What a wonderful thread and fitting tribute. My condolences to Chris' family.

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Follow me on twitter @andrewlangfield

Follow my fourth year in the pro field at http://andrewlangfield.blogspot.com/

I just discovered AmZof is the same weekend as the Colfax Marathon. Looks like instead of coming to AmZof, I'll be running that last quarter mile of the marathon in his honor.

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Steve Perkins

Sensational.

You are all awesome. I cannot tell you how much your enthusiasm for honoring Chris is helping us through this nightmare. It was great to see so many of you this weekend & I love reading this thread. Thank you. And yes, Jenny and I are all in... looking forward to the G. Chris Gleason Memorial Duathlon. Chris had been pushing me to get back into longer races for a while.... he always gets his way.

Here is a picture from the run on Saturday morning.





And one of Chris and "The Odester" (as Chris Called him) relaxing at the lake house after this summer's Ironman.


Thank you - Cara

I am at a loss for words. I am sure he would want you all to rally the way you are for the young ones. God bless.

Chris' name is still listed as a participant for the 2012 AmZof...sad.

I will be racing up there with a bunch or other guys from Mass and RI looking to throw it down at the Chris G. Classic! This is going to be an epic race!

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_________________________
I got nothing.

Never met him "in real life", but from his posts, and this tribute, it is clear he was one of the good ones. My deepest condolences to his family and friends.

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mmm-mmm-Momo Charms
Handmade beverage charms, jewelry, and miscellanea
http://momocharms.wordpress.com

Tonight, I channeled Chris G. I just got home from court. I put on my spiffy suit, which sadly fits these days (when I'm race fit, my suit pants only stay on by hanging from my shoulders by my badass Trafalgar braces like a Ringling Bros. clown), then sweet talked my adversary into a stipulation whereby I get a judgment for 100% of what they owe, and a warrant of eviction which is only stayed for so long as they pay me weekly current rent plus a portion of the arrears. The judge and I went on about how we were both left handed and how long we've been married (not to each other). He took my stip and "so ordered" it without a single revision. Thanks GCG! Like I've written before, your racing was so much more than AmZof, and your life was so much more than racing.

I thought of Chris today when I swam, when I ran and when I kicked ass and took names in court. A GCG trifecta!

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2015 American Zofingen Du is May 17.
R.I.P. Chris Gleason

Well here it goes, my first Slowtwitch post.

First and foremost, my sincere sympathy to the Gleason family. The strength you guys have shown has been amazing.

I reside in Clifton Park and Chris was a good friend and I'll miss him dearly. He provided great company and advise on training nights and LP trips. The beer probably helped too. ;-)

Lastly, I'm "all in" for AmZof too (my first)!

Slainte!

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2015 American Zofingen Du is May 17.
R.I.P. Chris Gleason

If you're not using him tomorrow, could I put first dips on the channelling?

I have a really big, really past due tax debt to negotiate for a client, with CRA (our IRS). Not the local or the provincial office.... the National Collections Office.

I could use some kick a$$ GCG (and a chaser of Tetsuoni), when I pick up that phone to make the call tomorrow.

;-)

Very nice post, Mr. McG.

I think I could read these tributes all day long. What a gift to his family and friends and to those of us who didn't know him but have learned by his example to be a better person. Peace to the family.

I started to lose it a bit when I saw this photo.

Chris was going to do Ironcross with us in 2012 if we promised to do any distance at the AmZo race. My better half is going to do the short course and the Boyle's and I are doing the long course so please save a beer for us to toast Chris post-race.

I'm just reading this for the first time, how terribly sad. My thoughts and prayers are with Chris and his family.

A few more thoughts to share w/ everyone before I check out again for the winter...

As we were all getting the plans together last Friday for the trek to CP, the emails were flying back and forth. Yoda offered something particularly insightful, submitted below:


My thoughts in reply:



Chris - we all love you, and miss you very much.

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float , hammer , and jog

That was Chris in a nutshell...willing to take on any challenge. Last year Tri_yoda and I did the Lake Placid 25k Loppet. I knew the course would be hard, but neither of us were prepared for just how hard it was. For those not familiar with the Lake Placid Olympic xc ski course, the Russian Olympic team lodged a formal complaint in 1980 stating that the course was too hard. The main "hill' in question is now called the "Russian Complaint". Arduous is the only way to describe it. After yoda and I finished he turned to me and said "i honestly don't know if I could have finished the 50k". While yoda is pretty much a novice xc skier, he's no slouch. I did the 25k skate and was thinking the same thing. 50k sounded awful.

