UltraRunning Mindset: Learning to Be Brave

Set a goal and go after.

Randy was an athlete in high school and college, but not specifically a runner. For a period of time he fell out of doing much physical activity, though he enjoyed hiking and rock climbing with his wife. When he was 34, he was brainstorming with his wife about a goal to work toward and she immediately said “You’ve always said you’ve wanted to run a marathon and you’ve never done one.” That wasn’t what he was expecting…or wanting to hear…but he signed up for one that was just three months away! He was running with the pacer when some others started dropping out, so the pacer gave him the pacing stick and dropped back to provide encouragement. He knows that is what kept him in the race and to this day still thinks that was the most painful experience.

Building a Community

Throughout that experience he built a community and enjoyed the connections he made. He’s not a natural marathon runner but is competitive with himself and enjoyed pushing himself to new limits. His kids were young at the time, so while he enjoyed trail running, he didn’t have the time to give that it required so instead he focused on improving his road marathon speeds. He wanted to retire from marathon running with a PR at the Boston 2020 but when it was cancelled, he moved on to the Javalina 100…is a 200 in his future?