Tales From Medal Monday Volume 3 Chapter 9

Medal Monday brings many stories of achievement for our members. Here are recent stories from the Marathon Maniacs and Half Fanatics, as told by you, as posted on the Marathon Maniacs/Half Fanatics Facebook pages.

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Congratulations to all of our members who ran last weekend!

Jason Dennis (MM15469) – Completed marathons in states #27 and 28, Nebraska and Iowa on back-to-back days! 2nd time doing a double like this. 1st time being in both states, races only 10 minutes from each other.
It was 12 loops to get to 26.2 miles in South Sioux City NE and Sioux City IA…but FUN group of runners/walkers, sweet bling, well organized by
Mainly Marathons, laid back, great volunteers/snacks.

Claire Gladstone(MM12421)– Three Days At The Fair has been on my list for a while. I had planned to run it last year with 🐞Cathy Troisi, but that didn’t happen. So I decided to run it in her memory this year. This race was full of runners in every age group from across the country and lots of Canadians! There were options from 12hrs up to 6 days(originally it was 3, hence the name)
I saw old friends and made new ones. The aid station had “made to order” and let me tell you, after 101 miles, a BLT never tasted so good😜 thanks to Emmy Stocker, Al, Clint Burleson, John Geesler, Trishul Lorne W. Cherns and so many others who shared miles with me out there.

And just like that, 101 miles and a belt buckle!! Had fun with old friends and made new ones while racking up the miles. Great aid station, nice course, and people of all ages out there having an adventure! #128 #marathonmaniacs #tdatf #RunNJ

Marathon Maniacs/Half Fanatics at the Mainly Marathons Prairie Series

• Eddie Hahn(MM184),
• Christopher Thomas Neal (MM15654, DA3655, HF14937),
• Satiro De Oliveira (MM436, DA1479, HF9823) ,
• Karen A Flynn(HF1043, DA158,MM4024)
• Dan Delino (HF1058, DA161, MM4059),
• Robert Manon (MM6700, DA431, HF3646)

at the OC Marathon

Charlotte Corriher(MM3514) – Knock on Woodstock 50k

Marion Breeze(MM15601) – Rob Burrows Leeds Marathon

At the Jewel of the Valley Marathon

Heather Zeigler (MM3086) – What comes after 300? Marathon #301!!! 🤗😂 I can’t pass up a close marathon with good weather! I enjoyed the Starved Rock Country Marathon again this year!!! #marathonmaniacs #run #starvedrockcountry

Steve Walters(MM338, DA9, HF21) – Finished the Jewel of the Marathon in Yakima Washington in a solid 3:40 despite a finishing real feel of 81°F with little to no shade. No bad splits (1:47/1:53) despite the weather getting increasingly warmer. Heading across the Cascades to Auburn for the Need to Breathe concert tonight.

Tina Lam(HF16109, DA3665, MM15672) – Medal Monday and a successful race weekend running in Minnesota and Wisconsin to check off two more states! Inaugural Half and Half Challenge- Get in Gear Half plus Geau Big Challenge running Eau Claire 5k and Eau Claire Half. This is my first time going to Wisconsin. The Half and Half medal was so big! Really nice jacket for the Geau- Big Challenge. My Wisconsin friends Gwen and Aubrey ran the full marathon. Gwen got a new Marathon PR and we were waiting for Aubrey. As she was sweeping the full. We celebrated in the beer garden, until they kicked us out, lol. But then I met Emi the race director and Tom, a Six Star finisher of the World Marathon Majors. I think this was his 35th Marathon. I also met Danielle, one of the 3 Geau-Bigger Challenge runners. She ran the 10k before the 5k and the half that morning and next day. She had 5 medals and I had 4 medals! It was raining while we were under the tents in the beer garden and it got chilly sitting down. Later, after a hot shower I still could not warm up my legs. Probably because I was out there from 6am to 2 pm, cheering my friends at the start of marathon, then racing 1.5 hours after full started. Small town, but big race feel! We had dinner at Milwaukee Burger Co and there was a special drink for the race. Got the Fried Cheese curds sampler. Thise cheese curds were like golf ball size! So delicious. Tried the spotted cow burger based on a recommendation because it is so Wisconsin! Plenty more photos to share!

Sally Elliott (HF12077) – Great morning pacing the Tacoma city half marathon!
It was fun seeing so many friends before the race and along the course! Luckily the rain held out until after I finished!
I helped a freshman from Western finish her first half – this is why I love pacing!

Jun Ulama (MM12617) – STAR Racing’s New England Challenge done! 6 marathons in 6 states in 6 days!💪🏽😎

22 marathons YTD, #228 total

Glen Anderson (MM2674) & Karen Murray Anderson (MM8075, DA576, HF5492)-Day 2 of the accidental double is officially in the books! 🤣. Tackling those miles in the heat was no easy feat. Happy that’s over!
Fort Wayne Half and Full Marathon was only in it’s second year of the event, but everything was so well organized. We got to see so much of Fort Wayne along the course, starting at the Coliseum and making our way through downtown before hitting the bike paths around mile 4.5. Who knew there is such extensive bike pathways in Fort Wayne. 🤷‍♀️
Many of you may know, we stop at YMCA’s to shower when we are checked out of a hotel on our way to the airport. In fact, we should start to keep track of the states we have been to a Y. We may have visited a Y in every state by now. 😊 We made a pit stop at the local YMCA today to shower up before heading to the airport. Let me tell you, that Y was impressive. Even though it was a bit older, it was huge and had all the amenities we needed – towel service, steam room, sauna, jacuzzi, and even a rock climbing wall. Talk about a great way to unwind after a tough double!
Surprisingly, Fort Wayne left a lasting impression on us.

