Why 100+?

Funny you should ask.

I have always dreamed of leaving the shackles of the working world behind to become an adventurer of sorts.  The problem was I never knew how, and always thought that I would never be able to do something so grand as the people I had read about.  The reason why I love the longer events is that I don't want the adventure to end because it is the adventure that makes me feel whole.  I remember a few years ago when Chuck and Robin needed a replacement teammate for the Goomna adventure race.  Robin had sent out an email to the Metro Tri Club members saying that the first to respond was in.  Luckily I happened to check my email at the right moment and thought "sweet!" because I had been wanting to try adventure racing for a while and figured this would be a great way in.  I didn't respond right away though.  I had doubts, I barely knew robin at the time, and I had never met Chuck.  I didn't know how fast they were, I didn't want to hold them back, and so on.  Finally I decided that if I didn't get on board I was a fool.  I emailed Robin and I was in.  It turned out to be a really great decision, one that would ultimately lead me down the path that I currently on.  Together we have had some great adventures and the future will bring even more.

Chuck and I had planned on racing the MR340 this year but it was cancelled.  We spent a lot of time paddling, and somehow in my Internet searching for paddling I came across Dave Cornthwaite, who I have mentioned before.  I read his on his website and could relate to it really well.  Too well.  Dave made a change, he would skateboard across Australia.  First though to warm up he skateboarded the length of the UK.  He wasn't just going to do it though he was doing it for charity.  As he said "skateboarding with a purpose".  Since he completed the two skateboarding journeys Dave has created Expedition 1000 where he will raise money for his charities while completing journeys of 1000miles or more each using a different mode of non-motorized transport (sound familiar).  So far he has kayaked the Murray river in Australia, and is currently paddling the length of the Mississippi on a stand up paddle board.  That is how we met.  I was pretty excited about an Adventurer coming through the area.  I tracked his progress and when he got close I sent an email asking if he would mind if I joined him for a day.  He said he wouldn't mind at all.  It turned out to be a rough day of paddling with strong headwinds and a high temp of 103degrees.  All the while I was trying to figure out how I could do what Dave does.  While he has done some remarkable things he is just a person who puts his shoes on toes first just like me.  I finally figured out that I don't have to do what he does or what anyone else does.  Meaning I don't have to quit my job and become a full time adventurer (although I would still like to) in order to be happy.  I can create meaning in all of the things I do by trying to raise awareness and money for a cause that has affected my life.  And thus the 100+Project was born.

I chose the 100+ because face it 100 is an impressive number and on some "vehicles" I have in mind 100miles will be pushing me beyond my limits.  The "+" is the other side of the coin, because some of the vehicles 100miles would be relatively simple.  So 100+ leaves me with many options to work with since there is really only one guiding principle, that I travel a distance of more than 100miles.

Whenever possible I would like to complete these events with one continuous effort but there will be times when this is just not possible.  For instance I plan to paddle the length of the Illinois river by canoe sometime next year, and because of the distance involved it will take a few days.  Along the same lines I will be competing in the Missouri River 340 next year as well using my kayak.  For those of you that may be wondering, yes I plan to run a 100mile race as part of the project although I can't say when.  

There is no way, at least at this point to know how many of these I will be able to complete each year.  Currently I am limited by how much time I can be away from work.  Also the different types of training I will have to do will be a big factor.  Running 100miles takes a huge amount of time effort and focus in order to run it slowly, while the two previously mentioned paddling adventures are similar enough that they could be trained for concurrently.

I chose skateboarding for my first project as an homage to Dave since he is the one that was the catalyst that started the wheels turning in my head.  I was a skateboarder for many years until I gave it up about 6years ago so I knew it would be a good vehicle to start with since I wouldn't have a steep learning curve to deal with.

I have many adventures ahead of me and I am really looking forward to each one, especially the ones I haven't even thought of yet.

Next up I will explain why I chose to raise money for the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America St Louis Chapter.

In the meantime,

Stay safe and breathe easy!

Goomna 2011 Teaser

Just a short synopsis of the race to wet your appetite for now.  It was good that I had a helper stop by the Adventure Shed to help me clean up while I made this video.



Thanks to Mark (RD), and all of the Volunteers that made this race happen!  It's pretty awesome to have such a great and fun event right in our backyard.

Thanks For Watching!

I copied this post from Rock Racing because I was too lazy to write my own version.

