It was a typical hot and dry West Texas day and there I stood staring at my suitcase. I had already packed my MS Run the US hoodie for the trip to Ohio. Was I really going to pack my long sleeve shirts for this trip as well? I remembered colder temperatures at some of my trail races this past fall and early spring and being thankful for wearing long sleeves. My gut told me I should take them “just in case”. I had read the forecast for the areas that I would be running, but my brain just didn’t quite believe it could be that cool in August anywhere!

At the end of my first day of running I reflected over my accomplishments from the day before. I thought about what I could have done better in hopes of making those adjustments the next day. It had taken me most of the morning to warm up in the cooler temperature. I smiled to myself because I was thankful that I followed my gut and brought the long sleeves with me. I decided that I would begin my second day with a long sleeve shirt on and then remove it as the day got warmer.

The sun was still in the process of waking up when we arrived at the starting point for the second day of segment seventeen which made for another cool morning. I was breathing in the fresh country air when I received a text message. The mens bible study group that I attend on Tuesdays wanted to let me know that they had prayed for my safety on the road that morning. I thanked them and then snapped a picture of the scenery around me and sent it to my daughter so she could see my starting view for the day. She was on my mind this week more than usual because she was in two-a-days for volleyball. She is a freshman this year in high school and had the opportunity to try out for the JV team! (I am excited to say that she did make the JV team!)

I felt surprisingly good when I started my run on day two. I was definitely sore but I expected that would be the case. I did not have any problem starting off with a slower pace today! The scenery was amazing! Much of the morning was spent running under a canopy of trees across the road that kept the sun from warming my skin. The road had very little traffic and I could hear the sound of animals scurrying away as I approached their spot.

I was joined by a sharp pain in my left knee early in my run. It was mild and I expected it to go away over the next few miles. I have learned on my training runs that most pain I encounter typically does not last very long. I arrived at my scheduled water stop and the knee pain had not improved. I put some biofreeze on my knee to see if that would help. I was also careful not to get any on my hands because I have done that before a run in the past and then rubbed my eyes to get sweat out of them (not a fun experience). I had a lot of miles left in front of me and I was not ready for that discomfort the rest of the day.

I continued on as the knee pain increased with each step I took. I tried spending more time running on the opposite side of the road to see if that would help alleviate the pain. I tried the first day to go fifty-fifty switching sides of the road, but there were quite a few parts that I was unable to do so. Switching sides more often did not seem to help so I opted to change shoes at my next scheduled stop to see if that would help. I realized as I changed my shoes that my right achilles was pretty sore but I hoped that the change in shoes would help with that. The switch gave me a mental boost, but the pain in my left knee decided that it was going to hang out with me for a while. The only relief from the left knee pain was more pain. My right achilles and shin started hurting a great deal as well. I assume that changing my stride to accommodate my left knee is what caused my right leg problems.

The last time I had taken any ibuprofen or pain killer was when I had my wisdom teeth taken out. April was the first time I had taken any kind of medication this year. I used to get headaches quite often, but I honestly haven’t had one in a year and a half now (I’m going with healthier food choices as the reason why). I chose to take an ibuprofen and slowed up to give the medication time to kick in. I started seeing some improvement in my left knee but the achilles was starting to scream at me even louder. I was running out of ideas on how to help my right leg. I was in the middle of nowhere and one of the few areas I had no hills (was thankful for that). In fact it almost felt like I was in west Texas for a little bit. There was no traffic so I ran on the left side of the road, the right, I even ran right down the middle of the road but nothing seemed to help ease the pain. Malcom suggested doing intervals so I tried that too. I realized that this was just going to be one of those really long days out on the road.

I hobbled into a small town where Malcom was waiting in a church parking lot for me. We made our way up to the building to ask if we could use the restroom. One of the gentlemen sitting outside came out to meet us and asked if we needed to use the restroom before we even had a chance ask. We had a really nice chat with him about MS Run the US and he told us that he had just started running himself. He was training for a marathon and definitely knew that the hills were pretty brutal around there. We told him where we were headed and he informed me that there was a very big hill on that road but after that it would be much better. That hill was insane! There also was not much of a shoulder to run on and there was an awful lot of traffic on that road for such a small town. I walked my way up the hill which seemed to take an hour to do. I was thankful for my long sleeves because every big truck that passed by made me even colder. At one point a large truck had to move over to the shoulder because an oversized tractor was coming from the other direction. I kindly took myself off into the grass to let him pass.

I finished out the rest of the day pretty slow with a mixture of run/walking. I got to my last water stop for the day and I finally took my long sleeve shirt off. I grabbed a banana and a couple of mandarin oranges to eat as I began my cool down walk to end the day. I was disappointed with my left knee and my right achilles but I was thankful for the slower pace that day because it gave me more time to take in all of the sights along the way as I spent another full day outdoors. Walking on the right side of the road I was completely caught off guard when a man on a bicycle rolled by, and stopped a few yards in front of me. He got off of his bike and asked me about my shirt, and running across the US. I explained the relay and our mission to Stop MS. We just stood there on the side of the road for about 7-8 minutes talking about running shoes, ultra runners, and amazing feats humans have accomplished running. That was an unexpected gift for me on a day where my body had struggled so much. He rode off ahead of me towards a hill I could see off in the distance. He stopped, got off his bike and walked it part of the way up. I knew I had at least one more hill to climb before my day would be over.

I put ice packs on my knee and achilles when we got back to the motorhome. I relaxed and looked out the window as we drove to the next campground which would be home for the next two nights. A blow up swimming pool was aired up, filled with water and ice just for me. I reflected over the day as I sat in the little pool while other campers walked towards the campgrounds swimming pool. I can only imagine what they were thinking about me. I think the only thing I needed at that point would have been a life jacket or some arm floaties.

Photo Credits- https://instagram.com/mal.c0m?utm_medium=copy_link

I was not even a quarter of a mile into my run when the realness of the moment sank in. The past seven months my life had been training runs, strength training, phone calls, emails, and meetings in search of potential donors to support my MS Run the US fundraising campaign. All of which were integral parts of this journey to Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. My desire to get to this moment in time was what helped me dig deep and push through on the difficult training runs. I don’t know how many different ways I imagined this day would feel and I am not certain that I will find words that accurately portray those emotions either.

