A few of my running buddies have asked me through the years how it is possible that I always look good in the finishing pictures of my races. Even if I don’t have a good race. I don’t “always” look good in my finishing pictures, but do I have many outstanding ones.
Is this a frivolous topic? Sure, it is. But let’s be honest: Do you rather look good in your finishing pictures? Or do you not care if you look like crap?
Yep… I thought so, too.
There is an art to this, and a story behind it, too.
As I have stated in previous writings, my dad was the first person I knew to run a marathon. He ran NYC in 1982. NYC was famous for many things; one of them was that they offered for purchase an image (meaning only one) of your finish. As my dad told me about his marathon experience, I couldn’t wait to see his finishing picture, which came weeks later.
The picture was so underwhelming. Check the image below, and you will think my dad is the runner number C328. But no, he is the guy behind him, looking down at his watch. In those days, you only had one shot per race for a picture. And he screwed it up in his first marathon. Lesson learned for me, as I was certain I would someday run one myself. I wanted to make sure my finishing picture would reflect not just a finish, but that it would be epic. That it would reflect my true emotions.
These are three of my marathon finishes. Solid images to celebrate the accomplishments.
Through my years of racing I have learned how to maximize the opportunities of a good picture, which is not always guaranteed. It is an art, not a science. Sometimes, you finish so happy and exhilarated, but when you look at the race pictures, you don’t feel that they reflect what you were feeling, or you are not even in them. But in general, I have realized that if you let your emotions out and you are aware of the situation, not only will you enhance your chance of amazing images to reminisce your races, sometimes you will even make it to the local paper. Yep, it did happen.
To improve your chances of a great picture at the finish line, I follow these easy guidelines:
1 – Be aware that even in the smallest runs, most likely there is a photographer at the finish line. Big races will have multiple.
2 – Understand that photographers don’t have time to frame you up. They shoot at everything, hoping to catch that great shot. If you help them out, there is a better chance you could be that great shot. How do you help them:
Spot the photographer as you approach the finish line and position yourself in a prime spot.
Find an opening in the crowd (if there is one) so you can enhance the chances of being seen.
If you are not pushing for a PR or have already secured it, look behind and make sure no runner behind you will sprint and block you.
3 – Express your genuine emotions freely. Show your happiness, disappointment, pain, thankfulness, or whatever you are feeling openly and honestly. Don’t fake it, as it will be captured.
4 – Don’t just crash the first inch after the finishing line. Photographers shoot multiple times, and your best image may be a second or two after you are done.
As for my dad’s finishing pictures, they got better with time, but it took a few failed attempts. In the 1985 Madrid Marathon, he finished with a PR and raised his arms, but he was right behind another guy. You can only see his head and arms raised. My brother and I kept coaching him, hoping for a good one. In 1995, he ran his last marathon, and he finally got the finishing picture he deserved after a long and inspiring marathoning career. It only took 13 years and 8 marathons.
As you can see, it took many failed attempts for my dad to get a great finishing picture.
In the meantime, I learned so much about how not to do it that I’ve accumulated many awesome finishing images. Enough that my friends ask me how I do it. And if that wasn’t enough, I get to write about it.
What is your experience with race-finishing pictures? Let me know in the comment box below.
For those who have only run one marathon, it is an adventure. For those who have completed the distance more than once, the only thing in common between one and another finish is the 26.2-mile distance. Each one brings a new challenge, a new experience, a new obstacle to overcome, and a new journey.
On January 19, I completed my 12th-lifetime marathon. At 59, I am unsure if I have another one in me, but I am not ruling it out. What I do know is that from each one I can take a life and/or a running lesson. Looking back on 42 years of marathoning, these are my takeaways from each one of them:
Running a marathon is a magnificent experience. Lifechanging. But it is not an easy task. It requires effort, sweat, suffering, and wondering why in the world you chose to impose this on yourself and on purpose. Once you cross the finish line, something wonderful happens. A transformation to last a lifetime. And for some weird and masochistic reason, you start thinking of the next one.
