30 December 2014

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2014 has been an amazing year of running for me. After suffering from multiple DVTs and bilateral pulmonary emboli that were nearly fatal in late December of 2012 and spending most of 2013 recovering from reconstructive ankle surgery to fix the issue that caused the blood clots initially, I was ready to get back to running.

My return to running and racing was rather slow going in the beginning and that was painfully evident in the first two ultras of the year, my favorite local race, the Mountain Mist 50K in January and Mount Cheaha 50K in February. It would probably be more accurate to say that I covered the distance rather than actually race these events. Either way, I finished them and that gave me the confidence to get back into training and participate in races again. Now that I had been given a second chance, I had also decided to become more aware of and concerned about my overall health and fitness. That decision resulted in some serious changes in my training and diet, which produced positive results almost immediately.

As the year progressed my results started improving, resulting in my first overall wins at a couple of smaller 5K races, a local road marathon and a gnarly 35 mile ultramarathon. Along with these wins came a number of PRs over various distances throughout the year culminating in my third attempt and first finish of the Pinhoti 100 Mile Endurance Run, my first 100 miler in more than 2 years. This was my goal race and I had trained the better part of the year for it. It went nearly perfect for me as I reached my B goal finishing in under 22 hours and placing 16th overall.

This journey wouldn't have been possible without the support of my family, both in Germany and here in Huntsville as well as my awesome training buddies Jerry, James, Richard, Ed, Mike and Paul and my Pinhoti crew in particular, Cary, Jeff, Scott and Benj along with all the other cool peeps I've met, hung out and shared the trails with along the way. I ended the year completing 42 races (including 13 ultramarathons) with 6 overall wins and 9 master's wins and if everything goes according to plan, I will have run 3000 miles for the year. It has been amazing and I can't wait to continue this journey to see what adventures 2015 has in store for me.

2014 Race Results

I wish everyone a healthy, happy and adventurous New Year 2015 and I look forward to sharing the trails with all of you.

14 December 2014

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Lots of anticipation 2 minutes before the race start.
This race probably would've worked out as I had originally planned, had I not decided to take care of a bucket list item three weeks before RCM. I had just completed my big 2014 goal race, the Pinhoti 100 Miler, on the first weekend of November and was still feeling giddy when the opportunity presented itself to run the JFK 50 Miler, the oldest and largest ultramarathon in the US, just 3 weeks after Pinhoti and 3 weeks prior to RCM. Adding a 50 mile race sandwiched between a 100 miler and a marathon PR attempt is probably not a good idea, but I decided that I could not turn down the chance to run JFK, even if that meant not being properly rested and prepared to PR at RCM. There were a few experienced runners who said as much before I toed the starting line at RCM. Regardless, come race day, I would still try everything I could to achieve that elusive sub 3 hour marathon time. I had fallen just 150 seconds short 9 weeks earlier, when I ran another local marathon as a training race, so I felt that I might still be able to get it done on less than perfectly rested legs. I had stuck to easy running for the 2 weeks leading into the race, hoping that it would help my legs to recover and regain some of their "spring" in time for the marathon. However, I wouldn't know if that was the case until I actually ran the race.

US STATES WITH 100 MILE RACES COMPLETED (15)

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COUNTRIES WITH ULTRAMARATHONS COMPLETED (13)

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RACE CALENDAR

  • Mount Mitchell Heartbreaker 50M (Old Fort, NC) - March 23, 2024
  • Oak Mountain 50K (Birmingham, AL) - March 30, 2024
  • Southern States 200M (Delta, AL) April 12-16, 2024
  • Cocodona 250M (Black Canyon City, AZ) - May 6-11, 2024
  • Mohican 100M (Loudonville, OH) - June 1, 2024
  • Bighorn 100M (Dayton, WY) - June 14, 2024
  • Crazy Mountain 100M (Lennep, MT) - July 26, 2024
  • Eastern States 100M (Waterville, PA) - August 10, 2024
  • SwissPeaks 360 (Valais, Switzerland) - September 1-8, 2024
  • Indiana Trail 100M (Albion, IN) - October 12, 2024
  • Rim To River 100M (New River Gorge, WV) - November 2, 2024 (WAITLIST #99)
  • Charleston 100M (Mount Pleasant, SC) - December 27, 2024
  • The Montane Winter Spine 268M (Edale, UK) - January 12-19, 2025

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