Operation Jack

Fighting autism, one mile at a time.

Weekend Preview: Race #39, Park City

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Well, here we are again. It’s Thursday, time to start getting ready for the weekend and thinking about my race. I’ve got my weekly contest, a few deep thoughts, a lemonade stand and a photo shoot. You know, typical random stuff.

First real quick, in case you’ve never been here, click here to see why I’m trying to run 61 marathons this year for Train 4 Autism.

Also, I just started with something new this week called Race 4 Free. As part of what I’m doing, I’m always trying to figure out ways to get people involved, so this is my latest attempt.

Summer’s Winding Down
Benjamin starts soccer practice tonight, so last night I was starting to think about the end of the year really coming up. I keep thinking about how the epitaph on Operation Jack isn’t written yet, but I know I’m starting to run out of days. I still think everything is going to end up OK with this, that it’s going to be a success. Realistically, I think Train 4 Autism is going to be better off than if I didn’t do this, and it’s going to be up to me to keep doing my part to keep things rolling.

Sometimes, I think I’ll have done a good enough job. Sometimes, I think it won’t be much of a success. I’ve had successes and lots and lots of failures all year long. But last night, I had a different thought for the first time. When all is said and done, I’ll know deep, deep down that I put my all into it. I’ll know that I came up with an idea that might have seemed overwhelming if I really sat back and thought about it, but I went after it and gave it my best shot. I was driving and I thought if nothing else, all I did was try really hard to tackle something really big. I’ll never feel bad about stepping up and trying to making something happen.

I still have 23 marathons to go, though. Including one this weekend. What a weak transition …

Park City Marathon
I’d heard that the Park City Marathon was tough, but I never looked at the course map until Tuesday. And then I saw a huge task cut out for me. This race starts at 6200 feet and climbs! I guess it’s no Leadville or Pike’s Peak, but it’s surely not a fast course! It goes up to 7400 feet by about mile 17 and then finishes back down around 6200.

I think I’m going to be lucky to crack 3:40 in this one. And that brings me to my weekly contest. Every week, I have a contest where you make a small donation and try to guess my time. So, for instance, if you think I’m going to run a 3:42, you’d donate $3.42. If you think I’m going to run a 3:34, you donate $3.34. It’s an easy contest, it barely costs anything, and it benefits a great cause. So, give me that pat on the back I’m craving and play along this week!

Last week, I went 3:17 and Sharla Wipplinger won with a guess of 3:18.

OJ In RW!
Operation Jack is going to get coverage in the November issue of Runner’s World! I forget if I’ve mentioned it here or just on Twitter and Facebook, but we’re going to be in the “What It Takes” section. It’s not like an eight-page cover article, but still, it’s Runner’s World, so that should be good exposure. I’ll certainly remind y’all when the issue comes out.

On Monday night, we spent about 2 1/2 hours with a photographer. I couldn’t imagine being a model.


I was impressed with my work. She offered to buy me McDonald’s, but I had already eaten.

When Life Gives You An Open Spot On A Sidewalk, Make Lemonade!
Tiff and the kids are setting up a lemonade stand this afternoon in an area that should have high foot traffic in our hometown. She’s got the lemonade and she baked a bunch of her famed snickerdoodle cookies. I’m sure we’ll make some money and get a few donations, but the really cool thing is that we’ll be spreading the word to a lot of people who live nearby.

I’m going to work hard at building up my chapter of Train 4 Autism next year. Hopefully, this brings in some people!

Speak Of Next Year And Train 4 Autism, …
We’re trying to have a really good presence at the L.A. Marathon. For those of you out here in California, I’m going to lead training runs in South Orange County and we have other folks leading runs in other areas. We don’t have any fundraising minimums, but if you raise at least $300, we’ll cover your entry fee and include a training program. And of course, it’s money going to a great cause.

If you’re interested in running the L.A. Marathon, email me and let me know!

