Name:
Don Gerdts
 
Nick Name:
Panchito (my wife's pet name for me)
 
Home:
Fullerton, (Orange County) Southern California USA.
 
Snails Pace Chapter:
None yet (Brea to be   )
 
Family:
My Wife, Sonia, with whom I ran my first marathons in 2000.  A daughter, Alexa, 16 who is a new vocal member of the Fullerton High Academy of the Arts.  A son, Ethan, 13, who is a genius (>150 IQ), a star athlete (soccer, golf and track) and good looking.  We have many issues to deal with  
 
Years Running:
Since 2000 after losing 30 lbs.
 
Favorite Race Distance:
1/2 Marathon
 
Favorite Marathon:
Chicago (Have run it twice.  1.5 million spectators can't be wrong!)
 
Typical Run:
4-5 miles on street/trail combo
 
Height:
5'11"
 
Weight:
179 Pounds
 
Current Training:
3-4 days/wk:  1 LSD (long, slow distance), 1 interval speed workout and 1-2 tempo runs.  Ran SC Half at the beginning of December and planning to run Carlsbad 1/2 with some buddies in mid-Jan.
 
10 Things about me:
 
1. I moved to LA in summer 2005 after life-long residence in Kansas City.
 
2. I got married at 18 to a Peruvian after "love at first sight" our Freshman year in college.
 
3. My wife and I trained for and completed our first marathon in 2000.  She has never run again (she did it for me .  I've run 5 marathons.
 
4. I am Chief Information Officer for L.A. Care Health Plan, the nation's larges public Medicaid health plan.
 
5. My wife and I attended the University of Kansas (go Jayhawks!).  She received her degree in Interior Design, but I didn't graduate. I'll finally receive my Bachelor's Degree, 20 years later, in fall 2006!
 
6. I'm a gadget guy, and I think that the Garmin 301 is far superior to the Timex Bodylink
 
7. I love to eat.  To me, a meal is half art and half social event.  I run so that I don't have to worry about what I eat!
 
8. My favorite running shoe is the Asics Gel Evolution, the best combination of motion control, weight, cushion and durability that I've found!
 
9. My wife and I became Christians in 1983, and our children both made the same decisions in 2004.
 
10. I am an adult-onset athlete, repenting of the to-busy-to-exercise office lifestyle in 2000.

Nobody else interested in posting your Bio?  Too shy?  Too private?
 
 
(me neither, yep, sort of)                           Have fun,