My story is dedicated to my wife, Gayle who helped me get to this level in Ultra Running. She has done so much for our family while also battling an illness. She stays home with our beautiful children while I run 100’s of miles and work. She is simply AWESOME! And I love her so much! My story began on Aug, 14, 2013 why I ran my first 3 miles through my neighborhood streets. Prior to that I was never a runner of any type. With twin new born boys and a two year old daughter at home, my weight got up to 275 pounds and my diet was poor.
My mentor and ultra runner, Mike McKenna talked me into registering for my first half marathon and to train for it. On October 16th, 2013 I finished my first 13.1! Since then I have completed SEVEN 13.1’s, FOUR 26.2’s and just finished my first 50 mile ultra on October 17, 2015 in 9:52:28!!!! All this in exactly 2 years! I’ve lost 65 pounds doing this and am in the best shape of my life at age 45! I’m registered for the Ice Age 50 mile in May and will be doing at least one 100 miler in 2016 with hopes to enter the WS 100 lottery. I’m so proud of what I’ve accomplished, but couldn’t have done it without the help of my wife Gayle, my mentor Mike, my mother in-law, Anne and of course, Ultra Running Magazine!
Not only did my mentor, Mike get me to register for my first 13.1, but he also got me a subscription to your magazine and that was very valuable to my running. The stories, knowledge, inspiration, and motivation I got from your magazine was fantastic! I’m so grateful for my wife, my friend Mike and my mother in-law for helping me, words can not express how I feel. I never in my wildest dreams thought I could run a 50 mile ultra or even a 13.1 for that matter. Now I have my sights set on the WS 100! I can’t believe it! I’m so proud of what I’ve accomplished and my only regret is that I wish I would have started running a long time ago. Thanks you to everyone that helped me including Ultra Running Magazine!