GCM Family Activites

     If you were planning on coming to town and leaving the little ones at home you may want to reconsider that decision.  The staff at the Mercy Health Glass City Marathon go to great lengths to include the entire family by offering events and running distances for all ages and abilities, not to mention the awesome family friendly activities the great city of Toledo has to offer.

Your kids want to say "I RUN TOLEDO" too!

click here for more information

 

Findley Davies Kid’s Marathon

The biggest kids run around, the Findley Davies Kid’s Marathon includes runs for kids ages 2-12. Location: Rocket Track & Field
Date: Saturday, April 23, 2016
Runner Premium: * New This Year — Shirts for all participants; color coded red, white, blue depending on distance/event

Start Times

11:30am — Meet the UT Football Players, with Agility Angels Dog Show to Follow
12:00pm — 1/4 Mile Run, with 1/2 Mile and 1 Mile Run to Follow

Suggested Age Groups

Ages 2-3 — 1/4 mile
Ages 4-12 — 1/2 or 1 mile

Registration

Parents can register their children online, by mail-in brochure, or until 11:30am at the Expo in the Savage Hall Arena. Registration includes a teddy bear, finisher’s medal and refreshments.
*Shirts are only guaranteed with registration through March 31, 2016.

Imagination Station

      A wonderful facility in downtown Toledo that features a hands-on science museum with over 300 exhibits for children of all ages.

Toledo Zoo

      This year features newly renovated Aquarium houses 3000+ aquatic animals in 178,000 gallons of water – nearly four times the volume as the previous Aquarium.  As an institution with a more than 100-year history, The Toledo Zoo understands the need to preserve the past even as it reaches out toward the future.  The Toledo Zoo is one of the world’s most complete zoos—it’s also the region’s top family destination! Let The Toledo Zoo take you from the Arctic tundra to the wilds of Africa, from the tropical rainforest to the Sonoran Desert and all points between—all in one great day. 

Toledo Museum of Art

     The Toledo Museum of Art is an internationally known art museum located in the Old West End neighborhood of Toledo.  It houses a collection of more than 30,000 objects and special one of a kind traveling exhibits throughout the year.  The museum was founded by Toledo glassmaker Edward Drummond Libby in 1901, and moved to its current location in 1912.

   Whether you want updates of how you are doing while you run or your friends and family want to follow along as you traverse the 26.2, 13.1 or 3.2 miles, you can do so with the official race tracker.  With the mobile Glass City Marathon app you can fully experience the race. Share RaceJoy with your friends and family and ask them to sign in as a spectator. If you carry your phone, they can track you live and send you audio cheer clips.

Need a Place to Stay? GCM Host Hotels

     With the Mercy Health Glass City Marathon rapidly approaching, I thought I would share a little info for those of you coming in from out of town.  Toledo may not be the biggest city in Ohio, but with its rich history and wonderful attractions, it sure does offer some great things for tourists to do.  for driving directions to get to the starting line on race day: CLICK HERE

 

     Probably the most important thing is where you are going to stay while you are in town.  Well the GCM are pleased to welcome Ramada Hotel and Conference Center as the Glass City Marathon's host hotel. The Ramada Hotel is located on Secor Road minutes from the University of Toledo Campus. 

Ramada Toledo Hotel and Conference Center

3536 Secor Road Toledo, OH, 43606

Phone:(419) 535-7070

1.7 miles from 2801 West Bancroft Street, Toledo, Ohio, 43606

     If there is no room at the inn, or you wish to venture out and lay out head at another establishment, then check out the list below for some other hotels that are reasonably close to the race.