And that’s all for today. Please don’t forget to enter the contest! Have a great couple of days and I’ll have a race report posted here on Saturday!

Random Ramblings For Wednesday

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Normally, I’m pretty formulaic with my blogs, which makes it easier for me to tell you about the most important things involving Operation Jack. But sometimes I think back to when I put this blog on here, and the purpose I had in my mind was to give you the opportunity to know what it’s like to be me and go through this whole “61 marathons while maintaining some kind of life” thing. So today, I’m just going to run down some random thoughts, pretty much like I’m writing in my journal at the end of the day. I’ll just talk about yesterday.

The main thing sticking in my mind is dinner. I got home and we were all set to have a nice dinner. Tiff made veggie burgers — she saw a show about meat on Oprah that grossed her out and she’s sticking away from meat a little bit. As much as I talk about all the cheeseburgers I like to eat, it really doesn’t bother me to eat a veggie burger. It’s only a meal, and there’s no crime in being healthy. I should be a little bit healthier and drop some pounds. Maybe I’d run a little faster!

Anyways, it was pretty good and Benjamin and Ava were even eating their veggie burgers (they thought it was just a regular burger). But then Jack came down for dinner and he was really picky. Tiff had to try several different things for him. He ended up eating gluten-free pancakes. This isn’t terribly out of the ordinary, but every here and there she loses it and gets really upset. And that was what happened last night.

With Jack’s therapist right there, she start crying about how she’s sick of our family dinner being a therapy session every night. She said she’s sick of every outing to the grocery store being a therapy session. I just started cleaning up the kitchen to stay busy because it was kind of awkward. I keep most of my sadness inside, but she’s not like that. She’ll let it out. And when she gets upset, it just breaks my heart.

There’s nothing I can do. I can’t tell her that it’s OK, because it’s not. I can’t tell her not to cry, because if that’s what she feels, then that’s what she can do. All I can do is clean the kitchen and look at the situation and think about how much I wish we had a normal family life. But we don’t.

Jack eventually ate OK, had a decent night, and Ben and Ava had a fun little “sleepover” in our playroom in their sleeping bags. I fell asleep on the couch for a little while because I’m still recovering from the red-eye flight I took Sunday night/Monday morning.

The one thing pertaining to Operation Jack that happened yesterday was I finally finalized the rest of my schedule for the year. I had an open date on the weekend of October 23/24, but I picked the Mankato Marathon in Mankato, Minnesota. There wasn’t a whole lot on the schedule that weekend, and I have some friends who will be there for that one. Plus, as silly as this sounds, I’m Silver Medallion with Delta (puts me at the front of the line for free first-class upgrades) and Delta is what you take to Minnesota.

For Thanksgiving weekend, I was going to run Atlanta on Thanksgiving morning and then fly back in time to have dinner with my family. My mom lives in Atlanta, so I would have been able to see her the night before. Atlanta canceled the marathon, though, so she was bummed and I was trying to decide between races in Seattle, Mississippi and Florida. Runner’s World was asking me about that race, because they’re finalizing whatever they’re running on me in the November issue, and they noticed that gap.

So, I picked … Baltimore! I found one out there, and normally, my mom goes out and spends Thanksgiving with my uncle (her brother) out there. This year, they were just going to do Thanksgiving in Atlanta instead. So, I’ll head out there on the Friday, run the race Saturday morning, then fly back that night. The airfare is actually cheaper than Seattle and Florida and I won’t need a hotel. And of course, I’ll get to see family. Win-win-win. And the biggest win is that FINALLY I don’t have to worry about my schedule any more!

The World Through Jack’s Eyes
Jack likes to take pictures using Tiff’s iPhone. So, I thought I’d run four of them in here today.


He lined up these three little toy bears he likes.

A, uh, different view of the bears.

He lined up some numbers in order and then took a picture.

His three favorite stuffed friends.

That’s pretty much it for today. Hope you have a great Wednesday!