I know there was a smile on my face because I could feel it as I took in the cool morning Ohio air. I recall the excitement that I owned because for the first time as a runner I would not be making a loop. I would be running from point A to point B, every mile helping our relay team get closer to the finish in New York. All of my training runs and races either took me back home or the finish line was also the start line. I wanted to make the most of every step, allowing all of my senses to experience this place I had never been before.

While my eyes were snapping images of the sights around me I thought about all of the people who contributed to my fundraising campaign. I reflected over how so many people stepped up big donating their hard earned money in a year that a pandemic is in full effect. I am thankful for the many people that I met along the way who either had MS or a family member who suffered from MS. I am grateful that they took the time to share their stories with me. I was running for them. Running so that hopefully one day nobody else would go to bed feeling normal and wake up blind in one eye with their life changed forever.

I started my run on a small trail in a local park in Cuyahoga Falls, OH. The weather was nice and cool which was quite the opposite of what Texas weather had given me to train in. I was very excited about running in cooler temperatures to say the least. I focused in on the directions Haley and Malcom had given me for my run, I really did not want to get lost within the first three miles. I then laughed to myself a little as I realized just how much I had going on at the same time. Directions, breathing, taking in as much of the scenery as possible, watching for things I might trip on, reflecting over how I got here… then there was the momma duck with five baby ducks following her along the same route I was taking (got distracted by my next turn or I might have taken a picture of them).

Cool weather and the adrenaline rush from beginning the 167 mile adventure I had trained seven months for blurred any awareness I had of my starting pace until I hit the half marathon distance. To be fair though, I typically do not look at my pace until I have completed a training run. Shockingly enough the first fatigue that I encountered that day was my face, I am quite certain that I had been smiling every step of the way. I decided it best to slow down after the thirteen mile mark, so after a restroom break I began walking while I ate a snack and drank some water. I made my way out of the city into a more rural area where I found myself running again, only at a much slower pace this time. I took in some more views of the Ohio country side and stored some more mental pictures of the beautiful houses as I passed them by.

It was here that I spent some time reflecting over all of the events in my life that led me to running on a Monday morning in Ohio. I even thought back to my high school days when my track coach would drop the distance runners off and have us run back to the school. I was not a fan of running on an oval track back then, so I truly enjoyed those days. As I ran past some Ohio cows and I recalled coach telling me one day to leave the cows alone as we drove past them headed further away from the high school track. Coach Trahan passed away December 1, 2020. I can still hear him telling me that I was a distance runner while I argued that I was a jumper. I am certain that if he’s looking down on me now he is laughing at the washed up volleyball/basketball player with dreams of running a 100 mile race. He was definitely right about the distance thing!

It was around this point in my run that I encountered my first hills. (Maybe I should type that in all caps HILLS to be more acurate). I knew there were hills on this segment, Ashley talked about them quite a bit. We do have hills in Texas, but I don’t think they compare to what I encountered in Ohio and Pennsylvania. I realized after the next hour of hills that this would be my life for the next 6 days. The hills and I did not become best friends from the start, it was a relationship that took five and a half days to develop.

At some point in the second half of the day I started feeling a little bit of tightness in my right achilles tendon. I knew I was putting in crazy miles this week so I didn’t think much more about it. I do recall not feeling any sort of pain discomfort when my watch showed me that I had run 26.2 miles. I stopped, took a picture of my watch and I took a picture of the place I was at when I completed my first marathon distance. It definitely was not fast, and that of course was not the goal but it was an awesome accomplishment for me. I was supposed to have gone over this mark on my 60K attempt at Pedernales Falls State park which did not happen. I shook my head and smiled as I thought back to the many times in my life that I swore that I would never run a marathon. I continued on through the rest of the run and finished with a grand total of thirty miles for the first day of segment 17.

Photo Credits- https://instagram.com/mal.c0m?utm_medium=copy_link

I did not just wake up one morning and decide I wanted to run 167 miles. I do have a single moment in time that this journey began though. It all started on this bench…..

It was the evening of January 6, 2020. The last night of a family vacation at Disney World and I had gone to the poolside bar to buy a crown and coke. On the way back to the room with drink in hand I took a seat on a bench. Earlier in the day I had been looking over some of the pictures from the week and they shook my world. I did not even recognize the man that stood there in those pictures. One picture in particular of me standing next to Goofy is one that I can still see when I close my eyes. I knew I was overweight and when I saw those pictures I was disappointed in myself and the way I had let myself go. I had 3 knee surgeries over a 5 year period and I used that as a crutch to not make time for the gym. I was tired all the time, I did not eat very healthy and I had zero desire to change that as well.

I recall a long conversation with God while I sat there on the bench. I knew that I needed to change some things in my life. I told him about everything that was going on in my world and I needed his help. As I sat there and looked at my half empty crown and coke I decided that I would take a year off of alcohol. I don’t know why I chose quitting alcohol that night but it just felt like the thing I needed to do. I have been pretty responsible with alcohol most of my life with the exception of a few times that I can count on one hand. I just felt that I needed to do something that would spark a change in my life. I guess you could say I was hoping that if I did that, God would help me with other parts of my life. I knew that God doesn’t work that way, but I was desperate.

A week after getting home my Grandfather passed away at 102, and then the following month my marriage ended. Neither came as a surprise to me. I do remember thinking I had picked a bad time to quit drinking. I didn’t take a drink though. I chose to feel all of the feelings that come with loss. It was not an easy thing to do but I believe doing so helped me heal.

One day, I realized that since I was not drinking alcohol I also had not been drinking any sodas. I opted to get one for lunch that day. That soda messed my stomach up pretty bad for the rest of the day. I didn’t like that feeling so I quit sodas well. It made me really start thinking about how unhealthy I must have been for my body to be used to consuming drinks like that on a daily basis. This realization was just the first of many for me that led me to start questioning some of the things that I had always believed.

I started running in March. I did not run much, just a mile every other day. I just wanted to start getting back in to shape. All of the gyms had closed due to COVID-19 but the outdoors were still open for business. Truth be told I wanted to get back into beach volleyball shape. I knew it was crazy to think I could jump in sand after 3 knee surgeries but I was going to try anyway!

