We started our post-Seattle travels with six days in New Mexico. A running race provided the initial impetus (as usual) for this trip. Me, my brother, and our friend Alan all decided to run the Jemez 50 miler in Los Alamos. Everything else was built around that! We booked the … Continue reading
After our Boston and San Francisco trips (latter part of April), we headed back to the PNW for three weeks. We immediately headed south to Oregon where Julie ran the Eugene Marathon. We had a great time with some Team RunRun friends and were hosted by our friend Wyatt’s parents. … Continue reading
We had some change of plans and didn’t “need” to be in NorCal as we originally thought. But we had tickets booked, so we “made the best of it” and spent a week in the Bay Area! We love it here so this easily worked out for the best! Itinerary: … Continue reading
Like most stops along our journey, Boston had its ups and downs. We learned some new things to apply to future travels, we had some good times, and we had our fair share of grumblings (which we try to keep to a minimum!) Here are our highlights from Boston 2018! … Continue reading
Paavo had arguably the best week of his life! Nuff said. Itinerary: 7 nights in Raleigh, NC We were in town for the Umstead 100/50 mile races. I was running the 100 and my sister Emily was doing her first 50 miler. The entire family was showing up to support. … Continue reading
In looking back at all the locations of note on our Bellingham map, I quickly realized that the majority of our key spots were restaurants – lots of good eating! While there was more than just eating going on in our short Bellingham stay, eating was definitely one of the … Continue reading
The short: there is so much more to explore in New Zealand and we want to go back. Itinerary: 6 nights in New Zealand. 1 night near Auckland airport due to late arrival; 3 nights in Rotorua, 2 nights in Auckland We have always wanted to come to New Zealand. … Continue reading
While Australia hit it out of the park for us, connecting on all categories of interest, Bali was more of a mixed bag. And while we want to love Bali, and there are plenty of reasons to love it, there are some things that just didn’t do it for us. … Continue reading
We loved our three weeks in Australia. The entire visit here checked the boxes for us and we had a lovely holiday! Hands down one of our best trips ever. Itinerary: 1 week in Gold Coast, 1 week in Melbourne, 1 week in Sydney This has also been one of, … Continue reading
Melbourne was one of our hands down favorite cities we’ve traveled to. It checked all the boxes and felt homey to us from the moment we arrived. Some of my favorite memories that I don’t want to forget are: Paavo eating vegan gelato for dinner at Vegie Bar. It was … Continue reading
Another big life project complete – So what!? We made a “Life List” a few years ago in a search for personal meaning for our lives – heavy stuff! We had quit our jobs (early 2011), had hiked the Appalachian Trail, and were part way down the West Coast of … Continue reading
For a brief time I became the king of the bedtime routine. And while my kingdom has now become an oligarchy, with Julie and I sharing duties and power in the realm of food and sleep, I learned valuable Dad lessons during my time on top. I also had what … Continue reading
We have another guest post to share, from one of Matt’s runners, Daisy, who recently completed her first 100 mile race. We’ve also shared her White River 50 mile race report before and wanted to share yet another inspirational story, this time from her first 100 mile race. Daisy, we … Continue reading
I am more prepared for this race than for any ultra marathon I have ever raced. I’ve run hundreds of miles on the course. I have done race-specific training like never before. I’ve been running with this god-awfully heavy pack of required gear for well over a month now. I’m … Continue reading
Common question. Something that is often on our mind. Something that is rarely talked about. Money and finance. How do we do it? First, this is a topic that I’m really interested in. Second. It is a topic that we think about and are working on constantly. Lastly. It is … Continue reading
-Where did you run? – specific routes or areas Call me lame, I ran the same route both nights we were in Geneva, both times around Lake Geneva. I was also blown away by the place. Perhaps it’s because we had just spent two months in Mexico and Geneva … Continue reading
Why we needed a mailbox solution We’re traveling indefinitely. We’re in our mid-30s with a kid. In the past we often used different friends’ addresses for receiving our mail, an option we’ve never really loved because our friends inevitably had to do work in taking care of our mail for … Continue reading
