First Post

So, I've decided to make a blog! See, I'm planning to run the Boston Marathon next April; problem is that I've got to qualify first. So, you lucky folks have the unique and distinct pleasure of hearing how my training goes -- the up, the downs, the joys, the despairs -- for the next year as I attempt to qualify in DC in October and then race Boston in April. Oh yeah, and there's all that training in the meantime, which is sure to make for some great stories! Plus, for absolutely no charge, I'll throw in other random ramblings for free.

Speaking of other ramblings, for those of you wondering about the blog name, Iphiclus was one of the heros who sailed with Jason on the ship Argos in search of the Golden Fleece. He'd won the footrace in the ancient Games, and was said to be so fast that he could run across the surface of water and not get wet and over the tops of the cornfields without damaging the stalks! A real modern day Flash, that guy. I'm not that fast, so I could be Iphiclus Lentior ("Iphiclus the Slower") if you like, or you can just call me Jack. By the way, the brother of Hercules who cries to his mama while Hercules kills the two snakes sent by Juno to kill them, was a different Iphiclus.

So, I'll do my best not embarass the chosen namesake too badly on this journey. (although I guess the only way to actually measure up would be to run like Khalid Khannouchi .) But, away we go. . .