"Hey, ever heard of the Tecumseh Trail Marathon?"
I guess that was the beginning. Jim and I had chatted in passing at different running events over the years, but neither one of us is terribly forward. I blame it on engineer brain. Jim's a computer engineer. I'm an electrical engineer who has reformed somewhat by turning into a human factors engineer. Jim runs. I run. After a few emails back and forth, somehow we wound up running the
Tecumseh Trail Marathon together. It must have been divine intervention.
I could tell you about the time years ago when I beat Jim at a half marathon one cold January 1st. Well, okay, he had just run the Huff 50K a few days before, but whatever. Apparently he looked for me after the race, but I was gone baby gone. I could also mention the time I was running in the marathon in Knoxville, TN, and thought I saw him going the opposite direction, and yelled, "Jim!" I wasn't even sure it was him so when he didn't turn around, I assumed it wasn't and kept going. I mean, why in the world would he be running a marathon in Tennessee when we both lived in Ohio??? I beat him in Knoxville, too. ;-)
Since the cold water, ice bath, mud fest that was the Tecumseh Trail Marathon, a lot has happened. Jim evened out the win / loss record. He might even be winning, but I'll never admit it. We've run many miles and races together.
Jim is a born and bred Ohioan. He has always called Ohio home. He became a runner from an early age when he ran many a mile with his dad, and he's always been a car guy.
When we first began getting to know each other, Jim told me that he had a barn where he stored his old cars. Now, I'm from Texas so I probably had some preconceived notions of what that might look like, but I was very wrong. It was decorated with big gas stations signs, some of which even light up. I have to say, it was all very impressive!
He's dad to the Madcat, and as you can tell by these pictures, he might be a little goofy. They always say you want to find someone with a sense of humor, right?! Winner, winner chicken dinner...
 |
| Minecraft Madcat and Pokemon Jim |
 |
| Marine Corps Marathon |
 |
| Finishing my 1st 50 miler |
I am originally from Texas and have lived in New York, Maryland, Tennessee, and now Ohio. Most of those moves were courtesy of the U.S. Army. After high school, I got on a plane from Texas to West Point, New York, for one of my first big adventures.
After living in Tennessee for quite a few years and running a few ultras, I found my way to Ohio with a new job. I also found many trails and bike paths. I had never seen anything quite like it! My love of the outdoors grew and so did my relationship with God. Moving to Ohio has been one of the best decisions I have ever made.
While I enjoy living in Ohio, I also love to travel. To say Jim loves to travel is probably an understatement. Now we both have a traveling / running buddy, and I have to say, he's a a great one!
Jim and I discovered the beauty of the Miami and Erie Canal Heritage Corridor on Christmas day, and enjoyed it so much that we returned to see more the next day. It turns out it a 40 mile trail along the towpath that runs from Delphos to Ft. Loramie. There are a lot of very neat historic structures to see along the way, AND it is part of the Buckeye Trail!
