We would like to welcome Kelly Nykaza, the newest member of the Marathon & Beyond family. Kelly is joining M&B as assistant to publisher Jan Seeley.

In our Sept/Oct 2012 issue of Marathon & Beyond, we began serializing the middle book of Joe Henderson's memoir series entitled Going Far. Our current May/June 2014 issue begins with Part 11, and there's still more to come.

In his own words, Joe explains how he came to write his memoirs:

"Sometime between claiming my first Social Security check at 62 and signing on with Medicare at 65, I heard an offhand comment by a fellow writer from the same age group. Rich Benyo [pictured above with Joe], my editor at Marathon & Beyond magazine between 2004 and 2011 and good friend much longer than that, was into his own multi-volume memoirs, and he urged me to get going on mine. 'Our age is the best time to write memoirs,' Rich said. 'We're old enough to have had the experiences but still young enough to remember what they were.'

"My second big push was a prostate cancer diagnosis. Doctors found this disease early and treated it well, but the episode still left me thinking: better get going on this book now, when this scare and then the successful treatment have renewed my appreciation for the life I've led.

"Writing for this memoir began in 2008, shortly after hearing the three chilling words: 'You have cancer.' I wrote and wrote and wrote that year and took the story only as far as 1967. This became the first book in a trilogy, covering my growing-up years in the Midwest.

"In 2009, after completing nine weeks of daily radiation treatment, I wrote and wrote some more. This narrative of my peak years as a long-distance racer and journalist living in California ran its course in 1981. Book two is titled Going Far.

"Writing the third book took most of 2010. It tells of settling down to the post-peak years in Oregon, my longest-time home state. It's titled Home Runs.

"The processing and polishing of this memoir series took three years. But in a sense, I've been writing this story almost as long as I've lived it. The rough draft runs to more than 50 volumes. Since 1959, I have been a journalist in the truest sense: one whose writing all starts on a daily journal page."

Joe Henderson was for more than 30 years a columnist and editor at Runner's World magazine, and he wrote regularly for Marathon & Beyond from 2004 to 2011. He is a veteran of more than 700 races, from sprints to ultras. He teaches running classes at the University of Oregon in Eugene and coaches a local marathon team aptly named "Joe's Team."

If you haven't been a subscriber to Marathon & Beyond since we began serializing Joe's book, you can catch up by subscribing to our digital issue with access to ALL the back issues since March 2011 in the digital archives. Click here to subscribe.

The 16th annual running of the NordicTrack Top of Utah Marathon will be on September 20th, 2014. This fast, incredibly-scenic course is USATF-certified.  

 

The marathon starts up at Hardware Ranch Wildlife Management Area, which is located in Blacksmith Fork Canyon, part of the Wasatch Mountain Range. Located North of Salt Lake City about 80 miles and about 23 miles from Logan, Utah, home of Utah State University, Hardware Ranch WMA is managed for wildlife, wildlife habitat, and wildlife enthusiasts.  

The course drops approximately 1045 feet over the 26 miles but is only a 1% to 2% grade and won't beat up your legs, making it a perfect downhill course. Many runners set a PR on this course.    

 

This time of year generally has perfect running weather in Utah. The temperatures at the start will be an average 40 degrees, quickly warming up to between 50 and 70 degrees by the finish line.   

 

The registration fee goes up on August 2, so register today! For registration and more information, click here.

Our M&B GoHat by Headsweats is lightweight, versatile, and comfy - perfect for the spring running season. Current color choices: White with black, red, blue, or pink trim. One size fits all.

 

Subscribe to Marathon & Beyond print or digital edition and get a *FREE Marathon & Beyond GoHat. Call our office at (217) 359-9345 and use the code word e-XTRA GoHat. Or, order online and put the code word e-XTRA GoHat in the comment box. Be sure to specify your color choice.