Cory's St. George Marathon

4.06 miles, 37:28, 9:13 pace, Avg HR = 127, Max HR = 135, 2 water stops deducted from time

It's my intention to dedicate an occasional post to profile people who inspire me, like the entry on Kevin a few weeks ago. Today’s profile is about Cory Birt, a friend and running companion I met at Power In Motion in March of this year.

First and foremost, kudos to Cory for completing his first marathon, the St. George Marathon, on Saturday, October 6, 2007! His time was an incredible 3:40:18, which placed him at 1430th overall out of 5155 finishers.

Cory trained with absolute dedication, rarely, if ever, cutting a workout short or deviating from his schedule. This can be traced to his intense work ethic, no doubt cultivated early in life while working on his family's farm. He scheduled his workouts around the demands of his job, which peaked just as his marathon training peaked. And being a great example of a father and husband, he always dedicated time to his family, his first priority. So, between his family, work, and training, Cory must have left precious little time for himself. I hope he's repaying that debt now by taking it easy for at least a few weeks.

If it wasn't for Cory, I probably never would have considered training for a marathon. After I got hooked on running at Power in Motion, I came up with two goals. I wanted to break 20 minutes for a 5k, and I wanted to finish in the top 500 in the Crescent City Classic so I could earn a poster. At that point I didn't think I could run a marathon, I didn't want to try, and I don't think I even thought about it. But as Cory and I compared notes about our running progress, I began to think that a marathon was something that I could and should do.

I've followed Cory's lead on several other fronts as well. His blog inspired me to start this blog. I think we have the same purpose in mind . . . not so much to attract readership, but to preserve a moment in time to share with an older version of ourselves, and our heirs in the future. God willing, I will be an old man some day. Hopefully I can show this blog to my grandchildren and they can catch a glimpse of me in my physical prime. And in an ideal world, perhaps it could provide a minute amount of inspiration and help them tackle their fears/problems/goals/etc.

I also owe Cory for all of the mental preparation he's provided. I can talk to veteran marathon runners all day long, but ultimately they've forgotten at least a small aspect of what it's like to train for and run their first marathon. But Cory knows and understands, and I appreciate him letting me pick his brain and use him as a sounding board.

So once again, congratulations to Cory, and best wishes on your next goal.


I ran with Cory this weekend the morning after the LSU game. He drove into Baton Rouge with his son to check out the LSU/Auburn clash because I promised him a hard-fought, close game, and that's just what we saw. Since he was in Baton Rouge, I really wanted to show him the running route around the LSU Lakes. Since my legs were still pretty sore, I opted for the 4 mile big lake instead of the entire 7 mile route around both lakes. The weather was great and the scenery was fantastic. I almost called it quits after the first quarter mile because of my legs, and I probably would have if Cory wasn't there, but after we got moving everything worked out for the best.

9:42, 9:06, 8:57, 8:47