Weekend Recap And A Whole Lot More!

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Wow, what a blur the past few days have been. I was planning on writing a blog for yesterday, but that didn’t happen. I went to Alaska over the weekend and took a redeye flight back Sunday night and the next thing I know, I’m in the office on Monday morning. So, I guess here goes, a weekend recap and some announcements I need to make.

Real quick, just in case this is your first time here, click here to see why I’m running 61 marathons this year for Train 4 Autism. I ran my 38th of the year yesterday in Anchorage, Alaska. I thoroughly enjoyed the course. I’ve run a lot of races, and none topped this one.

Now, for two quick announcements.

Race 4 Free!
I’m always trying to figure out new ways to increase participation and fundraising, so my latest attempt is something I’m creating called Race 4 Free. If you raise just $300, we’ll cover a race entry fee for you, plus we’ll send you an Operation Jack t-shirt, tech shirt and sweatshirt. The race entry can’t exceed $150, and there’s no obligation to try. I’d prefer you do this for a race I’m going to be at, but you can do this for any race you like.

Also, if you have a preferred autism charity, we’ll contribute 85 percent of everything you raise beyond $300 to that organization. If you don’t have a preferred organization, Train 4 Autism will be the beneficiary.

Unfortunately, I can only do this for new fundraising efforts, but $300 is a pretty low requirement and it’s not mandatory. If you sign up and don’t make it, you’re not on the hook for anything. To create a team, go to operationjack.kintera.org/race4free. If you have any questions, send me an email!

St. Louis Cardinals Fundraiser Update
We settled on donation requirements for autographs at the fundraising event we’re having in St. Louis on October 2. Most of you aren’t in that area, so I won’t go into a ton of detail here, but if you’re thinking about attending, or if you’re unaware of what we’re doing, click to operationjack.org/cardinals to learn more. It’s going to be an awesome event!

Weekend Recap
Well, I think I’ll let the pictures do the talking. I posted an album on Facebook and I left it public so everybody could see it. I was really looking forward to Alaska and I was not disappointed. It was amazing and I’m so glad I went. I only saw a little tiny corner of the state, and it was the most magnificent corner of the world I’ve ever seen. I’m going back with my wife someday. No question about it — I can’t wait for her to see it.

Anyways, click here to see the album.

Something I Had Never Done Before This Weekend
I ate a reindeer sausage omelette. I took a picture, but I won’t post it here — it’s in the album. I got talked into it by Alaska native Brandon Wood, who I’ll talk about a little farther down in this blog. Like the saying goes, when in Rome … eat an omelette?

Something Else I Had Never Done Before This Weekend
I tied a necktie on a woman in a Wal-Mart parking lot. I guess I can cross that off the list of things I’d never done, too. I parked my car and a young woman dressed as Charlie Chaplain approached me from her truck. My first thought was she was going to ask me for gas money. But she told me she was going to a “gender bender” birthday party and she didn’t know how to tie her tie.

I know how to tie a tie, but I’ve never tied one on another person. And quite frankly, it’s pretty awkward to do that — especially to some random woman. But after three tries, I got it, and since I had my camera in my pocket, I told her I wanted to take a picture for my blog since it was such a random experience. So, here it is … how’s the knot?


I was impressed with my work. She offered to buy me McDonald’s, but I had already eaten.

It’s Not Very Often You Can Write This As Your Facebook Status
I had the opportunity to write this yesterday afternoon, and I don’t know when I’ll get the opportunity to write this again. Hopefully never?


I wonder why I can’t get below 200 pounds.

Don’t Tell Us You Can’t Do It!
Most of you know I dropped about 60 pounds when I got in shape to run marathons. But check this out … I met somebody named Brandon Wood on Sunday up in Alaska. He’s dropped more than 80 pounds since last Christmas! He was 290 back then and only 208 yesterday. I had seen his before picture, then met him yesterday, and when I went back to look at the before picture, it was so hard to believe that was him! I mean, it was, but wow — incredible job, Brandon! For the record, Brandon’s super nice. One cool thing about what I’m doing this year is I get to meet nice people in every city I go to.