Runner’s World Trail Edition Editorial

Running in the US has morphed over the years to become not only a sport for the elite but also a sport for the everyday person. It seems that it is every runner’s dream to run a marathon, and many new runners train for a half-marathon so that they can go on to run a full marathon in the future. The running craze has moved from just a short term boom to a way of life.

And as more runners adopt this way of life, many are moving from the road to the trails, looking for the next big challenge. As a runner, what do you do once you have accomplished the marathon distance? Some runners train harder to try to achieve a faster marathon time or win age-group categories. But many everyday runners don’t feel that running faster is what it’s about; instead, they feel it’s the challenge, the feeling they get when they think, “Wow, I finished a marathon.” These runners soon tire of all the road miles. They know they can do it, so they wonder, “What will be my next running accomplishment?” These are the runners who are taking on trail running.

Trail running is such a different beast from road running. It’s much more technical to run on a trail covered with dirt, mud, rocks and roots. Plus there’s the realization that at any time you could fall off a cliff and be injured or die. This might sound like it’s not that much fun, but here is where you are wrong: It is the most fun a runner can have, and it is so much more challenging than any road run. It never fails – no matter how tired, stressed or time-constrained I am, once on the trail I feel like a new person who could run for hours with little effort. The trails just bring on a peacefulness you can’t find on the road.





You wonder where I’m going with this, don’t you? Let me explain. Runner’s World, a magazine I have been reading for 30 years and love to read every month, published a special edition on trail running last month. Since trail running is one of the sports I love the most, I read the edition cover to cover, soaking in every word. When I started reading through “A Guide to America’s Top Trail Running Towns,” I was so excited to get to the St. Louis area, knowing that the Pere Marquette Endurance Trail Run (PMETR) would certainly be listed. There was no doubt in my mind that it would be there because it is one of the premier trails races in the Midwest – of course it would be listed.

I know this little editorial may seem self-serving, or maybe it sounds like my pride has been hurt, since I am the Vice President of the Metro Tri Club, which has put this race on for the last 22 years. It could be a little of that, but really think about it. This year will be the 23rd year for the Pere Marquette Endurance Trail Run. The run started in 1989 and has never been cancelled due to weather conditions. Its motto is “No Wimps, No Whiners.” It is known as the toughest trail run in the Midwest and has been run in freezing temps (5 degrees Fahrenheit once), rain, ice, snow, wind and mud, the latter of which was the issue in the 2010 race. Mud so deep it sucked off shoes, so slick that runners slid down the descents on their butts. But this is the most fun a runner can have in the middle of December in the Midwest. Entry in this race is so coveted that it sells over 600 slots, fills in less than 10 hours and has a waiting list of hundreds who hope to get a slot. To top it off, the club holds 25 spots for servicemen and women who may be deployed and aren’t able to enter in time to get a slot, and every year we fill many of those slots with those who make it possible for us to have the freedom to run this race.





So, as you read this are you asking yourself the same question I’m pondering: “Why wouldn’t the Pere Marquette Endurance Trail Run be mentioned in the trail running edition of Runner’s World?”

Runner’s World mentioned some of the local trail runs, and I have competed in two of the three listed. They are fantastic events and deserve to be on the list, but none has been in existence for as long as PMETR has been, none is discussed in the running circle to the extent that PMETR is. PMETR is the run that everyone wants to do but that many people are afraid to do because they have heard how tough the course is. Yet if you ask any trail runner in the area what the most popular and well-known trail run in the Midwest is, they will say PMETR. They will also tell you that they will get up at midnight when registration opens to register before the race fills. I can tell you this: I was at the CheckPoint Tracker National Adventure race in Moab, Utah, last October, and I saw a person wearing a PMETR wind shirt. Just last month I was at the Land between the Lakes Adventure race in Kentucky and saw multiple people wearing the PMETR vest from two years ago. There have also been sightings by other MTC members in the Seattle-Tacoma airport, Colorado and Utah. This shows how popular the race is.

I think the only thing left for us to do as a trail running society is to lobby for a PMETR cover story in an upcoming edition of Runner’s World. I’m in. Are you? If you agree with me, then go to the Pere Marquette Endurance Trail Run to grace the cover of Runner's World Facebook page and like our page. Let’s get a Runner’s World cover for the Pere Marquette Endurance Trail Run.