Maniac Questionnaire

2/1/07

Name: Robert Bishton aka: Cowboy Jeff & The Sun Devil Cowboy (Arizona St. Univ. 1972)

Maniac #: 434

State you live in: Florida

How many marathons / ultra marathons have you run? 35 marathons in 33 states as of 1-29-07.

What was the first race you ever ran? (Any distance) The Baltimore Marathon on 10-16-04.

How long have you been a runner and why did you start running? Having weighed 200 lbs. for the last 15 of my then 52-years, I made a New Year’s resolution for 2003 to lose weight. To help do that I was going to walk five miles a day, a distance I thought to be “marathon length.” Over the next seven months my walks morphed into walk-jogging, jogging, then running and resulted in the loss of 60 lbs. Although I fantasized running a marathon during this period as a motivational tool, it was not until the summer of 2004 that I decided to act on that fantasy. It was too late to enter my local Northern Virginia marathon, the Marine Corps, and the next closest major one was in Baltimore. So as not to be able to provide myself a way to back out, I decided to raise money for the Lewis & Clark University scholarship fund named for my deceased nephew, a graduate who was in his mid-20’s when he lost his life in a mountain rescue training exercise. I had done almost all my maintenance running on treadmills and never for a distance longer than about 13-miles, so to test myself I ran a 22-mile route on the street a week prior to the Baltimore Marathon. My fund raising was tied to my finishing time and I did not have any times listed under 4-hours because I thought that was an unrealistic and unattainable goal. Although I was walk-jogging the last couple miles, when I confirmed that I was going to break the 4-hour barrier shortly before spotting the finish line clock, I experienced that “first-timer’s” euphoria of accomplishment and relief. Wow, and a 3:54 finish was icing on the cake!

Why did you decide to become a Maniac? Or, what inspired you? In November 2005, I was approaching the starting line of the Atlanta Marathon, saw a runner wearing a Maniac singlet and asked him about it. He told me about the club and the minimum membership requirements and it intrigued me. Up to then, gaining membership in the 50-States club was my goal.

Of all the races out there in this world, which one would you most like to run? At this point, the Ironman Triathalon is my “impossible dream.”

If you could run a marathon / ultra accompanied by anyone either living or deceased, who would choose and why? Any one of the dozen or so physically challenged men, or the one woman, I have encountered during my marathons. My admiration of them can’t be measured and passing them chokes me up and brings tears to my eyes.

What was your most memorable marathon and why? The inaugural Snickers Energy Bar Marathon in Albany, Georgia, on March 3, 2007, will be my most memorable. My 84-year-old father and #1 booster lives there and I got him to volunteer for the event. He will be working the expo and handing out finisher’s medals. It will be the highlight of my marathoning life to have him hang it around my neck. The second most memorable was the inaugural Drake Well Marathon in Titusville, PA, (read more below) because it had to be run on a high school track. Yessiree, folks, 106 counterclockwise laps! Each quarter-mile was timed and had a manned aid station with a personal box of goodies! Beat that!

If someone asked you to pick a race for him or her at which a PR could be set, which race would you suggest? For me personally, there hasn’t been a linkage between the type of course and my times so I feel it would be too presumptive of me to give someone a definitive answer.

What was the furthest you’ve traveled for a race? In March 2007 I will be traveling from Florida to Hawaii.

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? No, they don’t think I’m crazy. “How did you do?” is the most common question and the rest are equally superficial. I have yet to enter into an in-depth discussion of the physical and mental challenges involved in running a marathon. The main topic of discussion ends up being my impressions of the city I visited and any traveling problems I may have encountered getting there and back home.

If personal obligations or finances were not an issue, how many marathons would you run in a year? 2006 was a year during which I constantly reassessed my goals for the year and increased the number of runs as the year progressed; however, running a competitive marathon is my primary goal. How about 30? That sounds like a number that could meet both criteria.

From what race did you receive your favorite finishers medal? Because there was no marathon scheduled anywhere in the world on Christmas weekend 2006, Dane Rauschenberg, Maniac #329, had to create one, The Drake Well Marathon, in order to complete his quest to run 52 sanctioned marathons in 2006 to raise money for L’Arche Mobile. His father handcrafted a wooden replica of the Drake Well and attached a brass plaque bearing each finisher’s name.

Where do you keep your finisher medals? In a storage case. Wooden racks will be made to display them.

Do you wear your race t-shirts? What do you do with the ones you don’t wear? If the event gives you a tech-tee, then I wear it for the race. It is then put away with the others. I may eventually have them turned into a 50-States quilt.

If you could put on a marathon anywhere in the world, where would you have it? Aren’t all “The & Most” sites already covered, such as: Highest elevation, lowest elevation, flattest, hilliest, hottest, coldest, most scenic, difficult, etc.? What’s left? How about chartering a jumbo cargo jet and run laps around the inside as it flies from LA to NY? (Remember Maniacs—It was MY ridiculous idea, so if you create it, I deserve a complimentary entry ticket!)

Maniac Yellow or Maniac Black? Which one of the founder’s came up with this question?

What is your favorite pre-race and post-race meal? Although I attend most pre-race pasta dinners so that I can meet other runners, pasta isn’t my favorite food. Besides, does it REALLY make a difference in one’s performance the next morning? I would give two thumbs up for a dinner that included leg-of-lamb with mint jelly! As to post-race meals, are runners picky after a running 26.2 miles? I scarf down anything and everything in sight.

What is your gel and sport drink of choice? I grab and swallow whatever is provided runners during a race. GU-Vanilla Bean is good. During the 2007 Houston Marathon I grabbed a Powerbar-Expresso Coffee and ended up spitting it out. I drink any liquid provided.

Which race would you never run again and why? One of my goals is to try and not run the same race twice until I finish all the states. What was my least favorite to date? The 2006 Delaware Marathon in Wilmington fits the bill because of the course.

What was the most challenging race or combination of races you’ve ever done and why? Running up Grandfather Mountain in Boone, N.C., was the most challenging because there wasn’t a flat stretch and 90% was, you guessed it, UPHILL. It was also one of my favorites because I partnered with a 16-year-old “first-timer” for miles 3-18, before he pulled away and finished in 3:20. I finished in 3:35, which was a PB. The most challenging combo was a stretch of nine marathon weekends in a row during the fall of 2006 when I completed 12 in 15 weeks in 15 states.

What is a typical training week like for you? How many miles do you run? Do you do any cross training? I didn’t have a typical week in 2006. During most of last Fall I did not run at all during the week because of nagging groin and hip pain and having to run races almost every weekend. When I could run between events in 2006, I did all my training on a treadmill. Most typical was three-days doing 7-10 miles and one-day running 13.1miles. I do not practice running any longer distances. I have not done any cross training.

Do you have a training partner? Wish I did.

What kind of shoes do you train in? Do you race in a different shoe? I run and train in the same shoes, alternating between Aesics and Brooks both of which were recommended by personnel at different Fleet Feet stores.

What are you short and long-term running goals? My short-term goal is to a) complete my marathons in under four hours. My long-term goal is to a) complete the 50-States & DC, Canadian provinces and the continents, and b) attain Titanium level, and then c) attempt back-to-back marathons, different distance ultras and triathalons.

What do you do for fun other than run marathons? Build snowmen at the beach.

Who is your favorite Super Hero? Are answers outsourced for psychoanalysis? Oh well, if you insist: Superman, only because I think I’ve seen pretty much every 1950’s TV episode produced.