Kirk's Tips to a Successful Marathon

1) Building base strength with hill work early on in training is key


2) Speed work with the Skulls in the latter weeks also pays off

3) Doing pace runs (10 mi. or less) at faster than marathon pace doesn't hurt, it helps

4) Doing weekend LSDs on varied HARD pavement at a pace 10-25 secs. off marathon pace is good prep for those HA Chicago streets

5) Staying within 5 secs. +/- of goal pace allows sustained effort to the finish line (Rich)

6) Skip the water; suck down Gatorade at every available opportunity (JR)

7) Grab a banana every chance you get (JR)

8) Road kill is a great adrenaline rush, particularly after making that big left turn south onto Damen, where the race really begins

Remember he set his marathon PR at over 50 - that's pretty impresssive.