a marathon in all 50 states plus DC and plans to challenge himself to additional 100-mile endurance runs.

He continues to raise awareness and funding for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and aims to run for the organization's TeamHOPE charity runner group for his 50th marathon in Miami on January 30, 2011 and for his 65th marathon in Seattle on June 25, 2011.  His goal for both races is to raise $2,500.  To make a donation, visit his fundraising websites: http://www.tinyurl.com/runkinomiami and http://www.tinyurl.com/runkinoseattle .

Congratulations to Hideki Kinoshita, recipient of the 2011 Humanitarian Award.  To learn more about his 14 marathons in 13 weeks endeavor, visit his fundraising website: http://www.firstgiving.com/kino555 .  To learn more about the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and TeamHOPE, visit these websites: http://www.pancan.org and http://www.pancan.org/teamhope/ .  To follow Hideki's races and progress, visit his website: http://www.runkino.com .

Note: The above facts and figures were obtained from the American Cancer Society, National Cancer Institute, and the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.

Hello (Running) World !

[2009.11.21] A picture of me at the finish of the NYRR Knickerbocker 60K (37.2 mile) Ultra in Central Park, NYC.  I am holding up a finisher's award (a paper weight).  The race was my furthest at the time.  It took me 6:49:13 (11:00 min/mile) to complete.

[This blog entry was also featured on NYCRuns.com (http://www.nycruns.com/ny-stories/item/605-hello-running-world) on 9/27/2010.]

Hello (Running) World

I am a runner, based in New York City, who is fairly new to the running, marathon, trail running, and ultra running scene.  I ran my first race on 6/3/2007 and my first marathon on 9/21/2008.  I am Marathon Maniac #1382, known in the running community as Kino. I just celebrated my 2 year marathon anniversary this past week.

I delved into the sport of running thanks to the influence of two runner friends: Yasu and Melissa.  I credit the two of them with introducing me to the sport of running.  Both had been training for the 2007 NYC Marathon.  They convinced me to register for my very first race: the 2007 Japan Day 4-Mile Race with the New York Road Runners.  It was a painful 4 miles, and the furthest I had ever run.  I ran it in 35:31 (8:52 miles/min) and was discouraged with my performance.  I hated running "long" distances (in hindsight, it's hard to imagine 4 miles as being considered "long", that's shorter than the distance between many aid stations at ultramarathons) and although I enjoyed the race atmosphere, I did not picture myself running races on a regular basis.

Prior to this first race of mine, the longest distance I had run was 2 miles in combat boots and in BDU's (battle dress uniform), as a PT training run while as an Army ROTC cadet in the Blue Jay Battalion at Johns Hopkins University.  Even that felt like an eternity.  I hated each moment of it and did not plan to ever run an official race.

At Leonia High School, my athletic commitments all revolved around team sports.  In the fall, I played JV & varsity soccer.  During the winter, I stayed indoors and played JV & varsity basketball.  Come spring time, I played on the Freshman, JV, and varsity baseball teams.  Individual sports, such as running and tennis, had no allure to me.  Now, reflecting back, I regret not choosing Cross Country as my fall sport at least one of those seasons, instead of soccer.  Whatever formalized coaching I could have received might have provided invaluable knowledge and insight to me.  On the other hand, a rigid training system might have forever turned me off and pushed me away from the sport, so who knows how things would have turned out?

It is funny to reflect back because up until Fall 2007, I HATED running.  So what changed?  On 11/4/2007, I went out to spectate at the New York City Marathon and cheer on Yasu and Melissa, the very two friends who had been encouraging me to take up running.  From the vantage point at Engineer's Gate in Central Park (E 90th Street and Central Park East Drive) and also at the E85th Street bend within Central Park, I saw many of the 38,000+ runners pass by (the 2007 NYC Marathon set the world record as the largest ever marathon with 38,557 finishers, a record that lasted until it was surpassed by the 2009 NYC Marathon).  It was my first time witnessing an actual marathon in-person.  Prior to this, I had only seen marathons on TV and held the preconceived notion that a marathon was an undertaking feasible only by elite athletes.  Upon seeing the masses of ordinary citizens (young and old, gaunt and heavy set, and even those in full body costumes) eclipsing 24 miles, on their way to completing the full marathon distance of 26.2 miles, I came to the realization that I, too, could accomplish this same goal.  The "If they can do it, then I can too" mindset set in.  "The marathon" was not something reserved just for exceptional athletes, but could be an achievable goal for a non-elite as myself.  At that moment, I was inspired to run my first marathon within one year's time.  The very next day, I became a New York Road Runners member and registered myself for a slew of races.

I was hoping to make my marathon debut at the 2008 NYC Marathon, but it was too late for me to achieve guaranteed entry via NYRR's 9 race Program for Guaranteed Entry (now the 9+1 Program for Guaranteed Entry).  I tried my luck in the marathon lottery application, but was rejected (the chance of a local being admitted through the lottery process is slim, somewhere in the 20%-30% range).  Luckily, the town in which I worked, hosted a marathon that was easy to enter and only cost $25 to register for (that amounts to less than $1 per mile, talk about a bargain!).  It also happened to be the second oldest active marathon in the world: The Yonkers Marathon

My marathon debut took place at Yonkers, NY on 9/21/2008, a date I will always remember.  I finished the marathon and just simply took off running in an almost Forrest Gumpian manner.  I completed my second (Chicago Marathon) and third (Philadelphia Marathon) marathons within the next 63 days.  Unbeknownst to me, this achievement of running 3 marathons in less than 3 months had pre-qualified me to become a member of the Marathon Maniacs.

After a two year whirlwind of marathons and ultras, I have somehow finished running 1/3 of the 50 states (17 states + DC finished) and coincidentally also 1/3 of the way to Marathon #100 (34 marathons + ultras completed).  I am very open to sharing my experiences and am frequently approached by fellow runners to provide recaps for certain races that I have run.  As such, I was inspired to start this blog to form as a collective repository to share my thoughts and experiences in various races I have participated in.  Without recording down my thoughts, it will be difficult for me to recall the specifics of each race (I have already logged over 100).  I hope that all who come across this web log ("blog") find these posts to be of some use.

Please follow my endurance adventures on my blog (http://www.runkino.com/), through my facebook fan page (https://www.facebook.com/runkino) , & via my twitter account (http://twitter.com/runkino).

Thank you for stopping by!

Keep On Running,
Kino (of RunKino.com)