Maniac questionnaire

January 1, 2006

Name Steve Duncan

Maniac # 214

State you live in WA

How many marathons / ultra marathons have you run? 10 marathons, 3 ultra’s

What was the first race you ever ran? (Any distance) 3 mile JV cross county race at Sunset Junior High (Kennedy’s home course) in September 1982; first road race was the Renton Romp 10K in April 1983 (42:26, not a bad time, even now!)

What was the first marathon you ever ran? What year did you run it? Did you have fun that day? My first marathon was the Trail’s End Marathon in Seaside, Oregon in 1989. I caught a cold or the flu a few days before the race so all I could do was jog. I ended up running with an old high school teammate for 12 miles (who was competing for Central Washington) until he hit the wall. I then hit the wall myself a couple of miles later and ended the morning in the medical area. It was probably the worst day of my life up until that point (and not just because of the marathon, but the other part of the story is inappropriate for this questionnaire).

How long have you been a runner and why did you start running? I started running as a freshman in high school in the fall of 1982. I had finished first in nearly all of the mile runs in my middle school PE classes, so I thought I would be pretty good (turns out I was mistaken and was actually the 3^rd worst guy on a team of around 30!)

Why did you decide to become a Maniac? Or what inspired you? Terry S has been a maniac for quite a while, and I’ve given him quite a bit of sh** about it, so I figured it was about time to give him the chance to give me the same thing back. Also, after running with Tony at Seattle, I decided that not all MM’s are jerks like Terry (ha ha!), so I figured I might as well join up since I qualified.

Of all the races out there in this world, which one would you most like to run? Western States, although this probably won’t happen due to my poor night vision.

If you could run a marathon / ultra accompanied by anyone either living or deceased, who would you choose and why? I would choose to run with Keri (friend from Bellingham) as she is extremely inspiring to run with in a race. I ran the Fairhaven 15K with her and she was so tough, fearless, and determined to do her best that it was one of my most memorable races. It would also be great to spend 4 hours with her. This probably will never happen, but it would be amazing if it ever did.

What was you most memorable marathon and why? Most memorable would be Seattle 1989. I was in great shape (able to run 3 x 3000 averaging 9:40 and a 23 mile/7 minute mile pace long run) and ready to shoot for a sub-2:40. Unfortunately, I didn’t get along very well with the coach at the time, and he thought that I was still a 3:15 marathoner (which is what I ran the previous year with a 100+ degree temperature), so he put a me and a teammate back with the 8 minute milers after we had initially lined up with the 6 minute milers. I fought the crowds for 2 miles, the first one in 6:50 and the second one in 5:37 to get back into the race. After expending all of that energy, I settled into easy 5:55 miles until about 14 or 15 miles and slowly began to grind down until 20 miles where my race was pretty much over. The leader for the district caught and eventually dropped me and then the first woman (who set the women’s course record that year) came by and I didn’t have any legs left to respond. I think I was still able to run 6:50’s for the last 6 miles, which seemed like walking at the time (now I think of that as sprinting!) I was happy to be finished and happy with a 35 minute PR, but was very disappointed that I blew my race in the first 2 miles and also disappointed to know that I probably would never get a second chance to try to run under 2:40.

If someone asked you to pick a race for him or her that they could run a PR at, which race would you suggest? The old Seattle Marathon on the Sammamish River Trail is the fastest course I have run on, but since the race is no longer run there, I would have to choose Capital City. Smooth roads, no big hills, and a downhill finish would seem to make this a fast course. Skagit Flats could be fast on a day when there is no wind.

What was the furthest you’ve ever traveled for a race? Bellingham to Seaside (in a van that we called Urban Assault Vehicle with a bunch of college teammates)

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? I don’t really have any non-running friends at this point, but most of my running friends do think that I’m crazy (but not for running so much).

If personal obligations or finances were not an issue, how many marathons would you run in one year? I don’t think I’d want to run more than 12 marathons in a year, but I would make an exception if I followed through with my plan to run every marathon in Washington in one year.

From what race did you receive your favorite finishers medal? I’m not too interested in medals, so I don’t really ever look at them. I sort of remember what this year’s Skagit Flats medals looked like, but that might be because the boxes sat in my house for a month before the race.

Where do you keep your finisher medals? Not sure, maybe some have gone in the garbage.

Do you wear your race t-shirts? What do you do with the ones you don’t wear? I do wear most of my race shirts for training. When I can no longer wear them (because they don’t fit, are too ugly, or wore out) I toss them in the garbage.

