Maniac questionnaire

Name

Jim Baudhuin (a.k.a. the “Fat Bastard”)

Maniac #

429

State you live in

Texas

How many marathons / ultra marathons have you run?

47 (44 marathons plus 3 ultras) as of December 19, 2006

What was the first race you ever ran? (Any distance)

The Milwaukee Journal “Al’s Run” (5 miles) for charity in 1981

What was the first marathon you ever ran? What year did you run it? Did you have fun that day?

Lakefront Marathon in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. October 1988. Had a blast. Still the only run I have ever done where I got “runner’s high”. I’ve been trying for the last 46 marathons to get it back.

How long have you been a runner and why did you start running?

I wrestled in college and we had to run so you wouldn’t describe me as your typical runner. I didn’t begin to run for “fun” until about 1987.

Why did you decide to become a Maniac? Or what inspired you?

I ran (or perhaps more accurately “walked”) with a guy for a while at Pikes Peak in 2006 who was wearing a Maniac shirt and I decided to look into it. Once I saw that there was a [support] group for folks with our condition I knew it was for me.

Of all the races out there in this world, which one would you most like to run?

Great Wall Marathon.

If you could run a marathon / ultra accompanied by anyone either living or deceased, who would you choose and why?

Only one? Wow, that’s tough. I usually run my marathons alone. A number of friends of mine have either moved out of the area or have stopped running 26.2. It would be great to get all of us together again for a marathon.

What was your most memorable marathon and why?

My first one. I remember that the night before my mom asked me how far a marathon was and when I told her 26.2 miles, she replied by telling me “you can’t do that”. That was all the motivation I needed. Second would be the 100^th Boston. Antarctica was fun, too.

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

St. George. I did it back in 1995 and 1996 and it was extremely well organized although if you are big into “crowd support” this isn’t your race. It is a very fast course, though.

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

To Antarctica for the marathon in 1997. It was particularly neat because I was somehow able to convince my bride that we should make the trip our honeymoon. She was so inspired by the other lunatics on board that she decided to run the darned thing with absolutely no training. That’s a maniac!

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?

Do “any” of them think I’m nuts? A better question would be whether any of them DON’T think that I’m nuts. The usual comments are about how “nuts” or “crazy” I am.

If personal obligations or finances were not an issue, how many marathons would you run in one year?

10-12. Once every month to 5 weeks seems to work out very well. Each marathon or ultra is your long training run for the next one.

From what race did you receive your favorite finishers medal?

That’s a tough one. Probably the 100^th Boston. That was such a special day that I would have to put it ahead of the rest. As I get older, though, I really appreciate all of them because I am so thankful to be able to run them.

Where do you keep your finisher medals?

In a box in my office at home.

Do you wear your race t-shirts? What do you do with the ones you don’t wear?

Sometimes, although not nearly as much as I used to (I used to wear them all the time). They are all hanging in my closet – or rather, they are taking up most of the space in my closet.

If you could put on a marathon anywhere in the world, where would you have it?

I don’t know if I’d “put one on” anywhere, considering that other maniacs have taken the step to already put them on pretty much anywhere that you could ever want to run. I’d love to run near Mount Everest or on the beaches in Negril, Jamaica.

Maniac Yellow, or Maniac Black?

Yellow

What is your favorite pre race meal? Post race meal?

Pre-race -- Lasagne with an extra side of Italian sausage. Post race – that’s easy, the biggest, greasiest cheeseburger I can find.

What is your energy gel of choice? Sport drink of choice?

Vanilla Bean Gu. Cytomax (or Gatorade if I can’t get Cytomax)

Which race would you never run again and why?

How many can I list? I hated San Francisco when I ran it back in 1993 and the best part of the course (running over the Golden Gate Bridge) has apparently been taken out of the course. I also wasn’t wild about the Marine Corps. I did a marathon in Caracus, Venezuela in July of 1997 (so that I could get a marathon in South America). Considering the political instability in Venezuela, I’d never run that one again.

What was the most challenging race or combination of races you’ve ever done and why?

I have only recently begun to embrace the true calling of the marathon maniacs; that is, running back-to-back. I recently did back-to-back ultras on consecutive weekends. Considering how little training I do, that is about as far as I can go. Next year I hope to do the Sunmart (50K) and the White Rock marathon on consecutive days. Pikes Peak was very tough; once again because of my minimalist training and complete lack of either altitude or hills here in Dallas.

What is a typical training week like for you? How many miles do you run? Any cross training?

I believe in the minimalist approach to training. My mantra has always been that “if you can do it in a week, you can do it in a day.” I used to run 30-40 miles per week but I am lucky now to hit that magic 26 per week. Kind of interesting when you do a 50K and it is longer than you have run for an entire week. Usually 3 short runs of 4 miles or so during the week and then a l0-20 miler on Saturday.

Do you have a training partner? If so, who is it?

We have a “bastard brigade” with various members whose nicknames can’t be repeated outside of our group. Suffice it to say that we are not big into “political correctness.” There are usually 3-4 of us on any given weekend. You either have to be incredibly well put-together psychologically or have a good therapist to survive our long runs. We can be brutal.

What kind of shoes do you train in? Do you race in a different shoe?

I train and race in the same shoes. At my pace it really doesn’t make sense to have “race” shoes because you can hardly call what I do “racing”. I have bounced back and forth primarily between Nike and Asics for the last 20 years but for the past 6-8 years have run with Asics. Right now I run with Kayanos.

What are your short-term running goals?

Houston, Austin, Bataan Death March. Those 3 will give me an even 50 marathons.

What are your long-term running goals?

I have finished marathons on 4 continents. I’d like to get the last 3 (Africa, Asia and Australia). I’d like to do Comrades in South Africa. I’d also like to move up to the longer distances (50 miles, 12 hours and eventually 100 miles). I also have this strange desire to run the Western States. Seems like the longer you do this stuff, the more you need some type of serious counseling or therapy.

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

Read and play with my kids.

Who is your favorite Super Hero? Superman, Wonder Woman, Main Maniac (with cat on head)?

My favorite is probably Superman, although Linda Carter as Wonder Woman (with her magic lasso and that costume) always did something special for me.