Over the next 11 months I will use my weekly Blog to:

1. Answer questions that my readers have asked me about my 14 years of running marathons around the world.
2. Update my readers on the status of the 14-year commitments that I made in 1999.    
3. Let my readers know “What’s next for Bob Rebello – 2013 and beyond”. 

Today’s Blog will focus on 1 question and an update on the status of my 14-year commitments.

Question: Have I ever belonged to a running club or running group?                     

I have been very fortunate to have belonged to two really great running groups over the last 14 years that I have been running worldwide marathons. The two running groups that I belonged to were the “Concord Runners” [www.concordrunners.org] of Concord Massachusetts and the “Running Group” of San Diego California [www.runwithgreg.com].

Concord Runners: [See photo below]

I was very fortunate to run with the Concord runners for 4 years from 1997 to 2001 when I lived in Lexington, Massachusetts. The concord runners are an informal group of men and women runners who meet every Saturday morning at 8:00am at the historic Monument Square in downtown Concord, Massachusetts. When I first started running with the Concord Runners in 1997 I was 62 years “young” and was just starting to run about 10 miles a week as a way to improve my overall health – I was a physical wreck – 20+ pounds overweight. Because of the time, and kindness that many of the runners gave me I was able to learn from their training experiences and with their help I was able to put together my first half marathon training program. The first half marathon that I did while with the Concord Runners was the New Bedford half marathon on March 15, 1998 – I finished but was not very happy with my finish time of 2:35 [Pace=11:49]. After the race I discussed my race results with some of the runners during our Saturday run and from their inputs I put together a new half marathon training program that I would use for my next half marathon race. My next half marathon was the May 13, 2000 Quechee, Vermont Covered Bridge half marathon which I finished in a time of 1:51 [Pace=8:28] which made me very happy as I improved my finish time by 44 minutes. During the time between the half marathons [1998 to 2000] I ran a total of six 10k races finishing in an average time of 52.14 [8:24 Pace]. On October 24, 1999 I ran the USMC marathon, my first worldwide marathon for kidney cancer, and thanks to the advice I received from the Concord Runners I was able to finish the marathon in a time of 4:39 [Pace = 10:28]. Again I sought out advice on how I could improve my marathon finish time and put together a new marathon training program for my next marathon.

My next worldwide marathon was in Dublin, Ireland on October 30, 2000 where I finished in a time of 4:09 [Pace = 9:30] an improvement of 30 minutes over my first marathon.

Because of the Saturday runs with the Concord Runners I was able to not only greatly improve my finishing times for all of my races but also improve my health as I lost about 20 pounds over the 4 years with the group. I am still in contact with a number of my Concord Runner friends and when I stop by Boston to see my daughter on my return trips from my worldwide marathons I try to attend their Saturday morning runs. I miss the people, the runs in the snow and the breakfasts after the runs – just a wonderful group of people.

The Concord Runners at Monument Square in Downtown Concord, Massachusetts

The Running Group:

I moved to LaJolla, California from Lexington, Massachusetts in June of 2001 and immediately started training for my 3^rd worldwide marathon – the Medoc, France marathon on September 8, 2001. I spent quite a bit of time looking for a running group to join – all of the groups I found were very competitive groups – I was looking for an informal group like the Concord Runners.

A week after I returned from the Medoc marathon I was sitting in front of the local Starbucks on a Saturday morning wearing my Medoc finishers jersey when someone noticed the jersey and told me that one his running group friends had also finished the Medoc marathon. He invited me to his running group’s breakfast after their Saturday morning run, introduced me to the runners and invited me to join the running group. I started running with the group the next Saturday and continued to run with the group for the next 9 years – up to 2009.

During those years I ran my fastest marathon to date when I finished the March 3, 2003 NAPA Valley, California marathon in a time of 4:02 [age 67]. My finish time was good enough for me to qualify for the 2004 Boston marathon. I also ran my fastest half marathon to date when I finished the January 18, 2004 San Diego half marathon in a time of 1:49 [age 68].

Over those 9 years I made a lot of new friends who I still stay in contact with.  

Commitments Update:

As you can see from my 14-year commitments status I have not received any new donations since my last week’s update – my 14-year total is still at $83,905.00 – if you would like to join the 1,086 people who have donated over the last 14 years please click here. I am now closer to my goal of running more miles than the circumference of the earth as I ran 32 miles this week which brings my 14-year total miles run to 23,673.

BOB REBELLO’s 14-YEAR COMMITMENTS AND STATUS [05/23/1999 to 12/31/2012]

Week 5 Training Program Results: [2/13/012 to 2/19/012]

My training program, and miles run each day, for the week was as follows:

M: Weights/Strength   T: 4    W: 6 Intervals   TH: 4 Hills   F: 4 + Weights/Strength    S: 14   S: Rest

You can follow my weekly progress on: Twitter [http://twitter.com/bobrebello], Facebook[http://facebook.com/Worldwidemarathons], Website [www.bobrebello.com].

Have a great day,

Bob Rebello

Over the next 11 months I will use my weekly Blog to:

1. Answer questions that my readers have asked me about my 14 years of running marathons around the world.
2. Update my readers on the status of the 14-year commitments that I made in 1999.
3. Let my readers know “What’s next for Bob Rebello – 2013 and beyond”.

Today’s Blog will focus on 1 question and an update on the status of my 14-year commitments. The question that I will address is one that most marathon runners always remember and that is “what was the worst weather that you ran a marathon in?”.

