Phil Margolies (seilogramp) : Member Profile : Thoos

In 1995, at the age of 38, I first started running. This was mainly to lose weight. I weighed 245 pounds. I needed to do something about that. At that time I had no interest in racing a 10K or a marathon, and I certainly had no clue what an ultra was. I don't have any sports background. So I guess you could say I'm making up for lost time.

I read the book, "The Runner's Handbook" by Bob Glover. That book helped me maximize my running without getting injured. Soon I had visions of running a marathon, specifically the Chicago Marathon, which was about a year away. I bought the book, "New York Road Runners Complete Book of Running." I religiously followed the marathon training plan as outlined by Gordon Bakoulis. As part of the training plan, I ran my first race in July of 1996 in Deerfield Illinois. I really shocked myself with how well I did. Not that I was that fast, just that I didn't realize I could run 6 miles that fast. On October 20th 1996 I completed the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon with a time of 3:43:57. At that time there were only 9,000 runners in the event. In 2005 there were 33,000 finishers at the Chicago Marathon. I ran the Chicago Marathon 3 times ('96, '97, and '98). I ran the now extinct Lake County Races Marathon in Zion Illinois as well as several 10Ks and half marathons that were usually part of preparing for a marathon.

In 2000 I began to lose some interest in running, since my schooling and new job began to overtake my life. I quickly started to gain weight and soon was tipping the scales at 245 pounds (again!). My sister passed away from cancer in July of 2003. I didn't start running again until 2003, using the death of my sister as motivational fuel to do something with my life other than just working. I also began a more intense weight-loss plan and slowly worked in running and walking and ended up getting down to a weight of 165 pounds about eight months later. I found that even at my advancing age, now 47, I could achieve even better racing goals at a lighter weight. The 10K races that I ran in training for a marathon were suggesting that I could qualify for the Boston Marathon. With that in mind, I started looking for a flat marathon that could help me qualifying for Boston. Chicago, being nice and flat, seemed like a natural choice. However, the huge crowds could be a hinderance. I ended up qualifying for Boston at the Steamtown Marathon in Scranton Pennsylvania. My time was 3:29:22, which got me just under the qualifying standard of 3:30:59.

While training for Boston I had a case of tendonitis. I ran Boston anyway with a time of 3:46:40. Not my best marathon, but not my worst either. It was certainly a pleasurable experience.

After Boston I started gaining interest in running ultramarathon events. An ultra is basically any race longer than the standared marathon distance of 26.2 miles. I entered my first ultra in Huntsville Alabama in November of 2005, the Dizzy Fifties Trail Run 50K. In spite of my slow time of 5:25:09, I had a great experience.

Now I'm hooked on ultras. I ran the Silver Comet Ultra Runs 50K in February 2006 as training for my first 50-mile race. Although I didn't race that event I still ended up with a decent time of 4:39:06. The next event will be the 50-miler in Pekin Illinois in April 2006.

More to come...