2 – New York 1983 – Age 18 – Time: 4:51:36
I thought I could go sub-4 just because I was close to my previous one. But the stupidity of youth got in the way. Having run one before is no substitute for decent training. Had I trained better, with consistency and dedication, I could have avoided the suffer-fest I endured on this cold and rainy NY morning. I learned the hard way that there is no substitution for preparation. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but it has to be worth the “training” label, at least.
3 – Caracas 1984 – Age 19 – Time 3:32:08
My all-time PR thanks to the guidance of an experienced runner who knew what he was doing and coached me. The difference between this result and the previous one is that I put in the work. At 19 years of age, I sacrificed the partying, the drinking, and the late nights with my friends so I could put forth my best effort. I hit the wall at the 32nd Km (Mile 20) yet still set a solid PR. Looking back, if we knew then what we know now about in-race calorie intake and electrolyte replenishment, I may have a better PR. But that doesn’t matter now. Hard work paid off, even if hitting the wall.
4 – Caracas 1985 – Age 20 – Time 3:35:04
Even with my responsibilities at work, school and trying to fit in some of the fun I sacrificed the previous year, I had a successful race despite missing my PR by 2:56. The experience from the previous year allowed me to manage the race better and even though the last 5 miles were still tough, I did not walk. The years of accumulated effort compounded so a successful race could be achieved despite the hot weather I confronted.
5 – Philadelphia 2012 – Age 47 – Time: 5:41:40
Eight years after my 2nd knee operation and having accepted the doctor told me I could not run anymore, I discovered racewalking and came back to long distances, regimented training and rediscovered the lure of footraces, long distances and runner’s highs. I accepted the days of running at 3:30 were over and trained for what my older body would allow me. So, 26 years after my previous marathon, I racewalked through the City of Brotherly Love and cried while crossing the finish line while F-U-ing the doctor who told me I couldn’t do it. You can do more than you think possible if you adjust to your circumstances.
6 – Chicago 2013 – Age 48 – Time: 5:44:56
Your body can do way more than you expect from it if you train it, fuel it, and take care of it, not just during the 3 or 4 months prior to your marathon, but for many years or for a lifetime. I endured three visits to the emergency room 3 times during my training, and I participated with the prospect of passing a kidney stone at any time. My training was not ideal (but unlike my NYC 1983 experience, I did train some), yet I finished and did so with a grateful smile despite being my personal worst. I did the best I could with what was available for me that day. It is not always about a PR for a marathon to be a success.
7 – Marine Corps 2014 – Age 49 – Time: 5:33:31
With three years of racewalking and two marathons under my soles, I was ready to go for a PR. I got a racewalking expert to write me a training plan; I followed it to the tee; I sacrificed late nights, ate clean, put in the work, and traveled to DC feeling very strong. The work paid off, and an 8-minute racewalking PR was the result. It was a bit hard at the end and I lost my sub 5:30 in the last 6 miles, but there is nothing to regret. Another successful marathon when focusing on the task.
8 – New York 2017 – Age 52 – Time: 4:51:48
In 2015 I realized I was racewalking because the doctor told me not to run, not because I had tried and failed. So, I tried and did not fail and two years later, I was at the Verrazano Narrows bridge, 34 years after my first participation. I trained diligently, and the results reflect my efforts. I was at my desired 4:30 pace until we got back to Manhattan, when my left knee started acting up. As soon as we entered Central Park at mile 23 I realized it was not worth permanent injury, so I mostly walked the last 5K and still finished 12 seconds off my NYC when I was 18. Hard work pays off even if your race gets derailed at the end.
9 – Berlin 2018 – Age 53 – Time: 5:09:03
Sometimes you may be fully prepared; you did everything right, you worked hard, you are at the right weight, and you are mentally there, yet your race totally sucks. So much that you lose the joy of what you are doing, you finish 40 minutes above the time you trained for and then swear you’ll never do this again. Good training is no guarantee of a good race. Sometimes the stars are just not aligned for you.