In June I went back to college to finish the last 29 credit hours towards my bachelors degree. I found studying and then going for a run helped me retain information better. I also love to read books, in fact I read 39 books in 2020 while completing my bachelors degree. I am also the kind of guy that will read 3-4 books at the same time. A friend of mine had mentioned earlier on Facebook a book that he had read called “Born to Run” which was still at the back of my mind one day when I was searching for my next great read. I went back to his page to find the title of the book so that I could get it from the library. What happened next would alter the course of my entire life. This book introduced me to ultra running. When I read about a 100 mile race that was to be completed in 24 hours I was hooked! I thought why is everyone out there not doing this? I always said I would never run a marathon, I didn’t say anything about an ultra-marathon though!

I have to pause here and share a story with you about getting into running. Maybe a month in to running I hyperextended my right knee walking down the stairs of my apartment (yes I am that clumsy). I spent the next 5 days icing and resting thinking that maybe I was not meant to be a runner. Then I got a text from my sister asking if I had heard about Joe, one of my track friends from high school. She told me that he had died and my heart was broken. I had not seen him in many years but I had thought of him and the rest of my high school track team while I was on my one mile runs. I wiped the tears I had been crying for him and I laced up my shoes determined to run a mile for him on my swollen right knee. I didn’t just run the mile for him, I felt like he was there running with me and I ended up running a mile and a half that day. I never stopped running after that day and I started increasing my distances until one day I ran a 4 miles. After that run for some reason I believed I could do an ultra! I started reading every book I could on ultra running and ultra runners. I wanted nothing more than to cover 100 miles in a 24 hour period. In fact I even sent in an application to join an ultra relay team that was running across the US! While I read these books I was still in college. I found that if I studied for an hour and then went for a run I would think about the information and it would stick with me better. I started eating better, or what I thought was better for me. I did slow down quite a bit on eating fast food. In fact eating out became my reward for passing each final exam. I started to notice something in common between the ultra runners I was reading about. Many of them were plant-based! I was a produce manager and I never thought about only eating produce. I am certain in my past I made fun of those who did. I was curious and I don’t just take someone’s word on something, I have to try it for myself to see. I started trying plant-based foods that we carry in my store and I was surprised at how good the foods actually tasted. (Not all were great, but I was learning!)

I graduated college in September of 2020, and also that month I accepted a challenge of running 167 miles in 6 days with MS Run the US to raise money to Stop MS! I also noticed how great my body was feeling every day and how well I recovered after a long run so I started thinking of going 100% plant-based. That was a very big month for me.

November 21st I ran my first half marathon with my buddy Jason! I believe the runners high from that achievement stayed with me for the rest of the year. As the calendar rolled into December I continued to add more plant based foods to my diet and eliminated many of the meat and processed foods that I used to consume.

In January of 2021 I was about 90% plant-based and I still did not believe I would ever go 100%. I felt great running some trail races and in April after running a race at about 95% I made the decision to go all in! I have found that I truly enjoy cooking plant-based meals. It is fun trying different foods together to see what I can create. It doesn’t always turn out great, but I get better each time I try! Traveling is a challenge, but I have noticed many restaurants have embraced this movement and are adding more plant-based options to their menu. I feel amazing and my recovery time has been cut in half. I used to be dead tired after a 9 hour day at work, now I work the same hours and I have the energy to knock out a 6-8 mile run. I am not going to try and convince everyone to go plant-based but I will continue to share my story with those who want to hear.

There have been many occasions throughout this journey that I have thought back to that night on that bench. I think about where I am now and it blows my mind how one decision took me down this path that I am on. I recently took another trip to Disney World with my daughter this summer and I felt like I needed to go visit the bench where it all started. I sat down this time forty pounds lighter with an insane amount of energy that I had once thought I would never see again. I had a conversation with God again, only this time my prayer was one of thankfulness. I thanked God for not giving up on me and giving me opportunities to grow. Things do not always go the way you hope that they do and that’s okay. Failure is not fun, but learning from those failures are where I believe real growth happens. Below are two pictures taken at the same spot eighteen months apart. I would like to tell you they are of the same person but they are not, this journey has helped me grow into the man I am today. I am thankful for my time on the bench that set this all in motion. I have been blessed by those who I have met along the way. I am thankful for the running community!

• 

• 

I made it to Ohio! Now I just have to run 167 miles to Pennsylvania over a six day period starting Monday. I believe that I am prepared for the challenge and I am stoked to get started on this adventure! Today I explore Cleveland!

I have not written much over the past few months but that is all changing starting today! I have promised many of you that I would provide daily updates about this adventure through my blog so here goes nothing!

I landed in Cleveland last night, grabbed my luggage and made my way to the hotel shuttle pick-up area of the airport. All week long I had been looking at the weather forecast for this area and had seen high temperatures in the upper 70’s. After doing the majority of my training runs in Texas with temperatures ranging from the 90’s to 100’s I could not believe that luck would provide me with cooler weather for my relay segment. As I stepped out of the airport doors I could feel a huge smile growing across my face as the cool air welcomed me to Ohio. Even running after the sun went down in Texas it was not as cool as it was here already. After checking into the hotel I walked to a gas station to pick up a couple of waters. The sun had gone down and it was even colder outside. The previous night I shook my head as I packed a hoodie in my suitcase (just in case). I just might need it after all!

My internal alarm clock woke me up at 6:20 this morning (5:20 Texas time). Gotta love routine! I brewed some coffee, ate a Clif Bar, showered and scheduled an Uber ride to the West Side Market. My Uber driver was awesome. We discussed running, diet, Cleveland, and Texas on the drive. He is going to open a restaurant in town and I believe that I will be back here one day and will check it out! West Side Market did not disappoint! I started exploring the produce part first and it was awesome! Locally grown fruits and vegetables as well as a huge organic selection. I bought some locally grown peaches to snack on throughout the day. I also purchased some ground açaí, turmeric, black maca, and catuaba from one of the vendors there. I made my way over to the market building and was blown away by the selections that they had there. Had I been there a few years ago I am pretty certain that I would have given them all of my money. All of my food choices now are 100% plant-based. I realize that may come as a shock to many people. There will be more on that in my blog post tomorrow. My transition to plant-based has been an incredible journey and I have been working on writing share that story for a while now. The market side had every kind of meat that you could imagine. They also had any kind of bread or pastry item that ones heart could desire. Like I said, earlier life for me they would have taken all of my money. I made my way around and found a vendor that had bulk nuts and I knew that I would be spending some money there. I bought Brazil nuts, almonds, and had a great conversation about plant-based foods and why I was in town. She wished me luck on my run and I was off to my next stop of the day.

