Well, I have made the decision to make it official. Let this be the first entry regarding my road to ultramarathon running.

Back in March of this year I decided to get back into running after a nearly 15 year hiatus from competitive running. Originally my goal was to qualify for the Boston Marathon within my first year back. I based my training and mileage build up on just that. The plan was to run a 5K in July, a 10K in August, a Half-Marathon in September, and my goal Marathon in January.

During my mileage build up, I reached 12 miles on my long runs, and it just seemed easy. On July 4th while in Las Vegas for a wedding, I decided to run Red Rock Canyon. Unfortunately, I was ill prepared for this run. I had eaten a few doughnut holes, an energy bar, and a couple of handfuls of trail mix for breakfast. Initially, I thought the loop was 10 miles. Later, upon leaving for the canyon, the valet at the hotel told me it was 13, and I thought, "ok, I got this. I am already running 12." Upon arriving at the canyon, I did my normal stretches, topped off my 16oz water bottle, and headed out. The road began uphill, and continued on a constant grade for 5 miles. At the top I spoke to a triathlete that had given me some words of encouragement on the way up. He said if I made it this far, the rest of the loop shouldn't be too bad. As I looked down at the valley, I thought, "ok, piece of cake, its mostly down hill and only 8 miles." So I started off down the road with about 7 ounces of water left in my bottle. As I continued on my journey, it began to get hot. The road rolled much more than I expected and the hills began to wear on me. By mile 10, I was out of water and beginning to bonk. At mile 12, I was completely out of fuel and walking/running. My hope was that I only had 1 mile to go. When I rounded the next bend, I saw the road.....the only problem, I could not see where I parked. My heart sank and I began to pray. Shortly after this discouraging sight God answered; a 4runner passed, stopped, and began reversing. They pulled up next to me and offered a bottle of water to me (I guess I really looked bad). I graciously accepted. I had thought about asking for a ride, but decided to finish what I started. At the 13 mile mark, a tour bus rolled up. The driver asked if I needed any water, but now I had a full bottle. She said they saw me from the beginning and the group in the bus did not think I would make it, but she said she knew I would. She said they were all amazed to see me there. She also asked if I had been in the military to do something like that to which I said "no, I just like to run." This was a huge encouragement and helped me get back to the car. Little did I know, that from the road to my car was another 2 miles! End of it all, I ran 14 miles and walked a grand total of 1 mile in about 2 hours. 

With the above experience, why on earth would I want to run farther? The answer; "I just like to run!"

Over the next several months, for those who are interested, I will be documenting my road to running an ultramarathon. From the cramps to injuries, to blisters, to victories over distances, it will all be here.

The reason for this blog?

I hope to encourage others to get out there and challenge themselves. Whether it be in running, other sports, or a life goal, I believe it is never too late to start.