I was overweight my entire life, and 300+ pounds for the previous 5 years (I'm only 5'6"). On June 7th, 2008, at the age of 47 I decided to drastically change my life. Even though I had never run more than a 1/4 mile in my previous 30 years because I HATED running, I set a goal of running the 2009 Boston Marathon which was 10 months away and to raise $3000 for my 9 year old niece Julia who suffers from Cystic Fibrosis. I exceeded all expectations and have learned to love running. I generally run 5-6 marathon or other endurance races each year and will continue to do so as long as my legs allow me.
Quote
“"Once you cross the finish line, no matter how fast or how slow, it will change your life forever" (Dick Beardsley from the movie "Spirit of the Marathon")”
Running Achievements
Only being able to run 10 yards the first day of training and 10 months later running the 2009 Boston Marathon, NONSTOP!
Check out my video on my profile! Roger Wright 3/23/14 2:20 pmEach year I make a video for one marathon to raise money for Cystic Fibrosis. This is my 2014 Boston Marathon video. http://youtu.be/3AsQjx1lxLU Roger Wright 3/23/14 2:21 pm
Wow, bombs just went off at the Boston Marathon! Fortunately Bob and Mike should be ok. Roger Wright 4/15/13 12:35 pmtalked to bob, they are OK. he said it went off just about the time when michael crossed the finish line, bob was waiting for him. Waitman Gobble 4/15/13 12:52 pm richard, latest news is cell phone service has been intentionally shut down in boston. Waitman Gobble 4/15/13 2:41 pm
Check out my video on my profile! Roger Wright 4/13/13 8:29 pmInspirational, Roger. Hopefully, this will encourage others to get out there and keep moving. Gary Funck 4/14/13 6:51 pm
Is it me or is the Fit Log messed up? Looks like Sunday was repeated from last week to this week (of all the weeks to move my LSR from Sunday to Saturday! lol) and there is no Saturday listed. Roger Wright 11/7/12 1:56 pmSomething did happen but our webmaster is getting it fix. Be sure to keep us informed of any situations we need to fix OR improve! Thanks Bob Bob Anderson 11/7/12 1:59 pm
Yesterday, after hearing the NYC Marathon was cancelled, I wrote this in defense of my running friends on Facebook who had received abuse from both strangers and friends.
My thoughts on the NYCM.
First, I can completely understand the negative sentiments regarding the New York City Marathon (NYCM) being held. Hurricane Sandy was a horrific disaster that obviously affected millions of people to a degree that will never be forgotten. I am 100% certain that there is not ONE runner who does not have compassion for everyone affected by this storm and it's effects. If there is anyone that doesn't care, even non runners, then they are not human in my eyes.
Life is complicated and every day we are faced with decisions that are not easily made. And some are beyond our control. Having been given the OK to run by Bloomberg and the NYRR, the runners of the New York City Marathon found themselves in a situation that they really didn't have control over. "Damned if you do and damned if you don't".
The NYCM is the largest marathon in the world with approx. 50,000 runners. And because of it's size and prestige, runners come from not only every state in this country, but this year, approximately 20,000 came from other parts of the world to run it. For most of the runners it starts as a dream, turns into a goal, and becomes a non wavering commitment. They ran through blood sweat and tears, sun, rain and possibly snow, day and night, dusk to dawn, just to run ONE race.
I was not registered to run this year's race but I do have many friends and family that were. I can tell you that every one of them is actually feeling a sense of relief right now that the race has been cancelled.
The runners in this year's race are not selfish, evil, uncaring, apathetic or any other degrading term that they have been called this week. If you believe that, then you should be ashamed of yourself. Relatively new to the sport of running, I immediately found runners to be some of the most caring people in the world, with a large majority raising millions of dollars and awareness for charities throughout the world. And if you think it is easy to spend hours, days, weeks and months soliciting donations from friends, families, coworkers and strangers, then I sincerely encourage you to try it. Trust me, it is MUCH harder than running 26.2 miles.
