He jogged, we hiked

Snoqualmie Summit, Washington

Frank started running the Cascade Crest 100 at 5:00am this morning. We were there to see him off in the dark (headed east into the Snoqualmie Tunnel) and then sensibly returned to our hotel for more sleep. But afternoon saw us taking a several mile hike above Summit West, even as Frank crossed the 25 mile mark on his run. Go, Frank!

Bethlehem marathon

Bethlehem, Palestine
Friday, April 11, 2014

While A and I stayed home in Jordan, Frank traveled to Bethlehem with colleagues yesterday to run in the Palestine Marathon. The marathon was held today, and Frank had a very respectable finishing time (4:24:51) and a very interesting experience, too--the race course included portions that followed the Wall. A good experience on many levels, he reports...

"This is what midnight looks like..."

At the 100 km finish line...

Adak, Sweden
Saturday, June 29, 2013

Earlier this afternoon, Frank completed the Lappland Ultra Marathon 100K in Adak, Sweden. A and I stayed in southern Sweden while Frank was up north running all night amidst the mosquitoes and reindeer--by the light of the midnight sun. He reports a very memorable (and beautiful) time. The race started at 10pm on Friday night and went all night (sunset at 12:06am and sunrise at 1:23am). A short video is posted in case you ARE wondering what midnight looks like in northern Sweden...and some flower and reindeer pictures, too.

Two reindeer out grazing...

Dead Sea Ultra

Dead Sea, Jordan

Friday, April 5, 2013

Frank finished the Dead Sea Ultra Marathon this afternoon around mid-day. It was a long haul (50K!) from Amman's 8th circle to the Amman Beach Club down at the Dead Sea, but he did it. Go, Frankie!

Baikal Ice Marathon

Lake Baikal, Russia

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Well, it's my blog, but I think I'd better share Frank's latest adventure anyhow. Today Frank completed the Baikal International Ice Marathon. They ran across the lake from Listvyanka to Tankhoy and then had the pleasure of riding a hovercraft back to Listvyanka.

The scenery (below) looks amazing!

Russian hovercraft in action:

-17°C: Spring!

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Saturday, February 4, 2012

This afternoon Frank fired up the computer and soon joyfully announced that it was above 0° Fahrenheit (-18°C). That is SPRING compared to the last two weeks of bitter cold! I celebrated by going for a jog with one less layer of clothing. I also took along Frank's GPS watch and inscribed a message. See if you can read it...

UB Marathon

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Saturday, June 5, 2010

This afternoon Frank finished the First Annual Ulaanbaatar Marathon. He was pleased with his finishing time (4 hours, 44 minutes), but he reports that the two best parts of the race were 1) running out into the countryside and looking back on the tiny dot that was UB and 2) running down the middle of Peace Avenue on his way to the finish line in Sükhbaatar Square.

I don't think I have commented too much on the state of UB's traffic, but it is horrendous--both in terms of the craziness of the driving and the huge traffic jams that form in parts of the city. Running down the middle of one of UB's main avenues (as opposed to sprinting fearfully across them) is a pleasure that few of us will ever get to enjoy...

At the finish line in Sükhbaatar Square

Follow the frozen river

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Sunday, November 15, 2009

Last week Frank became the first person to sign up for Ulaanbaatar's first marathon in June 2010. It took three trips to the marathon office to actually get him signed up, but he's on the list now.

Frank also entered the Tokyo Marathon lottery and "won" a spot in the Tokyo Marathon which is scheduled for late February. There were 330,000 entrants for 30,000 spots, and he was pleased to get one.

So, now the challenge is on: how to train in Mongolia's freezing winter temperatures.

This afternoon Frank passed an important test: he did his first run (8 miles/13K) in sub-zero F temperatures (-17° C).

He's been reading up on cold-weather running and among the more useful tips was to smear Vaseline on exposed skin (like the cheeks) to cut down on wind burn. Frank reports that this helped a lot on this latest run.

Frank has noted with some pleasure that one of the advantages of our somewhat isolated living situation is its proximity to some low-traffic running roads. We are also somewhat outside the city's main pollution core which makes breathing on these runs a bit easier.

Despite the freezing temps, Frank took his glove off to document his route along the Tuul River with his camera phone.

Looks chilly, no?