Members L to R
Kevin Levine, Jody Fournier, Rob Fitch, and me, Steve Calhoun
Saturday, June 13th
One week to go until the Mohican 50 mile trail race. I am running it with my very good friend, Jim Smith.
One week to go until the Mohican 50 mile trail race. I am running it with my very good friend, Jim Smith.
HISTORY
I have known Jim for 19 years. We used to race road bicycles together. My lower back finally decided that it had enough and I had to quit racing. Didn't have the time to fully devote to it either due to work.
I then found running. I love to eat and knew that I would be a HUSKY boy (nothing wrong with that, just not for me) if I didn't find an athletic pursuit that I loved. I discovered that I loved running. This was back in 1992. I first just started doing it for fun and health and then came to the part where most runners want to see how they stack up with other runners. "How am I doing compared to others that are of similar age and sex". I ran my first 5K in Grandview and finished in the middle of the pack. I felt good about that as it was my first. My girlfriend at the time, wife now, and I moved to Seattle in 1993. I continued my running and there are very few places more beautiful to run than the Pacific Northwest. Mt. Rainier on a sunny summer day is unbelievable. I raced in the Mercer Island Half Marathon (my first Half Marathon) and did very well. I believe that I finished in the top third this time. This encouraged me to keep it going. I continued to run and race while we lived in Seattle. By the way, one of my favorite places to run in Seattle is Discovery Park in the Magnolia part of town. See link for info:
http://www.seattle.gov/tour/discov.htm
I swear there are places there that look so Prehistoric that you would swear that a T-Rex is right around the corner. There are ferns there as big as a VW Beattle.
We got married and moved back to Columbus, Ohio in 1995 to start a family.
I then found running. I love to eat and knew that I would be a HUSKY boy (nothing wrong with that, just not for me) if I didn't find an athletic pursuit that I loved. I discovered that I loved running. This was back in 1992. I first just started doing it for fun and health and then came to the part where most runners want to see how they stack up with other runners. "How am I doing compared to others that are of similar age and sex". I ran my first 5K in Grandview and finished in the middle of the pack. I felt good about that as it was my first. My girlfriend at the time, wife now, and I moved to Seattle in 1993. I continued my running and there are very few places more beautiful to run than the Pacific Northwest. Mt. Rainier on a sunny summer day is unbelievable. I raced in the Mercer Island Half Marathon (my first Half Marathon) and did very well. I believe that I finished in the top third this time. This encouraged me to keep it going. I continued to run and race while we lived in Seattle. By the way, one of my favorite places to run in Seattle is Discovery Park in the Magnolia part of town. See link for info:
http://www.seattle.gov/tour/discov.htm
I swear there are places there that look so Prehistoric that you would swear that a T-Rex is right around the corner. There are ferns there as big as a VW Beattle.
We got married and moved back to Columbus, Ohio in 1995 to start a family.
RACES
I ran my first Marathon in Columbus that year and ran a 3:09 which not only qualified me for Boston but to this day is my Marathon PR. I fell in love with this distance and have run many Marathons since then including: Cincinnati Flying Pig (great marathon-go run it), Twin Cities, Columbus (8 times I believe), Boston (the 100th running with my sister, Michelle), and a few others that I can't remember right now.
Buckeye Trail 50K
I wanted to try my hand at a longer distance race and entered the Buckeye Trail 50K Trail race in Ohio in the summer of 2007 and finished in 45th out of 149 with a time of 5:33 and loved the race and the trail running experience.
http://www.buckeyetrail50k.com/bt50k.html
I wanted to try my hand at a longer distance race and entered the Buckeye Trail 50K Trail race in Ohio in the summer of 2007 and finished in 45th out of 149 with a time of 5:33 and loved the race and the trail running experience.
http://www.buckeyetrail50k.com/bt50k.html
Hocking Hills Indian Run - 60K
I wanted to see what the next notch up in distance was like and ran the Hocking Hills Indian Run that same summer and finished 9th out of 35 with a time of 6:23 and won my age group, a first for me. I love the medal that they give you at that race because it is made of clay by local elementary school children. I have it framed proudly.