10 – New York 2020 – Age 55 – Time 5:28:14
Didn’t I swear I wasn’t going to do this anymore? In the middle of the pandemic, I had been dealing with a congenital heart issue for the last 18 months or so. I was told not to raise my heart rate over a certain threshold. I kept running super easy through the lockdown. So I could keep focused, I took the NYC Marathon virtual challenge. I set up a race/walk protocol; I trained diligently, set up a route and support system, and I completed the distance. As with my knee and racewalking a few years ago, I realized I could adjust to my circumstances and still conquer another marathon.
11 – Houston 2022 – Age 56 – Time 5:16:45
I registered for this marathon two weeks before my June open-heart surgery because I wanted to make sure I had something pressing me to get back to work. I was cleared to run in September, and 4 months later, I ran/walked the marathon. This marathon told me that in certain circumstances, time goals are irrelevant because the fact that you can bring your body back to perform the task overshadows any clock. This finish allowed me to, in just 7 months, to pass the page and move on to the rest of my life.
12 – Houston Marathon 2025 – Age 59 – Time 5:16:52
After two difficult years of running, when little went right, when I wondered if my best running days were behind me, and when I had to accept that after my open-heart surgery, I may have lost a step or two, training finally clicked, and I was ready for another marathon. I had the privilege of running side-by-side for 20 miles with two good friends. Then we parted ways and at Mile 23, my left IT band started killing me and forced me to suffer/walk the last 5K. I was happy to finish but unhappy with the result. It happens. Good training never guarantees a good result.
The leitmotif of my marathoning has been overcoming obstacles and learning lessons on the way. Even though my lifetime PR is decent at 3:32, I accept that after 40+ years in action, my best running years are behind me. That doesn’t diminish any accomplishments I may add to my medal rack between now and the day the Lord calls me.
Sharing what I’ve learned with the marathoners I train is what keeps me focused and thankful for the struggles and successes along the way. Even though I crossed the marathon finish line only 12 times, through my athletes, I have crossed it over 100 times.
May 2025 grant you countless, injury-free miles and new PRs in all your distances!!
As we stand on the edge of 2024, with a brand-new year in plain sight, it is the perfect time to reflect on what it was, what it could have been, and what we want 2025 to be. The perfect time to set our running goals for the year ahead is now. Just like a blank canvas waiting for Salvador Dalí to create another masterpiece, 2025 offers us the opportunity to lay down our aspirations and ambitions, both in our personal and running lives.
A brand new canva to set up your goals and execute the plan to achive them (Photo: Bertelli Fotografia, Pexels)
It’s easy to fall into the trap of procrastination, telling ourselves we\’ll think of that after the holidays. Then, before we know it, September and October creep up on us, and we find ourselves looking back at a year filled with missed opportunities. So, act as soon as you are done reading this post.
And sure, life gets in the way many times, actually, most of the time. But if we have a clear, set goal in front of us, we can make the necessary adjustments to keep moving forward and still achieve it.
Setting running goals is not just about numbers; it\’s about creating the framework to keep us motivated and focused throughout the year. Each goal serves as a stepping stone toward personal growth, whether that means achieving a new personal best, running a specific distance, or simply enjoying the process a bit more.
As we embark on this journey, remember that your goals should be tailored to your unique running experience and aspirations. You can\’t (or shouldn\’t) run a marathon to please someone else. Your goals should challenge you and only you, but also remain realistic and attainable.
If you haven\’t set up your running goals for 2025 yet, here are some ideas to consider. Consider applying #1 and then choosing four more to get you started. You may adjust as the year moves along.
10 Running Goals to Consider for 2025
1. Get More Sleep – Prioritize 7-8 hours of quality sleep each night to enhance recovery and performance. Sleep is a crucial pillar of athletic success.
2. Set a Mileage Goal – Aim for a predetermined number of miles for the year, like 1000 or 1500. Break it down into manageable monthly or weekly targets.
3. One More Day of Activity – Add another day of running or cross-training to your weekly routine. This can help increase your stamina and fitness without overwhelming you.
