Running, work, and life

Tell someone who’s run the Barkley Fall Classic (BFC) that you’re running it, and their eyes widen, a big dumb grin spreads across their face, and they immediately get excited.

The Tahoe 200 is a 200-mile race surrounding the largest alpine lake in North America. Runners pass through aspen groves, rocky landscapes, crystal-blue lakes, dense forests, and long ridges with breathtaking views. Many say it feels like running through a painting.

The Sedona Canyons 125, often called the “half-Cocodona”, starts in Jerome, Arizona, and finishes in Flagstaff. The route winds through Sedona’s red rocks, climbs into the Coconino National Forest, and traverses remote desert trails.

Suddenly my body was dangling with only 1 arm holding the narrow ledge of a mountain cliff in the rainforest. I grabbed onto something, probably a root on the trail and skinned my index finger as I tried to support my body weight. I tried to pull myself up and couldn’t. Someone running behind me...