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Race Recap: Vigor Big Cottonwood Half Marathon

OH BOY! I have a lot to unpack here. A lot. In fact it might take me a while to write this recap. But, I am floored by the outcome of this race. Namely, it's my fastest time for a half marathon within the past ten years (give or take a month). Plus, it didn't go as I planned or intended (obviously more on that later). And, lastly, it's gotten me extremely excited for the upcoming months ... and year of running. I feel like I am going about this recap completely backwards, so I should just tell you my finishing time. It was 2:39:47. The first time I've been in the 2:30s since 2016. I honestly lost hope of ever seeing that kind of time again, especially after my ankle surgery and knee injury. But, here we are. Wow. Amanda, Rick and I moments before gun time of the Vigor Big Cottonwood Half. Well, okay, let me tell you a little about the race and how it perfectly went array in the best possible way. For about the past 6-8 years or so I have been a disciple of Jeff Galloway...
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Race Recap: Salt Lake City Half Marathon

There are many reasons why I love running. Well, I should say running and racing. They're very much two different things in my book. Running is the journey. It's the embodiment of adventure, ambition, goals and just ... life. Racing are the short stories or chapters that capture the intangibles of those ambitions, goals and whys.  I love lining up at races because to me they are each blank chapters ready to be written. I know that sounds disgustingly poetic and I suppose it is. But, I love how each race is a blank slate. You can plan for each race, train for each race and get yourself to the start line of each race, but what you do once you cross that start line is an unknown story that only you can write. My cousin Dulci and I at the start line of the Salt Lake City Marathon. Again, all of this is disgustingly poetic.  And, all of this to say, going into this race, I didn't know how this story would enfold. I didn't have a goal outside of finishing the race besides hav...
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Running SLC

This weekend I am running the Salt Lake City Half Marathon. It's the eighth time I've done the half marathon ... and 11th time doing a race at the Salt Lake City Marathon (I did the 5K in 2011 and 10K in 2022 and 2023). I love this race. I've had a number of unique, fun and ... life changing ... experiences running it. I don't use the phrase life changing lightly here. The successive run of the 2012, 2013 and 2014 Salt Lake City Half Marathon were life changing for me. And, not necessarily in shaping my running career, but in how I process grief, bring community together and just tackle and view life. Sure, I've had a number of amazing experiences over the past few years since 2022 that I will always cherish and love. I will never be able to forget seeing MaryAnn at the finish line in 2022, we weren't married yet and just having someone there to kiss (besides my mother) brought a lot of happiness to my heart in that moment. And, then two years ago running with ...
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Saying It Out Loud...

I've debated about announcing this, let alone talking about it. Why, you may ask? Well, it's layered. But, really, I think it boils down to not wanting to fail. Not wanting to publicly state something, setting an expectation and then ... failing. Again. Yes, again . This is a goal I set in 2023, 2024 and 2025. This is a goal I wasn't going to make this year, because I thought I was done making this goal. However, after a few experiences I won't go into here ... I'm here . And, if you haven't figured out what this goal is by now it's ... running a marathon. I don't know why I am having an issue stating this goal, especially since I have previously done eleven road marathons, a handful of ultras (including one this past November) and shouldn't have a problem doing one. " Shouldn't " being the operative word here. Truth be told, it's been a decade this October since I've done my last road marathon. The time distance alone is hard ...
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Race Recap: Eggs Legs 10K

I love the Easters. No joke, it's pretty much my favorite holiday even over Christmas. Without getting too religious here it's because, well, Jesus! I don't do the Easter Bunny because it's all about Jesus! I know I said I wasn't going to get too religious, but this is my blog, so ... JESUS! JESUS! JESUS! JESUS! JESUS! But, if I was going to give you some non-religious reasons of why Easter is the best holiday ... well ... for one, Easter candy is the best holiday candy out there. I'll take Easter Peeps, jelly beans and chocolate eggs over anything that Christmas or Halloween offers.  Secondly, Easter also doesn't run into the problems that Christmastime usually does, meaning there isn't something happening every night (ie-concert, work parties, parties in general and whatnot) and you usually don't run into the issue of meeting other people's expectations. I could write volumes about that, because my biggest issue with Christmas is the conflict t...
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Running Through 2026...

Okay, before I dive into my goals for 2026, I am going to share my race schedule for the year. This is subject to change a bit, especially at the end of the year. I am planning and wanting to run a marathon and I am focusing on doing the St. George Marathon in early October. But, there are a few factors I am waiting on before I sign up. Also, yes, it's April now, but I am including the races I've done the past three months because, well, it's my blog and my OCD hates incomplete calendars.  January No Races. February 14 - SoJo Date Dash 5K ✅ March 14 - Lucky 10K ✅ 21 - SoJo Gold Rush 5K ✅ April 04  - Eggs Legs 10K 18 - SoJo Earth Day 10K 25 - Salt Lake City Half Marathon May 02  - Provo City Half Marathon 09  - Vigor Big Cottonwood Half Marathon June 06  - SoJo Summerfest 5K 13 - Drop13 Big Cottonwood Half Marathon 27 - Beaver Canyon Half Marathon July 04  - Riverton Country Mile 5K 10  - SoJo Glow Run 10K 11  - Follow the Flag 5K ...
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Welcome to The Okayest Runner

Welcome, welcome. This isn't my first foray into the blogosphere. And, quite honestly, I feel like blogging is a dying medium. Well, compared to when I started blogging around 2009, it's definitely waned in popularity when it comes to sharing one's corner of the internet because of the popularity of YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. Still. I blog, because I like to write. I don't know if I will ever do a YouTube-style vlog, more so in the realm of running. Having tried it, I am not a huge fan because it takes me out of my running mindset. Well, this is a post for another day, because my running mindset changes based on what I need... sometimes it's all fun and games (which works well for a vlog) and sometimes it's focused on a time goal or just needed solace. Plus, I've killed my share of YouTube channels, but that's a whole other story.  So, I guess the biggest question to the start of this blog is ... why? And, that's a good place to start. Well, ther...
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