This Year I Got a Coach and a Clue and It Was Amazing

November 30, 2020 by Stephen Hallgren in Life

When I was in high-school I played on the Freshman basketball team. I’d argue that I was a pretty decent basketball player, I wasn’t bad, but I also don’t think I was great. Somewhere in skilled mediocre. While most of the players had better shooting and dribbling I was one of the better rebounders on the team, so I did a lot of rebounding, layups, passing and the occasional free throw. Seared in on brain though was my lack of motivation to try hard. I did the workouts, but wasn’t fully committed. I never put in additional work at home, because I didn’t see the point of more practice…

Time Trial: Run 4 the River Half-Marathon Redo

November 27, 2020 by Stephen Hallgren in Time Trials

Back in October, Nark Running & Strength put on a low-key (aka. very small and limited), but professionally timed, race called the Run 4 the River Half. The particular course that we ran followed the Mohawk Hudson Half-Marathon course, which had been cancelled this year and became yet one more pandemic race casualty. My original target pace for the R4R Half was to be 7’12” mile, but keep in mind, my previous and only half-marathon time was 8’05” mile…

Race: 2020 Upstate Classic 5k, Half-Marathon, Marathon

November 19, 2020 by Stephen Hallgren in Races

While there hasn’t been a lot of races this year locally, not every race has been cancelled in the area. In fact, we saw a brand new running event form this year called the Upstate Classic. The Upstate Classic took place at the Altamont Fairgrounds and included a 5k, half-marathon and full marathon. This is probably the last organized and fully timed local race for the 2020 season. 35+ Nark Running & Strength runners showed up and joined 1000+ other runners to close out our running season with a grand finale…

Race: 2020 Adirondack 5k

October 05, 2020 by Stephen Hallgren in Races

As I was driving up to Lake George from Albany I knew it was going to be the perfect day for a race. The temperature had dipped into the 30s overnight, and despite the crisp air, the sun was out warming things up and quickly melting the frost away. I’ve never raced the Adirondack 5k, but I was particularly excited for this race. One reason I was excited was that there haven’t been a lot of races happening this year, stupid COVID-19 pandemic…

Race: 2020 Hard as Hell Half-Marathon

August 10, 2020 by Stephen Hallgren in Races

What does a runner do when races are getting cancelled left and right because of a stupid virus called COVID-19? In my case, I signed up for the Hard as Hell Half-Marathon, put on by the Albany Running Exchange. 2020 marks the very first year of the Hard as Hell Half-Marathon and was run in conjunction with the Dippikill Froggy Five Mile race. While most races are being cancelled locally, the ARE has still been making certain races work, albeit, looking slightly different…

Will Virtual Races Replace the Physical Race? I Don't Think So

June 23, 2020 by Stephen Hallgren in Races

Before COVID-19, social distancing, smothering face masks and every single race getting cancelled, I had never given running a virtual race a single thought. In fact, the whole idea of it seemed ridiculous to me, but after every single race got cancelled, this turned into my only option. I started researching virtual races, got excited about running a virtual race and then I fizzled out. There was no hook, motivation, accuracy or endorphin rush from the virtual races. Here are my thoughts on why I don’t think virtual races will ever replace the physical race…