If you could put on a marathon anywhere in the world, where would you have it? Don’t ask me to organize this, but I think a cool course would go from Landsburg (east of Maple Valley) to Lake Washington in Renton on the Cedar River Trail. I think it may be about 25 – 30 miles one way. The race would need to be run in a downpour to get the full effect. I used to train on all sections of this trail when I lived in Renton, but for all I know, the trail may now be completely paved with a Wal-mart every mile. When I ran it, it was heavily wooded from Landsburg to Lake Wilderness on a gravel and dirt trail. It changed to a bike trail at Jones Road (about 6 miles east of Renton on SR 169) and continued all the way to Lake Washington, passing Regis Park, 405, the library, and Renton Stadium. Does anybody want to try this as a one-way run sometime??? I haven’t thought about this course in a long time!

Maniac Yellow, or Maniac Black? Black

What is your favorite pre race meal? Post race meal? Pre-race is 2 chocolate gu packs and some water. I can also handle a banana before a race. If I had my choice, post race would be a big, greasy burger and fries (since that is the only time I allow myself to eat that type of food). It would have to be from a real restaurant; no fast food! Better than that would be a veggie Speedo Burrito from Macheezmo Mouse, but unfortunately, I think they have long gone out of business…

What is your energy gel of choice? Sport drink of choice? My favorite gel is orange-flavored Carb-boom, but since the running store in town doesn’t carry it, I make due with Gu (favorite flavors are vanilla and plain). Gatorade is my favorite tasting sport drink, but I primarily use Ultima for long runs and ultra-marathons since I have a ton of it to use up that was given to me (nobody else seems to like it).

Which race would you never run again and why? I am contemplating not running Baker Lake for the next few years, but this has nothing to do with the quality of the race. I don’t think my ankles and knees are cut out to run that type of course. I’m always worried that I’ll turn an ankle or won’t be able to bend my knees enough to make it up on the log crossings.

What was the most challenging race or combination of races you’ve ever done and why? The most challenging was the 2005 Baker Lake 50K which is strange as it was much easier for me the previous year. I don’t think that I respected the course enough this year and thought that it would be easy to run a much faster time than 2004. The second half of the race felt like a marathon by itself and the final creek crossing never seemed to arrive.

What is a typical training week like for you? How many miles do you run? Any cross training? I usually run the group at Skagit FootwoRx Monday through Wednesday since I work very close to the store. On Thursdays I have usually been running with Terry S and Jim K in Anacortes (and this is now an official Skagit Runners group run). Fridays are off and Saturday is either a race or some type of speed work out (usually 3 x 1600 on the track). On Sundays I go to Bellingham to run with an old teammate from Western for about an hour and then continue on by myself for another hour or two to get a long run in. In addition, I usually get a couple more runs in each week, depending on whether anybody asks me to go. Altogether, I average around 40 – 45 miles per week which goes up to 55 – 60 miles when training for a serious marathon or ultra. Last summer I dropped down to about 30 miles per week with some open water swimming and biking thrown in preparation for a couple of sprint triathlons. Outside of weight lifting, I don’t do any cross training unless I’m getting ready for a triathlon.

Do you have a training partner? If so, who is it? I have a ton of running partners who seem to drop off and then occasionally reappear. I have run almost every weekend with my friend Nels from Western. I also seem to run quite a bit with Maniac Terry and Jim K from Anacortes. I very rarely run by myself, except on the track (nobody likes running on the track for some reason).

What kind of shoes do you train in? Do you race in a different shoe? Right now I am training in Mizuno Riders on the roads and the Montrail Vitesse on technical trails (like the Chuckant 50K middle 18). I prefer to train in the Mizuno Inspire, but I wore out my last pair and haven’t replaced them yet. For road marathons, I race in Mizuno Revolvers. For shorter races, I use the Mizuno Phantoms (which don’t work at all for any distance above 10K due to seams in uncomfortable locations). I am trying to wear out the Phantoms so that I can throw them out and replace them with something decent.

What are your short-term running goals? I would like to break 3 hours for the marathon this year, with my best shots at Birch Bay, Capital City, and Skagit Flats. I also want to run under 31 minutes at the Mercer Island 8K in order to qualify for second seed at Bloomsday.

What are your long-term running goals? I may try to break 5 hours at the Chuckanut 50K, but probably not this year due to the Mercer Island 8K coming the week after Chuckanut. I would like to complete an Olympic distance and/or Half Ironman distance triathlon. I would also like to give the White River 50 Mile run a shot at some point. An idea that I have been thinking about is to try to run every marathon in Washington State in one year, but I will need to wait until at least 2007 or 2008 to try that one.

Assuming you have time, what do you do for fun other than run marathons? I work in software engineering, so I “like” to study for those wonderful Microsoft exams (ha ha!).

Who is your favorite "Desperate Housewife?" ? Never watched it and switch the channel if a preview comes on.