Brenda Folkerts (MM15695, DA3674, HF18068) – Pacing the TCM Half Marathon for my 63rd half. What a great group of runners I got to spend the morning with as we ran across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and around Point Defiance Park.

Deborah Coleman(HF10247) – Scenes from this morning’s race. It was a nice course, only really one big hill. Passed by Susan B. Anthony’s home and lots of other historic homes. It was very scenic. It got a little warm as the race went on. But of course it rained right after I finished 😂

Dailyn Valdez (MM15916, DA3732, HF18660) & Tony Valdez (HF18746) –Ottawa, ILL what a cute small friendly town. Who knew that an hour and half out of Chicago a very scenic place park existed?
Starved Rock Country Marathon and Half Marathon was a well organized, scenic road well supported race. Nice shirt and medal . Enjoyed walking though a bit of the beautiful trails of starved rock state park. #28 half states so far💪🏼 #medalmonday #halffanatics #DoubleAgent #phil4:13🙏🏼t

Michelle Migneault Cox (HF17353) – medalmonday here my 117th half marathon medal for Running with the Cows in Bucyrus, KS. Had a great time even though it’s a hot hilly race! I included medals from 2019 and 2022.

Robert Manon (MM6700, DA431, HF3646)– 549th and 550th lifetime half marathons this past weekend. It was beautiful days at both locations in Santa Monica and Long Beach.

Vicki Sue Merry (HF67, DA23, MM888) –On 11 May I did my 11th half of 2024. Jump Off Rock started “high” and finished “low” but there were still plenty of uphills to conquer. It was a beautiful day for a race and the course was well marked and well supported. And I was very happy that we did NOT have to jump off a rock to start the race!

Amy Seagroves (MM15648, DA3652, HF12046) – Fun weekend in Kansas for a couple half marathons with no time limits. This is a repeat state but as my other Kansas race was a marathon it was my first time running a half in Kansas.
Saturday I completed half #130 Running with the Cows. This race had a very fun theme and very nice race environment. The course was okay. It was rolling, hills and unshaded and very hot and a bit repetitive but there were plenty of aid stations and a few people brought out some cows to cheer you on. There is also a nice medal and a huge buffet at the end. Overall good race option for Kansas especially if you are worried about time limits since there isn’t one
Sunday I completed half #131 Mainly Marathons Prairie Series Race #3 Half Marathon also in Kansas. This was my first mainly race. Not gonna lie this was definitely one of the worst courses I’ve run as it was just 9 out and backs on a paved trail but Mainly makes the races a ton of fun with a huge aid station and so many friendly runners. Again there is no time limit so I took this one very easy. I’d recommend this race (or another mainly race) if you like meeting and chatting with other runners and don’t mind loops. Again no time limit and a very relaxed environment so these would be a great choice for back of packers in some of the less back of the pack friendly states such as New England

Krista Shuler (HF18241)– Sunday I ran the Run This Mother Half Marathon for Mother’s Day and my husband volunteered at the (women only) race. It’s also our 23rd wedding anniversary. 💞

Rachel Whiting Wiley (HF18795) – Yosemite Half with my daughter! Her 2nd half and my 47th half (or greater)!

Charlene Board (HF7024) – Today I(HF# 7024) completed my 117th Half Marathon in Charlotte, NC. It was a small race but the best part of it was when a sweet run friend found me before the race and we decided stay together during this race and not worry about time. We laughed and shared stories about family/friends/and Victoria Carroll (HF#16390) has completed over 700 half marathons, yes I did say over 700! And I thought I was doing something last year when I completed my 100th half 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
We had such a good time out there and I can’t wait to do it again with her. Thank you Victoria for gracing me with your company today.
We also ran into these 4 little boys out there playing in the mud and water just like we did as kids back in the day. Well after a couple hours on the trail one of the boys laid down and said, I’ve fallen Me: boy get up, you are too young to be falling! Boy: I’ve fallen in love with you because you are so beautiful. Me: Laughing and told him he made my day.

Teresa Clark Vincent (HF16573) – RSD 3261 – Running With The Cows Half Marathon in Bucyrus KS.
Road race with plenty of rolling hills… the heat got to me ~ it was 63° and sunny at the start and 71° at the finish. This course was really fun with tons of crowd support and a buffet at the finish line.
Lifetime Half: #49
Different State: #41

Marathon Maniacs/Half Fanatics at Running With The Cows Half Marathon & 5K

Heidi Marie Hammond (HF18098) – Run the Bluegrass half #123. Not a fan of the new venue or coarse. The prettiest half in America no more 🫣

Brian Johnson (MM8807, HF7287, DA707) -Marathon Distance or longer 50 complete.

• State 26.
• Shiprock Marathon, Shiprock, New Mexico.
• The hills and altitude became very humbling for a while.

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Photo and Post Credit Marathon Maniacs/Half Fanatics Facebook Pages