I knew that I wanted to go visit the Rock and Roll Hall of fame so I started walking in that direction. I crossed the Veterans Memorial Bridge which took me over the Cuyahoga river and I was supposed to make a left but I was distracted by Progressive Field on my right so I went that way instead. As I strolled down to the ballpark I passed Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, home of the Cleveland Cavaliers. I continued on to Progressive Field. There were no ballpark tours today, so I walked around the entire ballpark and even stepped inside the team shop and browsed for a little bit. I still want to catch a game in every MLB park one day!

Time for the Rock and Roll Hall of fame! I do not really have words for how much I enjoyed my visit here today. So much music history! The amount of creativity that was celebrated in that building was almost overwhelming. I believe that I have a memory tied directly to every song that I have ever heard and I spent a large portion of my day reflecting over the songs in my life! I have so much that I want to say about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and I will spend some time gathering my thoughts. I will dedicate an entire post to it after my segment is completed.

I walked out to Voinovich Bicentennial Park and watched boats in the Cleveland Harbor while small planes took off from Burke Lakefront Airport. I had seen where the Cavaliers and Indians/Guardians play earlier today, so I went to First Energy Stadium to see where the Browns play.

I had an early dinner at the House of Blues, and then I stopped at a local coffee shop to relax before heading back to the hotel. As I was writing in my journal I took a drink of coffee and I saw a guy standing in line wearing a trail racing t-shirt. I asked him about his shirt, and if he was a trail racer. He told me that he had been a road runner and recently started running trail races. I told him about MS Run the US and that I do trail races as well. Not gonna lie, I had my Crazy Desert Trail Race shirt on too. We shared trail race stories and I talked about how much of a difference going plant-based had changed my training and recovery time after a run. He was intrigued, said his brother had been telling him the same things that I was saying. Again, more on this topic tomorrow! I don’t know that I have ever met a stranger in my life. Retail life tends to create opportunities for you to meet many people. The running community is the same. The trail racing community is so encouraging and it is always awesome to meet another runner and hear their stories.

I scheduled an Uber to take me back to my hotel so I could start putting together this story. My driver was just as friendly as my first one this morning. He told me more about the town and some of the places that I should check out. I talked about MS Run the US (I know you’re surprised I talked about running right?). I walked 12 miles around downtown Cleveland today and I loved every minute of it! I will be back to explore more in the future, for now its time to get some rest!

• 

The sun was still shining bright and it would be for at least another hour before giving the almost full moon a chance to brighten the night sky over Pedernales Falls State Park. There was nobody counting down for me to start the race and I was the only one standing at the staring line so I sent one last text message and I began my 37 mile journey. This trail race was my first to run underneath the Texas stars which required me to use a headlamp to navigate the rocks, water, trees, and whatever else I would encounter along the way. I had been thinking about this race, counting down the days for over a month, so to say that I was obsessed about it would have been an understatement. This was going to be my longest and toughest run yet.

I made it to the first aid station with a huge smile on my face. Everything was going well for me so far. I was moving at a decent pace and my new shoes felt like I was running on air. I started running a year earlier in an old pair of basketball shoes that I used to mow the grass in. I learned quickly that proper running shoes made a huge difference when I got my first pair of Brooks Adrenaline GTS 20. For this race I had purchased Hoka One One’s Speedgoat 4 in an attempt to help me navigate the trails more easily. I felt like I could run in those shoes for days! About a mile after the first aid station my left shoe came untied and this was the point that I realized I may be more stubborn than I thought. It did not seem as though the untied shoe was effecting me in any way and I did not want to stop until I made it to the second aid station so I pressed on. I thought back to watching Dennard Robinson when he played for the University of Michigan and how he would play QB with his shoes untied. That was the only justification I needed to run with my shoe untied. The sun was getting sleepy and started fading away behind the trees and I had not put my headlamp on yet so it was beginning to get difficult to see. As I was running up a hill I saw what appeared to be in the distance a deer who was running and stopped dead in its tracks. I wondered to myself if my headlamp had been on if the deer would have frozen until I got closer to it. Instead this one had as much interest in me running as my non-running friends do when I share my running stories. I arrived at the second aid station, refilled my water bottles and I retied the laces in both of my shoes with a double knot so that hopefully they would not come untied again.

• 

I ran into my first problems on the trail after I had left the second aid station when I rolled my right ankle on a rock. This is not typically a problem for me, it happens quite a bit on rocky terrain. I have learned that if I keep running it typically takes care of itself. I rolled the ankle a second time and I still had no real cause for concern. The third time it happened was much worse than the first two times and it slowed me to a walk m. All three times happened within a one mile segment on the trail. I drank a little bit of water and took the opportunity to get out my head lamp because it would not be much longer until I needed it to help find my way in the dark. It was not until I put my water bottle up that I realized I had a 2 inch splinter sticking out of my hand from where I had grabbed on to a tree to keep me from falling. I pulled the splinter out and I slowly worked my way back into a jog and then into a run and I pressed on into the night.

• 

The rest of my first loop of 18 miles did not get much better. I found myself rolling my right ankle more frequently with each mile. I had to walk through the more rocky areas and running on the dirt trails. At one point after rolling my ankle again I started hoping the next time would be my left one. I made my way into the last aid station before the start/finish line, I refilled my bottles and I took a seat for a little bit to check out my ankle. I noticed that it had started swelling quite a bit and I knew I had two more miles of trail left to make a decision about finishing this race. This was the first time in any race I had even thought about not finishing. My first trail race I got lost and ran an extra mile and a half and did not even think about quitting.

I left the aid station and I thought about three letters. DNF. Did not finish. I started weighing the benefits of grinding out another 18 mile loop of this rocky terrain on my now swollen right ankle versus the benefits of stopping. I went back and forth in my mind over stopping or pushing through for one more loop. Each step I took left me more even more indecisive. Each step on my right foot told me to stop and each step with my left foot told me to ignore my right foot (we don’t need him) and finish this thing. I even pushed my pace a little to see if my ankle could handle it. Right foot had the strongest argument and I decided that today was not going to be my day to finish this race. I would finish strong and turn in my timing chip when I crossed the start/finish line.