The marathon that had the worst weather for me was the September 30, 2000 Dublin marathon, my 2^nd worldwide marathon. If you have ever been to Dublin, Ireland in September you know that the weather will either be cold, or rain, or windy. The weather on marathon day was a combination of all of the elements – heavy rain, very cold with 30 mph winds throughout the race. The weather for the race was so bad that the local Dublin newspaper reported the day after the race that the marathon had the worst weather in the 21 years of the marathon. They went so far as to call the September 30, 2000 marathon “the marathon of suffering” because of the terrible weather.

To make matters worse the day before the race I had a temperature and did not feel well with a number of aches and pains. At the start of the race I had to stand in the cold, wind and heavy rain for about 30 minutes before the race started. By the time I reached mile 3’s water station the rain was coming down very hard and it was very windy and cold. We were given 20 ounce plastic water bottles at the station and it took me quite a while to open the bottle because my hands were very cold and I had gloves on. Miles 9 to 19 were flat with no rolling hills with hardly any people cheering you on as the weather went from bad to worse keeping everyone indoors. When I finally crossed the finish line just about every bone in my body ached and I was starting to get a sore throat. It took about an hour to get back to the hotel because it was very painful walking after running the marathon in the rain, wind, and cold. The next day I was quite sick with a sore throat, high temperature, and many aches and pains. The flight home was the worst flight I had ever taken. I had a constant headache, every bone in my body was aching, and I had trouble eating any solid foods. When I got home I was still very sick and decided to call my doctor who told me that I had Pneumonia and more than likely I had it while I was running the marathon.

Me during 10/30/2000 Dublin marathon

BOB REBELLO’s 14-YEAR COMMITMENTS AND STATUS [05/23/1999 to 12/31/2012]

1. Commitment: To raise $100,000.00 for kidney cancer research in memory of my brother John.
Status: Raised $83,905.00 – I only need $16,095.00 to meet my commitment.

2. Commitment: To ensure that 100% of all donations go directly to kidney cancer research.
Status: COMPLETE – The $83,905.00 raised went directly to kidney cancer research as I
paid all of the expenses. [Air, Hotel, Stamps, Printing, Photos, etc.]

3. Commitment: To bring worldwide awareness about kidney cancer.
Status: COMPLETE – I brought worldwide awareness about kidney cancer through my travels
and my website that has had 5,058 visits from over 100 countries and all
50 US States.

4. Commitment: To finish marathons on all 7 continents by December 31, 2012
Status: COMPLETE – I finished marathons on all 7 continents.

5. Commitment: To finish a marathon someplace in the world every year for 14 years.
Status: Finished 17 marathons in 13 countries. Also finished11 half marathons, 5 10k’s, & 7 5k’s.

6. Commitment: To run more miles [races + training] than the circumference of the earth [24,901.55].
Status: I have run 23,641 miles – I only need to run 1,260.5 miles over the next 322 days.

Week 5 Training Program Results: [2/6/012 to 2/12/012]

My training program, and miles run each day, for the week was as follows:

M: Weights/Strength

T: 3

W: 5 Intervals

TH: 4 Hills

F: 3 + Weights/Strength   

S: 13   S: Rest

You can follow my weekly progress on:

Twitter [http://twitter.com/bobrebello]

Facebook[http://facebook.com/Worldwidemarathons]

Have a great day,

Bob Rebello

Over the last few weeks a number of people have asked me how I am doing against the 14-year commitments that I made in 1999 for my worldwide marathons for kidney cancer research. As you can see from my 14-year commitments and status chart I have completed commitments 2, 3, and 4 of the 6 major commitments that I made on May 23, 1999. When I finish the Copenhagen marathon on May 20th [yes I am an optimist] I will have completed commitment number 5 – To finish a marathon someplace in the world every year for 14 years. I will finish commitment number 6 to run more miles than the circumference of the earth in December of 2012. The only major commitment that I am unsure of meeting is my commitment to raise $100k for kidney cancer research prior to December 31, 2012. In order for me to meet this commitment – the most important commitment that I made in 1999 – I must have the help and generosity of many people over the next 329 days to raise the $16,095.00 that I need to meet the $100k commitment. If you would like to join the 1,086 people who have donated over the last 14 years click here. 

BOB REBELLO’s 14-YEAR COMMITMENTS AND STATUS [05/23/1999 to 12/31/2012]

1. Commitment: To raise $100,000.00 for kidney cancer research in memory of my brother John.
Status: Raised $83,905.00 – I only need $16,095.00 to meet my commitment.

2. Commitment: To ensure that 100% of all donations go directly to kidney cancer research.
Status: COMPLETE – The $83,905.00 raised went directly to kidney cancer research as I
paid all of the expenses. [Air, Hotel, Stamps, Printing, Photos, etc.]

3. Commitment: To bring worldwide awareness about kidney cancer.
Status: COMPLETE – I brought worldwide awareness about kidney cancer through my travels
and my website that has had 5,058 visits from over 100 countries and all
50 US States.

4. Commitment: To finish marathons on all 7 continents by December 31, 2012
Status: COMPLETE – I finished marathons on all 7 continents.

5. Commitment: To finish a marathon someplace in the world every year for 14 years.
Status: Finished 17 marathons in 13 countries. Also finished11 half marathons, 5 10k’s, & 7 5k’s.

6. Commitment: To run more miles [races + training] than the circumference of the earth [24,901.55].
Status: I have run 23,593 miles – I only need to run 1,308.55 miles over the next 329 days.

Week 5 Training Program Results: [1/30/012 to 2/05/012]

My training program, and miles run each day, for the week was as follows:

M: Weights/Strength Ex.

T: 3

W: 4 Intervals

TH: 4 Hills

F: 4 + Weights/Strength Ex.

S: 8

S: Rest

You can follow my weekly progress on:

Twitter [http://twitter.com/bobrebello]

Facebook[http://facebook.com/Worldwidemarathons]

Have a great day,

Bob Rebello