On the afternoon of May 31, 2014, I arrived at my new home for the weekend, Eleanor Town, having been greeted by the town’s mayor, Eleanor. And, luckily for you, the cameras were rolling…

Reunion of the mayors of Greg City and Eleanor Town

On the morning of June 1, 2014, I awoke to the sound of my Broadway Running Roommates’ voices in my head… “Don’t blow this for us, Gene!” “Quit being so selfish, Gene!”

But I kept telling myself, “You know what? It’s fine. Let’s just do the thing.”

I arrived at the start line on the Calgary Stampede grounds unsure, nervous, edgy.

And then the thought occurred to me, “I’m standing here, staring at pace bunny legend Alan Yu. And if Alan Yu wants more cowbell, I should probably give him more cowbell!”

And we were off.

6k – “Melissa, wait! Why don’t you lay down that cowbell right now? With me. Together.”

17k – “All our times have come, Here, but now they’re gone.” – Pargol Lakhan / The Blue Oyster Cult

23k – “Babies, before we’re done here, y’all be wearing gold-plated belt buckle medals.”

25k – “Gene, you know… that… it doesn’t work for me. I gotta have more cowbell!” – the Orginal Greg

29k – “Guess what? We got a fever! And the only prescription is MORE COWBELL.” – Celtic band Cabot’s Crossing

35k – “And I’d be doing myself a disservice — and every member of this Calysto Steel Band, if I didn’t perform the HELL out of this!”

40k – “I’ll be honest cuz, it was sounding great. But I could’ve used a little more cowbell. So, let’s take it again, and Gene, really explore the marathon space this time.” – Jolene Lawson

“Easy, guys. I put my jorts on just like the rest of you — one leg at a time. Except, once my jorts are on, I run marathons.”

Chip Time – 3:41.40
Overall – 234/1656
M – 185/965
M30-34 – 28/123