I captured this selfie with my Flagstaff host, Matt Llano, to memorialize Day One of my fake pro runner adventure. Courtesy of the author.

Brothers AJ (blue shirt) and Wes Gregg (red shirt) needed to give me a lot of direction in my first strength workout with NAZ Elite. Olympic miler David Torrence, who died tragically a few weeks after this photo was taken, is in the background. Courtesy of Sarah Cotton.

(Left to right): Scott Smith, Aaron Braun, Scott Fauble, Ben Bruce, me, Matt Llano, Stephanie Bruce, Futsum Zeinaselassie, Kellyn Taylor, Craig Lutz, Rochelle Kanuho. Courtesy of Jen Rosario.

If memory serves, I was in the middle of saying “How ya like me now?” when this photo was taken one mile into a long workout on Lake Mary Road. I had nailed my first split (for once) and was feeling pretty good about myself. Courtesy of Sarah Cotton.

The Arizona Trail at Snowbowl, elevation 9,000 feet, is just one of many impossibly beautiful places to run in and around Flagstaff. Courtesy of Sarah Cotton.

A few days after I suffered my groin injury, I huddled with Coach Ben (center) and AJ Gregg (right) to map out my path back to full training. Courtesy of Sarah Cotton.

I took this shot of Futsum and Craig, running way faster than I ever could, after warming up with them at Buffalo Park. Courtesy of the author.

Bob “Too Slow” Tusso and I shared many miles together during my time in Flagstaff, including this one at Mountain Shadows. Courtesy of Sarah Cotton.

Before my very first run with the team, I learned this strap-assisted hip flexor stretch from Matt Llano, and I continued to do it for the next thirteen weeks. My dog, Queenie, sometimes supervised. Courtesy of Sarah Cotton.

Queenie became fast friends with Matt Llano’s dog, Harlow, during the three months Nataki and I spent in Matt’s home. Courtesy of the author.

Eric “Big Dog” Fernandez was pulled out of his retirement from professional running to serve as my occasional workout pacer. Courtesy of Sarah Cotton.

More than once, Ben Bruce (right) turned a negative for him into a positive for me by running with me on days when his injury kept him from running at his normal speed. Courtesy of Sarah Cotton.

I caught Aaron Braun demolishing a Krispy Kreme donut minutes after he completed a 22-mile depletion run. (I myself ran 22 miles and skipped the donuts.) Courtesy of the author.

A little less than halfway through my stint as a fake pro runner, I made a trip to Salem, Oregon, to celebrate my parents’ golden wedding anniversary and to run the High Street Hustle 5K, which I completed 44 seconds faster than I had the year before, gaining important proof that my fake pro runner experiment was working. Courtesy of GCC Photography.

Although their personalities are very different, Stephanie Bruce (left) and Kellyn Taylor were equally fun and inspiring for me to be around for 13 weeks. Courtesy of Ben Rosario.

In the waning weeks of my time with NAZ Elite I made a few trips with them to Camp Verde to train at lower elevation. Courtesy of Ben Rosario.

While in Flagstaff I made a friend for life in James McKirdy, seen here pacing me through a workout on Lake Mary Road. Courtesy of Sarah Cotton.

Taking part in an annual adult running camp hosted by Steph and Ben Bruce (right) helped me take my mind off my groin injury. Scott Fauble (seated) served as a counselor. Courtesy of Sarah Cotton.

Although she wasn’t a member of NAZ Elite, elite runner Sarah Crouch did more than anyone I met to get me thinking (and dreaming) like a pro. Courtesy of Sarah Cotton.

Two weeks before the Chicago Marathon, I enjoyed my last sip of alcohol with James McKirdy at Majerle’s Sports Grill. Courtesy of Heather Szuba.

Racing the Chicago Marathon in the elite division gave me the privilege of putting whatever I liked into eight self-selected drink bottles that I would (barring mishaps) find waiting for me at 5-kilometer intervals along the course. Courtesy of the author.

On the first leg of the trip from Flagstaff to Chicago I found myself seated next to 2016 Olympic Marathon winner Feyisa Lilesa of Ethiopia. Courtesy of the author.

I dropped nine pounds during my time as a fake pro runner. Here I am on race day, weighing 141 pounds, the lightest I’d been since high school. Courtesy of the author. c

When I called my parents after completing the Chicago Marathon, my dad told me, “I saw you on TV!” Here’s proof. Courtesy of Anthony Molinaro.

Midway through the Chicago Marathon, I was on pace to achieve my goal but worried about an untimely recurrence of pain in my recently recovered groin. Courtesy of Cindy Kuzma.