 
Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham Holland/Toledo Area

6101 Trust Dr Holland, OH, 43528

Phone:(419) 867-9555

5.0 miles from 2801 West Bancroft Street, Toledo, Ohio, 43606

 

 Wingate by Wyndham - Sylvania/Toledo

5480 South Main Street Sylvania, OH, 43560

Phone:(419) 517-2000

5.9 miles from 2801 West Bancroft Street, Toledo, Ohio, 43606

 Quality Inn Toledo

3560 Secor Rd Toledo, OH, 43606

Phone:(419) 531-2666

1.8 miles from 2801 West Bancroft Street, Toledo, Ohio, 43606

 
  
Radisson Hotel at The University of Toledo

3100 Glendale Avenue Toledo, OH, 43614

Phone:(419) 381-6800

3.4 miles from 2801 West Bancroft Street, Toledo, Ohio, 43606

 
  
Park Inn by Radisson Hotel Toledo, OH

101 N Summit St Toledo, OH, 43604

Phone:(419) 241-3000

4.0 miles from 2801 West Bancroft Street, Toledo, Ohio, 43606

Want To Help? Charities of the Glass City Marathon 2016

Some wonderful charities have partnered with The Glass City Marathon this year to provide awareness to their cause and to raise funds to support those who they help. Since 2009, Toledo Roadrunners Club has raised over $300,000 for area non-profits.
Through a careful selection process, partner status is awarded to programs or organizations who are aligned with the TRRC’s constitutional purpose which is “to educate Club members and the community about physical fitness and health through the sponsorship and promotion of running, physical fitness and other health related events.”

Official Charities of the Mercy Health Glass City Marathon

Mercy Children’s Hospital — A regional resource for advanced pediatric care located in Toledo, Ohio. Since 1999, Mercy Children’s Hospital has brought together a broad spectrum of physicians, researchers, educators, nurses and allied professionals specializing in the unique needs of children. Mercy Children’s Hospital has become the leading healthcare resource in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan. Money donated to Mercy Children’s Hospital goes to support the Mercy Autism Program, Mercy Hippotherapy program, Mercy Family Care Team, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and Inpatient Child Life program, along with equipment and other needs within the hospital…

Great Lakes Collaborative for Autism — The Great Lakes Collaborative for Autism works within the community to promote awareness of Autism as well as collaborates with community partners to provide programming, services, and support for those affected by autism…

 

Maumee Valley Habitat for Humanity — Maumee Valley Habitat for Humanity works with low income families in Lucas County, Ohio to provide new or rehabbed housing, critical home repairs, clean-up and exterior maintenance. Please visit www.mvhabitat.org for more information…

Kids Unlimited — Kids Unlimited is an after-school tutoring/mentoring program operating in five central city Toledo locations. It focuses on providing a comprehensive approach to educating and mentoring children in three critical areas…

 Catholic Charities Diocese of Toledo — Catholic Charities Diocese of Toledo serves more than 41,000 people of all faiths and backgrounds in 19 counties of Northwest Ohio by providing food and shelter, adoption services, pregnancy support, guardianship for the elderly, jail and prison…

 Toledo Community Service Center, dba Family House — We provide services and programs to over 267 homeless families every year, at an average cost of $1700 per family served. With $10,000 we will be able to shelter, empower and re-house 6 families who find themselves in a homeless crisis…

 Girls on the Run — Girls on the Run is an after school program meeting twice a week in small teams of 8-15 girls. The program teaches life skills through dynamic, conversation-based lessons and running games. Running to inspire and motivate girls, encourage lifelong…

 Goodwill of NW Ohio — Goodwill Industries, a household name that evokes images of thrift stores, donated goods and workers with disabilities. We improve the lives of people with disabilities or other disadvantages through employment training and job placement…

 Racing for Recovery — Our mission at Racing for Recovery is to prevent all forms of substance abuse by promoting a lifestyle of fitness and health for all those affected by addiction. Racing for Recovery works to save lives and improve the quality of life for addicts and…

 Hannah’s Socks — Hannah’s Socks – restoring dignity one pair of socks at a time. It’s a simple premise really. Giving a person a brand new pair of socks. What many take for granted by opening their drawer in the morning to get ready for the day, is not possible for…

 Josina Lott Residential & Community Services — Enriching the lives of persons with developmental disabilities by providing quality services, safe environments and opportunities for self-determination and community integration… 

 Adopt America Network — Dedicated to helping place children with special circumstances, whether they are physical, emotional or something else (for instance, older children and/or siblings)…