I crossed the line and I went over to the grassy area next to the aid station and I sat down for a little bit because I was not quite ready to quit. Maybe it is the competitor in me or possibly my stubbornness and mentioned earlier, but something that told me if I just sat down for a little bit I would be fine and I could start up and finish the race. Ultimately as I sat there I thought about how many people have donated their hard earned money towards my fundraising campaign to Stop MS! I thought about all of my other teammates on this relay across the US. I committed to run 167 miles from Ohio to Pennsylvania and I would be starting my segment in a little over a month. I decided risking a more serious injury and losing training time would be selfish of me so I got up and walked over to turn my timing chip in and told them I would not be finishing the 60K today. They gave me a 30K medal for all of the miles that I did complete and I was not sure that I wanted it because I did not complete the 60K distance. As I sit here writing this I believe that this could quite possibly be my favorite race medal because it is a reminder of my first DNF and motivation to make every single training run count. Most likely this will not be my last DNF and I am okay with that. I did not start running because I thought it would be easy. Ultimately my goal is to complete a 100 mile race and this is part of my journey to get there.

When I get knocked down, I’ll get back up. I may not be the smartest person in the room, but I’ll strive to be the grittiest.

Angela Duckworth, “Grit”

I looked across the room at the microwave that showed me clearly that the time was 4:32am or at least as clearly as one can see when they first wake up. It was an hour before I planned on getting up to start my race day routine but I didn’t care. I rolled out of bed, found a shirt put on some shoes, then I made my way down to the hotel lobby where I knew hot coffee was there waiting for me. Breakfast would be served in a grab bag at 6 am but I would already be gone by the time they put them out. The hotel provided coffee twenty-four hours a day and I had some cliff bars that I had brought along which combined with coffee would be my fuel to start the day. As I made my way down the hallway back to my room I realized the soreness in my legs that I had brought with me on the trip was gone. This week had been a tough training week for me. I had gone all out on my strength training early in the week and followed that up with a challenging speed work out the day after as well. Needless to say when Thursday rolled around I was wondering if I would even be able to walk let alone run the Wildflower half marathon trail run when the weekend rolled around. I stayed true to my training plan on Thursday and Friday because my commitment to running 167 miles as the segment 17 runner for MS Run the US is more important than any race I run. I see these trail races as training runs to help prepare me for my segment of the relay which I am told is very hilly. Don’t get me wrong I am one hundred percent a competitor and doing part of my training in a racing environment really helps me push through the tough times mentally and physically. 

I thought that after running other trail races I had seen and experienced every challenge I would face at the Wildflower trail run. I was wrong. Other trails had elevation gains, roots, rocks, mud, and hot temperatures so I was ready for that. Sand was something I had not planned for, or even considered to be a challenge on a trail race until I experienced it myself. I am not talking about just a little bit of sand on a hard surface, I am talking about sand deep enough for you to sink down with every step you take. You would think that an ex beach volleyball player would have an advantage running on sand but he does not. My first thought was that I could run much faster in sand if I took my shoes off.  I didn’t do that because I am not Barefoot Ted, and I also knew that would not be a smart thing to do on a trail race where the terrain changed every mile or so. I don’t know that my pace slowed much when running in the sandy areas but mentally I felt like I was moving much slower. The plus side was that running in sand was a much softer surface and there are definitely benefits to that as well.

I typically listen to audio books when I am traveling long distances in my truck and after my book finished I was still about an hour away from my destination. Not long enough to get far into an other book so I opted for the songs on my playlist. I mention this because on long runs I find myself reflecting over the book I am currently reading or listening to but today I found myself thinking about one of the songs I heard on my drive. “Everybody Lives” by Granger Smith is a song that for some reason resonated with me while out on the trails during this race. Check out the song if you haven’t heard it, but it is basically about how every persons life will end one day, but not everyone lives life while they are alive. Hundreds of us were out on the trail running and we all have a different story and a reason why we do what we do. Living life for everyone does not mean lacing up a pair of shoes and running trails or roads either. Living life is different for each one of us and I think that it is okay for us to not understand every persons journey in life. I do believe that part of living life is through each of us sharing our stories with one another. I have not flown around the world, climbed Everest, hiked the Appalachian or Pacific Trails but my own life experiences bring the stories of those who have to life for me. 

We started the trail race with an out and back to touch the tower which was 1.4 miles before we began our two loop of 6.2 miles each. I have never been one to start off with a crazy fast pace on a long distance run but many people took off very fast on this one. I took off at about half speed knowing that it would likely be 2-3 miles before I fell into a comfortable pace. Once I completed the tower run and got onto the trail I was met with my first real climbing test of the day and noticed others had slowed to a walk up the climb. I opted to keep running while at the back of my mind wondering if everyone else knew something I didn’t know and that this was a sign of things to come for the rest of the loop. I made it through the climb and got into more normal trail running with some roots, rocks, and narrow trails. I found it difficult to pass people early on because of how small the trails were in some parts so I would just maintain that person’s pace until an area opened up for me to pass. It was probably three miles into the race before I was able to get out of the congested traffic on the trails. Around mile four I was running in a group with four of us when I caught either a root or possibly a tree stump with my right foot and went flying forward. It all happened in slow motion for me but I felt as if I flew for about 10 feet (actually probably only about 4 foot) before I landed on my left foot and was able to keep my balance and continue running. The guy running behind me asked me if I was okay. I had not slowed my pace and felt zero pain in my left leg so I replied “yes”. I felt good and started thinking back to seven years earlier about how scared I had been to even take a single step after the knee surgery on that same leg. I thought about all of the hours of physical therapy and even acupuncture that was done to get me back to full strength. I did not know back then that trail running would be something in my future. One minor right ankle roll a quarter mile after my trip and I am happy to report that was the only other misstep for the rest of the trail run. 

It was hot and it was humid. Well it may have only been humid to me because I have done the majority of my running in San Angelo or Amarillo where it is hot and dry. I am told that my segment of the relay is pretty humid so I believe that any time that I can run with humidity will help me as well. I spent a large part of this race adjusting my hat. I typically wear my hat with the bill facing forward because it keeps more sweat out of my face that way. There were times on the trails that there would be random cool breezes of air in my face and I would turn my had backwards so that I could absorb as much of the cooler air as I could. I would turn the hat back around when the breeze went away and the sun was shining down on me. It was a back and forth game that I played the entire race and I am sure that anyone running behind me for any prolonged period of time found amusing. 

