Musings from the background of RR100

by Ellen Losew For the life of me, I cannot come up with any sort of clever, cutesy name for the people with whom I spent this past weekend – Rac-backers? Raccoon Crew? The 101st milers? Meh... Several of us did a short run on the trails Friday before RR100. From left, Adam Stauffer, Shane Naugher, ... More

The road to the prize

      I have this awesome pink Idiots Running Club tech shirt that says "#EyeOnThePrize" across the back. This year, the prize I have my eye on is a sub-5 time at the Bass Pro marathon, which would be a 45-minute improvement over my 2013 race. That's a big jump for anyone, but especially for a chubby grandma ... More

Motivation

"What motivates you? What REALLY motivates you?" That's an easy one. What really motivates me is.... uhhh.... errr.... well.... Could you repeat the question?This question was posed to me some time back and I have struggled with an answer. Doesn't seem that tough really. How hard can it be to give a solid, straight forward ... More

So Simple….

I could hear the music and the occasional roar of the crowd. I was close. So close. Looking at my watch in disbelief it was evident that a PR was within my grasp. I crossed the finish line of the 2013 Rocky Raccoon in 19 hours and 37 minutes. Not blazing fast in the big scheme of things but still much faster than I had run ... More

  new year – New goal

       I love the calendar turning over to a bright, shiny new year. The brand new start offers endless possibilities for new running adventures and accomplishments. For me, it's a time to reflect on what I've done, take stock of where I am,  and make new goals. I'm not big on New Year's resolutions, but I do ... More

We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Medals 

An Unofficial, Homemade Running Event This past summer we had some friends host a triathlon on a family farm with an after party to follow. It was as much fun as we ever had at any organized event. When Thanksgiving was drawing near and we had no Turkey Trot to sign up for, my wife and I decided to host our ... More

Thankful…..

I was born on Flag Day, raised with the Pledge of Allegiance and listened with pride to the stories of family members that served in World War II and Vietnam. I grew up in the 70's and 80's during the Cold War, a time when schools had routine drills for nuclear war, and I watched in relief as the Iranian Hostages were ... More

Pink tutu + magnificent mustache + highway patrolman = 15K 

By Norene Prososki       I focused on my daughter Jenny's bright orange trail shoes as we ran down the far side of the  insanely steep hill we'd just climbed. The pace was fast for me, but I was keeping up, and that felt  good. Golden sunlight streaming through the trees formed a green and amber ... More

Turn the Trail Pink 2013

It's kind of weird how things just happen. Nowhere in my "life plan" did I think that I would become a runner. Or a marathoner. Or an Ultra-runner. Or a parent. Or the son of two cancer survivors. It wasn't too long ago that I was childless, 235 lbs of happily NOT running and both parents were cancer free..... Weird how ... More

Potato Soup and Beer

  The Mark Twain 100 mile endurance race is four, twenty-five mile loops, on the Berryman Trail about an hour south of St. Louis, Missouri. This was the second year for the event and I did not know much about it other than it shared a portion of its route with the Ozark Trail 100, which I have heard was not an easy ... More