J


ohn Nicholson laughed as he recalled the medieval war zone that up until a few years ago commonly met lacrosse officials in Minnesota.


“The worst game you could have was between two bad new teams,” Nicholson said. “You


were basically trying to prevent a scene from ‘Braveheart.’”


But the members of the Minnesota Lacrosse Umpires Association are tough. William Wallace tough. We’re talking 26.2-mile tough.


According to a survey conducted by Nicholson, as of September MLUA members had run a combined 289 marathons and more than 130 half marathons. Several officials planned to run the Twin Cities Marathon in October, putting the 300 mark in sight. Yes, marathons are torturous. But it’s an addicting sort of torture. “After you do one you say, ‘Well, I’ll never do that again,’” said Nicholson, who has competed in 37 marathons since 1998. “But then you think, ‘Well, maybe I can do better.’”


Nicholson was preparing for a game several years ago when he noticed that his partner, Randy Hochstein, was


46 LACROSSE MAGAZINE November 2013 >>


Fit forStrip A Publication of US Lacrosse


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