The HUFF 50K Trail Notes

Clif Bar presents Athlete of the Month
May 2005
Chicago Athlete magazine.

Cameron Stuber
Running 2:36:45 and being the first Chicago-area finisher at the Boston Marathon is only half the story. The weekend prior, Cameron Stuber, 28, of Chicago, was in Milan, Italy, representing his hometown at the Stramilano Half Marathon as part of a sister city exchange.

After notching a half-marathon PR in Milan (1:09:42), he enjoyed a few days of sightseeing before embarking on the voyage across the Atlantic to Chicago, then taking flight once more to Boston.

"I flew back Wednesday, worked Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and flew to Boston on Sunday," said Stuber. "I didn't run much between the half marathon and the marathon. I took a few days off and got a massage." Hardly the most conducive prep week before tackling his first marathon, but Stuber still hoped to run in the 2:25-2:27 range on the hilly Boston course.

After all, Stuber has never shied away from a challenge. He ran an ultra last December before ever running a marathon, winning the HUFF 50K in Huntington, IN.

"On the bus ride to the start I just kept telling myself, 'I've already done a 50K, this can't be too bad.'"

Though the famed Newton Hills ultimately got to Stuber after being on goal pace through about 16 miles, he won't go as far as calling his finish time a "Heartbreak."

"I wouldn't trade my 2:36 for anything," he said. "Whether I ran the time I wanted or not, it was a great experience. If you don't get the time you want, that's why you go out and race again."

Copyright 2005 Chicago Athlete magazine. Used by permission. All rights reserved.