4. Strength Training – Incorporate strength training sessions into your weekly routine to build muscle and prevent injuries. A strong body supports better running performance.
5. Specific Distance PR – Choose one distance where you want to set a personal record. Focus your training on either a familiar distance or venture into the unknown for a new challenge.
6. Improve Your Easy Runs – Embrace the easy days as a chance to recover and build endurance. As counterintuitive as it sounds, running slow on easy days will ultimately help you run faster.
7. Keep a Running Log – Maintain a log of your physical activity. Including mileage, pace, effort and feelings. This will help you track progress and identify patterns.
8. Read at least one running book – Knowledge about our sport is always a good idea. Choose at least one book on the subject and learn its history, science, and iconic athletes, or get inspired.
9. Register for your next race right away – There is nothing like putting down some money on a race registration to have a specific goal towards which to work. Don\’t delay!
10. Commit to having more fun – Sure, we all want to improve all the time, but when stops being fun, eventually you will stop. Remember your paycheck and your family\’s love is not determined by your marathon PR. Enjoy the journey.
Any additions? Let me know by leaving a comment below.
While there is no magic workout, the long interval workout is mandatory if you want to run longer and faster. There are many iterations of the long interval, but to me, there is nothing like the mile-repeat. It is challenging yet not unconquerable. It is long but not unending. You can start with a few reps and progress to as many as you can handle. If performed at the right pace, you can recover and do it again right away. And if all that wasn’t enough, it hits all the systems.
Mile-repeats can be executed on track or road and properly executed, it will do wonders for your speed and endurance (Photo: Ernest Flowers, Pexels)
I remember reading Alberto Salazar’s autobiography many years ago. He was adamant that this was his key workout from his high school days to his time at the top of the world’s elite marathoners. Since then, I have performed it and prescribed it to my trained runners. The results have always been palpable.
A mile repeat improves your cardiovascular system while upgrading your endurance and speed. Cadence is increased, mental toughness is developed, and physiological indicators such as VO2Max and lactate threshold are enhanced. Because you are performing at a high rate of energy consumption, the brain ensures that wasted movement is kept to a minimum, resulting in better running form.
Mile repeats are more than hauling ass one mile as fast as you can go. Anyone can do that. The key is to understand the purpose of the mile you are running. This will determine the pace and effort in which it should be performed.
Benefits of mile repeats include:
► Speed Increase: When performed at race pace or even faster, you are stressing your multiple systems and teaching your body to withstand harder efforts for longer. You are also teaching it how to recruit additional muscle fibers when the usual ones are beaten up.
► Pace learning: Because we run mostly at an easy pace to maintain and improve our aerobic base, learning how to reach, feel, and maintain our race pace is key. Mile repeats are a perfect way to get there before starting to extend the race-pace mileage. The key is to be constant at the desired pace and not believe that faster is necessarily better.
► Endurance improvement: Running roughly at the pace you could sustain running all-out for one hour (Tempo) will improve the amount of oxygen you can consume at max effort (VO2Max) and push the line in which your body is unable to use lactate to fuel itself and become unable to clear it, thus triggering fatigue (Lactate Threshold).
The keys to the mile-repeats workout are being constant and keep the movement going (Photo: Mikhail Nilov, Pexels)
In a recent article in the Marathon Handbook website, Amber Sayer stated a great point to be considered when executing this workouts: “The longer your race (half marathon or marathon, for example), the earlier in your training program you can do mile repeats at race pace, because a mile is a significantly smaller percentage of the overall distance.”
And mile repeats don’t need to be performed on a track necessarily. I wrote a post on that issue, which you can read by clicking here.
Executing your mile repeat workout safely and properly requires certain preparation:
► Know and understand your workout: It is imperative to be prepared for a difficult workout, so you won’t have the mental space to improvise. Know how many reps you have, what your recovery time is, what is the pace and what is the purpose of this workout. This will predispose you to a successful effort.
► Warm- up properly: You will be performing a hard workout. You must prepare your body for it not only to avoid injury (as if that weren’t enough reason) but also to make sure you can reap maximum benefits. If you want to read more about the value of the warm-up, click here.
