Over the last decade, my life has gone through some major trauma. A divorce, my kids living somewhere else, a layoff, moving to San Diego and three different apartments. I was short of money, lonely, depressed and saw no future. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

The only thing I had that remained consistent was my running. It kept me calm, raised my spirits, raised my confidence and, considering I probably would have chased my ex-wife with an ax, kept me out of jail. As life became tougher, I just ran longer and trained harder. And my races became more extreme.

I the first post, I talked about some great races and what they meant to me. But they were only transitional races. The real ones were coming. The ones that changed my life and made me into something I never though I would be.

Here they are.

 Run de Vous

I ran this with a friend from work (Chad) who had never run a a marathon before, much less, an ultra. It was a 50 mile race is Morgan Hill (just south of San Jose). It was a brutal race. I did great for the first 40 miles and wasn’t sure my friend would finish. By the end, I was dying and he got his second wind. We finished together though Chad could have finished a lap ahead of me.

I met some great people there and the course still holds a special place in my heart. I try to run there whenever I can. The moment we finished the race, we both knew this was the course we would do our first hundred three month later.

Run d’ Amore

This was the first 100 mile that Chad and I did. And no matter how much you prepare, how much you read about it or how much you plan there is no way to be prepared.

The first 60 miles were great. I had some vegan soup that was fantastic. I learned the benefits of coconut water (though I think it tastes terrible by itself).

After 60 miles, things went downhill. It got dark and cold (the temperature went down to 28 degrees). I started hallucinating. Tables were jumping in front of me, plants were dancing, trees were having sex and some bear thing kept jumping on the trail. Thank God I knew I was hallucinating or I might have flipped out.

At around 4 AM (86 miles into the race), Chad and I needed sleep. We slept in his car with the heat on. He drives a little Honda (you can imagine how comfortable that was). When we woke, we were sore, stiff, chaffed and exhausted. But the sun was coming out. We started our last 14 miles. We walked a couple of laps. I remember Chad complaining and I was very short in patience. I went on and ran.

The last two laps were brutal but I finished. I don’t remember finishing but the buckle proved I did.

Razorback 100K

Again in Morgan Hill. I did this one because I wanted to. I wanted to do the 100 mile but Sarah had her championship basketball game the next day.

It was a good race but I hurt my knee and the last 6 miles were brutal. I finished, drank coffee, got in my car and started the 7 hour trip home.

Big mistake. I stopped after 6 hours and slept. I’m actually surprised I survived. I got home at 6 AM, caught 2 hours of sleep showered and went to my daughter’s game.

I’m glad I made it. Sarah’s team won and Sarah played great.

I had also completed the ultra Grand Slam in only nine months (50K, 50 Mile, 100K, 100 mile).

 Nanny Goat 100

To this point of my life, I could say I finished every race I started.

To this point.

This race was special because I ran with Nikki and Jeremy. This was Nikki’s second race and a complete surprise. I bought her entry. She had no idea. It was Jeremy’s first ultra also. But, being a former Navy SEAL, I did not think he would have any issues finishing.

Nikki was a champ. At mile 18, she was in pain and wanted to stop. She even took off her number but, luckily, never took off her timing chip. She was sitting and crying about how much she hurt. Josh, her boyfriend (husband now), tried to comfort her. I was being a dick. I acknowledged she was in pain. Then I told her to put her number back on, rest some more and get her ass back on the course. She did and got through 26 miles. She will never know how proud I am of her.

Jeremy was a champ too but also a bit of a jerk. He finished 100K with horrid blisters (he wore two different type of shoes, niether broken in). When he was done, he went to sleepin his car. The next morning, we were looking for him and couldn’t find him. We thought he was hurt. Sure enough, there he comes, walking all chipper (sort of). It was actuallt quite funny.

I got through 81 miles and was done. This was the first time I did not complete a race. I got the medal and just threw it up on my display. I hate looking at it to be honest with you.

Run D’ Amore 100

Again, in Morgan Hill. Very tough but I made it and actually ran comfortably for the first time.

What made this one special was I met someone and had a very brief but torrid relationship. I now know I can still have sex after running 100 miles.

San Diego 50 Mile

Great race, beautiful trail. I had my personal best time.

Hot Chocolate 15 K

I wasn’t going to do this one, but two friends wanted me to go with them. I was glad I did. It started and ended at Petco Park. I ran with Fabiola and Aydee. We had a lot of fun and the course ran through downtown San Diego.

2015 Carlsbad Marathon

I am proud to say, I have trained someone to run a marathon and was successful. This was the first and not the last. It took me several weeks to convince my friend Nasheli that she could complete a marathon. Her boyfriend running one helped my cause. We trained for six months.

The first fifteen miles were great. No issues. In fact, you could say we were running happy. From mile 15 to 24, the course goes through a boring stretch that is on a highway and is littered with hills and no shade. This is where we began to have issues. We did not talk and Nasheli even yelled at me when I tried to give her encouragement.

By mile 24, we were happy again. The end was in sight and we both knew it. At mile 25, I took off. I wanted to finish and film Nasheli as she finished. And she did.

Running with someone during their first marathon is a very special thing. I am there when someone is doing something very difficult the first time. The joy they will feel will never be the same when they finish their second or third. I was lucky enough to do this again and hope to do it more often in the future.

That’s it for this post. I have one more to conclude this series.