I chose once again at this trail race not to take any water with me because the aid stations were not spaced too far apart and I wanted to carry as little extra weight with me as possible. I also run in basketball shorts for no real reason other than that is what I have always worn. I tell you this because after the last aid station stop I realized just how heavy my shorts were. Its not what you are probably thinking though. I didn’t pee on myself while I was running. My shirt had been completely soaked with sweat since mile five of the race and it could not absorb any more sweat at that point. I believe that every other drop of sweat worked its way down into my shorts and chosen to stay along for the rest of the race with me. I actually had to tighten the drawstring and roll up the waistband in my shorts while on the run to keep them from falling down as I pressed on to the finish line. My watch screen was wet and I did not have a dry piece of clothing on me to dry it off so that I could complete my run on Strava. It is probably time for me to look into something other than basketball shorts to run in.

I crossed the last bridge on the trail and I knew I was getting close to the area where I would turn on to a paved road where I would sprint uphill to the end. I made the turn and I gave everything I had until crossed the finish line (14th out of 104). I am not certain why I love sprinting to the end of every trail race but I do. It doesn’t matter the distance I always end up finding something deep down to push me all out to finish a race. It leaves me wondering after the race how much more I could have done while out on the trail but I don’t lose any sleep over it. Every single mile whether on a paved road, rocks, roots, sand on a trail, or on a treadmill (only out of necessity of course) is run with the goal of creating awareness of multiple sclerosis and raising funds so that one day we can wipe out this terrible disease.

I knew committing to run 167 miles in a six day period would be a huge challenge. I also knew that training for that challenge would be tough. I was also fully aware that having all of my wisdom teeth pulled would be painful. Why I thought that running through the pain would be easy I will never know.

The pain from having my wisdom teeth pulled I do not have words to explain. My entire life I have heard people talk about how much it hurts but it’s one of those things I did not fully comprehend until I lived it. I have had three knee surgeries and a shoulder surgery and there is no comparison. Ice was my saving grace in recovery and pain management with those surgeries. I am currently six days in and I am still taking pain medications for my wisdom teeth.

I did manage to get my first run in last night and it was pretty painful. It was only a four mile run but I did manage a decent pace as well. I typically do not take water with me on such a short run but I decided I needed to this time just in case. Also because Coach told me to take water with me. My first mile was at a surprisingly quick pace and I felt good. About half way into my second mile the pain reminded me that it was still there and was not going away anytime soon. I drank a little water to see if it would help but it did not. In fact it made me a little nauseous. As I continued to run I started thinking about a passage from Mike Leach’s book Geronimo which is one of my favorite books of all time.

“Young boys had to run more than ten miles, up and down mountains, carrying water or rocks in their mouths the entire time; they could spit out the rocks or water only at the end of the run. This proved their endurance and toughness. The exercise also taught them to breathe through their noses.” 

Geronimo, Mike Leach, Buddy Levy

I have always been fascinated with how the Apache warriors trained. I believe that learning about how they trained was the first time I started questioning my own ideas of what the human body is capable of. Training the way they did was for their own survival. I definitely do not have to train the way the Apache did to survive in todays world because everything I need is available to me at the swipe of a debit card or click of a mouse. I don’t know what all my body is capable of but I intend to find out on this running journey.

I decided to try one of the training methods for send by the Apache. I filled my mouth up with water while I was running instead of drinking or spitting it out to see if that would help me with the pain. I figured at the least it would help me work on breathing through my nose better which is something I have been placing a lot of focus on over my past few months of training anyways. It did not make all of my pain go away but it did seem to help. It also took my mind off of the pain as well because I started thinking about what it would be like to start each day off with a ten mile run up and down a mountain with water in my mouth.

I don’t think that there is a cure all for running when you have your wisdom teeth pulled. Running with a mouth full of water was definitely helpful for me. Its not lost on me that I might be just a little dramatic complaining about this. However, I did start this blog to share my story as I train to do a marathon a day for six days in a row. The highs, lows, good, bad, and the downright embarrassing.

Running 167 miles in six days is the biggest challenge I have ever accepted. I definitely made my training plan tougher by having my wisdom teeth taken out in the middle of it. One day I will not have an extra pain to deal with while I am running and I will appreciate those days so much more after making it through this. I also know that there be some tough times in the middle of my 167 mile adventure and remembering days like today will help me be able to push through to the end.

I typically do not like days that I wake up an hour before my alarm goes off. Today was different though. It’s trail racing day! It also happens to be my birthday. I am not a fan of turning older each year but when I found out that there was a trail race on my birthday I knew that was definitey something I could get excited about so I registered for the Coyote Trail Run 25K.

I found a parking spot at the Cleburne State Park, put on my trusty Brooks running shoes and laced them up. The temperature was in the 40’s when I arrived at the park and I had some decisions to make on what I would wear. I knew from previous experience that I tend to warm up pretty fast on the trail and too many layers were not a good thing for me. I grabbed a thin pullover and put a hoodie on. The sky was cloudy but I decided to take my sunglasses anyways because sometimes they help block the wind from my eyes as well.

I walked over to the line of runners waiting their turn to get shuttled over to the starting line. One of the vehicles taking us over was a van that packed as many people into it a time as they could and the other was a pickup truck. I ended up being the last person to fit in the bed of the pick up truck and I was instantly thankful I brought my hoodie as we headed off to the starting line. It was a cold trip but it was fun though, I love being around other runners. I did have a moment when we took off in the truck that I thought maybe I should take my shades off of the top of my hat and hold on to them but I decided against it. Then a few minutes later I saw a pair of shades flying trough the air behind the truck and I couldn’t help but be impressed at how well they flew. The lady across from me asked if they were mine.  I replied yes. She asked if they were expensive. I said no, just 30 bucks, but I had a feeling inside that I would be missing them at some point in the race.

We arrived at the start line, exited the truck, did our temperature checks and got our racing bibs. I checked in at the starting line and took off on my sixteen mile trail race adventure. I had zero idea what was ahead of me and I prefer it that way. The trail had a rocks, wildflowers, elevation gain, trees, more elevation, a river jump, and then some really big elevation climbs. This race for me was an 8 mile loop with 1250’ elevation climb that I would complete two times.

