RIP Steve Lacey

I just realized that some readers of this blog also used to read Steve Lacey's blog (Ewen for one) and should be informed of the sad news that he passed away last Monday, aged 57.

He had been bravely fighting lymphoma since 2015, and while he won several battles, he finally lost the war.
He was in and out of the hospital for several years, then went back in about six months ago and while treatments seemed promising, the doctors ultimately could not save him. It was a real shame that because of the corona virus, his friends could not visit him over the last few months.

As the doctors said the end was near, they brought him home on Monday morning, but he passed away in the afternoon - shockingly sudden.

He was a valuable member of my running club, a good runner and a truly great guy, and will be greatly missed by many people.

One of the highlights of his life, I'm sure he would agree, was the 2:54 marathon he ran in 2005, which is still a source of inspiration to me (in fact, it got me out running today in the rain). This was a fantastic achievement, given that he was not a naturally talented runner. He simply researched what he had to do, worked damn hard and accomplished his goal.

Here is his blog post about it - read all the way to the comments and profile:

http://variegatus.blogspot.com/2005/11/ohtawara-marathon-2005.html?m=1

As for me, I'm training well but slowing down - under 21:00 for 5k is no longer doable (maybe in the fall when it's cooler...or maybe not). Running six days a week with one interval workout, one long run of 16k (at present), and four 10k runs with 5 easy, 5 tempo. And an extra rest day as necessary. Rather than doing 80-90k a week, this keeps my legs fresher and pain-free.

Hope you are all (if anyone is still reading this blog) well and able to run. I believe I read that Melbourne is in lockdown again....

Ewen, if you read this, please pass along the sad news to anyone else who knew Steve.

All the best,
Bob