Maniac questionnaire

Name

- Lauri Fauerbach Adams, aka The Kid.

Maniac #

- 116

State you live in

- Pennsylvania

How many marathons / ultra marathons have you run?

- 42 combined

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

- Run for Wellness 5K, September 2002. I thought I was going to die.

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

- Philadelphia Marathon, 2003. I had an absolute blast. One of my best marathons time- and strategy-wise, too.

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

- After a few false starts, I restarted running in May 2002. I started again so I could run the New York City Marathon to honor a promise I’d made in 1986.

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

- I believe it was my good friend Lopez who mentioned the club to me on an online chat board I used to frequent.

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

- New York City Marathon every year until I die. The Great Wall Marathon.

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

- My two late best friends. The first from my teen years, who was supposed to run NYCM with me. The second from recent times, a cyclist who swore she’d never run a race (she never did).

What was you most memorable marathon and why?

- NYCM ’04. My most personal race, and my second fastest; fulfilled the aforementioned promise with the best support ever.

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

- Richmond Marathon, then Philadelphia Marathon.

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

- By plane: Philadelphia to San Rafael, CA (just outside San Fran)

- By car: Philadelphia to Kansas City, MO side (drove straight through by myself both ways, 17h each way, stopping only for the occasional nap at a rest stop)

Do any of your non-running friends or family members thing that you’re crazy for running as much as you do? What are some of their comments to you?

- Of course. Hell, my running friends think I’m nuts. I get more blank “I cannot comprehend that at all” looks than comments these days.

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

- One or two a week.

From what race did you receive your favorite finishers medal?

- The inaugural Goofy Challenge bonus medal, 2006. 2007’s was just as shiny and nice.

Where do you keep your finisher medals?

- I hung them on the doorknob for my linen closet until it broke earlier this year. Now they’re in an empty running shoebox until I have the time to construct the wood medal case I’ve designed.

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

- I wear every single T-shirt, all 200+ of them. The ones from my first two years are now too big to wear in public, but I wear them around the house and to sleep in since my husband refrigerates my home year round. All the others get rotated and I wear them often, even to work. Tech shirts of course get worn in training and racing.

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

- I’d love one that started and ended at my house. Postrace activities would include a poolside BBQ and delicious Bass beer from the keg in my kitchen. I’d also love a 24H race run around the Schuylkill loop downtown. A Brooklyn-only marathon would rock as well. One thing’s for sure: my marathon would be at sea level and 100% asphalt, preferably in the dark.

Maniac Yellow, or Maniac Black?

- Hideous yellow? No thanks. Cool black for me, though I do like the smooth red.

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

- Prerace: bacon/egg/cheese bagel sandwich or chicken parm (aka The Breakfast of Champions). Postrace: beer, beef, and more beer.

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

- Gels are purely psychological IMHO and are for wussies. You want to eat? EAT FOOD! Gatorade or Powerade only for me. Heed’s SweeTart taste makes me gag, and don’t even get me started on the vile substance known as Ultima.

Which race would you never run again and why?

- A tie: Otter Creek Trail Marathon, Brandenburg KY: my fear of heights and my loathing of trail cost me over 3 hours. Dude, Where’s the Trail? 50K, Kansas City MO: the RD is a *(^%$# and there is almost no trail marking. Hell, there was almost no trail.

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

- Most challenging is a tie: Dude, Where’s the Trail? 50K because I had no concept where I was going for 99% of the race (I was dragged from aid station to aid station by a fellow competitor) and Glacial Trail 50K on the Ice Age Trail (‘nuff said). The inaugural OBX Marathon was a painfest: it poured so badly my feet blistered up worse than any other race. I still don’t know how I managed to crawl to the finish line for that one.

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

- Depends on the season. I’m a triathlete as well, so that changes up the mix too, but during a typical run cycle starts at 40-50mpw, building to 70-100mpw.

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

- Yeah, I wish. No one local runs as much or as far as I do, though I do have a cycling partner.

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

- New Balance 718s. Of course I race in the same shoe: never try anything new on race day.

What are your short-term running goals?

- Keep going injury free (never had one running injury!) and make sure my legs don’t fall off. PR at the Richmond Marathon in November.

What are your long-term running goals?

- Keep going injury free (never had one running injury!) and make sure my legs don’t fall off. Keep having fun pursuing this passion in locales around the globe. Get a sponsor so my husband stops screaming about the “escalating costs of fitness at Chez Partay”.

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

- I’m a baseball nut, so we go to a lot of games (AA and The Big Show). I lead a trivia team VOTE FOR PEDRO that routinely wins first place in local bar competitions. I do triathlon and short course running. I take a lot of long weekends and try to find the wacky, off the wall things to do while visiting a place (like getting certified as a coal miner, going on a lantern-guided nighttime ghost tour, or going spelunking). I also like to sleep, but that’s not something I do very often. But naps are glorious.

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

- Aquaman. I’d love to be able to breathe underwater. Plus I look good in both orange and green.