Maniac questionnaire

Name: Chri$ Warren

Maniac # 2

State you live in: Washington

Your age: 38

How many marathons / ultra marathons have you run? 71 road marathons and 4 ultras

What was the first race you ever ran? (Any distance) Sound to Narrows 12k race when I was 12 years old (1979)

What was the first marathon you ever ran? What year did you run it? Did you have fun that day? Seattle Marathon (2000) it was the least fun I’ve ever had running a marathon. Makes me wonder why I stuck with it

How long have you been a runner and why did you start running? Since May of 2000. I stood at the finish line of the Vancouver Marathon and as I watched the runners finish I was inspired and thought “if those people can do this, why can’t I”?

Why did you decide to become a Maniac? Or what inspired you? I didn’t really decide to become a Maniac, it just kind of happened! Steve Yee Maniac #1 was really my inspiration. After running the Los Angeles marathon in 2002 and failing to qualify for Boston (which was my goal) I set my sights on the Rock and Roll Marathon in June of that same year. A spur of the moment decision made me make the short drive up to Whidbey Island for a new marathon they were having, my plan was to use this as a training run for the Rock and Roll race. At the starting line I see a familiar face that I had seen at lots of local shorter races. I approach Steve Yee and start chatting with him and he informs me that he just ran the Boston Marathon 6 days earlier. I was in shock, there was just no way someone could run marathons that close together, or could they? After running a great race at Whidbey I started thinking about Steve who ran 2 marathons with just 5 days rest in between. Vancouver International was the following week and I couldn’t stop thinking about what Steve had done. Why not give it a try I thought, I was only 4 minutes off a Boston Qualifier at Whidbey and that was a training run. I ran Vancouver and did qualify for Boston. I was a Maniac and didn’t even know what one was yet! This is why Steve is #1 he was the inspiration for the entire thing!

Of all the races out there in this world, which one would you most like to run? The Gutenberg Marathon in Mainz Germany (I have lots of family in this town) or the Easter Island Marathon in Chile.

If you could run a marathon / ultra accompanied by anyone either living or deceased, who would you choose and why? Probably my father (who passed away when I was 19)

What was your most memorable marathon and why? My first Boston Marathon. It was the my first ever trip with Steve and Tony and little did we all know that the bond we would create on this trip would end up effecting much more than just the three of us. Our competitiveness against each other would start here and they both had me convinced I could run a sub 2:45 and get a NYC qualifier (they just wanted to see a fireworks show). I went for it a failed miserably, but had a blast.

If someone asked you to pick a race for him or her that they could run a PR at, which race would you suggest? Capital City, Pocatello

What was the furthest you’ve ever traveled for a race? Seattle to Boston

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? Yes they think I’m out of my mind! Don’t you know you’re going to have bad knees when you get older! Running is so bad for you; you should really not run so much! You better be careful, you’re going to hurt yourself!

If personal obligations or finances were not an issue, how many marathons would you run in one year? Probably 52. I love running and could do it every week easily!

From what race did you receive your favorite finishers medal? Country Music Marathon 2004, Two Bear Marathon 2005

Where do you keep your finisher medals? On tie racks that are on my wall

Do you wear your race t-shirts? What do you do with the ones you don’t wear? Some I wear, most I keep in storage containers.

If you could put on a marathon anywhere in the world, where would you have it? Everyone will know sometime soon.

Maniac Yellow, or Maniac Black? Yellow

What is your favorite pre race meal? Post race meal? Pasta (of course) for pre race. Post race, a burger and fries or a Myoplex shake.

What is your energy gel of choice? Sport drink of choice? Hammer Gel, Hammer Heed… Hammer products kick ass in my humble opinion

Which race would you never run again and why? The old Las Vegas Marathon. It was an extremely boring course and both years I ran it, the head winds were as strong as being in a wind tunnel. It was brutal!

What was the most challenging race or combination of races you’ve ever done and why? Quadzilla… It was four marathons in four days and I pushed as hard as I could on the first three leaving nothing for day four. I bonked at mile 1.

What is a typical training week like for you? How many miles do you run? Any cross training? It depends. I race well when my mileage is high. I range anywhere from 50 to 100 miles a week depending on what I’m training for and how important it is to me.

Do you have a training partner? If so, who is it? No, I do almost all my training by myself, mostly due to my crazy work schedule.

What kind of shoes do you train in? Do you race in a different shoe? A better question is what kind of shoes don’t I train in. I run in them all, but lately I’ve been strictly wearing Brooks (Adrenaline and Axiom). For a goal race I’ll wear racing flats, Nike Air Streak Spectrum or Brooks racer ST have worked well for me. Fila racers have also been a winner.

What are your short-term running goals? To be able to run completely healthy again and not worry about aggravating the tendonitis that kept me sidelined for over 8 months.

What are your long-term running goals? To be able to run another PR and to catch back up with Sue Fauerbach in total marathon count. To keep running for years

Assuming you have time, what do you do for fun other than run marathons?

Time? What is that? The travel that accompanies the marathons is what I truly enjoy.

What is your favorite Beatle song? The Magical Mystery Tour