Garmin associates race around the world

“Some guy in a #3 Dale Earnhardt shirt was running backwards with his arms raised soaking in the crowd just before the finish line. I jumped up, slapped him five and crossed the line before him. My running coach said to enjoy the finish, and I certainly did. If it weren’t for my sore quads and the big ol’ medal, I might think it was all a dream.” An even greater reward than the medal and finish line festivities was raising more than $5,000 for ovarian cancer research in support of a family member.

While Amy was sweltering down south, Garmin associate and dedicated trail runner Kurt was splattering his way through the 40-mile Free State Trail Race in Lawrence, Kansas. Kurt finished in 7 hours, 41 minutes and was thankful he’d “only signed up for the 40-mile.” There’s the true sign of an addicted trail/ultra runner—when a 40-miler is considered the short course. “The 100K racers had to be pulled from the course in a severe t-storm with tornado sirens going off like crazy.” Kurt reported that the race overall was “mud-tastic”. He talked to several ultra runners who are eagerly awaiting our Forerunner 310XT with 20-hour battery life and swim-proof rating. No word on the 310XT’s mud-proof rating, but we’re certain Kurt and his band of Trail Nerds will put it to the test soon. See Kurt’s race details.

Sunday brought more races, including the Flora London Marathon where Chris, Garmin’s marketing communications manager for the U.K., ran this one in support of cancer research. Chris ran a very consistent race and finished in just over 4 hours. Check out his splits, recorded by Forerunner 405, in Garmin Connect.

Back on this side of the pond, Garmin associate Josh ran the Oklahoma City Marathon. Josh, who’s diligent in his training and addicted to his Forerunner 405, started laying down 7+ minute miles, on his way to claiming a Boston qualifier. But at mile 22, he met an invisible opponent by the name of Wind. Not just any old tumbleweed-blowin’ gust typical in the Midwest. It was 40 mph gales that made race headlines. “Some miles, no matter how hard you tried, you just couldn’t run fast because of the wind. So, my goal was to just steadily chug along in the windy miles and to try and pick up the pace on the non-windy miles. Easier said then done when you’re at mile 22 in a race.” Josh still had an amazing time of 3:32 and finished 83rd overall. See his data in Garmin Connect and be sure to check out the detailed split data recorded by the 405 and the change at mile 22. His wife Katherine has the running bug too and completed her second half marathon.

Our final race recap comes from Peg and Jake, who joined more than 70 Garmin associates and thousands of other runners for the 4-mile Trolley Run through some scenic parts of our fair city. Peg and her sometimes-cranky Achilles were grateful for the mostly downhill course. “The question of the day was whether I’d be able to ‘run’ and not ‘race’, since I’ve been forced to mostly bike and cross-train since my January marathon. So I turned to Forerunner’s Virtual Partner for help. Set it for a moderate pace and then ran my race against the little guy and not the runners around me. I finished feeling great and can now focus on other upcoming races and my first duathlon of the season.” See Peg's race in Garmin Connect.

For Jake, whose house sits near the race’s midpoint, the Trolley Run is the day that 7,000 people join him and his wife, Jocelyn, on their training trails. And among the thousands of runners – and dozens of colleagues – Jake lined up with Garmin friends Rob and Bently. The three agreed that they were all gunning for 6-minute miles, and Rob was worried about getting carried away early amid the elite runners and ideal tailwind. Always the data hound, Jake set the vibration alerts on his Forerunner 310XT for every half-mile. The first vibration alerted Jake that he and Rob were on a 5:20 pace after the first half-mile, resulting in a 5:33 first mile. Jake blames Rob, who at age 51 has an effortless stride and tireless smile. “I like Rob,” Jake said, “I just don’t believe him anymore. Dude’s too fast.” Jake’s pace leveled off and he averaged a 5:57 pace to finish in 23:47, 28 seconds behind Rob and 1 second behind Bently’s solid kick. As for Jocelyn, she shaved five minutes off last year’s Trolley time as she gears up for her marathon debut next month with Jake in San Diego. We’ll be sure to share their stories, and we want to hear yours. Send us an email or comment in the space below. See you on the streets!   

The post Garmin associates race around the world appeared first on Garmin Blog.