-Where did you run? – specific routes or areas Retiro Park – Within a half mile of our hotel and a determining factor in which hotel we chose for our two days in Madrid. We’ve run here before and finished a marathon in this area a few years back … Continue reading
-Where did you run? – specific routes or areas Right – In the hotel zone, you’re on a narrow swath of land with only two options, right or left. I went right (toward Cancun city center) on all but one of my runs. This proved to be my favorite of … Continue reading
Book Review: Daniels’ Running Formula by Jack Daniels I know reading books makes my life better. I was recently reminded of this when reading an article about successful entrepreneurs and how much of their days are often spent reading. I am diving into reading again and I’m writing about it … Continue reading
-Where did you run? – specific routes or areas Parque 2000 – I literally ran here for all 70 miles while in Queretaro. I ran the 4+ kilometers too and from our airbnb place in the central historic district on some of the days and on others we took an … Continue reading
-Where did you run? – specific routes or areas Trails just outside of town. On day one I ran with new friend David on a 5k loop just outside of town. There was minimal climbing, but that was on purpose because he was tapering for a 100k a couple days … Continue reading
“Lets do this” the email from the race director said, capping off a wild Thursday, full of new adventure plans concocted by David and me. And while battling conflicted feelings, Julie could not help but admit that this was one of those life opportunities presenting itself to us, we just … Continue reading
-Where did you run? – specific routes or areas Chapultepec Park – This place is easy to find. Look on a map of Mexico City and you will see this huge green space on the West side of the city. There are lots of entrances and lots of parts of … Continue reading
War is a terrible thing and people fearing for their lives is awful. Last Days in Vietnam captured the feelings of the South Vietnamese during this time period and transmitted their feelings to me via this movie. Their faces were the heart of the story. Fear and desperation were clearly visible. … Continue reading
We finally watched the movie Wild. The inspiring aspect of the movie: I connected with the idea of going for a long walk, an adventure, and the outdoors to create a better life. I have never seen my hiking trips as a means of getting away from something but instead, … Continue reading
What happened? I literally went from feeling like I was “putting on a clinic” – this was the actual thought going through my mind at mile 80, to “this might be the worst suffering at a finish I can ever recall”. I haven’t even wanted to write about this, let … Continue reading
The end of the couple’s relationship, watching them both drift from each other and to someone else was the most impactful and meaningful aspect of this movie for me. I felt sad and upset, even though I understood how and why it happened. I wanted someone to be there to … Continue reading
We have three published books about hiking (Julie has done nearly all the work on making these books happen). They’ve all been for sale for at least 18 months. We’ve had thousands of copies downloaded. It’s been a rewarding experience in many ways. The work was largely put in on … Continue reading
I remember nearly passing out while watching my first circumcision. I remember my friend Anna accidentally stabbing herself with a needle the first time we practiced giving injections. I remember the 95 year old woman that I worked with two weeks in a row that passed away before I arrived … Continue reading
“This sucks!” “It definitely sucks!” responded Dave. We both then smiled and laughed. It wasn’t a “this is hilarious” kind of laugh, it was more of a “we’ve done everything we can and all we can do now is laugh” kind of laugh. We were more than fifty miles into … Continue reading
Relief. Excitement. Nervousness. After nine months of actively attempting to create a new human being, we were finally successful this past spring, and we were able to fully experience the range of emotions that come with this major life milestone. Julie is now 24 weeks into pregnancy with our little … Continue reading
On attempt #7, I have finally run what I believe is my most complete 100 mile race. I was running the entire time minus a few steep and rocky climbs. I didn’t bonk, I didn’t blow up, and I stayed positive throughout. There was no notorious death march. Western States … Continue reading