► Keep it constant: Running the first 400 meters in 1 minute, 2nd 400 in two minutes, 3rd in 3 minutes, and 4th in four is not a 10-minute mile. It is a shitty, worthless mile. Maintain your effort and pace as consistently as possible. This is what’s going to make you better, not a one-off 400-meter stretch at world record pace. Consistency and frequency are what will reap the most benefit for your effort.
► Continuous movement: You will be tired once your mile is done. Of course, don’t stop, collapse, or sit down. Keep moving. This is the closest you will replicate the demands of a race. I recommend a light jog in between miles, but if this is too much, walk until you catch your breath and then jog. The point is to continue moving forward as you recover and get ready for the next rep.
► Focus on your current rep: Stay focused on the mile repeat you are executing right now. Don’t dwell on the last one being too fast or too slow. Don’t think about what will happen after this one. You are executing this one now, and it must be executed properly. Thus, it is the only one that matters.
► Cooldown: You performed a hard workout. Your body is in overdrive. You are tired, exhilarated, most likely amid a runner’s high. This is not the time to jump in the car and go home. A mile or two of easy running will help blood flow. Muscle recovery, and removal or metabolic byproducts. If you want to read more about the value of the cooldown, click here.
Make sure you add this workout to your training repertoire. The benefits will surprise you.
Running in low-light conditions, especially during fall and winter, even in milder latitudes like in South Florida, can be challenging and potentially hazardous. As runners, our safety is ultimately our responsibility.
Regardless of who might be “in the right,” the goal is to avoid harm. Staying visible, alert, and prepared is critical when running in the dark.
Making sure you are seen while running in the dark is your responsibility (Photo: Alex Fu, Pexels)
Trust your instincts when you are out for a run in a poorly lit area. Treat it the same as if you were in an unfamiliar area or out of your comfort zone while walking out of town. It is always better to end up being overly cautious than to find yourself in a less-than-desirable situation with an on-the-spot decision to make.
Here are ten essential precautions to keep you safe during your nighttime or early morning runs during the shorter daytime months.
1. Prioritize Visibility: Invest in reflective gear or wearable lights. Whether it’s a reflective vest, flashing LED armbands, or clip-on lights for your shoes, making yourself visible to others is non-negotiable and 100% your responsibility. Also, consider visibility at the end of your run, not just the start.
2. Stick to Familiar, Well-Lit Routes: Running in the dark is not the time for exploration and adventure. Choose routes you know, have sufficient lighting, and minimal interfering traffic. Avoid areas with uneven terrain or unexpected obstacles. This is not the time to fall and require help.
3. Face Oncoming Traffic: Run against the flow of traffic so you can see approaching vehicles and they can see you. This allows you to react if a distracted driver veers too close. Always adhere to traffic rules and stay as far from the road as possible.
4. Reconsider Headphone Use: Nighttime running demands heightened awareness. Avoid using headphones to keep your senses sharp. If you can’t run without music or podcasts, opt for bone-conduction headphones, use just one earbud, or use a low-volume setting so you remain alert to your surroundings.
5. Run With a Phone: Always carry your phone. Use it to share your live location with a trusted contact or call for help if needed. Modern running belts or armbands make carrying your phone easy and unobtrusive.
6. Inform Someone About Your Plan: Even if you’re carrying a phone, let someone know your route and the expected return time. This ensures someone is aware should you be delayed or in trouble.
7. Run in Groups When Possible: There’s safety in numbers. A group is easier for drivers to spot, and your collective visibility and awareness increase. Running clubs or friends make excellent night-running companions.
ID in advance the safety spots where you can stop through your route (Image by Windows Copilot)
8. Familiarize Yourself with Emergency Spots: In your route, be aware of the surrounding businesses, police stations, or friends’ homes where you can unexpectedly stop should you feel in danger at any time.
9. Carry Identification: Wear or carry ID (RoadID bracelet, driver’s license) to ensure first responders or good Samaritans can identify you and know who to contact in case of an emergency.
