I recently had a survey done of my health and habits.  They estimated my “health” age equivalent to be 29.5.  You know what, I feel like it too.  I am enjoying this life and the opportunities it presents. In my running life I race as hard as I can and when I can.  Recently competed in my 10th Platte River Park trail race, in a row.  Fastest time yet, by a long shot.  Good livin’ some people might call it.  I eat healthy, but not too healthy.  I am committed to physical fitness in a variety of forms, though running is easily my singular passion.  My family commitment goes without saying.  Same for working with young people in high school classroom and distance squad.

35 years old.  Father.   Teacher.  High School Coach.  Trying to keep myself a competitive runner.  I am not the only one who has struggled with the balance.  Would like to think I have managed to stay consistent despite these challenges.  Recent times I have raced (Boston 2015, Nike Regional 2015, Platte Trail Race 2016) have been almost spot on with what I was doing ten years ago.  You could argue that I underachieved back then, never met my potential.  Might be true. I never really committed to 100% running.  Could have saved me though. . .

What accounts for the steadiness of some runners and the lack thereof in others?  I suspect that there are some threads running through each of these stories.  I have been lucky to have been lucky for my most of running life.  Relatively injury free has been my rule, not my exception.  A lot has gone into that.  The little things from diet and core/stabilization work.  Sleeping as much as I can.  Not being exclusively committed to “just” running with other pursuits. Spreading the good word of running through coaching high school through the team I work with.

These kids keep me young.  They challenge me to understand running.  They inspire me to stay competitive.  I constantly seek out new experiences in the running world.  I also challenge the old me.  I am constantly trying to replace the runner I currently am.

But maybe the most important trait of my running life is passion for what running offers a person.  An unyielding belief that running is one of the most rewarding pursuits you can undergo.  Of course lots of people believe that about lots of things.  But we aren’t talking about them or those.  To have longevity in anything you engage in, you need to believe in it.  I am not saying you have passion to the point of excluding everything else, you can alway appreciate the cosmopolitan individual.  Evangelizing and living an idea (ideal?) can do wonders for how long you are able to do something.  That idea provides a focus point in a world increasingly consumed by distraction.  All that considered, this really comes down to one thing.  Love.

Then there is this to leave you with. . .