PORTRAITS FROM A PRIMAL TRAIL RUNNER

     I've always been a "things happen for a reason" kind of person. Whether this holds true for anything, much less everything, actually isn't all that important to me. It's our interpretation of things in life and our individual beliefs that matter.

     With that said, having a lingering Achilles issue for the better part of the year while preparing for one of the grandest ultra-races in the country has, at times, been incredibly frustrating. Week after week of limited…

     Prior to Saturday, my last real running race, was 7 months ago. With some help from Dr. Jeff Matthews, the Achilles had been responding well and allowing me to increase my training provided that I spend just as much effort focused on recovery. With less than 70 days until Western States, my decision was this:

A) Try a 50 mile tune up now, with the risk of being undertrained, but having more time to…

     "We just passed the 100 days to go mark!" That's what I read when I opened up the most recent runner update email for the Western States Endurance Run. There are actually 89 days and counting now as I write this. Perhaps it's time to start panicking!

     A stubborn left Achilles and right hamstring haven't let me train like I'd hoped. Lately, I can't help but wonder how I will be able to survive a 100 mile race. My…

     Quirkiness, creativity, and determination are traits that I admire. They are attributes that inspire me and, more often than not, they tend to go hand in hand when it comes to feats of endurance. Of all of the unique endeavors, the Terry Fox story is probably my favorite.

     And anyone who has…

     "Last year will be tough to beat." That's how last year's resolution blog began, referring to 2011, and the same story rings true for 2012. Aside from the Burro racing thing and missing out on QuadRock due to an ankle sprain, I nailed everything on my list of "want-to-dos" and managed a couple of "never-thought-of-that-but-I'm-glad-I-did-its" as well.

    …

Footage from my monthly trips up and down Pikes in 2012. Going to try to keep the streak going in 2013...

A couple friends and I headed west recently. Here's what we found:

     One of the great things about running is the variety of talents it rewards and venues in which to display them. The differences between a road 5k and a hundred mile trail race (and the athletes who compete at these distances) are so great that it's sometimes hard to lump them together under the same "running" umbrella. Don't agree? Well the range doesn't stop there. After 3 minutes of thorough internet research, the shortest race I came across was this:…

     The streak lives on and for the tenth time this year I made it up and down America's mountain in one piece. Gone are the days where a single handheld is all that is needed for the journey.  A jacket, gloves, and a hat have become mandatory accessories now that snow and single digit temperatures are the expectation. On this go around, Scott and I climbed together enjoying the sparsely populated Barr trail on a frosty fall day. At the top, I also got to say a brief hello to Andy before…

     I have a pretty spotty memory when it comes to a lot of my childhood experiences. If I try to recall my earliest birthday, all I can come up with are vague clips of Putt-Putt or riding go-carts. And in reality, even those recollections are just memories of me watching home videos years later on what went down years ago.

     Fortunately, Sean's Cripple Creek birthday run last year helped…