My Brother, My Inspiration - Good Luck Ken!

Yes I'm avoiding last week's stats... 4.5 miles total. Bleh. Same old excuses: work, travel, parenting and general lack of time to get out and run.

Moving on ... here's someone who hasn't been slacking in his marathon training and who inspires me, always - my brother, Ken. He's the fellow on the right, below. (The other fellow is my oldest brother, Brian - another intriguing subject for another post/blog that has nothing to do with running.)

Ken is an amazing guy. He ran his first Marathon in Detroit in October 2005. I should mention that he trained for that Marathon while deployed in the Iraq war. (And I'm whining about training?!)

Yes, he trained in the worst conditions you could imagine - hot, dangerous, loud - running in circles in the small section of "safety" that he could capture each day amid gunfire, bombs and other chaos. He's long been my hero and this is just another reason why I admire him so. This weekend he will be running his second marathon in Traverse City, MI. The 26th Annual Traverse City State Bank Bayshore Marathon.

If you read this, and would wish him luck in the comments section, I would appreciate it. He's found running to be good, necessary therapy from what have been some very difficult personal years after his return home from the war. Details are not important - but I know he'd appreciate any and all words of support. You can also write on his Facebook wall if so inspired.

Rich and I only hope we can be as disciplined as Ken has been in his training... you know, once we "officially" start a plan. We wish him all the luck in the world at reaching his personal best this weekend.

Go Ken!