What a Weekend
This was a weekend that I never expected from truck drivers. It was not about moving freight. It was about moving feet. For miles at a time truckers accomplished feats that most people with ordinary jobs would never tackle. Training for an endurance event is a challenge for people with normal schedules. For truckers working 14 hour days on a regular basis training for an endurance event is a special challenge. Just finishing an endurance event is a challenge. Finishing one well is a special accomplishment.
Bill Baker won his age group in the Viola half marathon with a time
of 1:40:14. Chuck Walen finished the Silver States 50 mile run near Reno, NV as part of his training to run the Western States 100 mile ultra. Josh Kois finished the Superior50 kilometer trail run in northern Minnesota. Steven Smith stopped off in Effingham, IL and finished a 10k in 39:45. Derek McClain took second place in the Geist 5k near Indianapolis. Jon Narron broke 2 hours for a 13.1 mile half marathon reaching the goal of getting it done in 1:59:02.
The triathlon team of Matthew Buchanon, Mario Almendez, and Jeff Schmid took a third place finish at the Rev3 triathlon in Knoxville, TN. They are part of Prime Inc.'s trucker to triathlete training group. Together they swam 1.2 miles. Then biked 56 miles and then finished with a 13.1 mile run. They finished in 6:27:45.
Sunday was the Cellcom Green Bay Marathon. Mark Tielens and Kenn Zelten were attempting to finish their first marathons. Gary Piontek and I were running the half marathon. Gary finished in a fast 1:45:11. I waddled in eventually after a double root canal and a bad reaction to the antibiotics. My wife Roxanne was the EMT at the 12/25 mile marker. She was able to help a man that collapsed only a mile from the finish line. She and her team were able to prep him for the ambulance ride to the hospital. Medical professionals who volunteer for these events can help prevent a day of celebration from turning tragic.
I was talking to Roxanne when I saw Mark go by. After runners pass Roxanne's station they loop into 
Lambeau Field via the players' tunnel and do a lap around the field. Kenn who is 62 years old got the flu about 3 weeks ago and his conditioning suffered a bit. Kenn was able to gut it out. He got his lap around Lambeau Field and was able to finish running. I could not have been prouder of what these truckin' runners accomplished on one weekend.
Our truckin' runners facebook group has grown to over 450 members. We are inspired by what these trucker athletes did this weekend. We are also inspired by a new member that walks a mile at pace for the first time in decades.