Tell us a little about yourself not necessarily related to running: age, where born, education, area you live in, etc.....
I'm a very young 51 year old man - born in Belleville Illinois and I currently live in South-Central Kentucky in a town called Bowling Green
What is your profession?
Whatever pays money or I currently work for TPM which is an environmental solutions company
How did you start running and what prompted you to do so?
I started running 8 years ago, my children's school was raising money for a playground and hosted a 5k. I signed up to run it not knowing how far that was and also not training for it as i assumed it couldn't be that far or that hard. Turned out I was incorrect and was beaten by nearly everyone and ran that in a blazing 38 minutes
How long have you been running?
8 years
Did you participate in any other sports over the years?
No I was a band geek back in the day and was never really any good at sports even though I really love baseball but only played one year as a kid as I wasn't very good at it
Did you run in grade school, High School or College?
I ran the mile in Jr. High School in Belleville Illinois, but want really committed to it, it was just something to do sometimes
So we get an idea of where you have been with running can you share your PR’s for: 5K, 10K marathon and any other distance you may have run in the past.
- 5k - 21:59
- 10k - 46:21
- 1/2 Marathon - 1:47
- Marathon is ugly at 5 hours flat
- 50 miles - 10 hours 20 minutes
- 100 mile - 26 hours and 51 minutes maybe
What is your most memorable race or races and share a little about at least one of them?
Last year, 2017, I ran my first 50 miler and also my first 100 miler and both are memorable for different reasons. My 50 miler was memorable not just because it was my first but also because I got lost and ended up running 55 miles and still beat the cutoffs. The 100 miler was amazing because of all the friends that came and helped me finish that race and also because I ran a lot of that race with Karen Jackson who is an amazing runner that runs all her races in luna sandals
Do you have a favorite workout you do?
I really enjoy the long run. I like to think I'm a pretty good grinder, also hill repeats are another favorite workout that really helps me become a better runner also
How about a favorite route you like to run?
I really don't have a favorite route, all of my favorite routes have the word trail in them!
What is your favorite distance to run and race?
Even though I've only run 1 100 miler to date I would have to say thats my current favorite distance. There are so many variables that can, and will, happen to you during a 100 miler. Also, you have time to recover from a bad stretch in the 100 where in shorter distances you do not
What is your current favorite trail running shoe? How about a road running shoes?
OK, so its impossible to pick one trail shoe as it depends on the terrain and distance, my current go to shoes would be the Altra Olympus and the Salomon XA elevate. If you see me on the road I'm running in the Altra Escalante for every run its an amazing shoe
Do you have any long-range plans?
Leadville 100 is my current goal race, other plans are to run across the smoky mountains and also run the presidential traverse
What do you like best about living and running in KY?
I definitely like that we have all the seasons though summer is my least favorite as I melt in the heat.
What do you struggle with most with regards to running?
Heat and not just heat that oppressive heat with the sun beating down on you taking your legs out from under you, the other struggle I guess would be balance, I like to run a lot and often
What do you see as a trend in running?
Ultra running events are on the rise, there are so many choices these days for running crazy long distances
Being one of the hosts of the Southeastern Trail Runners Podcast, what prompted you to start a podcast?
We started the podcast in order to shed light on trail running in the southeast, all of the media coverage is focused on the big races out west and in Europe
What has been the best thing about doing the Southeastern Trail Runners Podcast?
The people you meet that recognize your voice from the podcast is a pretty neat thing, also we have met so many amazing people from elite athletes to race directors to coaches its an incredible community
If you had one, well maybe two or three, things to say those that are running to encourage them what would it be?
Don't quit it gets better, get off the road and find some trails to run, find a slower runner to run your long runs with and find a faster runner to run some tempo runs with
Do you have a website or other social media site you would like to share?
We are on:
- YouTube
- Southeastern Trail Runner Podcast
- Just search for southeastern Trailrunner and chances are you'll find us
Any closing comments?
The ultra and trail running community is second to none immerse yourself in it and give back to it! You will meet so many cool and different people that will inspire you to do things you once thought were impossible
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