Category: John Beck

Athlete. Artist. Agnostic. Humanist. Skeptic. Unfinished.

Instagram: January 02, 2019 at 10:28PM

Posted on by John Beck

In 2018 I made an attempt to eat better and train better and it paid off. I earned a PR at EVERY distance from mile to marathon and consistently finished amongst the top runners. It’s also the first year since I started running that I was injury free, the smarter training helped that too. I also ran a yearly mileage PR by well over 100 miles and what’s wild is that my average yearly pace was almost 4 minutes faster per mile! I also continued the tradition of cheering on runners and volunteering at other races.

17 races. 415 race miles. 9 PRs. 4 AG awards. 1 WIN!

TOP 10 MEMORABLE MOMENTS:
*Improved the organizing of my own 5k trail race.
*Spectated the Boston Marathon in the rain.
*Running 16 miles in the Pine Barrens in the middle of the day, in the middle of the summer. Don’t do it!
*LBI 18 Miler was my toughest race of the year but worth it once I saw the food spread!
*Being the only runner who was pictured with a Marine placing the medal around my neck on the Marine Corps Marathon Facebook page after the 17.75k.
*Grueling 5 mile battle for position at the Dirty German 25k.
*Overall winner at a tough local trail 5k.
*The emotional Wear Blue mile at the Marine Corps Marathon had me in tears.
*Running with a pack of Amish runners while other Amish cheered for us at the Bird-In-Hand Half Marathon.
*3 Days at the Fair is my most memorable event every year. 3 Days wasn’t enough so in 2018 I did 6 Days. I spent 6 Days sharing miles with some of the most incredible athletes and people in the world. There is nothing like this event. Hot days, cold days, rainy days, a HURRICANE! Seeing so many national and world records being set by some of the most humble people is so inspiring. There are times when I want to cry and go home and these folks keep me going. I look forward to this event every year above any other. via Instagram http://bit.ly/2BZ4xfd

Read more

Instagram: December 15, 2018 at 01:09PM

Posted on by John Beck

Naked Nick 25k (50k DNF). I knew early on in the race that I was gonna call it quits at the 25k mark. It was so muddy at times that i was way too cautious and didn’t want to get hurt. Bundled with some intestinal issues it just was a smart thing to do. I feel great and I could have finished the 50k, it wouldn’t have been pretty. I didn’t even feel it was a good training run. I feel good and I didn’t get hurt so there’s that. via Instagram https://ift.tt/2rLWNIV
Read more

Instagram: November 04, 2018 at 05:55PM

Posted on by John Beck

Today I #BeatTheBridge. Ran the @acrossthebay10k this morning and got a PR of 42:26, that’s a 6:50 avg. pace finishing 79th out of 16,749 runners, also finished 8th out of 714 in my age group. A week after Marine Corp Marathon I would have never expected this. It’s a good day! via Instagram https://ift.tt/2AL5NTA
Read more

Instagram: October 21, 2018 at 03:00PM

Posted on by John Beck


Oh man! Ran #trails4tailsfest this morning. Came in 1st overall in the difficult and technical trail 5k. Finished 6th or 7th, 2nd in my AG, in the 15k. The 15k had mostly flat and runnable trails, I just didn’t have the speed on those portions but I made up a lot of ground during the technical spots. Out of the both races I was 1st overall! My goal was to take these races easy due to #MCM being next week so I didn’t push it as much as I could have, I wanted to be safe, but once I hit those trails I just had to pick it up a bit. I feel great. 2 bottles of wine, one for each of the overall wins. It’s going to be a good night! Go Ravens!
https://ift.tt/2yRqIlS

Read more

Instagram: October 07, 2018 at 06:35PM

Posted on by John Beck


LBI 18 Miler. 2:37:18, 56 of 460. That was a lot harder than I thought it would be. Started off feeling great and then the sun came out around mile 3, by mile 5 I was overheating. Drank at every water station and poured water on me to keep myself cool. The water cause my socks and shoes to get soaked which led to blisters. I am sunburnt and hours later I am still warm. I’m happy with my pace, I’ve run 18 miles a few times during training in easier conditions and today’s pace was a few seconds faster. Overall it was a good run.
https://ift.tt/2PkTXVp

Read more