From Instagram post .... Great day for 13.1! Wind, rain, slick roads, and rolling hills kept times slower but I was pleased with pacing (5k splits: 16:56, 16:35, 16:29, 16:16) and staying within ~45sec of Iowa City's Zach Baker who has run 1:06:58 earlier this year. Favorite moment of the day: #running in with my dad in … Continue reading 2017 Marion 1/2 Marathon
I Am Not A Runner
My second of three "hard effort" days of 2016 came today and it helped me remember something - I am not a runner. I'm not. You might infer things went horrible and all of this "not a runner" talk is from discouragement and/or frustration. Just the opposite. Things went great. Better than expected in fact. 15:15 … Continue reading I Am Not A Runner
2016 Four Pass Loop – A Trail Runner’s Playground
What a week that was. I've been able to look back on my end-of-summer-getaway now for over a month and it sure didn't disappoint. I'm up to my knees in grading papers and experiencing that beginning of the school year rush now, but boy did I come back to the year with a clear mind … Continue reading 2016 Four Pass Loop – A Trail Runner’s Playground
18 months later …
So ... I haven't really blogged, or run the Western States Trail, in ~18 months. First off, my race report was waaayyyy too long and I thought I'd let "it" (running, blogging, pictures, etc) just breathe for a long while. There have been other reasons for time away. Good reasons. I knew heading into the epic … Continue reading 18 months later …
2014 Western States 100mi
I'll try. I'll try my best to put down into words what was the longest and most incredible run of my life. What it all kind of means. I've previewed this as being my last highly trained competitive race (more here) and none of it has quite hit me yet. This retelling won't be what "it" … Continue reading 2014 Western States 100mi
2013 Western States Video Footage
Some footage (finally) of my day observing / pacing (kind of) the 2013 Western States 100mi Endurance Run - full written recap here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHf24CqZhOM
2013 Wildcat 50k
Oh what a difference a year makes. 2013 has brought about much change in my own little corner of the world of running, racing, and enduring. A shift to longer ultra marathon distances and hopping off the roads for some time on the trails has been incredible, but the one and only event I participated … Continue reading 2013 Wildcat 50k
2013 The North Face Endurance Challenge – Wisconsin 50 Mile
This past weekend, like most ultra races, seemed to have a bit of everything. New friends, old friends, mass influx of early morning endorphins, dizziness / nausea, thoughts of never running again, turning the car around for some sub-6min/mi closing speed, and a podium finish accompanying a 75 minute personal record. I guess there's my … Continue reading 2013 The North Face Endurance Challenge – Wisconsin 50 Mile
5 Steps to Safely Remove Dead Toenails
Yep, gross and awesome at the same time - dead toenails. A badge of honor in the running community and quite possibly the mark of record miles or vertical change. Toenails are often lost for a number of reasons because of how your toes and feet are jammed up in your running shoes. In my … Continue reading 5 Steps to Safely Remove Dead Toenails
2013 Dances with Dirt Devil’s Lake 50 mile
Nine months of no racing finally relented at last week's Dances With Dirt (DWD) Devil's Lake 50 mile trail race. My last true test of fitness was in October 2012 via Milwaukee's Lakefront Marathon (race report here) and afterwards casually throwing myself into a local / low-key 50km run. After a big break when our … Continue reading 2013 Dances with Dirt Devil’s Lake 50 mile
2013 Western States 100 – Raw Human Emotion
It was my first up close and personal look at the Western States Endurance Run - the grand-daddy 100 mile trail race of them all. I was on board to pace last year's M9 Joe Uhan (Olive Oil Joe - OOJ) from the Forrest Hill aid station to the river - miles 62 to 78. … Continue reading 2013 Western States 100 – Raw Human Emotion
2013 Grand Canyon R2R2R (Rim-Rim-Rim) Run
Well, I'm back and accustomed to civilization once again. Actually I've been back for a while and I wanted to recap my trip (April 5-10) before too much more time flies by. Looking back on the whole experience is very weird ... it sometimes feels as though this all happened to somebody else and I'm … Continue reading 2013 Grand Canyon R2R2R (Rim-Rim-Rim) Run
Boston 2013
I hesitate to even write anything ... I'm just a guy that likes to run, enjoys chatting about running with others, and writes about running on this dumb blog. I've never run The Boston Marathon ... I've never even been to Boston, MA. But today I woke up feeling even more sick than when I … Continue reading Boston 2013
2012 Wildcat 50km Trail Run – Ultra Debut
I put it on the calendar back in the dog days of summer ... a simple and friendly organized race/run put on by Larry Sandhaas to benefit the park where area runners can find themselves lost in the woods on a variety of well maintained mountain-trails (as mountainous as it can get in Iowa - down … Continue reading 2012 Wildcat 50km Trail Run – Ultra Debut
2012 Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon
The marathon distance is simply ... tough. What a day it was at the 2012 Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon for a lot of different reasons. Although it always seems like a long long ways with plenty of time to be out on the roads, the variety and range of emotions and physical demands seem to all … Continue reading 2012 Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon