To be honest, I have zero self-control when someone asks, “do you want to go ride bikes and snag a beer?”. Maybe it’s the youth-like exuberance that continues to run rampant in me. Maybe it’s the desire to connect with people through sport and sweat. Maybe it’s the reward of exchanging stories and laughs over cold crafties.

​Whatever the reason, I’m increasingly inspired and stoked how the Human Powered Movement platform continues to bring people together over shared experiences. This past weekend was another perfect example. We rode bikes, we drank beer in the rain, we gave freebies away, we made new friends. It was glorious.

I recently ventured into the world of the 12-hour endurance run.  You know, the kind where you run the same loop over and over at a set start time.  For 12 hours.  For no real apparent reason. Oh, and this race also had a twist, after each loop the lap clock decreased by 9 seconds, so you have to progressively get faster to keep from being eliminated.  Admittedly, my primary motivation in signing up for this race was the t-shirt (who doesn’t want a dinosaur race shirt?) so it’s fair to say I did not fully appreciate this challenge going into it.  It seemed like a fun way to get in a long run with friends on the weekend.  (Spoiler alert I was not the last runner standing so if you’re reading this for race tips no need to read further.)

In my mind, the concept was simple … create the Southeast’s newest Adventure Race by spreading a few checkpoints across an area that is ripe with trails, greenways, historical landmarks, and a navigable river flowing straight through the middle. The simple concept that I drummed up in the fall of 2021 became a reality on April 1 & 2, 2022 and the response absolutely blew my mind.

On September 5, 2020, I bounded down a ski slope called “Caribou” at Hilltop Ski Area in Anchorage, AK to a round of applause compliments of my wife and a few random bystanders. I just completed another Half Marathon. By crossing the 13.1 mile mark that day, my goal of running a Half Marathon in all 50 states was officially complete. What started as an impromptu and random personal goal a few years out of college turned into a massive multi-year commitment. The perspective gained has permanently changed my outlook on life.