Spokes

“You are stronger than you think you are.” Said the old gentleman on stage in the gymnasium. His huge gold belt buckle reflected the dim light of the fluorescent lighting above. Standing in front of us was Ken Chlouber, the founder and 14 time finisher of the Leadville 100 Trail Race. “Don’t you dare quit! Hurt lasts a few days, the pain of quitting hurts forever”. Close to 1,000 people packed the hot stuffy gym to hear the pre-race talk and last minute instructions for the race they call the “Race Across the Sky”. With 690 people registered for the 100 mile foot-race, the vibe in the room had an aura of excitement, nervousness, and just plain “what was I thinking?” expressionless faces. I texted the athlete I was supposed to pace when I arrived. A total stranger several weeks ago, Kristina had signed up for this race as a 35 th birthday present to herself. Not sure my idea of a perfect birthday present would be paying money to suffer for 100-miles at over 10,000 feet, but to ea...

I can’t believe the week is finally here. The calendar flies by so quick at times you wonder where it all goes. The past few weeks I’ve done my best to ramp up my running mileage. Most importantly the vertical trail mileage. I know that the sections of Leadville I’ll be pacing are steep and sustained efforts. I don’t know the total elevation, but it’ll be a lot. Not much compared to the amazing feat the ‘true’ athlete will accomplish on Saturday though. I can’t even fathom running or hiking 100 miles over that terrain. My friends say that I’ll want to sign up after pacing. I doubt that. Just the fact that I’ll be running a trail marathon and that is barely over ¼ of the course is enough for me to think I don’t have the ambition to do the full hundred. We will see. There was a time when I swore that I'd never do an Ironman too. I’ve researched as much as I can. Both about the course and about pacing. I’ve had the pleasure of speaking to my athlete a few times. I’ve got my gear ...

I am running. Sometimes I feel like I’m running towards something. Or is it an illusion? Am I running towards a goal or am I running away from responsibility? Am I running to stay healthy or is an excuse that I give myself to get out of work? Why do I feel trapped in the walls of my life? Do I prefer running outside because I feel like my life is a treadmill inside? Do I feel the need to validate myself with stats? 13.1, 26, 140.6? Vert, weekly miles, finishers medals, training time. Am I filling my time with meaningless accomplishment? Am I running to avoid being fat for fear of superficial judgment? Do I run to feel better? My mind often races faster than my feet. I go run to try and catch up enough to shut it all down. Just when I get there, fear of snakes, mountain lions, bears and even moose speed things up again. I holler out a yell. Scare off the creation that sits higher than me on the food chain. Why do I hurt so much? Why do I enjoy the pain in a sick way? Why can’t I ...