Finally back to running!

   After 6 months of non-running I got to run a 1/4 mile today on the track.  God I love running!

   On September 12, 2010 while on a trail run at Devil's Den State Park with a group of friends on a fun trail run.  I tried to run/hop/jump over a fallen tree......I didn't make it.  I fell two feet to the ground with all my weight on to my right ankle and rolled it with a loud snap.  After laying on the ground for a couple of minutes and catching my breath from the excruciating pain coming from my ankle I realized that I had to get back to the car 3 MILES AWAY!  Tony Rogers who was running with me tried to help me but I was to big to carry and our cellphones did not work.  So I had to walk with a large stick as a cane that Tony found for me back to the car.  I made it 3 hours later and went to the hospital ER after a quick stop at home for a shower.  At the ER the staff told me nothing was broken and that I had a sprained ankle.  They gave me an ace bandage and some Tylenol 3 and told me to set up an appointment with the Orthopedist in the morning.

    That was 6 months ago.  I ended up having an MRI and finding out that I had torn almost all of the ligaments and tendons in my ankle.  This destruction meant surgery.  I had surgery to repair my ankle on December 19th.  The repair consisted of  75 Kevlar stitches a skin graphed from a cadaver and another 100 dis-solvable stitches to close the whole thing up.  I got to ride on a cool scooter and did lots of PT with Stephen Joseph (He is very good if you need physical therapy).

    Now I am back to running......slowly and little bits at a time but back running and it feels so good.  My goal for the year is to not get hurt again and be able to run longer and stronger than ever.  I really want to run the NYC marathon this year and another 100 mile race in the fall.  But for now it is a 1/4 mile at a time.  As Tom says slow and steady wins the race...for now.

Jeff's Bio

My name is Jeff Genova and I am a runner.  Sounds like AA, well I am an addict.  I love to run.  I love the freedom.  I love the people.  I lust for the trails.  But sometimes I love it too much it takes over my life and I need to check my priorities at the door and reign my zest back in.

I have been running for 18+ years.  I started after an injury forced me to retire from my first love Lacrosse where I looked at running as a punishment.  I remember the first day I went out for a run for pleasure and not for punishment.  It was after about a 1 year layoff of any exercise and was far from being in good shape.  I made it 1/4 mile and I was spent!  Since that time I have run five 100 mile races (two of which I only made it 93.5 miles and 99.1 miles but, that is a story for another day).  I have run 26 marathons in 15 states with my last at the Boston Marathon this last April with Tom.

I am currently on the mend from ankle surgery this past December.  I received 75 Kevlar stitches and a skin graph from a cadaver.  The surgery was the result of a two running accidents.  I get to start back running on Monday March 7th.  I can not wait!  I have a goal of running a 100 mile race this fall and the blog will be a great place to tell everyone about my road from zero to 100 miles.

Tom's running Bio

Hello to all.  My name is Tom Lane.  I started running a little less than two years ago after a late night beverage induced loss of sanity.  A newly found lifelong friend / brother convinced me that we could run my first marathon together.   Honestly, I had not really considered running a marathon prior to that evening and running was really not something I had ever envisioned myself doing.  It wasn’t long however before my life was taking a completely different path.  With a whole lot of help from my favorite local running store, I was becoming a runner.  I ran my first marathon in October of 2009.  Eight marathons later, the Marine Corp Marathon (my 1st) continues to hold the top spot of my marathon experiences.  
About two weeks prior to the Marine Corp Marathon, I had heard about Jeff Genova’s attempt at the Western States Endurance Run.  He made it 99.1 miles of the 100.2 mile race before collapsing.  That effort and the idea of running  4 marathons back to back seemed like the ultimate challenge and even though I had not run my first marathon I was ready to start that Journey.   Soon after running the Marine Corp Marathon, I ran the Dallas White Rock Marathon, Athen’s Big Fork Trail Marathon and then the Arizona Rock and Roll Marathon.  In April of 2010, I got a once in a lifetime chance to run the Boston Marathon.  Five marathons in 6 months  proved to be a great learning experience and a great confidence builder.  Later that summer, I ran my first 50 mile race in South Dakota (Lean Horse 50).  A few weeks later another  50 mile race in Missouri (Katy Trail 50).  Finally, on October 9th and 10th I ran the Heartland 100.  What an awesome experience.
Since my 100 miler, I can’t think of a better way to spend my spare time than running.  I have run several  marathons, 50K’s, and other ultra races of different distances since October and see no end in sight.  My race schedule for this year is pretty aggressive with several  50K’s, 50 miler’s, and two 100’s.  Keep on running and I’ll see you on the trail!

Jeff and Tom's Blog about our adventures in running, product testing, eating and traveling to and from races.

This blog was started by Jeff Genova and Tom Lane to post updates on races we have run, running products that we have tested, food that we have eaten, pictures that we have taken and places we have traveled to for races of all lengths.  We are friends who met through running and have run many miles together.  Jeff has been running for a long time and Tom has just picked up running in the past two years.  This allows us to give different perspectives on lots of things from races to running related products.  We hope to keep this blog updates fairly regularly that is why we made it together so if one person doesn't feel like writing the other can take up the slack.