In July 2017, I joined a group hoping to get into the Big Sur marathon via team lottery. Since they needed people and I was already preparing for the Pikes Peak marathon, it seemed like a harmless idea at the time. I even signed my husband up thinking that if we went, it would at least be a nice California vacation for us both. A week later, to my surprise…

I have a marathon in approximately 30 days and I’ve run less than 20 miles in the last month. While that sounds crazy and I could give you many excuses why my training is so drastically weak, the truth is that I’ve rarely been prepared for any long race I’ve attempted over the years. Is it because I’m lazy or unmotivated? Perhaps, at times. But I believe it’s more likely due to a routine, unconscious desire to create this deficit for myself so that I am forced to continually face fear and…

I’ve watched them run down the last stretch of Ruxton Avenue for years, bloodied, battered, and sometimes limping but almost always with a big smile. Having run a few marathons myself, I usually recognize a runner’s smile once the finish line is in sight, but for these individuals, everything seems to slow down and magnify in that home stretch like none other. Their strides seem longer, the cheering louder, the colors brighter and even the thin mountain air seems denser with excitement and…

Go ahead and admit it, we’ve all done some stupid things before.  Some of you may recall childhood memories of trying to “fly” off your roof with an open umbrella to more creative endeavors as a college student powered by the sweet allure of cheap beer or even more recently as a young adult in your first…