I’ll start with the facts of the story as I know them: 16:26.42 to complete the 100 mile course at Rocky Raccoon 2015 18th place overall, 8th male in the USATF Trail Championship race Best 100 miler I’ve raced yet. Course is five twenty mile loops on rolling, rooty, soft … Continue reading
Here is our ongoing story of our life off the trail, off the bike, and off the road. We try to keep the adventuring spirit, even in between our more adventurous adventures. Ready for Rocky Raccoon 1/29/15 Interestingly, as I type this, “One More Time” by Daft Punk is … Continue reading
Wow. I got worked by the Run Rabbit Run 100 miler. I’m really happy with the results. I know I can race in the mountains now and given a few simple twists of fate, I think I can and should be much more competitive in years to come in mountain … Continue reading
It’s my birthday today, and strangely, I’m at home in my living room, and not on a trail or out adventuring. For the past three birthdays I’ve had the good fortune of being in the midst of unique life adventures, and this year, we missed the mark by a day. … Continue reading
This season I’ve moved away from tracking my training on urbyville and have instead begun using a Google Docs spreadsheet to log my miles. I’ve included the link here for anyone interested in following my training. I’ve also left the spreadsheet open for comments, should someone be so inclined. … Continue reading
Here are some of the changes/improvements my racing strategies for ultra distance trail races have undergone this past season. It’s a constant game of minimizing suffering, maximizing performance, and setting myself up to get the most from my abilities on race day. I’m sure there will be plenty more changes, … Continue reading
The Fat Dog race had a homey, low key vibe that was ideal for what I was looking for. Waiting in the bathroom line before the start of the 70 miler a local who had run the race in a previous year said that the people that come to this … Continue reading
My White River 50 race results made perfect logical sense to me, but I still felt like crying as I neared the road at Buck Creek near the finish line. I mustered a smile, I kept running, felt the emotions swell up again, and kept pushing toward the line for … Continue reading
Our first co-authored book about our adventures has been published! A Long Way From Nowhere: A Couple’s Journey on the Continental Divide Trail has made it through the writing and editing phases and is now available for purchase on Amazon in ebook and paperback. In the book we tell the … Continue reading
Wired is hiking the AT this summer and if you have an ounce of interest in hiking a trail or living vicariously through someone that is hiking a trail, then follow her on her blog www.walkingwithwired.com. While I would love to be thru-hiking this summer, it’s not in the … Continue reading
After taking a few days to regroup and recover from the Gorge Waterfall 100k, it is time to reflect on the experience and as I do, numbers flood my head. Here are the eleven most memorable numbers from this uniquely brutal race: 1:45(am): The time we had to wake up … Continue reading
A curious guy walking around Green Lake asked me, “What are you all doing? I see you wearing race bibs, what’s going on?” I excitedly told him that it was Dizzy Daze and that whoever ran the most laps (3.2 miles each lap) around the lake in 12 hours was … Continue reading
After dealing with injury after injury, going to doctors, and taking time off I’m trying a new tactic and simply getting back at it. I’m not fully healed but it’s time to start going again with hope that my sore spots will gradually go away as I get back into a normal … Continue reading
Training has been an absolute train wreck since mid-January when my lower leg issues started. I’ve tried to be proactive throughout, staying on top of the injuries and diagnosing them as well as I can. I rested for two weeks before RR100 and had MRIs done on my left leg/foot … Continue reading
2/19/14: 40 minutes Easy Run Ran with a group from Seven Hills at 7pm around Magnolia. It was a Pearl Izumi demo night so everyone was running in PI’s. My left foot is still hurting but is gradually getting better. My foot is currently its best on hard, even surfaces. I got … Continue reading
The weekend really was a good experience and I’m so glad we were able to be part of the Rocky Raccoon 100 in Huntsville, Texas once again. It does indeed suck to DNF and to not finish what I started. However, this was a good experience for me and … Continue reading
All was moving along swimmingly leading up to my first 100 miler since the CDT hike. I won both of my recent local 50ks and I had a solid showing at the Seattle Marathon in December. Then the mystery pain started. Two weeks ago on a Sunday afternoon after an … Continue reading