Later that evening we met up at a local establishment for Chris' 40th birthday party. Chris had recently purchased XC ski's and I had gone out with him a couple of times. I know he was an expert downhill skier, but let's just say his xc technique needed some work. So, he listened to our race report and without hesitation said "Let's do the 50k classic next year"....followed by "what's the worst case...we're out there for 5-6 hours?". Unfortunately, as we all know, that's not the worst case. But, that's the kind of guy he was...unwilling to back down from a challenge.

The last ~2 weeks has been rough on everybody who knew Chris. The one positive I can take out of all of this is that through Chris' death I may develop many more lasting friendships.

We miss you Chris...you will not be forgotten.

With permission of the Gleason family, this tribute on ST should be published and the proceeds go to the Gleason family. It's a celebration of a beautiful man, his family, his friends, this ST community and our sport.

There are plenty of writers on ST that could turn this thread into a book. Chris G.'s words should be included.

Again, my condolences to the Gleason family.

Thanks for sharing ML (and Yoda). Just reading that gave me chills down my spine.

I have no doubt that God needed him and that he is watching down over us now. My prayers and condolences go out to his family in this time.

Godspeed Chris

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http://www.motiv-8.blogspot.com

Was looking at my last PM's from Chris... he always seemed to turn the conversation towards me when I was trying to compliment him on achieving his goals... his last PM...


In sum, drop some pounds if you can and keep working the power meter intervals. You have shown that you can run off the bike in an IM. That is huge! Your next attempt will be much faster. Congrats again on a very well executed first IM!

Can't seem to wrap my brain around this

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"if you chose it, it's not really pain"

Well, his messages to you were a lot kinder then they were to me...I think as a lawyer he felt pressure to be an a-hole, but he was terrible at pulling it off. Since we are in the same AG, we had already started our obligatory back and forth re: AmZof, and here was one of his final messages to me:

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kdw wrote:
A lot of guys after their big race make the mistake of getting after all the projects they put off all year and paying extra attention to their spouse. Then the wife starts thinking "Wow, life without all this training is pretty great." This is a big mistake. Ideally, at the end of the 4 days, your wife will be begging you to start training again as she'll realize how much better both of your lives are when you are training as opposed to hanging around being annoying all day.
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Chris G wrote:
I must be an awesome multitasker as I have the ability to both train and be annoying ... you however should join the cheesecake of the month club in preparation for AZ!

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At the rate he had been improving, we were likely going to be well matched @AmZof. The other day, I went for a run along the Charles River here in Boston. It was one of the days that reminds you of why you do all this stuff...perfect temperature, not a breath of wind. The Harvard and MIT crew shells were gliding up and down the river, each one full of students who had no doubt made their parents so proud. It was one of those moments you can't capture or plan for, they just have to happen, and I felt powerful and full of Life. My feet felt like they were barely touching the ground and I thought maybe if I wanted to I could run just about forever. As the setting sun warmed my right side, to my left my shadow was steadily growing. It was not hard to imagine that the shadow was the spirit of Chris, matching me stride for stride, and think "Maybe this is how it would have been at AmZof coming out of the woods onto the meadow side by side for the final quarter mile kick up to the gazebo." I'd give just about anything to know how that would have turned out, but even more to be able to rehash even the most minute detail afterwards as our accomplishments quickly grew to legendary status in our own minds with the help of tetsuoni's ale.

So, yeah, in case anyone was wondering why the guy was smiling and crying at the same time as he ran along the River the other day...

I did not know Chris, never met him. But I read this thread first thing every day. If the saying "you can judge a man by the company he keeps" is true, then Chris was a man among men. The fact that his passing has had such an effect on so many people and that a great many people want to be more like him is a tribute to the character of the man.

I have corresponded with tetsuoni and I consider it an honor to make a totally over the top trophy for the Chris Gleason AmZof! I hope to make something Redonkulous that will help tie everyone's memories of Chris to the race he obviously loved so much.

To those of you who personally feel his absence you have my condolences. But through your tears you are letting those of us who did not have the opportunity to know him in person to be touched by him after his passing. Cherish each day and have some fun too!

Thanks,

Doug

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http://www.EpixGear.com

DougRob, thanks again for offering to design and create the trophy. Chris's wife, Jennyfer, is really touched and approves your design ideas.
The most important thing is to make sure that Murphy's Law's name NEVER appears on it.

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2015 American Zofingen Du is May 17.
R.I.P. Chris Gleason

ALL RIGHT!!! I am in the middle of a MAME machine in the shop right now, but I will begin building the jigs to make the trophy next week! I have to talk to my laser engraver too. I will PM you regarding the items we talked about.

To everyone participating in AmZof, you are gonna wanna drink out of and have your name on this monstrosity!

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http://www.EpixGear.com