Afleveringen
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I've been doing this thing almost every week for close to five years. Admittedly, I've hit a wall: I'm not running, racing or volunteering like before, and it is getting to be a challenge to find weekly guests.
So, I'm going to not force this for a couple of months, or until I have some more stories to tell.
I do this as a labor of love, so it's not like it's a job.
Meanwhile, I am ramping up the training, little by little.
I've also got another podcast on a burner that I have been kicking around for years. It will be called, "Sitting at the Kids' Table," and is about being 40, leaving behind a successful journalism career to start grad school with the hopes of teaching journalism.
This notion got a nudge when I watched (and rewatched) Netflix's great show called "Baby Reindeer," which is created and acted by the amazing Richard Gadd. Our stories are personal, but his is written with a near-perfect dramatic arc.
I am not sure if my grad-school days are close to being as compelling as that show, but I do know both come from an authentic place.
Anyway, still working out how I will do this, but it won't be boring.
Looking forward to re-joining the trail-running community, getting more stories to tell, both personal and otherwise.
Until then, thanks for listening.
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This is such a fun chat with two of my RGV friends, Coach and Hundo. They drove 38 hours straight from Mission, Texas to Marlboro, Mass. on April 11. By the 13th, they were setting up 10-foot-long interlocking barricades that weighed up to 30 pounds apiece, alongside 70-something local women.
The RGV duo were not volunteers. They were paid $350 per day to work on the course and to do operations. The days were long and hard, but memorable as they worked behind the scenes at the world's oldest annual marathon.
Mendoza, a retired high school coach from Donna High School ISD, first began working behind the scenes as a volunteer in 2019. From there, he returned each year, but as a paid worker.
Mendoza gained experience to help him direct South Texas International Marathon, a point-to-point race that goes through cities along the US-Mexico border.
Montalvo is a retired high school science and engineering teacher who coached the Sharyland High School robotics team. He is also an accomplished ultrarunner.
Here is their recount of working behind the scenes at the 128th Boston Marathon.
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Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
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Robert Gonzales ran his first 50K about a month ago.
He is 74 years old.
He had a mishap during that race that later required surgery, but he finished the race in 8:47, well ahead of others much younger.
Gonzales tells me about his running journey, with credit to his coach, Christi Myers Faulk, and his daughter, Roxanne Lockhart.
He is not ready to stop at a 50K. He now has his sights on getting a 100-mile buckle.
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I had Easter lunch with my friend, Jessica. Over the course of our conversation, we agreed to do the Wild Hare 50K in November. We also agreed to hold each other accountable in our respective training plans.
Another form of commitment is that I am signing up to be the team captain for The Flying Chanclas relay team this year at Snowdrop.
I'm looking for a few folks willing to loop around a .69-mile course for a couple of hours throughout the 55-hour event. That would likely mean you would have three shifts, or be a masochist like I was a few years back when I did the whole six hours in one stretch. Not recommended.
Anyway, follow the link above for more info and let me know if you're in. C'mon, you know you wanna.
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I reached WAAAAAY into the archives and uprooted this old gem from the early days of this podcast. This is about the relationships you make while on the trails. It's fun, short and sweet. Enjoy!
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I have talked to my fair share of gritty runners, but Lisa Tuckwood may be the grittiest.
Maybe it's her background in the Army or maybe it's just how she is, but regardless, Lisa is one tough lady.
She's always been athletic, but didn't start running races until 2015 -- three months after back surgery.
Her record speaks for itself. No DNFs, but enduring some incredible challenges.
She's got a 200-miler this month in Georgia, followed by a couple of hundos later this year.
Feel inspired. I was.
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This week, I thought it might be helpful to offer advice and tips to those who are new to trail running. You generally won't see people holding signs and cheering for you in the woods, like you might on the road. I go over things like shoes, hydration, sports watches and more. I don't cover everything, but there are some useful tidbits if you want to hit the dirt.
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After years of running at Colorado Bend State Park at night, I finally got to see it during daylight hours. It's almost more gnarly because you can see stealth rocks that catch your toes, the narrow, terrifying rock ledges and tombstone-sized rocks.
I also found new parts of the park where I'd never been. I learned that you should never ignore the race director's pre-race briefing, where they go over the details of the course. Had I listened, I would have heard about the multitude of water crossings, like seven of them (I didn't count, but someone told me this).
It was one for the books for me and reminded me of why I do this stuff: it's all about the stories. It's also about strategizing where to put your feet and, sometimes, other body parts.
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Two of my San Antonio Off-Road-Running friends joined me this week to talk about completing their first 100K (62 miles).
What sets this effort apart from others is that they tackled it under extraordinary conditions: extreme water, mud and roots.
Huntsville State Park, on a good day, is challenging with its crazy tree roots cluttering the trails.
This one sounded insane: knee-deep water in sections, wet feet and MUD.
We talk about their experiences and background.
Plus, I recount a fairly epic cold/windy 10K I signed up for on a whim and lived to talk about it.
Oh, and here is my playlist.
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Steve Carter is a Michigan-born, San Antonio-based retired Air Force veteran. He is also an accomplished cyclist and ultrarunner.We chronicle his running and cycling career, including him crewing for Kenneth Anderlitch, who spent 19 days in 2022, running across Texas.Steve has some big ultra goals coming up, along with a couple of cycling events.Oh, and he finished Rocky Raccoon 50-miler this past weekend, with an impressive 10:19 finishing time.
