My seven mile run on Friday went well and I had a good (but brief) cross training session on Sunday afternoon. I have determined that nothing cures a hangover quite as well as a half hearted lifting session followed by 30 minutes in the steam room. But enough about that – today I have something much more important to discuss (followed by sock talk).

Origin of the Marathon Ninja

Where did the name come from you ask? This is a question that haunts some readers of this blog. Some speculate that I was born the love child of Steve ‘Pre’ Prefontaine and martial arts expert Michelle Yeoh of Crouching Tiger fame. While this is a good guess it is in fact not correct. Others claim that I combine crime fighting with distance running using only throwing stars and a beat up pair of Pumas to bring justice to my fair city. Again – wrongo.


My story is much, much more humble than those suggested above. It all started (and ended for that matter) on Christmas Day, 2005. I received as a gift from my parents a pair of black running pants and a running jacket. Those items in themselves are not enough to warrant the ‘marathon ninja’ moniker but this was no ordinary running jacket. My parents spared no expense in outfitting me with a Patagonia ‘thumby’ running jacket. When I donned the black pants, jacket, and black hat that very day my brother-in-law commented that I looked like an Irish Bank-Robbing Ninja of some sort. I took the liberty to modify his description into something a little more appropriate to the task at hand and became the Marathon Ninja. To be honest “Irish Ninja” sounds almost as cool but is getting a little too close to the title of a not-so-hot Chris Farley film (R.I.P.).

So that is the origin of the name. Good story ‘eh?


I have 2 more things. First, I got some socks today that have a dedicated left foot and right foot denoted by a little L and little R stitched right in. I don’t for one minute believe that putting the correct sock on the correct foot will help me break 4 hours in the marathon but it’s nice to have one part of your day planned out for you ahead of time. It helps to avoid the pesky ‘now which foot gets this sock?’ dilemma I face most days.

Finally I’ll wrap up on a serious note with a list of tips my buddy J.J. send me regarding distance running. FYI JJ is a member and head-honcho of the illustrious runtoo.org. JJ is the bearded fellow front-and-center in the photo displayed on the runtoo web site. Thanks J.J.!

• Still be alive the day after the marathon (seriously)
• Do nothing that will permanently injure myself
• Go the whole distance (crawling if necessary)
• Run the whole distance
• Finish under 4 hours ( or 9 minutes/mile)
• Qualify for preferred start in next Chicago Marathon
• Run under 8 minutes/mile
• Qualify for Boston Marathon
• So on and so forth