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| About to finish the 2017 Love Run Half Marathon |
Hi there. The name's Scott. Or Mr. Partenheimer, if you're one of my rapscallion students who found this blog. I'm a 36-year-old high school German teacher here in South Jersey. I have harbored an intense interest in Germany and its language, culture, history and literature since middle school, and it is satisfying to now share this interest with today's youth. Yes, the test is still on Friday and no, we're not watching a movie today.
The most relevant detail of my life where this blog is concerned is my obsession with marathons. I grew up playing soccer year round at an extremely competitive level, which translated nicely to brief stints on the cross country and track teams in high school (though I never excelled at running the way I did in soccer). I ran my first marathon in 2005, and ran my first Boston qualifying marathon in 2010.
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| Finishing the 2010 Philadelphia Marathon in 3:09:45 |
Marathoning never came easy to me. My debut marathon was run in 4:29, and it took me 10 years to whittle my time down to 3:01. I've certainly learned a few things over the years, but you should know I'm not your typical runner. I don't run with music, and I don't belong to a gym. Nor do I use compression sleeves or socks, or eat breakfast the morning of a race. I rarely take ice baths, and you won't find me on MyFitnessPal or Strava or analyzing data from my Garmin. I'm a low budget runner and am forced to keep things old school by focusing on the hard work and not much else.
All told, I've run 14 marathons. I've qualified for Boston three times and run it twice in 2015 and 2017. For now, I'm putting marathons aside and plan to focus on shorter distances.
Besides running and teaching, I share my life with my amazing son, Neale, who was born in 2014 and continues to brighten my life in ways I never knew possible before he existed.
All told, I've run 14 marathons. I've qualified for Boston three times and run it twice in 2015 and 2017. For now, I'm putting marathons aside and plan to focus on shorter distances.
Besides running and teaching, I share my life with my amazing son, Neale, who was born in 2014 and continues to brighten my life in ways I never knew possible before he existed.
What else, you ask? I freaking love beer in all its sudsy varieties and often write about it here on the blog. I love big dumb action movies and often wonder if there will come a day when I outgrow them. I get rather ornery over poor spelling and grammar. I'll take a mountain trail or lake over a sunny beach any day. I love to travel, and the only reason I need to travel somewhere is the simple fact that I've never been there before. Two of my biggest goals in life are to visit all 50 of the United States, and to visit all seven continents.
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| Riding the night train to Bulgaria, August 2012 |
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I generally try to live my life by the following philosophy: "I live to fill my life with amazing experiences so that I may someday retire on the richness of my memories."
Thanks for being here. If you need me, I'll be at the bar.
