Running: From overweight, to runner, to race director
"I was an overweight, smoking couch potato." This is how Stephan Weiss described himself before he started running at the age of 37. When he decided to do something about his weight, he started by running one mile in Northeast Philadelphia's Pennypack Park.
"I was an overweight, smoking couch potato."
This is how Stephan Weiss described himself before he started running at the age of 37. When he decided to do something about his weight, he started by running one mile in Northeast Philadelphia's Pennypack Park.
That was six years ago. Today, Weiss runs himself and Uber Endurance, which puts on events in and around Philadelphia, most of them trail runs in that park where it all began for him.
Many of the events have a German theme - like the Oktober Lauffest 13.1; Mount Cuckoo 15/30K; Dirty German 25K/50K/50miler; and the Half Sour Half Kraut, which is a half-marathon and full marathon on the same day and course, and their most popular race. The reason for the German theme is simple: Weiss is from Germany and moved to the United States in 2000.
"I followed my wife," he said. Her family used to own the Old Brauhaus restaurant in Fox Chase.
Weiss went from runner to race director in 2010 when his local running group, the Reading Pagota Pacers, was contacted by Blues Cruise Ultra, which is a Reading, Pa., 50K race (held on Oct. 6 this year). The race needed a new director. Weiss stepped up and liked it so much that he still directs that race and also founded Uber Endurance that same year.
These aren't stuffy, supersized races. The most runners who have ever been on the Pennypack course at one time is 1,000, and a lot of Uber Endurance's races give runners options. When I ran the Dirty German, for example, I could choose between three different distances, and even though I opted for the shortest race - a 25K - we set off at the same time and on the same course as those who would be running 50K or 50 miles that day.
On Sept. 22, they're putting on the Sloppy Cuckoo, where runners can chose to run a 6.5-mile race; a half-marathon; or a 12-hour race, in which runners will try to run as far as they can in that set time period. The course is a mix of unpaved and paved trails with plenty of hills and turns, which make it harder than racing on a flat road, but it's a quiet, leafy setting and very different from running in a crowded road race.
On Nov. 11, they're also partnering with Stoudts Brewing Co. to put on the Fat Dog 10-miler race in Adamstown, Pa.
Weiss said that he wants his events to have a local-runner feel, even if they have runners from around the country participating. "It's almost like grassroots running," he said. "They drive right in, park their car, get their bib, they run. Boom! Nice and easy.
"We really care about the experience our runners have, even without all the hoopla and without having an expo," he added.
Running: Racing Schedule
Sept. 2
Hot Diggity Labor Day 10-Mile Trail Run and 2-Mile Fun Run, 9:30 a.m. Mercer County Park West picnic area, West Windsor, N.J., sponsored by the Bucks County Speedsters. buckscountyspeedsters.com/
Mayor's Labor Day Race, Ocean City, N.J., 9 a.m. 23d St. beach. 5-mile run & 1-mile fun run/walk. Ocean City Recreation. www.ocnj.us/race-events
Sept. 7
Sept. 14
Patriot Day 5K, Exton, Pa. patriotday5k.com, contact Mia Toschi at mvtmedia@live.com.
Sept. 15
Rock 'n' Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon, formerly known as the Philadelphia Distance Run. Free Health & Fitness Expo at the Convention Center, Sept. 13-14. Registration and information are available at RunRocknRoll.com/Philadelphia.
New Britain Twp. Business Alliance 5K, North Branch Park, 207 Park Ave., Chalfont. Contact Cathy Scanlon, race director, at cathy_scanlon@comcast.net. Registration: pretzelcitysports.com