It’s Thursday, so I’m copying my friend Jen Morgan with a Three Things Thursday blog. I’m not copying her three things, because she likes to talk about things like sports bras and her boyfriend, and it would be really weird for me to talk about sports bras and her boyfriend. But, I have three things nonetheless. [Read more…]

Last year I used to go with 10 random things for Tuesday as a blog topic after seeing a lot of people go with three things for Thursday. The alliteration thing made it easy for a topic. But I’ve come to realize that other people are a lot smarter than me. Three is SO much easier than 10! So, it’s Thursday. I’ll go with three random things.

1. 67 days until Boston. Not that I’m counting. My training is pretty much on target so far. Just need to drop a little weight (see item No. 3). I go back and forth between worrying about my weight and not worrying about my weight. If the speed is there, that’s all that really matters, I guess. But it would be a lot easier for the speed to be there without me carrying extra weight.

2. If any of you think I’m crazy for running 61 marathons last year to raise money for Train 4 Autism, you should see what my friend Steve Walters is doing. I think he’s crazy. Coming from me, that should say something. Take a look!

3. I’m doing something called The Daniel Plan through my church. It’s designed to help people at all different levels take better care of themselves in various areas of their lives. Health is a big focus. I have the ability to run a lot of miles, but that certainly doesn’t make me perfect. I’m trying to get back down to about 195 pounds (right now I’m up to 208) and take better care of my insides. Just because I have strong legs and good cardiovascular endurance doesn’t mean I don’t harm myself with the garbage I eat sometimes.

One of the things it has us doing is eliminating caffeine and processed food for the next six weeks. This no coffee thing is killing me — I used to have a large mug in the morning and a travel mug for the drive to the office. I’m also cutting out pop, which I had a lot of. If I go out for fast food, I’ll usually get a large cup (32 oz.) and drink four cups. Yeah, 128 oz. of Diet Coke at lunch. My body won’t miss that.

OK, that’s three things. Have a great weekend!

Late last year, I started doing Q&A sessions. I figured that with the experiences I was having, there were things you might want to know that I hadn’t covered in my blogs. Well, there’s one question I never got to answering. And my two followers who are dying to know the answer keep asking. So Dave and Carlos, today you’re getting your answer. The question? Which race has the best-looking women?

For those of you who have never been here, I’m a father of three and a marathon runner. My middle child, 7-year-old Jack, is severely autistic. Last year, to raise money and awareness for a charity I’m a part of called Train 4 Autism, I ran 61 full marathons all over the country. There were a couple of ultramarathons in the mix, too.

So, I took questions and answers and a couple of my followers wanted to know which race has the best-looking women. There are a lot of ways to answer that question.

I could take the easy way out and say the Orange County Marathon. My wife ran the 5K (well, pushed Jack in a stroller for the 5K), so that’s an easy, safe answer. But I won’t go that route. I’ll answer the question.

I could plug my race and say the Operation Jack Marathon and mention that we’re going to have it again this year. That’s an easy, safe answer. But I won’t go that route. I’ll answer the question.

I could say New York City or Nike Women’s Marathon, because those two probably have the most female entrants. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so mathematically speaking, if somebody things 1 in every X women is attractive, those two races will very likely have the highest number of attractive women. That’s an easy, safe answer. But I won’t go that route. I’ll answer the question.

I could say Boston, because with the toughest qualifying standards, it’s very possible that race has the highest number of physically fit women that meet the “attractive” criteria set forth by the media. That’s an easy, safe answer. But I won’t go that route. I’ll answer the question.

I’m going to eliminate anybody I actually know or met from this question, because I’m not going to put anybody on the spot one way or the other. So, my answer:

I’ve thought about this question for two months. I tried to think back over all the races. I didn’t focus on checking out the women. Don’t get me wrong — I see attractive women and they’re attractive. I’m married, but I’m not dead. But when I’m racing, I’m thinking about taking care of my body and getting it from the start line to the finish line as fast as possible. That’s it.

I don’t remember people I see during the race. I had to think back over all my races. Do I remember crossing any finish line thinking, “Wow, there were a lot of attractive women running this race!” No, sure don’t. Do I remember crossing any finish line thinking, “Wow, people look a different here than they do at most other races!” No, sure don’t.

This was tough. I wanted to answer the question, but nothing came to mind. So, I thought to myself, do I remember any random, pretty faces from any of the races last year? And then it came to me. I do. I remember someone from about mile 22 up at Grandma’s Marathon. If I only remember one random person from the 61 marathons I ran last year, does that mean that race has the best-looking women? I think it does.

So there’s your answer. Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota — the marathon with the best-looking women in the country.