10. Test Your Gear in Advance: The time to realize your headlamp is out of battery is not as you prepare to go out. The time to figure out how the pepper spray safe if disabled is not when you have a threat in front of you. Prepare yourself.
These are by no means all the safety precautions you must take to run safely in the dark. For one, always trust your instincts so you don’t have to second-guess yourself when it is too late. If something doesn’t feel right, get out of there immediately.
Anything else I forgot, or you would like to share with your fellow blog readers? Use the comment box below.
All of us runners have been there. And if you haven’t, keep running and you will: Missing the PR we trained for. Walking on a run we thought in which we were supposed to excel. Beaten by that one person that can’t even keep up with us in training. Selling ourselves a valid excuse for what just happened. We have just failed!
Sure, failure sucks. There is no other way to put it or sell it to ourselves or to our friends. But it doesn’t have to be final. It critical to your growth as a runner. And as a person.
It happens, learn your lessons and move foward (Photo: Polina Zimmerman, Pexels)
There is an excellent quote by Jimmy Dugan, played by Tom Hanks in the movie A League of Their Own, when one of the players tells him she’s no longer enjoying baseball because it has become too hard: “It’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard…is what makes it great!\”
So, how do we embrace something that sucks, hurts and yet could be beneficial, and make it the cornerstone of our running growth? I suggest these steps:
1 – Accept your feelings: Don’t suppress your emotions after the failure. Don\’t put a façade for your buddies. These feelings are normal, healthy and must be worked through your system so they may be processed.
2 – Step away from guarded mode: Ok, you failed. So what? Is your wife going to leave you? Are your friends disowning you? You have processed your emotions and accepted what happened. It is time to stop dwelling on it and move forward.
3 – Find the lessons to be learned: What happened? Why? Was it an external factor or was it something under your control? What will you do differently next time? Identify the factors that assisted with the failure and strategize on how not to allow this to happen again. If it was your error, own it.
4 – Embrace the failure: Now that you know what happened, why, and how to avoid it next time, it is time to focus on your next objective. You have accepted that a flop does not reflect your value as a person. Even if you missed the Olympic gold medal. It is, though, an opportunity for growth. The runner who hasn’t failed, just hasn’t run enough.
5 – Enrich yourself by what you\’ve learned: A long time ago, I heard someone (I can\’t recall who) say that \”what you get when you don\’t obtain what you originally set out for, is experience\”. Make this experience part of your narrative. Share your story with others letting them know that setbacks are a natural obstacle in the path to success.
I have compiled a list of failure-related quotes by people from all walks of life. These quotes corroborate that failure can only become a permanent mark in your life when you either keep dwelling on it or you don\’t learn anything from it.
Tak advantage of the opportunity (Photo: Brett Jordan, Pexels)
► \”I have not failed. I\’ve just found 10,000 ways that won\’t work\” – Thomas Edison.
► \”Some sessions are stars, and some are stones, but in the end, they are all rocks and we build upon them\” – Chrissie Wellington, four-time World Ironman Champion.
► \”A bad run is better than no run\” – Unknown.
► \”Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better\” – Samuel Beckett, Playwright, novelist, Nobel-laureate.
► \”Relish the bad training runs. Without them it\’s difficult to recognize, much less appreciate, the good ones\” – Pat Teske, Resilience expert, health advocate, coach.
► \”We all have bad days and bad workouts, when running gets ugly, when split times seem slow, when you wonder why you started. It will pass\”– Hal Higdon, legendary running writer.
► \”There will be days you don\’t think you can run a marathon. There will be a lifetime of knowing you have\” – Unknown.
► \”Get over it – If you have a bad workout or run a bad race, allow yourself exactly 1 hour to stew about it, then move on\” – Steve Scott, former U.S. record holder in the mile.
► \”If you never have a bad day, you\’re probably doing something wrong; if you never have a \’good\’ day, you\’re definitely doing something wrong\” – Mark Remy, Runner\’s World.