Maniac questionnaire Name Scott Stader Maniac # 1093 How many marathons / ultra marathons have you run? 16 What was the first race you ever ran? (Any distance) I ran track in high school. Well, let me rephrase that – I was competitive at shot put and discus and was almost always last in the 2 mile run. Seems like I always beat one person every race due to illness or injury on their part J What was the first marathon you ever ran? What year did you run it? Did you have fun that day? Country Music Marathon in Nashvegas – 2007. I loved it but it wasn’t the most fun thing ever. I got sick at mile 14 and made best friends with the porta potty. Hard way to start my love-affair with marathons BUT it didn’t slow down my enthusiasm! How long have you been a runner and why did you start running? I’ve been a runner for about 4 and half years. Before then I ran every now and then….but on Thanksgiving Day 2004 I realized I was WAY overweight and miserable. So….after having a date with a very beautiful in-shape lady the next day, I decided I had to make a change. So in 5 months I dropped 70 pounds and ran my first half marathon! (And no…she didn’t end up being my wife – that would’ve been too perfect for sure!) Why did you decide to become a Maniac? Or what inspired you? I’d seen the shirts at races but didn’t put 2 and 2 together until I read Dean Karnazes’ new book – where he mentions the site. Besides that I am fairly alone (in my circle of friends) in my desire to run multiple marathons a year so I needed a safe-haven to abide in. Of all the races out there in this world, which one would you most like to run? Boston because of the mystique and a marathon in Switzerland because it’s in Switzerland! If you could run a marathon / ultra accompanied by anyone either living or deceased, who would you choose and why? Dean Karnazes would be up there and Jesus. I’d like to pick both of their brains for similar and different reasons J What was your most memorable marathon and why? St. Jude Memphis Marathon in December of 08. I paced a couple of my best friends in the half and another great friend ran his first marathon and everyone was there to celebrate when I finished. We also raised money for St. Jude so it was just an awesome day all round! A close second would be the Yakima River Canyon this past year. What a GREAT time we had at the MM reunion – so fun meeting so many other Maniacs! If someone asked you to pick a race for him or her that they could run a PR at, which race would you suggest? Andrew Jackson in Jackson, TN. My hometown and it’s also FLAT. My 2nd fastest too! What was the furthest you’ve ever traveled for a race? Atlanta to Yakima, WA – 2857 Miles. Do any of your non-running friends or family members think that you’re crazy for running as much as you do? What are some of their comments to you? Uh yeah…I’m kinda strange to most of my friends/family but it’s mostly a respectful strange crazy kinda thing. My favorite comment – “Yeah, you are still single aren’t ya?” If personal obligations or finances were not an issue, how many marathons would you run in one year? 50 plus…if my body would hold out. From what race did you receive your favorite finisher’s medal? Where do you keep your finisher medals? I try to coordinate with what I’m wearing on a daily basis. Or…I have them hanging in my home office. Do you wear your race t-shirts? Yup – most all of them. What do you do with the ones you don’t wear? I take pictures of them first (over 100 races the past couple of years) and wear some to train in and some out on the town! If you could put on a marathon anywhere in the world, where would you have it? The aforementioned Switzerland. And yes, I realize they do have one there…Or maybe from my house to my office. That would be a fun urban marathon. Maniac Yellow, or Maniac Black? D - White. What is your favorite pre race meal? Big bowl of spaghetti with both alfredo and meat sauce. What is your energy gel of choice? Vanilla bean and strawberry banana but sports jelly beans are the beast. Sport drink of choice? Gatorade Which race would you never run again and why? Fortunately none of my 16 so far was that terrible of an experience but if I had to choose then it would be the redundant “Run for the Ranch” in Springfield, MO. It’s an experience but best just a one-time experience….UPDATE – I wrote that before I decided to tackle that race again – just to prove I could…and I PR’d by 16 minutes this year!!! So, in retrospect I would run any of mine again because I just enjoy running and challenging myself. What was the most challenging race or combination of races you’ve ever done and why? What is a typical training week like for you? How many miles do you run? Any cross training? Running 3-5 days a week and usually a race on the weekend. 20-50 miles typically but I have recently started biking and swimming. Do you have a training partner? If so, who is it? What kind of shoes do you train in? Do you race in a different shoe? What are your short-term running goals? What are your long-term running goals? Assuming you have time, what do you do for fun other than run marathons? Who is your favorite Super Hero? Superman, Wonder Woman, Main Maniac (with cat on head), non Maniac Beauty? |