 

Partners for Clean Streams — Striving for abundant open space and a high quality natural environment; adequate floodwater storage capacities and flourishing wildlife; stakeholders who take local ownership in their resources; and rivers, streams and lakes that are clean, clear and safe…

   

Serenity Farm — Our Mission: A professional team providing growth and learning opportunities through the use of equine-assisted therapy to improve the quality of lives. Our Vision: A nationally-recognized organization giving persons with physical and behavioral disabilities a journey of therapy that enriches their lives through the bond of affection with the respect of horses…

And The Winners Are

   
     I want to thank everyone who signed up for the drawing.  Its an honor to represent such a great race like the Mercy Health Glass City Marathon and to be able to offer others the opportunity to experience it for themselves.  And with out further adieu

   
     Those of you that were not chosen, you still have four more chances to win an entry.  The links below will take you to my fellow ambassadors info pages where you can enter during the dates listed below.

November 20-November 26- Lisa Willford- http://glasscitymarathon.org/glass-city-marathon-official-sponsor-list/glass-city-ambassadors/lisa-willford/

November 27-December 3- Jes Taylor- http://glasscitymarathon.org/glass-city-marathon-official-sponsor-list/glass-city-ambassadors/jes-taylor/

December 4-10- Tom Silva- http://glasscitymarathon.org/glass-city-marathon-official-sponsor-list/glass-city-ambassadors/tom-silva/

Amanda Schwartz- D​ecember 11-17 http://glasscitymarathon.org/glass-city-marathon-official-sponsor-list/glass-city-ambassadors/amanda-schwartz/

2015 Glass City Marathon Race Recap Part 2

     Once we were all showered, dressed and ready to go, we hopped in the car and made out way over to the UT campus for the start of the race.  The temperature wasn't to terribly bad being in the high thirties since there was no wind to speak of.  With hardly any traffic on the roads we made really good time and got there early enough to get a pretty close up parking spot.  Mandy had a friend from work doing the 5K with her so we made plans to meet her at the expo hall at 6:30.  Once we met up with Annie we hung out in the expo hall to keep warm while I did a few light stretches and some warm up exercises.  With twenty minutes till race start we headed outside so I could get a couple light warmup laps and my dynamic stretches done.  When I was ready to go we snapped a couple pics and I attempted to find my place in the starting corals.

 

    
     This year was a growth year for the race as far as participants go, so when I tried to get in my assigned starting coral, it was so jam packed there was no room for me.  People were climbing over the bike rack barricades to get in and the provided doorways in were full and spilling out into the spectator area.  I ended up finding a small hole to get in to the coral ahead of mine, which worked out fine because I ended up running faster than I originally anticipated.  I was in the corals with about 5 minutes to spare before a couple of guest speakers said a few words and then the horn sounded and we were off.

     The race course quickly takes us off campus across a major road and into some of the nicest neighborhoods in Toledo.  What is nice about running through these neighborhoods is the fact that the community embraces the race and people come out of their homes to clap, cheer, hold signs or simply just to watch while not being upset with street closers or disrupting their daily routines.  

     Around mile 2 I started to have some GI issues and had some gas pressure building up that also was putting pressure on my bladder.  From that point till almost mile 7 or 8 I felt like I had to pee, which made me think maybe I should slowdown and maybe hit a port a potty.  I almost did when a runner a little bit ahead of me made a B-line right for it, so I decided to just press on.  Slowly I was able relieve the gas pressure (sorry runners who were behind me) and my need to pee subsided.  As the race went on I kept a close eye on my Garmin trying to maintain a steady pace, all while telling myself to run my own race and not worry about people passing me or me passing others.  I would have to remind myself that just because someone passed me doesn't mean I am slowing down and my Garmin confirmed that.  

