about

On January 9th, 2010, I embarked on an epic journey. With a tweet in July of 2009, a tweet that said "I think I am going to run across the country".  I started on an adventure that would not only change me, but would alter my life and everything I would do from then on, and it would change how I view the world and everything in it.

I started running on 2006 after my Daughter Brittany suggested that we sign up for a local 5k race.

I quickly fell in love with running and ran my first marathon, The Pacific Shoreline Marathon, in February of 2007. 26.2 miles proved, merely an introduction my lust for endurance sports and soon heard of a thing called Ironman. Not the movie, but the race that involves a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride and (to continue to feed my love of running) a marathon tacked onto the end. I found something that not only satisfied my fitness goals but kept me plenty busy with a ton of stats and other details to occupy my anal mind. Was it any accident that Triathletes tend to have similar personalities?

I did Ironman Arizona in April of 2008 and then realized that I had enough of SWIMMING!! Running was my sport and I wanted to do that, A LOT of that! So I started training for Ultra Marathons. I did a couple 50k's and was happy! Mostly....

I had a couple personal things happen in my life and maybe it all surfaced in a way that manifested itself in me wanting to run (metaphorically and literally) away. Perhaps I couldn't admit it then, but, hindsight is 20/20 and I can see it now.

I eventually finished my run on November 2nd, 2010, but not without a little drama and restart, in between.

It was nice to have done something that I had truly felt was impossible. But, as sure as the sun sets in the west, you cannot run away from your problems. And although I gained so much from the run, learning about myself in ways, I don't believe would have been possible without the run. I would still need to learn some things the good old fashioned hard way. Things that brought me up to the maturity level of a person half my age. Nonetheless, somehow I made it though, learning so many things about myself and in the meantime, finding a real joy, in the smallest things in life.

I am working on a book about my life and travels, which gives me a creative outlet and serves as a constant reminder of just how fortunate I have been in my life. I continue to work doing a job that I love and am able to work enough to fund my other love. Yes, I found a real passion for travel. I bought a bike and now ride, as well as run as much as possible. These trips aren't about running away anymore. They aren't about a destination, but truly about the journey. I love meeting people and seeing places. I have found a happiness that comes from truly living in the moment, and, as cliché as it sounds, "stopping to smell the roses". And I do truly believe that I have the decision I made in July of 2009 to thank for that. The moment I decided to press send, on the tweet that would change my life.