Going to the marathon expo with kids? You HAVE to do this.

Extra Snickers bars? Check

If you're going to run marathons and race triathlons, you have to get your family on board.

One of the best ways to get your kids to love it is to have them go 'trick -or-treating' at the race expo. My girls, 5 and 6, absolutely love this. They each get one of the many bags vendors hang out, and then they go around to all the vendors and say "trick or treat!" And since they're cute little girls and not greedy adult runners, venders just love giving them tons of free stuff. At the last expo we attended, I got a few gels and a bottled water from vendors. My girls each got tech tees (adult medium, but who cares) race finisher medals, a bunch of gels, bars, waters, gatorades, shaving cream- probably $100+ in free stuff. The girls didn't want any of it, they just had fun 'trick-or-treating". And I had enough gels to last for months.

Scary Disney Marathon Poster!

As my friend Shawn says, "Kids are expensive! You might as well get some money back from them."

 Have fun at the expo!

How To Break Through The Training Wall In Your First Marathon

A lot of runners hit a wall training for their first marathon, especially when they do their first 14- or 15-mile long run. Sure, they’ve likely done 13.1 miles in a half marathon, but somehow going past that distance is a post-half marathon barrier that makes newer runners want to quit. I have two in-laws training for their first marathon, so I asked my local triathlon club and the LinkedIn Marathon Finishers Group this question- "How in the world did you break through that training barrier for your first marathon?" And you know what? The world answered back.