     Through the first half of the race I was holding a steady pace between 8:10 and 8:15 so I thought if I felt good at the half way point I would slowly increase my speed and try to get a negative split for the second half.  Mile 7 I started to speed up and I must have hit a mini wall because I was feeling a little tired in mile 8 and struggled to even get an 8:15 pace.  I pushed through it and got back to around an 8:06 pace for miles 9-11.  At mile 10 they had a timing clock that read 1:21 on it when I passed and I quickly did the math in my head, three or four times to be sure, that if I held my pace I was going to hit a sub 1:50 time and even had a shot at a sub 1:45 time.  When I hit mile 12, which was mostly an up hill climb, I decided to not push to hard and save my legs for the last mile, so my paces plummeted to an 8:21.  Just before the last mile I looked at my time and thought If I want a sub 1:45 I need to get a move on, so I threw on some loud fast rock in roll and cranked up the pace to go as fast as I could without burning myself out too early.  Unfortunately I just didn't have enough time to do it, but I wasn't disappointed at all because I crushed the shit out of my PR by more than 12 minutes.

     After I crossed the line I got a water and my medal and met up with Mandy, who showed me her shinny new medal.  I was more proud of her for completing the race and getting the medal than I was of my new PR!  Mandy always said she doesn't like running and who knows if she ever will, but the fact that she got out there and did it was the best part of my day.  We took a few pictures and headed to the post race party to get some food and to relax.  The Glass City puts on a hell of a spread with fruit, pretzels, cookies, candy and my favorite Gino's pizza and bread sticks.  Of course the beer was flowing as well for those that like to partake in a nice cold one post race.  We sat out in the warm sun listening to Zak Ward's band play a few tunes while we enjoyed our little feast.  When we finished I stopped over to talk with Zak, we are buddies from high school and were in a band together for a few years before school and work took precedence and we had to call it quits.

   
     For me, other than the race organizers needing to reevaluate the starting line and corals for the growth in participants, I don't have anything else bad to say or to criticize about the race.  I can't speak to the full marathon, but for the half all the water stops, but one were fully staffed and well stocked with fluids, all the timing mats except for one had either a clock or someone there calling out times and the spectator support was great.  My two favorite parts of the entire race is the view of the University Bell Tower as your are coming down Drummond road (sorry no picture, I was trying to crush my PR) and the finish when you come through the gates of the UT Glass Bowl football stadium and run the finishing shoot on the 50 yard line.  

     We will see what next year brings, but I would really like to complete the trifecta and do the marathon next year, but we will see.  I want to give a big thank you to Amanda Kessler for asking me to be a race Ambassador for this year.  I had a lot of fun writing about it and to be asked to represent my hometown race was truly an honor.  I also want to thank friend and Race Director Clint McCormick for another wonderful Glass City Marathon event.  Even though this is only my third year participating in the event I have to say you and the other organizers are a class act providing Toledo with an event we can be proud of!

2015 Glass City Marathon Race Recap Part 1

     Saturday was expo day for the Glass City Marathon and because I had to work the expo as part of my ambassador duties so I took a vacation day from my normal job.  I didn't have to be to the expo until 12:30 so it was nice to sleep in and just relax in the morning with my wife.  Mandy and I were going out to a pre-race dinner with some friends about an hour after my shift was over so she graciously volunteered to work the expo with me.  

     We arrived on the campus of the University of Toledo and instantly we could tell the expo was packed.  We walked in and were immediately met by two volunteers asking us questions and directing us where we needed to go.   We headed right over to the info booth to meet the other ambassadors, volunteers and to get our instructions for the afternoon.  When the shift change happened, Mandy and I decided to relieve the "greeters" that welcomed us.  For racers to pick up their packets they needed their race bib numbers, so we were asking them if they new their numbers yet.  The ones that did we directed into the expo area and the ones that didn't we directed them over to the tables where the Racejoy app table was set up so they could look up their bib numbers.

     During our shift I saw a few people I recognize from other events around Toledo, my best friend's cousin who was running her first half marathon, but what really did it for me was when a reader stop to say hello.  This was the first time a reader of my blog has ever said something to me in person, and to hear someone who is fighting the same battle as I am say "I read your blog all the time and you are such an inspiration" just totally floored me.  In that moment I was consumed with such emotion I could hardly say anything and to be honest I can't remember exactly what was said, so if I didn't say it I wanted to say congrats on the weight loss and let him know that I really appreciated him saying hello.  What you have accomplished is amazing and you should be so proud!  Keep up the hard work and now I'll add, hope you had a great race on Sunday.  He had told me that he has lost over 185 pounds and thanked me for writing my blog.  Sorry I didn't get a picture with him, I wasn't really thinking clearly at that moment.  

