Home            About Me            Pictures            Training Schedule

My Running Blog            My Non-Running Blog               My Ebay Store            Contact Me

Who is Marathon Tom?

I know that is the question EVERYONE is dying to know the answer to. Sad to say I am not that interesting. I live in the wonderful metropolis of Crystal Lake, Illinois with my Wife, two daughters, and the world's greatest dog. I love to run, watch Chicago sports, and even work on my house.

I started my life as a runner when I was in Junior High School. I was a very forgettable member of both the Cross Country and Track teams. I dropped both once I reached high school originally to play Football and shortly after that for Music and Theater. This lifestyle kept me very fulfilled through high school.

Unfortunately for me after graduation my eating habits grew and my activity declined. I ballooned to nearly 300 pounds in the summer of 2001. It was time for a change. 

I struggled through several exercise ideas and nothing worked. Finally, in January of 2002 I began walking with my golden retriever Duke and watching my diet. Over the next year and a half I was able to shed almost 40 pounds (The easy ones). This would have been a great feat but I was still dangerously overweight.  

Then it happened. In May of 2004 I decided I was going to enter a two mile race called the Woodstock Challenge. I trained and trained until I could just about muster my way to running this entire distance. I was able to finish in just over twenty minutes (dead last in my age group). In spite of a little embarrassment and frustration something had happened in this process. I lost five pounds and gained determination!  

So, with the world best running partner (My Mom) and a very supportive family, I started a minor running program. My original training was to run about 3/4 of a mile 3 times a week. That progressed in about a year to running 2 miles 3 times a week. Over the next year I lost about 15 more pounds and I was ready for the 2005 Woodstock challenge. This time I finished in just over 16 minutes, and I was just seconds away from a top 3 finish in my age group. I felt great. I was shedding the pounds and getting faster. I could not wait another year to run again.  

I found myself searching out 5Ks wherever I could find them. With this increased load the pounds began to melt off. On July 31, 2005 I finally found my way under 200 pounds. With this achievement came new found determination and a plan to run my first 10K in October. From there things continued to snowball to 10 milers and half marathons in 2006 (Plus a second place finish in the 2006 Woodstock Challenge).

Today 5Ks are mostly a  thing of the past (Unless they are very special). I find myself accumulating performance medals and preferred starts. I am now about half the man I used to be as far as my weight is concerned. These goals and achievements have transformed me. I find myself always looking for a new challenge. I have found a love for the Half Marathon and come October 7th the Chicago Marathon!