The downside to making "running your life" is that you risk burning the candle on both ends. As with many kids growing up in the late 90's, early 2000's I was captivated by Lance Armstrong and the beauty of cycling; the mountains, the suffering, the immense challenge...Well we know how that all ended with Lance and the many dopers in the sport of cycling over the years...and truly my cycling journey died a similar tragic, albeit different death, in its own right...
Well, just as I was exiting college, I discovered a new sport- Running. Not cross-country, or track, not even the pursuit of the marathon...but Mountain, Ultra, Trail running...or MUT running for short...a beautiful, soulful expression of roaming through the landscape, on ones own two feet, with little more than the restraints of a work schedule or the next meal to hold you back from running, scrambling, crashing through nature the whole day through...it had the adventure of childhood and the challenge and toughness needed to embrace and succeed in adulthood, all wrapped up in a simple package- Have shoes, will travel. Chad introduced me, the community embraced me and I found a tribe. Beyond that, I embraced the unlikely. After soul searching through National level cycling, mountain biking, triathlon, Xterra, Nordic skiing and even cyclocross, I had found my happy place. Shorts, shoes, water bottle and GO! I was, I am, I continue to be...a Runner. But not just any runner, a MUT runner.
Winter Wild, Team AMP and Salming- I spread myself a bit too thin and drew on the edge of burnout- Something had to go. Winter Wild is Chads baby and he taught me everything he knew so I could keep it rolling. Team AMP is a vision that needed fulfillment, a tribe of athletes and friends desiring to compete and build a community of people seeking a better way of living, a healthier and deeper meaning, beyond race or training for sport, a way of living that challenged our souls and made us better people, to be the best versions of ourselves, to Inspire Active Living. So that left my career as a supported athlete...
Well, unless your name is Sage or Kilian, you are probably not making money from your sponsors. Don't get me wrong, free gear is awesome and it is a great blessing to have companies support your journeys in adventure and athletics...but it cannot be the passion that drives you. Mountain Ultra Trail running is just too fucking hard to do it for a few pictures and a free pair of kicks. It must be more; A way of living, a deep wellspring within, a passion for the future, for nature, for community, for the mountains and the valleys and the experiences that link it all together; for a series of moments that makes you pause and breathe in the value of it all- For something just out of reach, but never beyond our grasp...
The bible often talks about "First Love" as in how you first felt God's energy or how the Israelites felt crossing the Red Sea... or how you felt when you first realized you found your lover and would commit to them forever...but it also speaks about our human condition and how we so quickly forget these experiences of Love...in relationships, with divinity and with sport, we are so quick to forget...
This idea is shaping my 2018- To remember, to forget, to engage...to discover and expand upon "First Love"...after all, its just running, isn't it?? Or is it?? #Explore4Chad
Preliminary Race schedule:
April 15th Traprock 50K CT
May 12th Wapack 21.5 NH
May 20th M-S FKT attempt 48m- (GoFund me Diabetes charity)
June 16th Chocurua 25K
July-Pacing VT100- FKT attempt TBD
August 12th Ragged 50K National Champs**
Sept Breakneck trail marathon
VT 50K
Nov JFK 50
See ya out there- Happy trails!!!
Sponsors To Be Announced...
#InspireActiveLiving #WinterWild #TeamAMPactive
