John Beck

14 races. 405 race miles. 3 PRs. 5 AG awards.

I started the year off very strong then mid April I developed a hip injury that stuck with me for the rest of the year. The injury slowed me down but I finished with another yearly mileage PR by almost 100 miles. The highlights this year include the first time winning an age group award at a major event (Pittsburgh 5k) and of course 3 Days at the Fair multi-day race is once again the most memorable event of the year for me. #running #trailrunning #ultrarunning #uptowngentlefriends #3datf #chicagomarathon #pittsburghmarathon via Instagram https://ift.tt/37awzlG

#chicagomarathon 4:10 finish. Far from my ideal finish time, much slower than my spring marathon and even more slower than the marathon this time last year. Regardless, I had a lot of fun and it was an incredible experience. So awesome! via Instagram https://ift.tt/2McgUe3

#lederhosenhalfmarathon Fun after party (3 free beers AND food). Nice challenging course. Cool swag. Low price. Love the energy on Main St in Newark. Hip town! Happy with my 1:47 finish, 8:10 pace. 27th overall, 5th in my AG. Ideally I would have preferred sub-1:40 but after a hot and humid summer wore me down this was a welcome confidence booster. 2 weeks till Chicago! I’m out! via Instagram https://ift.tt/2o8py3H

The Uptown Gentlefriends present the Delaware River Loop Series. 5 loops within 5 months totaling 64 miles along the beautiful Delaware River from Trenton to Frenchtown. Starting in November of 2020 and finishing in February of 2021. More details in the coming months.

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#PittsburghMarathon 2 races, 4 medals. #5k #Marathon #SteelChallenge and an age group award! Challenging and fun courses, highly recommend! #HILLS via Instagram http://bit.ly/2QXGCny

Cool! I got my age group award from the #PittsburghMarathon #pghmarathon #MOVEpittsburgh #RunnersOfSTEEL via Instagram http://bit.ly/2WmS9O1

I need to go to another shelf soon for my #3DATF awards via Instagram http://bit.ly/2VQXzFN

3 Days at the Fair. The 3 of us quickly became friends. I met Phil last year and he lead the charge and Glenda followed. I made sure that they remembered to have fun and keep their minds off the pain. Phil Eberts ran the 10 Day and finished with 731 miles. Glenda Hernandez ran the 6 Day race with me, and was in pain and moseying around the course in the final remaining hours. I somehow convinced her that she was close to a big goal but I walked with her and then did the math and she was short of this goal. I had her start running hard. She hated me. Every step was filled with pain throughout her entire body. Everyone on and around the course knew what we were attempting to do and the adrenaline (and my dumb jokes) kept her occupied for those last 20 miles. Famous ultra runners and world record holders were cheering her on. We shared many laughs and also many tears. She crossed the line with a few minutes to spare and 300 miles to her name. I couldn’t be more proud of her. She was so happy that I pushed her. I finished the week off with a huge PR thanks to me pushing her with a big 242 miles! I was so focused on her reaching her goal that I didn’t even realize that I crushed me. Year after year I do this event it becomes more and more of an emotional journey. Congratulations to old friends and new friends and all the other incredible people who I am lucky enough to share the course with. via Instagram http://bit.ly/2LVriZu

What a weekend in Pittsburgh! Ran the Pittsburgh Steel Challenge! 5k on Saturday with a PR of 20:45 which gave me a 37th overall finish and 3rd in my AG! Sunday marathon was a different story, humid and rainy. Was on pace for a PR then the hills, steep at times slowed me down to finish at 3:46, my 2nd fastest marathon. I feel great and am ready to eat ALL the food and drink ALL the beer! #MOVEPittsburgh #PittsburghMarathon #RunnerOfSTEEL #PGHmarathon via Instagram http://bit.ly/2LpPTFQ