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Kate Motsko and I share a common conceit: we've both received the Spirit of Dan Keitz award, the highest honor bestowed by Tejas Trails. I won it in 2022 (and had no idea that it existed) and Kate got it this year. It is well-deserved.
She has a storied career as an ultrarunner but also has sustained some epic injuries along the way.
She's taken up cycling in the meanwhile and has some ambitious goals.
Last fall she was the assistant race director for the inaugural Great Springs trail race in San Marcos.
She says she enjoys volunteering at the particularly long races because she can apply her hard-earned expertise to help the runners get through the tough parts.
She has an infectious smile and upbeat attitude. You should run a Tejas race to see her in action.
In other news, my washing machine saga continues. I had lunch with my birthday-month buddy, Jessica Kestermann and offer shout-outs to a few folks who tackled the Rocky Raccoon 100 and 100K this past weekend. It was a slopfest, based on what I saw.
Kudos to anyone who tried.
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Timothy Sneed, admittedly, dealt with addiction to stimulants, off and on, for years. He is finally clean and is living away from bad influences in Kerrville, Texas. He is wicked fast on 50Ks and loves the trail scene. I cajoled him into doing the Cactus Rose 100K next year and offered to crew for him. I love that runners are so suggestible. (I should know.)
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Meg Eckert, a native of Spring, Texas, began her running career seven years ago.
In that time, she has won a number of long-distance races.
Over the New Year's weekend this year, she set the course record for female runners at the Snowdrop 55-hour event, running 100 miles in 16 hours and 6 minutes.
She went on to complete 218.87 miles in hours - another record.
The middle-school special education teacher, who now lives in Santa Fe, NM., likes a combination of road and trail races, but likes mountain trails.
She is super upbeat and generous as a runner.
Photo credit: Susan Kretschmer Leining
Snowdrop 2023-24.
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In this episode, I give a buncha shoutouts. (You might be mentioned) I give big kudos to my friend, Sara Dudzikowski, who finally got to bring home that 100-mile buckle for completing Snowdrop last week. I also shout out to Meg Eckert (who will be next week's guest), who set the 100-mile course record, course distance record (218.87 miles -- forgive my error in the podcast as I said it was 212.) She finished first overall and garnered a few other accolades. On top of all that, she is an incredibly generous and kind person.
Band of Runners gets a shoutout, too, as I hope to have Phil Parsons, an attendee at this year's camp and who just set the FKT for the Natchez trail.
I also got to participate in a cool relay event over the weekend called Resolve to Row. (Hi Alison, Danny and David!) at EnergyX Fitness I love this place and the people. It's been my sanctuary for almost a year as I have recovered from a hip injury.
My team (four people) rotated in and out until we got 10,000 meters. I love relays because you get to work as a team to achieve a goal. Three of us had never done it before and mercifully we had Coach Nicole (hi) and her expertise to guide us through.
And finally, I am getting back to the running. I will continue working out at this studio but has resolved to run more this year because I miss it. I'll be up at Bandera on Wednesday to help set up for one of the biggest races of the year and am going back on Saturday to hand out food and drink at the Equestrian aid station for a few hours.
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This was a weird year: not much running, a lot of introspection, new gym challenges, new goals and dealing with the beast known as menopause. It's not kind, ladies.
Also, re-ditched a person who was incredibly selfish and unkind in my life. I don't know why I let myself put up with this nonsense, but I saw through it and stopped it.
Anyway, hoping to run more in 2024.
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I met Angela early on in the Wild Hare 10K at Bluff Creek Ranch. The reason I met her is because I heard this gutteral voice in the woods belonging to our mutual friend, David Salazar.
She invited me to join her crew, doing an interval walk-run, which I appreciated.
She is fairly new to the trail scene, but plans to do her first 50K next year!
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Robbie has been a friend of mine for a few years. (He made a shirt that I gave to Orville Peck -- long backstory) And, he has proven that he is there for us all.
He started out as a runner at a young age and later got into ultrarunning in his 40s.
He and his significant other, Ann Ludewig, have gone on many adventures.
For him, it's all about the love of running.
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I once had a colleague from Southeastern Kentucky who was a master storyteller. She's start in one direction, veer off into left field, go to center field, then right field and manage to tie it all up by the time she got to home plate. Weird analogy, but that's kind of where this episode goes.
I talk about staying consistent in November, interval joy, road bike riding (including a spectacular tale about a crash where I zoomed downhill at 30 mph and lived to tell about it.) Oh, and there are some assorted other bits. But stay with me. I think it's worthwhile.
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I ran my favorite race yesterday -- WildHare. I just did the 10K, but ran into a bunch of friends from the San Antonio Off-Road Runners.
Later, I watched a longhorn give birth (see photo) and a marriage proposal.
It was an uplifting day after a sort of dark one.
Hip feels good, so there's that.
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I was privileged to join the Band of Runners this past weekend in Leakey, Texas, for its annual Band Camp. It is a trail running event for veterans and their families.
I was a pseudo-mentor, chronicling the event but participating in a group's activities: meal cleanup, prep, yoga, running form, running various courses/miles.
I enjoyed it so much. I met so many inspirational folks and made lifelong friends.
Again, trail-running is all about the stories. Expect to hear many, many more.
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