Born into a family of runners, Peter McGrane actively resisted the siren call of the sport for many years.  "There was always pressure to run or play some sport," McGrane says of his adolescence.  Not terribly surprising considering that when he was growing up, his father ran five days a week, his three older brothers all did local races, and his older sister Deirdre was a successful track athlete, ultimately attending Colgate on a running scholarship.  "Even a math teacher [I had] in high school suggested I run," recalls McGrane. 

But it wasn't until Brad came into the picture that McGrane decided to give running a shot.  A sub-5:30 pace 8K runner, Brad was the gay brother of McGrane's straight roommate in his first New York City apartment.  Intrigued by McGrane, Brad instantly made romantic overtures.  Alas, a wee 20 years of age, Brad did not prove himself a keeper and dumped McGrane, then 26, for another Peter, who lived downstairs from him in the dorms.  "I was pretty upset when we broke up, and so to empower myself I decided to start running," says McGrane.  "It was a way for me to get something out of the relationship."          

McGrane did not rush headlong into the world of running.  To the contrary, he has carefully and often philosophically examined what running means to him and followed his own heart and gut in deciding the precise role the sport would play in his life.  In the past four years, McGrane has evolved from a Team New York Aquatics member who ran sporadically, to a casual member of Front Runners who dabbled in races, to a team leader and organizer of the Reach the Beach relays, to a Boston-qualifying marathoner.  And along the way, McGrane has employed his "That 70s Show" adorability to measurable effect, demonstrating that Front Runners is indeed a social club (he's been spotted around town hanging out with other fellow runners.) 

McGrane decided to join Front Runners in summer 2003, after Johnny Fraser and Evelyn Heinbach, with whom he had done triathlon relays, told him of an opening on the club's inaugural Reach the Beach relay team.  The thought of running a mountains-to-beach relay in New Hampshire enlivened McGrane.  "My family vacationed in New Hampshire for two weeks every summer for the first 13 years of my life," says McGrane.  "It was a magical time for me growing up … and the experience proved to be just as delightful." 

In November 2003, shortly after debuting in Reach the Beach, McGrane participated in his first NYRR race, the God's Love We Deliver 4-miler.  He surprised himself by breaking 7-minute pace in that race (chip time of 27:40 for 6:55 pace), but he had no immediate desire to improve his fitness or bring down his times.  In fact, McGrane did not even run regularly with Front Runners on Wednesdays or Saturdays until more than a year later, after his second go-round with Reach the Beach.  "I held off on running with the group because I enjoyed my weekly 'Zen and The Art of Running 8 Miles' up the Hudson River Park from SoHo," he says.  McGrane knew from his experience with the swim team that being an integral part of an athletic club would mean getting more serious about training.  "I really enjoyed my leisurely runs and didn't want to spoil that." 

But spoil that he did, and in doing so released his inner Ironman.  Encouraged by fellow aquaphile Onesimo De Mira, McGrane decided to complete nine NYRR races in 2005 with an eye toward entry into the 2006 New York City marathon.  But fate, in the guise of the Front Runner marathon lottery, intervened, and McGrane received a free pass into the 2005 event.  And so McGrane waited patiently in the shadows of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge the morning of November 6th, with just six races under his belt but high hopes of breaking 3:30.  Successfully contending with high temperatures and sticky conditions, McGrane crossed the tape in 3:28:43, placing sixth among the 43 FRNY finishers. 

"By sticking through and pushing myself—and beating my goal time, which I had no idea whether I could do," McGrane says, "I learned a great deal about myself and my abilities."  So how did he celebrate?  In the six weeks after the marathon, McGrane competed in four more NYRR events, including the masochistic Knickerbocker 60K, a 37.2-mile haul requiring nine mind-numbing tours of Central Park's inner loop.  McGrane willingly explains the appeal: "Put it this way, the marathon is a gateway drug—the 60K is the hard core stuff that doing the marathon tempted me into." 

If that's the case, then McGrane has been shooting smack ever since.  This year alone, he ran the Country Music Marathon in Nashville at the end of April and then, unhappy with his 4:07, traveled to Vancouver the following weekend to seek vengeance.  In a return to form, McGrane clocked an impressive 3:28:37 in that race.  At the end of July, he ran the San Francisco marathon, and he plans to race both the Berlin and New York marathons this fall—and to again order up a Knickerbocker 60K chaser with his 26.2-proof cocktail in New York City. 

But McGrane has been doing more than merely logging miles over the past year; he has also been discovering himself as a runner.  In San Francisco this summer, McGrane managed to ax 20 minutes—the equivalent of a leisurely latte break—off his old PR, netting a Boston-qualifying time of 3:08:25 and placing in the top 75 in a field of more than 4,200.  McGrane credits better, meaning earlier and more frequent, fueling during the race as a key to his breakthrough.  He also claims he was better rested this time around.   

After San Francisco, McGrane fell right back into the groove with the club's weekly long runs.  There is, after all, Berlin looming at the end of September and then New York six weeks after that and, well, like any good junkie McGrane will keep looking for his next fix.  In 2008, he will be in Hopkinton ready to compete in his first Boston marathon, and he also hopes to drive along the Eastern seaboard to explore some of the smaller "local" marathons next year. 

"Other than that, I hope to still be standing after a few minutes when we have our annual pre-NYC marathon pancake breakfast," McGrane muses.  No, he isn't worried about his legs giving out, though that would be understandable.  McGrane instead refers to the time-honored Front Runner tradition whereby the last person standing that morning is the one who has completed the most marathons.  It may be a few years before he can outstand some of the certifiably insane members of the 100+ club, but if McGrane's attitude, health and conditioning continue to soar, he's sure to be a contender.

 

Random Data

Provenance: Floral Park, New York

Single or Committed? "Single as a dollar bill."

On Dating Within the Club: "If you've got the drive for someone AND they are equally receptive—Go for it, whether it's at FRNY or elsewhere…Just choose your partners wisely."

On Brushing his Teeth: McGrane brushes very frequently not because of OCD but because he has defective enamel and food and drink will quickly attack his enamel if he isn't wary.  So he never goes far without his toothbrush and fluoride treatment gel.

Personal Philosophy/Soapbox Moment: "Comparative excellence is cheap if it falls well below the absolute excellence one can achieve.  It's about running the best that you can."

Runnerly Advice: "DON'T LAND ON YOUR HEELS…Run on the balls of your feet or your forefoot."