http://www.1800hocking.com/indianrun
I wanted to see what the next notch up in distance was like and ran the Hocking Hills Indian Run that same summer and finished 9th out of 35 with a time of 6:23 and won my age group, a first for me. I love the medal that they give you at that race because it is made of clay by local elementary school children. I have it framed proudly.
http://www.1800hocking.com/indianrun
MOHICAN 100
Again, I asked myself "How would the next distance up feel"? Well, I found out in the summer of 2008, last year, when I ran the Mohican Trail 50 mile race.
http://www.mohican100.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=70&Itemid=96
This was the first year that the 50 mile race was an official distance for Mohican. The race starts at 5 a.m., which was a bit hard to get used to waking up that early but oh well. I ran and finished my first 50 miler in 8th out of 45 runners in 9:26. Needless to say, I love the long distances. Which leads me to today.
There is ONE WEEK TO GO until this years Mohican 50 Trail Race! I am super psyched. Back to the beginning in that my buddy Jim and I are going to run it together. We are running to finish as this will be Jim's first 50 mile finish. I am predicting that we will finish in 11:18 and we will rock it MO style. I am going to take a camera with me so I'll post photos of the glorious event on my first blog after the race.
I am really looking forward to running this with Jim as this will be our first race together in a while.
It looks like there may be a chance of rain not only leading up to it but on the day of the race as well so it could prove MOIST.
Again, I asked myself "How would the next distance up feel"? Well, I found out in the summer of 2008, last year, when I ran the Mohican Trail 50 mile race.
http://www.mohican100.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=70&Itemid=96
This was the first year that the 50 mile race was an official distance for Mohican. The race starts at 5 a.m., which was a bit hard to get used to waking up that early but oh well. I ran and finished my first 50 miler in 8th out of 45 runners in 9:26. Needless to say, I love the long distances. Which leads me to today.
There is ONE WEEK TO GO until this years Mohican 50 Trail Race! I am super psyched. Back to the beginning in that my buddy Jim and I are going to run it together. We are running to finish as this will be Jim's first 50 mile finish. I am predicting that we will finish in 11:18 and we will rock it MO style. I am going to take a camera with me so I'll post photos of the glorious event on my first blog after the race.
I am really looking forward to running this with Jim as this will be our first race together in a while.
It looks like there may be a chance of rain not only leading up to it but on the day of the race as well so it could prove MOIST.
MY TEAM
I have a running team sponsored by HeadBlade, maker of the greatest shaving invention since the guillotine. Okay, so perhaps the guillotine wasn't that great, especially if you were Marie Antoinette. Every runner on the team happens to be bald and we all use and fully endorse the HeadBlade and all their products. It makes shaving your head an absolute snap and I have not had a shaving nick on my head in years. Their HeadSlick product is the best shave cream that I have ever used, Period! And since the ladies (and gentlemen) like the shine be sure to check out the Glossy HeadLube. Bling for the dome.
Check out HeadBlades' offering and if you want to order something use this code: mvU09 and you will get a DISCOUNT on anything you buy.
We are also sponsored by FrontRunner. The BEST running/walking store in Ohio, PERIOD. They know how to fit a running shoe to you personally and they listen to your needs. They don't sell you a shoe that is not right for you. FrontRunner Rocks the C'BUS.
We are looking for additional secondary sponsors so if anyone has a need to be seen please contact me at stevecalhoun2003@yahoo.com.
Please send me your stories and photos of all you fellow bald runners. I'll post and we can make the bald running community a unified force.
Thanks for tuning in and I look forward to hearing from you with feedback.
By the way, that is me on the far right in the photo and Jim is not bald yet so he'll have to wait to join the team.
Run On!
Steve
Hey Steve,
ReplyDeleteI'm looking for someone to tag along with to keep from going out to fast. Having been a quick running at shorter distances, I have come to believe I'm breaking down [ie. knee issue, etc.] I have run two 50 mile races but many years. I am 43 years old and hope to run around 9 1/2 to 10 1/2 hours. Not sure how realistic this is but we seem to have similar goals in interests. I need to keep in mind. "Just finish" [in 12 hours or less] I have an intimate relationship with the Mohican Forest. lol! Let's chat a Mohican. Go Mo!