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Runners on the Way Up
John Piggott: Marathoner Extraordinaire
By Rick PlattMarch/April 2009
For the Washington Running Report
To paraphrase Will Rogers's famous quote, "I never met a man I didn't like," Williamsburg's John Piggott (43) has never met a marathon he didn't like. Nor a half marathon, nor any distance. The prolific marathoner had his most noteworthy year ever in 2008, running 17 highly-competitive marathons in 13 states and Canada, along with seven half marathons, and at least 11 shorter races (five 5Ks, two 10-milers, and one race each at 7 miles, 8K and 10K).
From the Mississippi Blues Marathon on January 5, 2008 through the same race on January 3, 2009, Piggott earned $12,400 in prize money in the masters and overall categories. He took home as little as $50 (PVI Runfest 5K) and as much as $1,000 (Baltimore Running Festival, Atlantic City, and Mississippi Blues).
In his 17 marathons, Piggott had one overall win (Atlantic City), three third-places overall (Space Coast, Lake City, Lower Potomac River) ten top-ten spots overall, and seven masters (ages 40-and-over) titles. There were two marathons in January, one in February, three within four weeks in March (Lower Potomac River, Shamrock, and National), one in April (Boston), and one in May (Buffalo), before a 3 ½-month summer break from 26.2-milers.
Piggott's most amazing series of marathons, however, came in the fall, when he ran seven marathons in eight weeks, including six weekends in a row. These were not just casual marathons; they were all serious competitive races. Common running theory has it that runners need one day recovery from racing for every mile of their most recent race, meaning a runner could race a 5K or 10K every weekend without risk of injury or burnout, but needs at least two weeks after a half marathon, and four weeks after a marathon, before their next race. Piggott, a Lafayette High School assistant cross country and track coach, obviously marches to his own drummer when it comes to training and racing.
It all started September 13 at the Lake City Marathon in Warsaw, IN (near Indianapolis), where he was third overall in 2:37:29, despite going off course, earning $675. The PVI Runfest 5K (16:42) came the next week, followed by the six consecutive weekend marathons. His fastest marathon of the year was September 27 in Ohio, the Akron Marathon, seventh overall in 2:34:34 for $750 total in prize money ($250 for third masters and $500 for breaking his own old masters course record).
Piggott started October at the Twin Cities Marathon in Minneapolis (Oct. 5), which served as the USATF National Marathon Championships. Running under "horrible conditions," with temperatures starting at 56 degrees, but plummeting to 35 degrees along with wind and a downpour, he managed a 2:41:04. "It was a rough race," said Piggott. Conditions improved dramatically the next Saturday, October 11, for the Baltimore Marathon, where he earned $1,000 ($250 for third masters and $750 for first military), with a time of 2:38:42. But there was more! The day after the Baltimore Marathon, Piggott stayed in the Washington, DC area for the Lower Potomac (MD) 10 Miler, October 12, and was second overall in 56:32 for $100.
One of his favorite races came next, the Atlantic City Marathon, October 19, where in front of his daughter Sharryse, he was first overall (his fourth time winning that race; he was also triumphant in 2003, '04 and ‘05), and ran a 2:35:41 for $1,000. It was the 50th anniversary of the Atlantic City Marathon, and he won the marathon by 15 minutes, but was also ahead of all but one of the half marathoners before their finish line. Then it was up to New York for the Niagara Falls International Marathon October 26, and a fourth-place 2:35:10 for $750, and back down to North Carolina for the City of Oaks Marathon in Raleigh, November 2, a 2:38:57 for $750.
Piggott's break after these six consecutive marathons was to run half marathons the next two weekends, at Outer Banks for the OBX Half (1:14:50 for $500), on November 9, and a masters win at the Richmond Half Marathon, October 15 (1:13:58 for $250, seventh overall, his second-fastest half marathon of the year for the inaugural Richmond Sports Backers event). After a local 5K race in Williamsburg, the Governor's Land Run for the Brain, November 22, he returned to the marathon distance at Space Coast, November 30, in Melbourne, FL (2:37:46 for $750), then two weeks later ran Rocket City in Huntsville, AL (2:41:25), before bookending the 52-week epic journey on January 3, again at Mississippi Blues with his first marathon of 2009 (2:50:01).
Piggott thinks he is now at 94 marathons lifetime. He recently signed up for the 50 States Club, where runners have a goal of running marathons eventually in all 50 states.
For half marathons, his fastest was a 1:13:12 at August's hilly Parkersburg (WV) Half Marathon, second masters in 2008 (after winning the 40+ category in 2007). Along with November's OBX and Richmond, his other half marathons were the Mercedes, February 10, in Birmingham, AL (1:15:15), his hometown Anheuser-Busch Colonial, February 24, in Williamsburg (1:17:55 for his third consecutive masters win; he holds the masters course record for Colonial on the current Carter's Grove Country Road/Kingsmill course in 1:15:02, from 2007), the Dismal Swamp Stomp, April 19, in Chesapeake (1:15:02), and the Rock ‘n' Roll, August 31, in Virginia Beach (1:14:35, his fourth consecutive masters win at that race with up to 20,000 entrants). All told, he had five masters wins in his seven half marathons, and two masters seconds (Dismal Swamp and Parkersburg).
In addition to running countless marathons, Piggott is also notorious for racing on consecutive days. Besides the Baltimore Marathon/Lower Potomac 10 Miler back-to-back on October 11-12, Piggott also had back-to-back doubles at the York River State Park 5K in Williamsburg (16:52 over a hilly course) and the Hartwood 10 Miler in the Fredericksburg area (57:32, also hilly) on August 23-24; the Buffalo Marathon and the Memorial Day Yorktown Freedom Run 5K on May 25-26; and the Shamrock 8K (27:59) and Shamrock Marathon on March 15-16. The Dismal Swamp Stomp Half Marathon (April 19) and the Boston Marathon (April 21) were just two days apart.
Piggott's personal records as a masters runner are 16:02 for 5K (the July 4th Yorktown Freedom Run in 2005), 33:17 for 10K (the Fort Eustis 10K in 2007), 1:11:02 for the half marathon (Rock ‘n' Roll in 2005) and 2:31:34 for the marathon (the National Marathon in 2007).
Piggott philosophized about his running, writing, "I did 17 marathons this year; people call me crazy. I am not. I just love running. I've been blessed. God gave me a gift, and I am doing what He believes in me. But the good thing about it is, if I can't run any more the next second, I am OK with it. I've been all over; traveled to places I never thought I'd go. Never give up your dream."