10. High school XC
My love of running really started when I was little traveling with my family to my dad's marathons watching and cheering him on. However, my competitive running career began in high school. I was lucky enough to have none other than my dad coach me all four years. Life has a way of coming full circle in different ways. It was pretty cool, after having watched my dad all those years, that he was now there watching & coaching me.
9. College Running
My two years running at Clarion University in Pennsylvania were two of the most challenging, rewarding, and fun times I've had in running. My first year coach, Daniel Caulfield, who had set the 800m Irish indoor record, ranked in the top 50 IAAF World rankings, and twice runner-up at the Millrose Games, needless to say, pushed us hard. I developed a stress fracture at camp my first year before the season even started, but I recovered with rehab and pushed forward. We ran some big meets, one at Penn State against DI schools, traveled to Los Angeles as a team for spring break, saw who could eat the most bowls of cereal in the cafeteria after our weekly Sunday long runs, filled probably a 50 gallon trash bag with as much ice as we could carry from the school gym to our team house to take an ice bath after tough workouts, and volunteered at the Cook Forest half marathon. I probably had no business running in some of the meets we ran in. Looking back, we had some big talent. But at the end of the day, we all showed up, day after day, and gave it our all as a team. I can count the number of times I partied those two years on one hand. Life was running. The team was cut after my second year due to Title IX, people transferred including myself, but the friendships and memories made from the camaraderie of being on a collegiate team will last a lifetime.
8. Gate 2 8 x 2
This was another sick & twisted NEO Trail Club challenge that's just too hard to resist. This had plenty of climbs and the mental challenge of doing it once then turning right around and doing it again. It was fun completing it with my brother and the fellow NEO Trail runners out there for the annual Slim Pickins club event.
7. Turkey Trots (2008, 2009, 2011)
The Warren Kiwanas Turkey Trot held at the Kent State Trumbull campus was an annual gathering of family, friends, former teammates, coaches, local running phenoms past and present, and anyone else you could think of. It's the right of passage to eat turkey later that day. I'm not sure offhand the number of times I've run this race, but it's always a classic. It's been awhile since I've run this one so I'm hoping to get back soon.
6. URINEO 50M
This was the first time I went past the 50K distance. There's no better place I like to run than Mill Creek Park. There's plenty of scenery and landmarks to distract you from the mileage. The terrain is surprisingly technical for Ohio, so you have to watch each step especially in certain sections. This was a big mental barrier to overcome. Being a 6-loop course, there are many temptations to stop. Add in a warm log cabin filled with runners enjoying good eats for one of NEO Trail's premier events, and the last couple loops are daunting.
5. Oil Creek 100K
Finishing 50 miles at URINEO the year before gave me confidence to push it a little further in 2012. I had watched my brother and sister run at Oil Creek before and knew I'd like to enter it some year. I ran Pikes Peak Marathon a couple months prior, so I was in pretty good shape but didn't have quite the endurance training I would've liked. I battled through muscle soreness and knee pain that I hadn't felt in races before. It was a two loop course and, as it always seems to be the case in a race longer than 50K, I had to battle through thoughts of quitting. My body told my mind that it was too tired, but prior race experiences told me to weather the highs and lows that always occur during a long race. I was able to battle through all of this and earn my first buckle!
4. Pikes Peak Marathon
My dad and brother completed this race in the past, so this was one I really wanted to do. From watching my dad run in it when I was little and riding up to the top of the mountain in the cog train, I knew of the beauty this race had to offer. I trained by doing hill repeats at Firestone Metro Park, but there isn't anything in Ohio that can prepare you for the altitude. I went out to Colorado the week before and even spent a couple nights in Leadville, America's highest city. I climbed a mountain while there which actually seemed to help. I think I was on such a high out there having a blast that all the energy I spent the week prior didn't matter. I didn't expect this race to be as hard as it turned out to be. I underestimated the effect altitude has on you. However, I love downhill running so the second half of the race was great. Finally hitting pavement and crossing the finish line was a thrill, as you can tell by the photo below.
3. Boston Marathon (2008 & 2010)
The Boston Marathon is the grandaddy of all road marathons and the oldest annually held marathon in the world. I qualified for the first time at the 2007 Columbus Marathon with about a minute and a half to spare. What made it really special was that my sister also qualified at that race. I also qualified at the 2009 Cleveland Marathon with a comfier 3 minutes to spare :) Both years at Boston, I intentionally slowed down and enjoyed everything the race has to offer. As I neared the finish, the sense of accomplishment hit me both years and I got chills and a couple watery eyes.
2. Speedgoat 50K
This was a hell of a race. It's labeled the toughest 50K in the U.S. with 11k ft of climb and hitting 11k ft elevation 3 times. The difficulty of the course, the struggle I overcame due to lack of training and the fact that it was the closest I had come to DNF'ing a race, with about 5 minutes to spare at the final cutoff at mile 22, made for quite the adventure.
1. Burning River 100M
This was the culmination of all the previous events and experiences. Not much can be said without going into more detail (see race recap) to describe the highs and lows of the hundred mile distance, and even then, only so much can be conveyed without actually experiencing it first hand. The only goal for me in this race was to finish. The only time that mattered was the 30 hour cutoff. The journey I made in this race settled any running demons in me that may have existed. In a sense, it completed one of the main reasons why I run - to see how far I can push my body. After this race, I knew any crazy idea I could think up was possible if I wanted to do it. As I mentioned earlier, life has a way of coming full circle. Running does too. This completed that circle in so many ways.
The reward doesn't lie in how fast you get to the destination but in the journey itself.
