Jeremy's Blog

While running this past weekend on Saturday, September 9, two thoughts ran through my head: In exactly 4 weeks I’ll be 13 hours into my first 100-mile race, Grindstone. Hopefully I’ll be nearing the halfway point of 50 miles as my goal is 28 hours. In exactly 3 months I’ll be running Hellgate 100k on Saturday, December 9. (Fun fact, September and December always start on the same day of the week. As my birthday is September 25, Christmas is the same day of the week. This year, it’s Monday) Needless to say, this will be the hardest 3 months of my life. 100 miles is 40 miles longer than my furthest race to date, Devil Dog 100k. Not only do I have to complete that, but Mountain Masochist (MMTR) 50-Miler is one month after that, and Hellgate 100k is one month after MMTR. I finished MMTR last year, and I have a great crew lined up for Grindstone. I’ve seen a large amount of the Hellgate 100k course as well. I find myself both excited and nervous. It’s about to be a fun (and ex

“You don’t know what you got, ‘til it’s gone” Everybody knows this phrase. And admit it, you're humming  Big Yellow Taxi by Counting Crowes.  It’s easy to take things for granted – good health, functioning electronics/technology, a driveable car. When these things malfunction, it’s when we truly realize how much we rely on them. I had a new one recently – the toilet handle. The flush was getting weaker and weaker, until one day I used the handle and it didn’t flush at all. I took the lid off the tank, and found this The white handle should connect No problem, I could pull the chain and flush the toilet. My hands need to be washed anyway, so I didn’t mind reaching in and grabbing the chain. At the beginning I didn’t mind, anyway. We contacted our leasing agency/landlords and told them about the problem. While we waited for them, it became painfully obvious how many times I use the restroom each day. Thankfully they came out and put the new handle on the toilet, m

          Labor Day weekend is an annual highlight for me. It signals the end of summer and the beginning of fall. This year I even had my first pumpkin spice latte (PSL) on Wednesday August 30 th , making fall seem even earlier. Thank you, Krispy Kreme                       If you’re a part of the Lynchburg trail running community, Labor Day weekend means one thing – Iron Mountain. Each year there are 16, 30, and 50 mile trail races that start and finish in “Trail Town USA” aka Damascus, Virginia. It is a favorite both because of price ($25 for any of the three distances) and because it showcases a lot of fun, technical trail. This year registration opened up on June 1 st and it was sold out by the end of the day June 2 nd . (Side note: RD Kevin mentioned that he might go to a lottery system for next year. Whomp) It’s roughly 3.5 hours from Lynchburg, so we all drive down sometime the day before. Friday, September 1           Last year I researched and hiked a tra