Introduction (2/05)

It started as a dare when Marathon Jeannie secretly signed "g" up for his first half marathon - the Adirondack Distance Run. It was a time in "g's" life when he had barely stepped off the treadmill... received a cardiac stent... and figured he'd remain the 5K King the rest of his life.

At the ripe old age of 51, "g" completed his first half marathon in a startling 1:54 (9/04). Sprinting from the frying pan to the fire, he then decided, "I'm doin' the whole enchilada next year!"

Having finally achieved the status of 1/2-Marathoner, "g" was readying for his next project. Yet, in the months that followed, he felt out of sorts. There was the idea of running a marathon, but none scheduled. His 2005 calendar lacked entries for spring and autumn marathons. Without race deadlines there were no start dates for training. His indecisive status as a marathoner-in-training was reflected in his hodgepodge workout schedule. The energy to determine when and where he'd strike 26.2 carrot gold kept getting postponed.

Marathon Commitment #1: Over New Year's weekend 2004, "g" and his daughters traveled to Virginia and visited with RB and Marathon Jeannie and the rest of the LaBella Clan. While touring the Capital Mall in DC, "g" experienced a vision when looking into the Lincoln Memorial. As the presidential sculpture sat endlessly poised in his chair, a tiny black silhouetted man with red, white and blue face-paint jogged circles in the President's lap. Although alarming at first, it could only mean one thing. Marathon Jeannie and "g" would register to run the Marine Corps Marathon (DC) - October 30th, 2005.

Marathon Commitment #2: With an autumn marathon provisionally booked, a spring marathon remained open. At first, it looked like "g" might be joining Long Shots and his son-in-law (Do-It Dave) for the Catalina Island Marathon (CA) on March 19th. But... the aggressiveness of the course with it's huge gains and drops in elevation seemed a bit over the top for a guy who had yet to run one on flat ground! With a little more research on the 3W, he discovered and registered for the Second Annual Potomac River Run (marathon/half marathon) scheduled for May 1st, 2005 - just south of DC.

With marathons scheduled... training officially began the second week in January, '05. Somewhat top heavy with expectation for someone who had yet to run the golden noose, "g" strung together a race itinerary for 2005:

So... here goes... "g's" latest project to become a long distance runner is officially underway! We dare you to try and keep pace with the links that follow... as G-WeB proudly presents...

2005: Marathon Training 101
The Frenzy For a New Project Continues