Amazing. Absolutely amazing.

OK, that’s all for today. I’ll see you back here tomorrow. Happy Tuesday!

Race Report: Humpy's Marathon

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I’m not going to spend a whole of time talking about my running in Humpy’s Marathon in Anchorage, Alaska, Sunday. I think that would miss the point of it all. But I will write a quick recap and then talk about why I think this one is a must-run.

I came into this race feeling pretty good. I felt about as good as I have physically this year and I was well-rested. I ran well early on and felt comfortable with how I was doing. I felt strong and not tremendously fast, but quicker than I’ve been lately.

I slowed a little bit after the first 10K, but hit the half in 1:35 and change. I started to slow pretty badly by about mile 17 or so. My legs got really stiff and I was running about a minute per mile slower than I had been. At mile 24, I tried my best to give it a good charge and I did fairly well at the end. What looked like a 3:19 day ended up being a 3:17:33. I finished 15th overall, 3rd in my age group. I’m content with how I ran in my 38th marathon of the year.

OK, now that the running part is out of the way, this race is now probably my favorite. It’s a tough toss-up between this and Boston, but Boston’s tradition and talented field give it some bonus points. From a course standpoint, there is no question that this is the best one I’ve ever run. I don’t know that I’ll ever run a nicer course.

It starts in downtown Anchorage, which is a nice little area, and within about two miles, you spend 22 miles running through a trail system that’s pretty well developed. The course has slight rolling hills, but nothing drastic. You can run fast on this course. But you might not want to run fast on the course because the scenery is amazing.

There are wooded areas, there’s a bay, there’s snow-capped mountains off in the distance … just when you think you’ve seen something awesome, there’s something else right around the corner. Runner’s World magazine has a section called “Rave Runs” where they show snapshots of people running in breathtaking areas. This course was one constant rave run. There were creeks, there was fog on top of the bay at times … it was amazing.

As I kept running, I kept thinking, “Wow, if nothing else, for all the work I’m putting in this year, these 26.2 miles are my reward.” At one point, I ran about 10 feet away from a mama moose and her little calf. The course support was great and the folks were enthusiastic.

I really hope that my wife Tiffany gets over the inflammation in her ankle that’s been bothering her for a year. I’d love to bring her here and run every step of the way with her. That’s probably the only way I would enjoy a run more than I enjoyed this one today.

So, that’s my take on Humpy’s Marathon in Anchorage. Take it from me, because I’ve run a lot of courses — this one belongs on your must-do list!


38 down, only 23 to go!

Weekend Preview: Anchorage

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Well, it’s already Thursday, so it’s time for another weekend preview, another announcement and another contest.

First, just in case you haven’t been here before, I’m a father of three and a marathon runner. My middle son, 6 1/2-year-old Jack, is severely autistic. And if you click here, you can see why I’m trying to run 61 marathons this year for Train 4 Autism.

Quick Jack Update
A couple of months ago, we took Jack to a new D.A.N. doctor. It was an extremely traumatic experience for me and Jack. But it was the start of quite a bit of testing and a new routine. Tiff is going back for a return visit today, so we’re anxious to get feedback on test results and his dietary routine going forward.

I won’t be there, but I’ll be nervously awaiting Tiff’s call to find out how things go. I hope to hear good news about the tests, but I also hope to hear the visit goes well for Jack. I’ll never forget how upset he was on the ride back last time. Totally heartbreaking.

Helping Operation Jack Brings You Good Luck!
Yesterday, I announced a special fundraising event involving two members of the St. Louis Cardinals, Skip Schumaker and Adam Wainwright. And yesterday, in their game against the Reds, Schumaker went 3-for-4 with an RBI while Wainwright pitched seven innings, allowing no runs and only two hits to drop his ERA to 1.99 and improve his record to 17-6. With the win, the Cardinals took sole possession of first place. Surely this all happened yesterday because they’re going to help Operation Jack. Right? Right?

