Running Thoughts

  Pinhoti 100: Beyond All Expectations   The Dream Team of guys that paced and crewed me at Pinhoti.  From Left to Right (Brandon, David, Me, and Ben) Introduction: There’s just over a mile to go… Brandon and I have been running together for around 4.5 hours now and we’re finishing in under 21:30, which is superb. With just over a mile left, we see a light heading out of this valley about a ¼ mile or so ahead of us. It takes us 2-3 minutes to reach that same spot. Brandon has been leading and pushing the pace to the finish. He looks back at me and says, “Did you see that? That’s 5 th place, let’s get after him!” I respond, “It’s going to take a miracle to catch him!” Brandon responds, “I’ve been witnessing one tonight.” (This is how I remember it. Most of this is a blur.) Time to go back to the beginning.   Chapter 1: Anxiety/Fear Leading up to the Race I had a lot of nerves and anxiety leading up to the race. Even little bits of fear started spreading in...

I've been looking forward to Little Dog since Strolling Jim in May. It's a Laz race, named after his dog named Little, and has its own unique charm unlike any other. This is the 2nd year of the race after Big's (the original) got too large to be an at-large event. A backyard ultra consists of completing 4.167 miles every hour until there's 1 person remaining and they are the winner. Technically, everyone else DNFs in one of the following ways: not finishing on time (timed out, over an hour to complete), incomplete (not finishing a yard), or refusing to continue. The race is counted in yards, loops, or laps and is equivalent to how many hours the race takes place. The day loop is a trail yard in Laz's actual backyard. This year the course has been revamped with new bridges and amazing trail work. The night yard is a 2.08333-mile road run out and back.                                  ...

Years of training and hard work have led to this point. There are 2 minutes left before the start. I quickly give my amazing crew chief and BFF a giant hug, take a selfie, and toe the starting line. The gun fires... and we're off!  Before going into what happened, there were a lot of preambles that led up to this point. This race almost didn't happen, as there were a lot of obstacles that took place. I was burned out after dropping out of the Locomotion 24-hour event. I dropped at the 12-hour mark after running 100k. I was both happy and disappointed with my performance. I had 2 months to get ready for this and my tank was empty. I was battling massive depression and a mental breakdown. I spent that time doing a lot of medium runs of 15-20 miles, but not a lot of long runs. I remained optimistic as I spent the majority of my time working on mental health and overall well-being.  I was getting really excited about the race. It's my 1st attempt at 100 miles. I'm hoping to...

 Hello Everyone!  This is a short write-up about my FKT attempt and submission around Mendota Lake that took place on April 9th, 2022. This was primarily a dress rehearsal/training run for Strolling Jim coming up on Saturday, May 7th. Strolling Jim is a 40-mile road race in Wartrace, TN put together by Lazarus Lake (the creator of the Barkleys) and Durbin Race Management. My goal is to go under 6 hours and earn a coveted blue shirt.  I was back in Wisconsin visiting family on my vacation, so training revolved around some unfamiliar areas. I was looking for a 25-mile unsupported time training to simulate the difficult conditions I will face in that race. A dress rehearsal for this difficult race. I love Madison and I've done races around Lake Monona, which is quite beautiful. Lake Mendota is about twice the size and covers Downtown Madison and the Western suburbs.  Lake Mendota is measured as a 24.5-mile loop which is perfect for the occasion. The FKT Course was set a...

This is the most difficult part to write about my experience with Elsie. There’s a lot associated with what happened after the race that took me 2 weeks to fully write this up. Let me begin by saying: I would never change what happened during that event. It’s truly a great and challenging event, and feel immensely grateful. Everyone associated with it has been great, and I truly appreciate those that have reached out to me afterward. I am truly grateful, and I fully intend to run this race again in 2023. I really struggled to handle and fully incorporate all the feelings and emotions that stemmed from this event. I became physically, emotionally, and psychologically drained and it took a toll on me over the following days. I realized I was stronger in many ways than I believed, but also found a lot of weaknesses and vulnerabilities that I am still processing through. Running long distances and races such as this strips away all the extra noise and distractions in the world. Ultimatel...