The first part of the race was pretty normal just dodging rocks and making mental notes of things I might need to be aware of for my second loop around. I did not take any water with me on this race because I felt like I would be able to maintain hydration at the aid stations along the way. I arrived at the first aid station and I drank a cup of water, and then another of Gatorade as quick as I could and got back on the trail. The second half of the loop was much more technical. I got to jump over a river crossing, ran through fields of wildflowers, and met some climbs that slowed me to a walking pace. 

Trail running is a lot like riding a motorcycle. When you ride long enough you are going to wreck at some point. When you run trails long enough you are going to wreck as well. I wrecked 4 times at the Cleburne State Park. My first fall was epic. It was one of those moments where you are going downhill much faster than your legs want to move and then finally the law of gravity does what it does. I think if in high school my basketball coaches would have had me running down hill while dodging rocks I would have learned to move my feet much quicker and been much better at playing defense. I landed really hard on the right side of my body. My right knee and my right hip took most of the impact. I popped right up though and kept on going. Up until this point trail running I had not wiped out like that before.

I have been very lucky to be able to run after having 3 knee surgeries and as much as I love being free out running the roads or trails I live with a voice in the back of my mind telling me to be careful. I am thankful for the first fall because it really shut that voice up. As I ran on I thought about Frank Gore and how he came back from his two major knee surgeries in college to becoming one of the best running backs in the NFL. His story was my inspiration in physical therapy after my 3rd knee surgery.  I don’t want to have another knee surgery but I also don’t want to spend the rest of my life playing everything so safe that I miss out on the excitement and adventure of trail racing.

At some point there was a root sticking out of the ground that wrapped around my right foot and tripped me. I did not fall but I made a mental note of it for my second time around. There was a pretty major climb as I got closer to completing the first loop that kicked my butt and I made a mental note of that as well. I finished the climb, realized my right shoe had come untied, ignored it and made my way to the finish/start line where I could stop at the aid station before starting my second loop. 

I took a shot of pickle juice, gatorade, tied my shoe, and grabbed little bags of M&M’s and fruit snacks for the trail. I had finished the first loop with a time of a 1 hour and 34 mins according to my watch.  I took off for my second loop and I felt great. The temperature was nice and the wind was minimal and I felt like my pace was where I wanted it to be. I knew what was up ahead of me on the second half of the loop so I also wanted to save some energy for the elevation gains. A tree branch knocked my hat off of my head so I stopped to pick it up and it was at this point that I realized my right eye was starting to bother me. The wind was not a factor, but when I wear my shades that tends to keep me from rubbing my eyes. My guess is some of the drift on my hands from my first fall got into my eye and irritated it.  One thing I have learned about running is that typically whatever is bothering you typically goes away a mile or so down the road. I forgot about my eye because my left hamstring started cramping up on me. I knew I was close to the final aid station and there would be some pickle juice and electrolytes waiting there for me. 

I arrived at the last aid station took a couple shots of pickle juice, and drank two cups of Gatorade and I got back on the trail. I got a comfortable pace going and prepared mentally for what I knew was ahead of me. I arrived at the river jump and I was able to clear it again without incident. I ran faster where I could knowing I would not be able to keep that pace for the elevation changes up ahead. I was very much aware of the spot that I fell when I got there and I reduced my speed and I am happy to say I did not fall there this time. However, another mile down the trail I came to the spot where a root had tripped me the first loop and I did not see it, but somehow it found me and tripped me a second time. It was at this point I looked at my watch only to realize that It had stopped recording as well. Might be time to get a new watch. I knew then that I had no idea how many miles I was from the finish line and would just have to push myself like it was right around the next corner.  

I caught up to a group of people who were running and then walking up the steep climbs and I fell in behind them. I felt like I had too much energy to be walking that much so I went around them on the next spot that they started walking. As I passed the last person I rolled my ankle on a rock and fell onto my right knee. One of the girls asked if I was okay and I said yes, it was only my 4th fall of the day. I ran on. I finally came upon the last turn that took me to the finish line and I completed my second 25K trail race. I completed the race with a time of 3 hours 17 minutes and 45 seconds. This was much slower than the time of my first 25K trail race but I believe that is primarily due to the elevation climb on this course. My goal was to finish in the top 30. I finished 29th out of 120 runners.

I got to ride back to my truck in the shuttle van this time which was a much warmer trip. All of us were pretty sore after running and were afraid that if we sat down we might not be able to get back up. I crawled into the van and sat on the floor. I said I have no shame, and that I would be crawling out of the van to get out as well.

It has been many years since I last played competitive beach doubles volleyball or even a game of basketball. Three knee surgeries over a five year period left me thinking I would never play any sports again. I don’t think that the competitive drive in an individual ever goes away though. I am so thankful that running has found its way into my life. I enjoy pushing my body every time I lace up my shoes. I had bought into all these lies about what I could or couldn’t do. I now know that I don’t have a clue of what this body is capable of. I do know that I am very proud of all that I have accomplished as a runner, and I look forward to seeing what else I can do.

When I was in the fourth grade my family and I lived in the small west Texas town of Wellington with a population just over 2000. It’s one of those small towns where everyone knows their neighbor and many of the streets were still made out of bricks. It was the place where I first experienced the atmosphere of Friday night lights. How as a kid I wanted nothing more than to put on the red and white and fight with the Wellington Skyrocket football team more than anything in the world!

The only thing that I didn’t really enjoy about my time in Wellington was the fact that we were a million miles away from our nearest big city. Okay, it was 100 miles to Amarillo, but to a kid in a time before cell phones, tablets, laptop computers, or even the Nintendo game boy it was an awful trip. Amarillo was not Dallas or Houston but it had all we needed that we couldn’t get at the local grocery store. The drive was rough but I always liked the trips to town excpecially when we stopped at Sams Club. My sister and I would eat our weight in the free samples that were scattered all over the store. We mastered the art of pretending like we had not tried something at a table that we had just been to 10 minutes earlier. Of course the demo person knew, our parents knew, and every other person that I have ever met who grew up spending part of their childhood at Sams knew too.

