Huff 50K (Huntington, Indiana)

This was my third Huff trail run and it was a charm. The snow was loose for the first of three 11-mile loops so I went very conservatively, only picking up the pace on the road segments. The snow was perfectly packed for the remaining laps and I was able to snag third overall and win my age-group.
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Iceman (Traverse City, Michigan)

I didn’t have the same biking legs I did in ’01, when I took second among singlespeeders, but this year was different. I finished 6th then pulled on running shoes and ran the 27-mile course backwards with friend Jon Bennett. Actually it was a longer run as we got lost a couple times.
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Leadville Trail 100 Run and bike (Leadville, Colorado)

These two 100 mile races share a similar course but are a week apart. Cyclists under 9 hours get a gold and silver buckle. Runners finishing under 25 hours get a similar buckle. Both races went well for me and I limped in for two gold buckles — just the sixth person to do that and the sixth fastest combined bike-run time to date.
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XTERRA Eastern Championships (Richmond, Virginia)

Sometimes you feel bad but are still going fast. That’s definitely what happened to me as I felt out of synch for much of the race. Thankfully I wasn’t and won my third consecutive Eastern Championship title.
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Memphis in May XTERRA triathlon (Memphis, Tennessee)

Fellow Royal Oaker Eric Justice and I did the road trip and got the results. Eric took 4th overall (1st in his age-group) and I took 1st overall. We both gained mega points in the XTERRA USA Championship Points Series and got a little tan in the meantime.
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Boston Marathon (Boston, Massachusetts)

It was the 106th marathon and after 105, they have this event totally dialed in. What a great time! All of Boston becomes a running fan for the day. I have no complaints with my race, finishing a respectable 2:53 and requalified for next year. The hills kill.
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Corktown 4-Miler (Detroit, Michigan)

This is a classic early-season run just before the St. Patrick’s parade. This year’s race was extremely windy (20F, -10F wind chill), which knocked some runners off their game. Wind? What wind?  This was my best finish yet with a 4th place overall.

Winter Adventure Race (Huron Township, Michigan)

Karen Millar was looking for a last minute partner to join her in this two-person team race and I’m glad I jumped at the opportunity. The original race plan included snowshoeing and cross-country skiing, but the lack of snow forced the promoters to change the format to include more running and biking. Yeah! We finished 1st team overall

Showshoe National Championships (Traverse City, Michigan)

It was somewhat disappointing finishing well behind the main pack. I switched to my lighter running shoes on race day and was fighting blisters for the second half of the race. Duh.
14th overall and 8th in age-group.

North Central Snowshoe Championships (Big Rapids, Michigan)

I finished surprisingly well since I’d only run a mile in my showshoes this year. It was my first snowshoe race — what a hoot.  I finished 5th overall and 2nd in my age-group.