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Rob is a Runner’s World+ member. Join him and thousands of others chasing their goals with day-by-day training plans, expert advice from editors and coaches, and unlimited digital access. We regularly feature members online and in print!
Running has transformed me. I was 42 years old, my father had just died and I had a cancer scare. My gastroenterologist suggested if I didn’t want to have polyps I should lose some weight. I started running and went from 225 to 175. More than the weight loss, running gave me new goals and aspirations. I wanted to improve my times, so I watch my diet more closely; I read about running, follow the pros, and race. It is part of my identity, it is who I am, a runner.
I love reading about the latest gear, the best training methods, healthy eating. No place gathers together more information from various points of view better than RW.
I run for how it makes me feel. The joy from getting better, the sense of accomplishment. It’s one thing that I have complete control over. I get out of it exactly what I put into it.
I run at 5 a.m. every morning during the week and after church on Sundays. Daily it is on the treadmill in front of ESPN but my Sunday long run is almost always at the Columbia Trail in High Bridge. In the summer, it is shaded and cool and in spring and fall it changes every week as the trees bloom and leaves fall. It is a gorgeous abandoned rail line through the woods of northwest Jersey, with a slight incline out and a slight decline back that parallels the South Branch of the Raritan River.
It took me a long time to find a good shoe as I have a wide foot but when I got my first pair of Brooks Ghosts, I knew I was never going back.
I want to break four hours in the marathon. I know that makes me slow. My half PR is 1:57 and my marathon PR is 4:24 so I think I have it in my I just have to work on pacing and peaking at the right time.