PRX PROFILES

ROB

Birthdate:  12/18/54

Hometown:  Baltimore, Maryland

Occupation: Software localization and internationalization specialist. Currently at Autodesk in San Rafael.

Education:  BA, BS Swarthmore College. MS, Stanford.

Family Life:  Married, no children. Brothers in Maine and North Carolina, mother in South Carolina.

Running History:  Started during 8th grade to get in shape for lacrosse and have continued to run much of the time ever since. Competed in high school, college, and a number of years after that with varying degress of success and failure. Still hit a few personal bests into my early 30's. Do not compete much any more.

Miles per week:  20-30 miles

Paces:  7-9 mins/mile

Favorite Race:  Lake Tahoe Relay. I only ran it once, but it was fun and scenic. One 7-person team collectively runs a lap around Lake Tahoe. I ran the 10 1/2 mile leg from near the north end of the lake to the Homewood ski area.

Best Running Experience:  Running the world's slowest 2-mile race with a time of 34:07. It was an outdoor race in January in Chicago. Raceday saw the the highest recorded snow depth in Chicago history at 29 inches and even higher at snow banks along the course. Temperature had fallen to 0 degrees F by race time following a 20-inch storm the day before. The entire field of 10-15 runners finished within a span of 8 seconds as the slower runners ran in the trail created by the faster runners. Conditions were so crazy you just had to love the absurdity of it all!

Worst Running Experience:  See Best Running Experience

Diet:  Lots of carbohydrates such as bread, bagels, pretzels, and cookies. Good on fruits, some vegetables. Too many sweets.

Injuries:  Quite a bit in recent years -- some really bad hamstring and piriformis problems, tendonitis, stress fracture by the knee, big toe arthritis. Combination of orthotics, strengthening exercises, and good stretching have improved matters but not 100%. Confining my running to 4 times per week and being judicious about when I run hard also help.

Non-Running Interests:  Reading. Learning Japanese, but I am still not that good at it.

Who would star as you in the Hollywood story of your life? Can't think of any current stars. If he were still alive, it might be Gregory Peck, for his calm but determined nature.