Texas is a really big state and we tend to measure our road trips by how many hours it will take us to get somewhere. I tend to gauge trips in 100 mile increments myself because of those trips to Amarillo. I will say that since the speed limit is now 75 and the invention of audio books and podcasts the 100 mile trip would pass by much faster. Did I seriously say the “invention of something” (audiobooks) that isn’t even considered a new thing today? How old am I? I can’t be that old. I still make sure to check all of the sample tables at Sams, or I did until COVID-19 hit. Just once I want to write something that doesn’t mention Covid-19. It’s the here and now though and slowly changing our world as it is firmly ingrained into our story.

I did have books that kept me entertained when we would make the long journey to Amarillo and I am forever grateful for that because I am sure that that is why I enjoy reading so much still today. Trips back home were not as fun. The sun had typically gone down or was in the process of sinking down into the flat west Texas farmland. My dad had installed some reading lights in the back of our family’s 1987 suburban (wait until I tell you about learning to drive in that same suburban or bus as I like to call it) which helped me with night reading. Most nights I would just try to sleep or I would daydream about the brown haired girl who’s dad had a business across the street from where my dad worked and the blonde hair, blue eyed girl that lived down the street from me. I liked both of them.

When making any kind of long trip repetitively you start to learn the landmarks along the way. There isn’t much surprise as to how far you have traveled and you pretty much know how long until you get home. When I go for a run I don’t like to know how far I am running. I like to find that out when I get home. I like to create a route and just go because it is exciting for me to explore places I have never been. I do my best not to look at my watch to see how far I have run. I also try not to look at my pace. I have had many issues with my watch pausing in the middle of a run so I have developed a habit of looking at the top part of my watch screen to ensure that it is recording.

Sunday night was the last night of January and I knew I needed roughly 10.4 miles to accomplish my running goal. I wanted to run 100 miles in a month for the first time since my running journey started in March of last year. Saturday in Amarillo the wind was insane! 40 plus MPH and when the wind blows in west Texas it carries dirt, dust, tumbleweed, and the occasional empty used shopping bag. I opted for a longer run on Sunday rather two shorter runs so that I could avoid a few days on Zyrtec and Flonase. I plotted out a route that would get me to roughly 10.4 miles, put on several layers of clothes and I took off.

The weather was nice and cool, wind was at a minimum, traffic was light, and the run was great. It was a quiet night except for the occasional sound of a car racing down Soncy rd. I could hear the sound of my shoes on the road, my breathing and the sound of the chain I wear around my neck bouncing against my chest. What was more noticeable about the quiet night was what I didn’t hear. I was running for almost two hours and I do not recall hearing a single siren from an ambulance or a police car. The town was quiet. I found myself thinking about the 100 mile journey I was working on. I thought about how I only logged 11 miles in the first 10 days of the month. The temperature started dropping and I started to feel it. I started thinking I should have done more miles the first ten days and I wouldn’t be out in the cold. I had this argument with myself for miles 7 and 8. I started on mile number 9 and I forgot about my argument because I was close to accomplishing my monthly goal. I finished my night run with 10.63 miles. I wanted to make sure I completed the 100 miles. I could not see myself spending the entire month of February arguing with myself about how I came up short of my goal by a quarter of a mile.

100.2 is the distance that I ended the month of January with. As I reflect over my month of running I think about how I could have covered all of the ground between Wellington and Amarillo. I think it is perfectly fitting that my 100 mile goal was accomplished in Amarillo Texas. I am very proud of this accomplishment. As I look towards August I know that I will be making that same trip one and a half times in the period of six days. I have a lot of training runs left. I’ll have a lot more arguments with myself while I’m out running the roads. I’ll be running though. Running on a mission with a team of amazing runners to STOP MS!

I have lived in San Angelo, TX for almost five years now and I had never been to Middle Concho Park. I also had never done a trail race. I experienced both this past Saturday and I loved it!

I typically do my running when I get off of work but this was not an option for me on race day. I scheduled my start time at 9:15 that morning and I turned it into an early/extended lunch. It was foggy that morning and the temperature was cool as well. The ground was muddy but I was ready for whatever the trail had in mind for me.

I’ll be honest the first set of rocks that I had to climb had me wondering what I got myself in to! I got to the top and thought that if the rest of the 6.2 mile course was like this that I might not make it back to work before we closed the store.

I was on the track team in high school but that was because I wanted to become the next Charles Austin as a high jumper. I never did high jump above the junior varsity team, but I did run the 800, 1600, and the 3200 (once). I was not a fan of running in an oval. Because of my dislike of running on a track I never envisioned myself as a distance runner and I laughed at the idea of me ever running a marathon.

There was absolutely nothing on this trail race that reminded me of being on an oval track. Every step took me to a new place that I had not been with the exception of the few times I had to back track because I got lost. Yes, I got lost 3 times that I know of during the race. My 6.2 miles ended up being 8.49 miles according to Strava. I never got upset about getting lost because honestly I wouldn’t have been out there if I didn’t love running. I thought quite a bit about getting lost before the race so I am not shocked that it happened. I never got lost on an oval track but I also can not recall a time where I felt free between the stripes on a track.

I started running the roads of San Angelo, TX when COVID-19 hit in March. I felt so free taking off and running somewhere, anywhere, nowhere. I started with just a mile every other day or two. The next thing I knew I started having 4-5 mile days and then a 9 mile day in August. My life had changed forever! Not only was I now in pursuit of a marathon, I became obsessed with the idea of completing an ultra marathon! 100 miles in 24 hours.

While I was on the trail watching out for rocks I thought about Scott Jurek’s story from when he set the FKT record on the Appalachian Trail. I thought about natures beauty that surrounded him that he did not get to fully take in because he was on a mission to get through fast. I can read his book “North” a dozen times but I did not fully understand it until I’ve lived it. Middle Concho Park is not the Appalachian Trail but there was so much more I wanted to explore there. I could spend several days there taking in the beauty of the park.

I completed the trail race and I did make it back to work before the store closed. I did grab a shower before I went back because I was pretty disgusting. I did however forget to grab some food before I got back to work. I found myself getting a headache and realized I needed food. I thought of Dean Karnazes and his story of eating a whole pizza in hand while running an ultra marathon (UltraMarathon Man). As I sat there with my slices of pizza I reflected on how amazing the human body is and how we don’t have a clue what it is capable of.

I’ll be back to the park. I’ll do more of my training runs on the trails there. Most likely my easy run days where I’m not worried about pace, just putting in the hours on my feet.