I frequently hear people pointing out someone who they feels is inspirational. It is a term that is used for people in all walks of life - political figures, social activists, scientists, business leaders. I googled inspirational people. Some are people I would admire but I am not comfortable using the label “inspirational” to describe … Continue reading My Inspiration
Inspirational Athletes
Moving Through Loss
During my training runs I spend my time thinking about all sorts of things. Most recently I have been thinking about skills I believe are important to a successful life. I googled and discovered the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and UNESCO have identified the ten most important life skills. (Apparently I wasn’t the only one … Continue reading Moving Through Loss
Gratitude for the Gift of Movement
My post about running in Queenstown, New Zealand is still a work in progress - I promise to have it ready next week. In the meantime this post from my early blogging days came to mind. I remembered it because I overheard runners during the Queenstown marathon talking about how the race was killing them. … Continue reading Gratitude for the Gift of Movement
Just Like Meb
Back in the 90s Gatorade had a commercial featuring Michael Jordan slam dunking basketballs to the song “Be Like Mike”. The commercial captured the dream of every kid playing basketball at the time - they wanted to be like Mike. I just finished reading Meb Keflezighi’s book “26 Marathons” in which he describes each … Continue reading Just Like Meb
Where to Now?
My 2018 goal was to finish my 50 State Endurance Challenge (a full or half marathon in each of the 50 states). At the start of the year I only had four states remaining on my to-run list - Iowa, South Dakota, Nebraska, and New Mexico. I completed my challenge last September. In true funatical … Continue reading Where to Now?
Hello Again
It has been a long time since I last wrote in this blog. This past weekend during my long run I met a young man who is riding his bicycle across country. Although I was in a hurry to finish my run and get out of the heat, I stopped to talk to him as … Continue reading Hello Again
Just Say No to No
Recently my husband handed me an issue of Sports Illustrated, pointed to one article and said “read this.” The article was about Jeff Glasbrenner. When Jeff was 8 years old, he lost his right leg below the knee in a farming accident. He spent 47 grueling days in the hospital during which he had 14 … Continue reading Just Say No to No
My Marathon Monk
Three years ago I read a book titled “The Marathon Monks of Mount Hiei” by John Stevens. The book focuses on the Tendai Buddhist monks who complete Kaihōgyō, 1,000 days of long distance walking, meditation, and prayer over a 7-year period. Kaihōgyō is by far more demanding than any modern-day athletic endurance event, so demanding … Continue reading My Marathon Monk
Setting Records in January
Winter is not the time of year I expect to hear about new running records. But that is exactly what happened in late January. First there is Ron Hill, a 78-year old former Olympian who lives in England. Ron was a running streaker who had run at least one mile every day. During a run … Continue reading Setting Records in January
Gratitude
This is a good time to bring back a post from 2 years ago (and give an update). Thanksgiving is this week, a time when people give thanks for many things - a home, food to eat, a job, their family and friends. For me, and probably for Kayla Montgomery, the thing I am the … Continue reading Gratitude
Adventures of a Funatical Runner 