Still playin with some edits! I’m a little limited with the free version of Davinci so I may need to invest in the full version to actually make my visions a reality! I promise all the videos won’t be @acg lol. Unless…🙄
Getting some practice with edits! This is reel 1 of 3 that I’m working on plus I have a YouTube video in the works! Just trying to get better so you know what they say, practice makes perfect!
A little ACG ASMR
I’m in love with this blue colorway of the ACG Ultrafly! The only color I would have loved more is white, but they didn’t have that at the Nike Company store. I had the original Ultrafly and was a big fan of that shoe so I’m excited to get these out on the trails and see how they perform.
Gorge Waterfalls 50k - 4:43:16, 25th place
I opened my trail season this past weekend in Oregon. The lush unrelenting trails of the Columbia River Gorge were everything I had hoped they’d be. The trails precariously placed such that with one wrong step I’d have to be scraped off the tops of the trees below. Slick steps aplenty as I scrambled my way over roots and rocks covered in morning mist and ancient moss.
The course never lets you rest, always twisting and turning and tumbling this way or that. We wind our way around waterfalls crashing from great heights as they continue to carve the gorge till times end. The majority of my race spent in solitude, only for that distance between fellow runners to be exaggerated by the endless meandering of the trails.
In the end, I missed my A-Goal by 13 minutes. I lost this time in the last 10 miles. Though I did my best to keep up with my carb intake, under fueling was the reason for that lost time as I found myself with low energy and not able to push that final section. Fortunately this was one of just a few failures from this race and it will be something I can learn from and practice better for future races.
Thanks to @gdorn.dpt and @golden.endurance for getting me in such good shape! I made it to the start line healthy and ready to race! I’m excited for what the rest of the year has in store as I prepare for longer and more challenging races!
Shoutout to @hyperlyteliquidperformance for all the fuel! I’ll need to put in some extra fueling practice for the 100k coming up! Big mountain days = big carbs😝
📸: @jamesholk
After spending the “winter” racing on the roads I’m excited to be toeing the line on the trails tomorrow! I’ll be running the Gorge Waterfalls 50k in Oregon on Sunday morning.
Since the revival of this race by @daybreakracing and @runfreetrail , I have had this one high on my list of races to participate in. The last time that I visited this area was back in 2015 with my sister @explorewithvalydia ! The background of my phone has been Multnomah Falls ever since, so it’s cool to know I’ll be running past that same spot tomorrow!
Huge shout out to my coach @gdorn.dpt with @golden.endurance for getting me in such good shape over the winter! I’m feeling fit and ready to run fast. How fast you may ask? I guess we will just have to find out!
And another huge thank you to @hyperlyteliquidperformance for keeping me fueled all winter! I’ll be using H1 and H1C to fuel my race tomorrow!
Also thanks to @jchapell for yet another great photo!
I was really hoping to finish off the final race of the COPS winter series with a bang, but unfortunately it went out with a whimper.
I lined up expecting to race the entire 90 minutes with Patty. I planned out the splits beforehand and knew if we ran 5:50 pace we would get exactly 11 loops for 15.4 miles. Our first mile clicked off on my watch and it said 5:50. Sweet, we are right on pace. Only, this did not feel like how I felt during the 15k two weeks prior. For that race I averaged 5:51 pace by myself and I felt like I could keep going after the finish. So you can see where my confidence would come from for holding 5:50 pace for 90 minutes.
After that first mile I could already tell my body was not on my side. The pace that felt strong and smooth two weeks ago now felt like a maximal effort. Not even one lap into the race I was already falling back from Patty. As I struggled to hold on to an ever slowing pace, I knew this would be about getting to the finish line. Being a 90 minute race, and only being 10 minutes in, this meant a suffer fest for 80 more minutes.
I can’t recall a time that I’ve felt the way I did. It was as if I was sick, running in quick sand, and had cinder blocks strapped to my back. This bizarre fatigue got worse with every lap. By the end, what would normally be a very easy day pace for me, was instead the most effort I could muster from my body.
Though I’m not entirely sure what the cause was, I still am happy to have finished up this fun winter series. I joined it to build fitness for my Spring, Summer, and Fall ultras. Now with the final race in the rearview, my next race is just around the corner. I’m excited to line up for @daybreakracing Gorge Waterfalls 50k in just about 3 weeks time. Time to finish up this last bit of training!
Thanks to Coach Gabe from @golden.endurance for the great series and for your continued support of my ultra training! Big things for 2026!
Shoutout to @jchapell for the amazing pictures from the series!
Skijoring, Leadville - 2026
Sunday I spent the day in Leadville. @bradmagyar and I made our way up there to watch Skijoring. This sport involves a skier being towed by a horse. The skier must grab those orange rings and hit jumps, all while hanging on to the rope that’s attached to the horse that’s pulling them at over 30 mph. Hell ya brother.
