Originally from Pasadena, Maryland, Bob has been living in the Black Hills for almost 28 years, and loves it here. He spends his day as a ramp agent for Fedex and has a daughter Maddy, who lives with him. She is also an avid runner and participates in many of the local races. He also has a sister Mary, who lives in Hermosa.
Bob started running in 2007 after doing sag support on a bike for the Deadwood Marathon. It looked like fun and after that he was hooked. He has been a BHRC member for about 5 years and describes our group as “a great group of people”. He is a common sight at the local races both as a runner and volunteer. He also enjoys mountain biking, hunting, shooting and just being outdoors.
When asked about his training, he would rather run with a group but by running alone you can see more, such as the mountain lion that ran across the trail on the Bulldog section of the Centennial Trail. He prefers not to listen to music, but to hear what’s going on around him. His favorite distance is the 50-miler, since he finally finished one while training for Leanhorse 100.
The piece of equipment that he could not run without would have to be his watch and a hat. He also uses a running vest as needed.
Bob’s describes his pre-race ritual as “getting up early enough to get everything ready, especially before ultras. Any little thing can turn into a DNF. Preparation and training are critical. My favorite race food is hot dogs and boiled eggs, and of course Mountain Dew. My favorite ‘pig-out’ food is a quarter pounder with cheese. After sucking down gels, real food hits the spot”. His future race goals are to finish the Leanhorse 100 and volunteer at more events.
Bob prefers trail and ultra running, and when asked if he has any advice for someone who may be too intimidated to try it, his answer was “to anyone wanting to try an ultra/trail race, start with a 50k and work up. Find what gear works best for you, ask lots of questions of veteran runners and maybe crew for someone.