I boarded a plane on Tuesday August 26th to travel across the world to race for 7 days in Madagascar.  It took 2 days to get there.  Over 25 hours sitting on planes!!!  Once I arrived I began to meet and bond with other racers.  Traveling in a developing country adds to the challenge.  Transportation, food, language .... are very different in Madagascar.  There is no organization, it is basically a free for all.  Many racers had to pay a bribe to get their race gear on the plane.…

I have been away for awhile because of family stuff.  It looks like a lot of great things are happening here.

 I thought I would give an update on my training for Madagascar.  This is a self supported 6 stage 7 day race in northern Madagascar.  The 1st 4 stages are 25 mile days, the 5th stage is 50 miles, and the last stage is 6 miles.  I carry everything I need for 7 days (toilet paper, food, sleeping bag, extra cloths, emergency stuff...). I have gotten my pack down to about 15 lbs.…

The Big Horn 50k was more then just a race.  We set up camp in the high mountain meadows about 20 minutes from the race start.  Here there are meadows full of wildflowers and a ton of wildlife. We saw a bear, herds of elk, deer, moose and pronghorns.  There is also incredible fly fishing for the fishermen in my family.  The race starts with a 2 mile climb and wraps around a…

Running with my 2 year old lab, Muddy, this past Saturday reminded me of the importance of not going out to fast.  When we hit the trail, Muddy took off.  He was so excited to be on the trails that he would run ahead then run back then run ahead and come back all at full speed.  This was the day after my 1/2 marathon and I was out for an easy run so I was steady and slow on the 1st hill.  20 minutes into the run I reached the top of the hill and found Muddy in a bush with his tongue hanging…