New Race On The Schedule
Well, it’s not actually on the schedule, but I’ll be running it. It’s a seven-hour timed race in Portland on September 5th and it’s going to be called the Operation Jack 7-Hour Challenge. Should be fun to do the day after a marathon, right?

About a month ago, Operation Jack supporter Deb Bosilevac approached me about the idea of a timed 7-hour race as a possible fundraiser. I told her that if she could put it together and make it happen, I’d do my best to make it happen. Well, she got it done, and we’re going to do it. We’re getting runners and it should be a good time.

Here’s the fun thing about it, though. Deb is a graduate of the University of Kansas. Me, I’m a proud K-Stater. So, this gives me an opportunity to compete against a rival Jayhawk. I’m going to work on collecting pledges for how much I beat her by. She’s expecting to cover about 35 miles. Even though it’s going to be the day after I run my 41st marathon of the year, I’m aiming for 45 miles. I’m curious to see what I can do in this race. It should be good training for the Tahoe Triple I’m running in late September (three marathons in three days).

Weekly Contest
Every week I have a contest where people try to guess my time in my race by making a small donation and the person who comes the closest without underbidding wins their choice of an Operation Jack t-shirt, tech shirt or sweatshirt. If you think I’m going to run a 3:17, you make a donation of $3.17. If you think it’s going to be a 3:12, you donate $3.12, etc. I haven’t done this contest in a few weeks, but those of you who have been around are familiar with it.

To make a donation, click on the “Donate Now!” link at the top of any page on this site. But first, read on and get my opinions on the course.

This Weekend’s Race
I’ll be running in Anchorage, Alaska on Sunday. It’s a race I’ve really been looking forward to, because I’m definitely more into open space and wilderness than big cities. And in this country, does it get any more open than Alaska?

The course doesn’t look terrible on paper. There are some moderate hills, but nothing that looks too tough. It’s down at sea level and gets up as high as about 100 feet. I don’t think the climbs are too punishing, but I won’t know until I run them. I don’t have any recent performances to really judge my current fitness.

I went 3:33 last week in a run that I treated as a fun run. I stood still for about four minutes and I inadvertently ran an extra quarter mile. The week before, I felt sluggish and went 3:35 on a course that started at 3800 feet and went up from there. 22 of the miles were on a gravel road, which also made things tough. The week before was the San Francisco Marathon, which was very punishing with the hills and ran long by a good 1/4 to 1/3 of a mile according to just about everybody who ran the race. I went 3:21.

Before that, I went 3:42 in the humid Iowa heat. Temps reached about 87 or so, it was humid, and I was exposed for most of the run. Prior to that, a 3:49:40 while pacing the 3:50 group in Missoula. Going back, there was a completely uninspired 3:17 in Portland and a decent 3:12 in Seattle.

I feel good right now. I did well with my spadework this week, I’m recovering well from last weekend and I’m in a good spot mentally. I’m ready to run and I’m ready to run fast. I’m sick of this funk and I have a long flight back from Alaska. I don’t want to be dwelling on a poor time. So, if I had to guess, I’d go with 3:11 this week. I’m going to be ready to run and I’m going to do everything I can to make it happen.

Now go ahead, win something! And help a great cause at the same time!

What Does It Mean?
Last night, I went to In-N-Out for dinner with some friends of mine. Our order number was 38. I’m running my 38th marathon of the year this week. What does it mean? Probably nothing.


What’s up with this? I go to In-N-Out and take a picture of my receipt instead of my burger?

OK, that’s all for today. I’ll try to post a race recap at some point on Sunday. I’m pretty sure that won’t be problem. Thanks for following along and participating in the contest!