Category Archives: Outside of the Lab

One More Half-marathon: Garmin Durham 1/2

Posted on May 10, 2026 by admin

My third half marathon in the last two years – May 2026 Garmin Durham 1/2 marathon – done! Lovely race; running through the Durham Bulls stadium is a very special experience, and so is finishing on Duke’s football stadium. Problem … Continue reading →

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80 Races Completed!

Posted on November 16, 2025 by admin

By 2015, I had completed 50 races – reflections, from back then, are here. Ten years and five months later — also, two kids, one global pandemic, and one conquered tenure track later — I have now completed 80. My 80th … Continue reading →

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Gorgeous Saint-Malo; Thanks to IEEE VR 2025 for Bringing us There

Posted on April 10, 2025 by admin

I try to go for brief outdoor runs whenever I travel for work. In colder climates, that requires packing the suitcase a bit tighter, but it is generally worth it, as it gives me a fresh perspective on the places … Continue reading →

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LA Wildfires

Posted on January 12, 2025 by admin

Flew to LA for a DARPA PI meeting. The first day, the weather was seemingly gorgeous, and everything looked entirely non-ominous to us (the Californian attendees knew better and explained to us what was likely to come). The second day … Continue reading →

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Running collection, June 2018

Posted on June 24, 2018 by admin

Over the last six months, several true gems have been added to the “collection” of the states where I ran at least one mile: Dec. 2017: Utah. Feb. 2018: Wisconsin. March 2018: Minnesota. June 2018, on a lovely road trip: … Continue reading →

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Running collection, November 2017

Posted on October 27, 2017 by admin

This year I have been fortunate to be able to add 4 new states to the collection of the states where I ran at least a mile: Georgia, Nebraska, Iowa, and Indiana. With the addition of Sweden and Denmark to … Continue reading →

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2017 Triathlon Age Group National Competition

Posted on August 25, 2017 by admin

The Nationals, the first ones for me, are an experience to be savored. There is a sense of achievement in getting to this race — I’ve worked towards this qualifying-only race for 5 years, after all. 

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My Favorite Collection: Countries and States Ran, v. July 2016

Posted on July 29, 2016 by admin

As of July 2016, the totals of places where I went running and ran at least one mile include: Countries: 12 out of 196 Canadian provinces and territories: 3 out of 13 US states: 30 out of 50 The recent … Continue reading →

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Pain Of Not Doing A Planned Race, or Woes of a DNS

Posted on July 23, 2016 by admin

The wisdom of racing is that finishing dead last (DFL) is better than not finishing (DNF), and not finishing is better than not starting (DNS). DFL < DNF < DNS. Well, T-shirt wisdom aside, sometimes you gotta take the annoying … Continue reading →

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What Is Harder: An Ironman Or A PhD?

Posted on February 14, 2016 by admin

I recently ran across a curious question on Quora: what is harder, completing a PhD or completing a marathon (a 26.2 mile run)? Having done both [ PhD, races ] , hands-down, the answer is the PhD – there is … Continue reading →

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