This is legitimately ridiculous

On the flight back from Boston (and a full recap, with pictures is coming, maybe this week), the Wrangler swore Lee Corso was sitting in first class. I didn't see him, and I wonder why Corso would be going from Boston to Atlanta - he doesn't seem the marathon running type, but I guess he could've been doing some research on BC for next year. Or maybe he was in Bristol and flew out of Logan instead of one of the 12 other airports around there.

But back to the point...

As tradition requires, last weekend was the Boston Marathon. And since Atlanta's a major air hub, the flight to and from Boston was filled with marathoners. Which was awesome, since I had a middle seat coming back. Marathoners, in general, aren't fatasses. So there was a good amount of room on the flight.

I sat next to a guy who totally deserves mention here, and probably in a million other media outlets too.

His name was Chuck Engle. His personal site is HERE. Go and take a look. He's a professional long-distance runner and finished 355th in the Boston Marathon (in a quick 2:48). That alone is amazing. But his real accomplishment is ongoing.

He wants to run 52 marathons in 52 weeks this year, all of which under ar certain timeframe.

That's right: 1 marathon a week. On Patriot's Day, it was his 16th marathon of the year. He actually had run two marathons that weekend (he finished second in Charlottesville, VA on Saturday, same time). He had won 8 of the 16 marathons he'd run. Just incredible.

I can't imagine running one marathon. I can't imagine how long it must take to recuperate after just one marathon. I can't imagine how tough it must be to add in all the travel stress. I just walked around Boston and got drunk, and I'm still exhausted from last weekend. This guy's running marathons week after week after week.

And he seemed like a really nice guy too. Didn't brag about his accomplishments, and kind of reluctantly discussed his schedule and goals only after I prodded him. He seemed genuinely flattered that I was interested in what he's doing, and I probably should've been more effusive in praise.

What he's doing is pretty incredible. Also, he's using the marathon tour to get the word out for St. Jude Hospital in Memphis. I think it's great. He's set a goal for himself and now he's doing it. And I hope he stays healthy and can complete the whole thing. Hopefully he'll come to Atlanta for the marathon around Thanksgiving. I'm rooting for him.

So track his progress here.