What a spectacle this is. There’s nothing I love more than cowboy culture. I’m intrigued by their lifestyle, to say the least. And I grew up watching the X-Games, absorbing the stoke of those extreme sports, including skiing. To have the opportunity to witness these two worlds collide in such a spectacular way brings me such joy. You know what’s really interesting about Skijoring? They’ve been doing it for over 100 years. This isn’t something new. So cool.
Anywho, I hope you like some of these pics.
Opened up my 2026 season with race 1 of 6 in the COPS series! I don’t race 5ks often so this was a fun little test of fitness! After some chatting with Coach Gabe I knew my goal coming in would be to position myself to compete for the podium. I found myself at the front right from the gun and quickly took the lead solo, though I knew I had a pack close behind. The first mile clicked off at 5:40 which was a tad slower than I had planned on opening, but I knew it was a good opportunity to negative split the race. There was a gradual climb at this point so I put in a surge to see if I could create some separation between myself and the pack. Since this is a night race I could still see the shadows from their headlamps so I knew there was still at least one behind me. This early in the race I wasn’t ready to look back at all since I still felt fine. I start to work the flat and downhill section in the middle of the mile once again with the hopes of making a gap. By the time we start the last lap I had maybe 5 seconds of space to the chase pack. By now I know the loop pretty well so I could be a little smarter with my kick. I hear mile two beep on my watch. 5:33. With 800m to go @arients7 made his move to get back on my heels so I put in a 10 second hard surge to see if he’d stick with it. I still hear him pretty close when we turn for the final downhill into the finish so I use that to pick up the pace a little bit, still ready for a final sprint if it came to it. I ultimately closed with a 5:25 last mile and took the win in 17:03. Thanks to Adam and the other guys for pushing me and keeping it an honest effort! There is still time to join as well! Next race is a 45-minute race. Think you can beat me?😉
Amazing 📸 from: @jchapell
Shoutout to @goldenmountainrunners@golden.endurance@highpointdirectcare@hooga.house@phunbar@bprunco@unite_fitness for putting on a fun race!
The Leadville 100.
I figure it’s finally time I make a post about Leadville. I must admit that after the race I did not feel like writing another post-race essay on how things could have gone better and I trained super hard and I’ll be back for more someday.
So that’s not what this will be.
Instead, I’m going to say a couple words about all of the nice memories I have from that weekend.
Mom and Dad:
I feel lucky that my parents are willing to travel across the country, ride around in my car with no A/C in the heat of the summer, stay up for an all nighter in a place they are unfamiliar with, all just to chase me around as I walk around in the woods complaining that my legs hurt, I’m tired, I’m cold, and I want to take a nap. While my race was front and center for that weekend, I ultimately wanted my parents to be on my crew so that I could force them out of Ohio. Getting to show my parents around the place I call home was worth it all on its own, and I hope to use my races as an excuse for them to travel more in the coming years.
My crew:
Whether they believe it or not, everyone on my crew had a hand in getting me to where I am now, and that’s why I called on each of them to join me for this race. My parents always supporting me and pushing me early in my running. Greg being the one to bring me into the world of collegiate running and keeping my running journey alive. Kenny being the mutual connection and friend that lead me to meeting Justin, as well being there for my early years of ultra running in Ohio. Justin being the one to drag me into the ultra-trail running world when I needed to find a purpose the most. Coach Gabe being the one to guide me back to a solid point in my training after I burned myself out and instilling confidence in myself again. And special shout-out to Brad, a one of a kind friend who took time out of his own weekend to come up and hang out and support along the way. Seeing all of them, plus so many other friends along the way is what that race was all about….
*Continue in comments*
📸: @_kristennelson
I’m feeling a lot of emotions as I enter the final big training block for the Leadville 100.
The last time I toed the start line of a 100 mile race was in October of 2022, which I ultimately did not finish. After that disappointing day I realized I was going about my journey in the sport the wrong way. I wasn’t doing it for myself.
I decided that I would not sign up for another 100 mile race. Not until one specific requirement was met. I had to want to race 100 miles. Not because it was what everyone else was doing, or because it’s the only “true” ultramarathon distance. But because I actually wanted to do it.
I didn’t know at the time which race would bring me back to the start line to face down the challenge of covering 100 miles on foot. Or if that day would even come at all.
After that DNF in 2022, I moved to Colorado. With some of the best mountain trails at my disposal, I could easily do what I love. Run.
And so I explored my new backyard for the next two years. In those two years I made many new friends, traveled to some amazing places for trail running, and ultimately, it happened.
I wanted to race 100 miles again.
Being surrounded by so many incredible elite athletes in the sport, and even being able to call many of them my friends, I had a new fire lit under me. A motivation that I couldn’t deny.
After a serendipitous race at Silver Rush 50, I found myself with an entry into the Leadville 100 for 2025.
And it’s here.
Thanks to the help of coach @gdorn.dpt from @golden.endurance , I’m going into my final training block feeling healthy, fit, and ready to race very soon. It’s time to put in the final big mileage to get my body ready for a long day in August.
📸: Ryan
