Milo and the Calf

Category: Friday Inspiration

  • Friday Inspiration – Runners Talking About Running

    This one is  a different kind of Friday Inspiration. It’s a short, casual interview with of the most interesting ultra-runners out there – Anton Krupicka, Scott Jurek and Peter Balkwin.  Interesting questions, and interesting answers on why they race (or don’t race) why they run, and how to treat my personal nemesis, plantar fasciitis. I’d…

  • Friday Inspiration? Moved by the struggles of others

    The other night, bored during a six mile treadmill run, I started scrolling through so-called triathlon inspiration videos on youtube. I got mostly what you’d expect. Chris Lieto finishing Kona. An age grouper struggling to the finish line. Many of them were set to Eminem for some reason. Then I came across this one: Viewed…

  • Friday Inspiration: The Dawn Wall

    Yesterday Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgenson did what was considered impossible – they free climbed Yosemite’s Dawn Wall. Unlike most achievements in climbing, this one is actually getting some serious mainstream press attention, including numerous articles in the New York Times. It should. What Caldwell and Jorgenson did isn’t just an incredible physical feat, its…

  • Friday Inspiration — Rob Krar on Depression

    The videos I post on Fridays are often inspiring because of the physical talent and hard work they display. This video of Western States champion Rob Krar discussing his battles with depression is inspiring on a whole other level. Sure it features Krar flying past tourists as he climbs in and out of the Grand…

  • Friday Inspiration – Shalane Flanagan and the Berlin Marathon

    This coming weekend (the 28th) is the Berlin Marathon where Shalene Flanagan is going to attempt to beat the America record. If she does it, she’ll be only the second American woman, after Deena Kastor, to break 2:20. This is the second time in a year Flanagan has laid it all out there with an…

  • ,

    Friday Inspiration — The Mile

    Tomorrow, I’ll be racing the mile for the first time. I’ve no idea what to expect and for a race that take me less than seven minutes (I hope!), I’m pretty nervous. Its funny how contemporary recreational running has changed. Everyone runs a 5k, millions run marathons, but few race the mile. I’m trepidatious, but…

  • Friday Inspiration – Heinrich on Why We Run

    It is fair to say that I’m obsessed with Bernd Heinrich. I found his book Why We Run: A Natural History to be both rigorous and moving and his lifetime commitment to running to be inspiring. Heinrich is going to be a presence on this blog for a while to come, so get used to it…

  • Friday Inspiration – Kai Lightner and a Mother’s Love

    Ok, maybe its because I’m a parent now (or maybe not) but something about this film of teenage climbing phenom Kai Lightner and his incredibly supportive mother really struck a chord with me. Ostensibly, this is a film about Lightner’s rise in climbing, but really its about a mother son relationship. Just try to watch this…

  • Friday Inspiration – The Great New York 100 Mile Exposition Run

    I haven’t run an ultra-marathon (yet!) but I’m fascinated by the sport. Through the years that I’ve followed it, the coverage and interest has become more focused on races in the big mountains of the American West and Europe with east coast races getting very little attention. Races like Hardrock and UTMB are incredible in…

  • ,

    Hardrock

    The Hardrock 100 is widely considered one of, if not the, hardest 100 mile race in the United States. It is surely the most beautiful and also wonderfully eccentric.  Organized by a bunch of rocket scientists (seriously) and mountain weirdos, entry is determined through a complex lottery that rewards those who have finished the race…