***Warning, quick side note***

     I started this blog with the intentions of paying it forward for those that need the inspiration that I needed and got while I was loosing the weight.  In the digital age when people write to me or comment on Facebook it means a lot to me, but for the first time it truly became real to me when I shook the guys hand.  Nothing means more to me than knowing that I am able to help someone like the Fat to Finish Line crew did for me.   

***Ok, back to our regularly scheduled program***

     As the afternoon went on Mandy and I were getting a little tired and slap happy.  You start to go a little crazy when you say pretty much the same thing over and over for 4 straight hours, "hello, are you here for packet pick up?  Do you know your bib number yet? Great the entrance to the expo is right this way! or No, you'll need that to pick up your packet, so step over to these tables here where they can help you look that up."  When our shift ended we went to pick up our packets, look around at all the expo had to offer and then make our way to Perrysburg for dinner.

      We were going out to dinner with my friend Katie, who writes the blog Runs for Cookies, her husband Jerry and twenty or so of her friends and family who were running on 5-person relay teams together.  Katie's sister made reservations at a regionally known Italian restaurant chain call Biaggi's.  They have restaurants in 10 states, with most of their locations in Illinois.  I can't speak to other people's experiences, but mine and Mandy's was pretty darn good.  They had warm bread with olive oil to dip the bread in for snacking, which we gobbled up because we were starving.  For our main course I got spaghetti and meatballs which was wonderful and Mandy got lasagna and said she loved it.  It was so great catching up with everyone and nothing is better than getting to talk Star Wars, comic book movies, tv shows and RedWings hockey with Jerry.  

     It was getting late and the dogs had been alone almost all day so we wanted to get home and play with them so we could get them tired out before bed, so we said our goodbyes and headed home.  Mandy and I got our clothes laid out and I got all my tech gear ready for the morning.  Thankfully the dogs settled down and we were able to get to bed at a decent time, considering we had to be up at 4:30am so we could be out the door by 5:15am.  Wow, can you believe I use to hate getting up early and could sleep till one in the afternoon like it was no big deal.

     The exciting conclusion of Running in the Fat lane's 

2015 Glass City Marathon Race Recap, next time!  

Same fat time, same fat channel! 

Where Will You Be Carbo Loading Before The GCM?

     We have all been told that carbo loading is the preferred nutrition for your pre race meal, well if you are planning on making carbs your meal before the race, here are a few locals and a few national chains for you to get your pasta fix at.

Mancy’s Italian Grille – 5.2 miles away from UT’s campus
Calvino’s Restaurant – 2.1 miles away from UT’s campus
BRAVO! Cucina Italiana – 3.9 miles away from UT’s campus
Olive Garden  – 4.2 miles away from UT’s campus
     Of course Olive Garden would be on this list, it may be a chain, but I have always had a good meal when I've eaten here.
La Scola Italian Grill – 5.4 miles away from UT’s campus
Zia’s – 5.5 miles away from UT’s campus
Rosie’s Italian Grille – 6.7 miles away from UT’s campus
Spaghetti Warehouse – 4.3 miles away from UT’s campus
     I haven't eaten here in a long long time, so I can't give you a current review, but it has "spaghetti" in the name so of course it was going to make the list.
Biaggi’s Ristorante Italiano – 15.2 miles away from UT’s  campus
     Located at a beautiful outdoor shopping mall in my hometown of Perrysburg, a suburb of Toledo.  This is where Mandy and myself will be dinning out Saturday evening with some other friend who will be running the various events this weekend.

     Good luck to everyone on Sunday and I hope to see you all at the expo!  I will be working the info booth located just outside the entrance of the expo from 12:30-4pm so stop by and say hello!