The Loneliest Monk

In days following the Zumbro 50 I found myself immediately wanting to find my next race. Knowing that this would likely be the case I had been checking the registration for the Superior 50 each day. The race was slowly approaching the limit. I have never been to northern Minnesota and have always wanted to spend time on the Superior Hiking Trail. Needless to say I pulled the trigger on one of the few remaining spots the week following Zumbro. It was an odd feeling pushing submit on Ultra Signup. In retrospect I had no idea what I had committed myself to for Zumbro, what a time commitment it would be. The Superior 50 will be a more difficult race than Zumbro. The sinking feeling in my stomach told me that I needed to find a better way to prepare for this race. In the month leading up to Zumbro I had started to look into the training philosophy of a coach named David Roche. He is currently a coach for Andrew Skurka and he had posted a few interviews on his blog with his coach tha...

With Kelsey out of town to spend a weekend with her friends it was up to me to entertain Sylvie for the weekend. Luckily the weather could not have been better. Pancakes right away in the morning and then off to Good Earth State Park. Hard to so say who enjoyed the morning more; Dad or Sylvie!

In October of 2016 I trained for and completed my first ultra-marathon event. The Newton Hills 50k had completely changed my perception of my physical and mental boundaries and I was hungry for another challenge. I heard about the Zumbro Midnight 50 from my good friend Tyler Fluth who was considering the race himself. At that time the date of the race, April 8th, was the most appealing aspect. I would have a goal to keep me running through the South Dakota winter. 2017 Race Poster I ran in the mornings Tuesday-Friday and utilized the extra time on the weekends for my long runs. I stayed true to my mileage goals each week as I slowly built to my final blocks of 65 mile weeks. The treadmill was used sparingly for days when snow dashed any chance of a productive run as I remained stubborn in my resolve to run outside all winter. Being completely new to this type of event I purchased a 50 mile training plan for $10 from Sage running. This would be the template that I would base my ...

The first opportunity to take a trip as a couple since the birth our daughter paired with the great company of extended and immediate family. Quality time spent in a breathtaking place. Truckee 2017. Short video below.

North Platte, Sailda, Ridgway, Moab, Salt Lake City, Siverthorne, and Buena Vista all places called home for at least a night over the course of our two week road trip.

It's a long haul to the mountains from Sioux Falls, SD. Somehow over the past 4 years this drive seems to get easier each time. Guess that we are getting good at getting gone. Colorado - June 2016 below.

Nothing like a long day in the mountains to kick off my brothers bachelor party. A unique experience introducing my brother and his friends to Colorado's high places.

114 days since my last paddle. Lots of hours at the office in between. Sunday was a no alarm clock morning. Pulled out of 5505 at 5:30 am and was east bound to the Iowa side of the Big Sioux River. Head lights of the Kia proved to be just enough light to portage my kayak down to the river bank at Gitchie Manitou State Park.   Kayak and beer stashed I made way south to the Grandview bridge to wait for Tyler. Sunrise from Grandview Tyler arrived right on time at 6:30 am we promptly started our 6 mile run back to Gitchie Manitou State Park. Morning temp was brisk and a nice northern breeze pushed us back towards our point of origin.  Making it back to our stashed vessels we took a minute to catch our breaths and bundle up for the paddle. Tyler's trusted co-captain, Nicole, met up with us for this leg of the journey. We shoved off and my first paddle of 2016 was underway. Glide Below the cliffs at Good Earth Changes on the river are alwa...

With Sean taking a position as part of a Boundary Waters maintenance crew over the summer it did not seem likely that we would be able to continue our tradition of spending some time in the mountains of Colorado together. However, instead of letting this streak die we made a hasty plan to keep it alive. 60 hours, 1,650 miles, 4 breweries, and 1 14,005 foot peak. As is tradition...