I recently just ran the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington D.C. on Sunday. I ran my best race and got 3:06:31, which is under the 3:10 time I needed to qualify for the Boston Marathon. I'm really happy with my time and just thought I'd share with you guys since I know there are a few other runners on the board. Also I'm overdue for my 5 year update, so here's a picture from the race where you can really see my hair. I'll try to get on top of things with some real pictures soon.
Hearty congratulations to you Garth! That is a very enviable time for a marathon. Im very impressed! I love running myself. I used to do it a lot when I was younger but always ended up sidelined by injuries. For the last six months Ive been able to run pretty much injury-free thanks to running almost exclusively on grass. Ive also been following more of the CrossFit philosophy of doing more intense training like intervals rather than a lot of long-slow-distance. Of course, for marathons, Im sure a good amount of LSD is still required.
Do you run shorter races like a 10K or 5K?
Your hair sure deserves praise as well! Thats an incredible lack of taper youve got! It looks like youve got a long way to go before reaching terminal should you want to continue growing. The segmented ponytail style looks like it works well for you. I braid my hair which usually works well but I do find with running, more loose hairs work their way out because theyre not held tight by the tie at the nape of the neck.
Got to the sentence above, and thought, "Yeah, it would take psychoactive drugs to get me to run a marathon" before noticing the "long-slow-distance" note in the previous sentence. That's what I get for skimming thru a post, LOL.
Frodo
Thanks Jason. I do some shorter 5k and 10ks. They are a lot of fun and don't require me to change my regular training routine. I'm actually running a 10k on Thanksgiving. I used to go through some injuries too, with stress fractures sidelining me for a full year in high school. I've managed to be basically injury free for almost 5 years now.
My girlfriend wears her hair in a braid and complains about the same problem with hairs coming out and getting "fuzzy". She says she has to braid it very tightly in order to keep all her hairs out of her face.
Hi Garth,
Well done on your time and that is very impressive and well done for qualifying.
Is it really 5 years, wow, your hair has certain grown and I have to agree with Jason you have a thick taper there and certainly no where near terminal length. Look forward to the mext update.
Whens the Boston marathon?
Cheers,
John.B
The Boston Marathon is in April. Unfortunately it filled up a few weeks ago, after only being upon for less than a day. My time is still going to be good for the 2012 Boston Marathon. Thanks for the praise.
Hi Garth,
Congratulations are going your way on 2 fronts, first of all, for doing such an awesome job in that marathon, and secondly, for growing such an outstanding mane! Keep up the good work on both parts.
Keep it growing,
David
Thanks DavidN. I'll try to get a real update soon.
Looks like a great time at the Marathon Garth and hopefully you didn't enlist!Ha Ha.If you did you'd be kissing that great mane goodbye.Seriously your hair looks outstanding even when tailed up like that.I'd love to see what it looks like loose:)Also great time on the run and that's awesome you qualify for Boston.That must be a impressive Marathon to run.Thanks for the update and I'll look forward to your future pictures my friend.
Mark
Thanks a lot, Hairball. Definitely not enlisting, I like my hair far too much. I'll try to get a real update very soon (with my hair down).
Very nice - congrats on the good time. Great photo, too.
- Oren
Thanks Oren!
Nice time, finaly qualified for the Boston like you wanted. Congratz!
Thanks. It's all full for 2011 already, but my time will still be good for 2012. Hopefully I'll be able to get in.
Way to go Garth!! Good time my friend, I like to keep fit and cycle around 200 miles a week. I like to think it has a healthy effect on my hair!!
Great hair, cool shot.
Cheers Dave
Thanks Dave. I like to think that my hair gets stronger and healthier with my body too, even if that isn't entirely the case.
great update Garth! Congrads on the Boston event, must be exciting :)
How long have you been growing your hair now? it appears past waist length
It's been just over 5 years now. I'll try to get a real update in the next week. Depending on where you consider the waist to be, it is waist length. It's almost belt length, so if you consider the belt to be at the waist, then it's not quite waist length. When I get up some pictures, you'll be able to see just how long it is.
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Your hair looks great, Garth. It takes 3000 Calories to run a marathon. That is a lot of energy. (My bike rides use about 1200 Calories, and I am drained at the end.) Good luck on the Boston Marathon.
Scott
Thanks. I know I ate/drank much more calories than that after the race, since it was Halloween and all. Haha.
Hey Garth,
AWESOME!!! When I was in my 20s and 30s, I used to run very regularly; but I regret the fact that I stopped -- so if possible, stick with it!!!
And your segmented ponytail looks amazing!!!! Your hair looks very thick & full -- and looks like you could still grow it even longer (if you wish to)... My guess is that you probably have a very long terminal length, because as someone else mentioned, the tapering and thinning at the ends is very minimal.
Thanks for sharing this semi-update!
- Ken