Hurricane Sandy is a tragedy that has few rivals in 21st century America and the victims will wear a scar on their life that will be extremely hard to ever remove. But I also believe that, to an obviously much lesser extent, that the runners of this race are also victims in one way or another. Roger Wright 11/3/12 6:22 pmRoger
Good words.
Richard Stiller 11/3/12 8:26 pm What you have written says it so well. Thanks Roger for taking the time to share your thoughts. They are right on... Bob Anderson 11/4/12 5:04 pm
Have you recoverd from Berlin? You are running the BAA Half this weekend!!! Have a good one.... Bob Anderson 10/5/12 6:30 pmThanks Bob. Got back from Germany yesterday (incredible time!) so I just updated everything. Heading out right now for an easy 5-7 with running club so see how I feel for tomorrow's BAA Half. I don't expect much for tomorrow but at least it's supposed to be cool... Roger Wright 10/6/12 3:37 am
Congrats! Roger you are our Ujena Fit Log winner for the week ending June 24. AND because you are a 2-star member, we doubled your winnings. $100 is on its way...it does pay to workout daily and to post daily at Ujena Fit Club...who is next? Bob Bob Anderson 7/2/12 9:40 amThat's awesome Bob, I am so excited that I finally won! That said, I actually win every week because this Fit Log does encourages me to work out everyday, even if it's just a quick mile. Thanks Bob, you really made my day! Roger Wright 7/2/12 7:29 pm congrats!!! Shari Mernett 7/3/12 6:31 am
Roger, did you do the half on the 18th. I didn't see your name in the results? Are you getting set for Boston? Bob Anderson 3/26/12 10:05 amHi Bob. Always nice hearing from you - thanks for the interest!. I ended up running the New Bedford Half at 1:57:29. About what I expected with a really bad hill for the last mile. Someone should tell them to run the race the other way! lol Finished my long run for Boston over the weekend. Ran from Hopkinton to the top of Heartbreak Hill and felt good. Did 1:57 at 13.25 which is good for me. That said, the 2nd half of Boston is obviously the hard part! Congrats on your Oakland Half! You seemed a little disappointed with your 1:31 but from my perspective I could only dream of a time like that! You're awesome! :) Roger Wright 3/26/12 2:07 pm
Good luck on your News Year day 5k... Bob Anderson 12/30/11 9:37 amThanks Bob. Unfortunately I pulled my left calf running a few days ago so I have been doing everything else (spin, swimming, elliptical, etc) in hopes of a recovery. First race I have ever had to cancel. Hopefully it's OK before Miami Marathon in 29 days. Happy New Years. Roger Wright 12/31/11 11:19 pm Sorry to hear this Roger...I hope you have a speedy recovery...be sure to get some massage! Bob Anderson 1/1/12 3:53 pm
Good job Roger...blisters can be the worse. You can run faster and on to the next one. But I am sure you had a wonderful experience. I wished I would have been there with you! Good luck in Miami... Bob Anderson 11/6/11 6:25 pmThank Bob. Marathons are always special and obviously the New York City Marathon (NYCM) is one of the world's greatest. Regardless of my time, it was a great experience. I'm only 50 so plenty of time to improve!
BTW, thanks to this site, I recognized Marshall Ulrich at the NYCM expo and had a great conversation with him about his incredible accomplishments and my weightloss/marathon story. Both he and his wife Heather are wonderful people. Only at chapter 4 of his book (Running On Empty) but very riveting! Roger Wright 11/8/11 3:48 pm
I have always wanted to do a road relay and for some reason I never did one. Looks like you do several per year. They must be fun? Bob Anderson 9/26/11 10:21 pmThey are a blast as long as you have a team who accepts that it is more about having fun instead of expecting everyone to set a world record pace. You also have to accept that you MIGHT get 2-3 hours sleep for the next ~36 hours if you are lucky, that you will probably be running through the middle of nowhere in the wee hours of the morning with only a headlamp to guide you and that the van ends up smelling like a locker room within a few hours. And those are the good things! LOL Roger Wright 9/27/11 12:48 pm
I just watched the new video you linked and I loved it!! Yes, happy tears again. I think what you have accomplished is truly amazing. Congratulations! Trish Tompkins 9/22/11 4:54 pm