Gonzo Runner

Back in the day I was an altar boy. One of the priests, Fr. Kevin, was a heavy smoker. Anytime we had a funeral or other occasion for incense, he'd always go WAY overboard and we'd have to leave the church doors open for a while after mass to help air it out. One of the other altar boys was complaining about this after a funeral we served while we were outside waiting for the hearse to pull away and Fr. Kevin overheard him. He looked at us and said "You know how they teach you that your body is a temple?" We nodded. He motioned back at the church door with wisps of incense escaping and said "W

I gotta be honest, he's pretty easy going as far as kids go. It's not easy of course, but he sleeps and eats well and is a pretty happy kid. Which I guess means he'll be the leader of an auto theft ring in high school or something, but I'll deal with that when it comes.

Nice deep cut there with the hissing cars, had me dusting off that album. I recently discovered a tarmac track nearby also, excited to check it out.

Twisted Dune! I played there on my bachelor party and am told I enjoyed it. I don't miss the spring weather down the shore, makes the running all the more impressive.

I remember the day well. My normal route at the time took me along the bike path for a bit then out to the water before turning back past the kid’s amusement park along the Keansburg boardwalk and finally wound its way through the meth soaked part of town on the way home. On this day though, I was stretching it out. I was taking a few extra turns through the neighborhood to get an extra mile in and make it my first longest run ever. To this point my running was a consistent 3 mile loop in cotton sweats and the socks and undershirt I wore to work. My last cigarette was by necessity the on

UBER. Or Lyft, whatever. Driving in Atlanta is a nightmare, the drivers themselves are awful, traffic exists for idiotic reasons like "there's a pothole", and parking is awful.

Nothing like a little type two fun.

When I see plank I always think walk the plank and then I think of pirates and pirates drink rum and then I wake up the next day with a very bad headache.

You know you're a hiker when you've washed your socks in a gas station bathroom sink.

I might run 200 miles for hot Swiss raclette.

Every valley is surrounded by peaks. Hoping you get back to the top soon.

Jack / Tillie gave me NIGHTMARES as a kid. Lot warmer in Atlanta. Just saying.

I’ve always loved camping. Particularly backpacking. Putting everything you need to survive on your back and walking into the wilderness for days or weeks at a time is tremendously freeing. You’re no longer bound by calendars and emails and due dates; when your next food and shelter are not guaranteed the volume on those alarms and LED notifications is turned down considerably. And few things bring me the same joy as the horrified look on the faces of people I encounter after walking out of the woods, my unwashed state being evident to them long before they make visual contact. It’s actually o

Every time I complain about life getting in the way, I remember - "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans" (John Lennon). I've managed to get in a lot more living remembering that. I already can't wait until next year.

I opened up my Google doc and realized I still have a 3/4 written NY Marathon report I never finished. Was so much fun I won't mind reliving it a bit. Working on it.