Labor Day up here in Maine usually means a lot of traffic as tourists try to get up here for one last weekend. It means a cook out with family and friends before everybody's kids go back to school (or right after they go back to school.) Labor Day is the official start of Autumn around here, which will last about a month and a half and then it will be Winter. (Yes, I know that the dates don't match what the calendar says, but this is Maine.)
Well, Labor Day Weekend in 2008 meant something different to Chuck Engle. For Chuck, it meant that it was a good opportunity to drive and fly around the country winning marathons.
Chuck is no stranger to back to back marathons, having won 60 of his 100 top 3 finishes over the previous 5 years. He's been on the podium or in the money more than any other athlete in the marathon since the turn of the century, which coincidentally was when he first started running the distance. As far as I am aware, though, this is the first time that he's attempted to win back to back to back marathons.
His weekend started off in Idaho with the Pocatello Marathon, where his 2:38:40 broke the course record by 2 minutes. Unfortunately for him, his dream of winning all 3 marathons that weekend were immediately shot as local runner Kory Wheatley ran a PR 2:36:19 for the win and stole Chuck's chances for a triple win.
Next up, Chuck found himself in Mississippi at the Tupelo Marathon that Sunday. Chuck had won this race 6 times, and this race was no different. He managed to win the race in a time of 2:47:17.
Last but not least, Chuck traveled from Mississippi to Missouri and ran the Heart of America Marathon to complete his 3 days of racing. He wasn't able to win this race either, as his 2:54:51 was over 7 minutes behind the winner, Matt Laye.
Even though Chuck did not win his 3 Labor Day Weekend marathons, he put in an amazing effort. He can be proud of his one win and two second place finishes, especially given the 4400 miles of flying and 1400 miles of driving that he had to do in order to run all 3 of the races. I get more exhausted thinking about the traveling than I do thinking about the racing!
Chuck's personal mission statement is "My goal is to inspire people to understand that running is awesome!" After a feat like this, how could anybody doubt it?
Author Resource:-
Blaine Moore is a running coach in Southern Maine with 20 years of training and racing experience. Download his free report, The 3 Components of an Effective Workout, to learn why the work you put in during your training is only the third most important factor that determines how well you improve as a runner and an athlete.
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