To Excel In Life...Run!

  My first attempt at a Boston Qualifier (BQ) was at the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon in 2008. I was working for Running Room and was swept up in the fervor of marathoning by customers, friends and family members that either ran marathons or wanted to run marathons. I quickly discovered a support system was the elixir that would keep my motivation fueled. For some, motivation may be an individual we run with multiple times during the week. For others it’s the weekend group run that keeps us on task. I ran for years on my own, however when I ramped up training to point for a specific marathon time, it was the training with and encouragement by others that helped me reach my goal in the fall of 2016 with a BQ -11:52 for 2018. When we toe the line on April 16th, each of our village-of-supporters will be thinking of us and, in spirit, will be along for the ride. We’ll have times during the race that we’ll think of them; we’ll run a mile in honor of the effort ...

I’ve been looking forward to spring 2018 for a couple of years now. Turning age 60, this past March 9, was at the forefront of my thoughts the past few weeks and included things like feeling lucky to be healthy, spending time with my wonderful wife and seeing my children continue along the path of life via schooling, marriage and bringing our first grandchild into the world. Reflections on the past have been bouncing around my head, but the push to keep reaching for new goals, new adventures and new lessons in life is stronger.  Last fall, my wife and I decided to sign up for this year’s Boston Marathon, our first, which is currently number one on our focus chart. Although we had both qualified with times over ten minutes faster than our respective age groups required, life was speeding by and we nearly let the opportunity pass. There will come another time that fits better with everyone’s schedule, we told ourselves. Let’s wait until the boys are out of school and t...

Stan Brouillard, Brian Siddons nearing the 5 mile point at Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon. CK Photograpy, Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon An Unexpected Running Experience: The 2017 Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon By Brian James Siddons Having just finished Matt Fitzgerald’s book, “How Bad Do You Want It? The Psychology Of Mind Over Muscle,” I was intrigued by the mental toughness tools used by the world-class athletes Fitzgerald cited, specifically race day focus, as aids to improve my own running performances. Looking back at my BQ (Boston Qualifier) in the fall of 2012, for a spot at the Boston Marathon in 2014, and then missing the revised cut by six seconds, I wondered if my focus had been better, wouldn’t I have run at least seven seconds faster?   While the stories Fitzgerald recounted were truly inspirational, I realized my quest for sharper mental performances might best be served through the experiences of runners fighting battles for improvements much less daunti...