26.2 miles

If anyone out there was wondering if the Chicago Marathon turned out to be the end of Brian Maxwell Kessler, I can assure you that he made it through alive and kicking. And for anyone wondering what its like to run a marathon, the organizers had cameramen filming the race. You can click below to see their official video.




Now that you know what a marathon looks like in general, I'll give you some highlights from my marathon:

5:30 AM Wake up and get dressed to head down to the marathon start.

6:30 AM Win best dressed warmup outfit.


Yeah, you wish you could pull off a garbage bag and khakis.

8:00 AM Start the Chicago Marathon with 40,000 other people.


I'm the one in an orange hat, right next to Waldo.

8:01 AM Running, running, running, see a sign that says "You can still catch the Kenyans", I don't believe it, running, running, hearing a band play "Eye of the Tiger" gets me pumped up, running, running, hearing the organ player at Wrigley playing a funeral dirge gets me pumped down, running, running, seeing cowgirls in dancing in drag in Boystown makes me laugh, running, running, hearing a DJ blasting "Eye of the Tiger" gets me pumped up again, running, running

11:37 AM I cross the finish line, thankfully with out slipping and falling



Yeah, the winner ended up with bleeding in his brain. Thank goodness I'm not that fast.

12:15 AM I win best dressed finisher award as well.


Everybody gets a mylar blanket as you cross the finish line. I've been using mine to protect myself from alien mind control.

Congratulations to Rick Herbst, Chris Herbst, Adam Pash, Ellen Flaherty, Beth Kessler, and all 33,633 finishers of the 2006 Chicago Marathon!

No Matter What They Say

I went into a public restroom today and there was a sign taped above the urinal that said "Thanks for Being Beautiful." At first, I was flattered, but then I thought, "How do they know that I'm so beautiful?"

That made me concerned that someone was watching me evacuate my bladder, so I high-tailed it outta there.

Bib #2392

If you take a look over to your right, you'll see that the Chicago Marathon is only a week and a half away! And although I have been neglecting to update my training miles on the sidebar, thankfully, I have not been neglecting to run them. I feel like I'll be ready to run a week from next Sunday, and I better be ready cuz I'm supposed to be running 26.2 miles that day.

For interested spectators, my bib number will be 2392 and supposedly you will be able to track me online during the race. In this mystical 21st century in which we live, you can have updates sent to either your email or even your phone. Click here to sign up for updates. Its free!

Stop Breakin' Down

This weekend I was at the Shoreline Amphitheatre for the Download Festival, which contrary to the name had nothing to do with downloads and everything to do with muzak. Unfortunately, circumstances prevented Wolfmother from performing. No, satan's guitarist did not challenge them to a duel. It turns out that the bassist's wife had a baby the day before the concert.

The mother of the wolf was the major draw for me, but I was mildly interested in seeing the rest of the lineup. I had heard that the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs put on a really good live show. Well, let me be the first to tell you that they do not. No amount of Karen O dancing around can make up for boring music, nor were they helped by a lackluster mix from the soundman.

I had seen Beck once before and at that concert he basically told the audience that he didn't like to have fun anymore. Well, its nice to see that the years have mellowed Beck out some. Unfortunately, more focus was on the puppet simulacrum performing behind the band.



Thankfully, there was a diamond in the rough to save the day. I had never heard Muse before Saturday, but let me tell you, those guys rock. And I'm talking the kind of rock where you have to get your foot up on the drum platform just to get out all the rock that needs to get out.