Tell us a bit about yourself, where do you live, what do you do for fun, etc.
My wife, Marvel, and I live on a small ranch in Northwest Nebraska that we purchased from my uncle in 1985. We raised cattle and hay. We retired and sold our cows in 2015. Marvel had worked as a schoolteacher for 38 years. we have four absolutely awesome kids and five grandkids.
We love visiting our kids in Austin, Mesa, Colorado Springs and Gordon. The kids already have all the great trails figured out! We really enjoy biking, hiking and running on trails. The trails around our ranch are groomed every summer by the cattle we take in. I call them my 4 foot self-propelled pasture mowers. They make some great trail.
I still love cross country skiing, water skiing and hunting.
What’s your go-to running outfit?
Summer is easy shorts T-shirt, and shoes! Winters are hard the older I get the more clothes it takes!
If you could have a gigantic billboard anywhere with anything on it — metaphorically speaking, getting a message out to millions or billions — what would it say and why? It could be a few words or a paragraph. (If helpful, it can be someone else’s quote: Are there any quotes you think of often or live your life by?)
Thank God always!!
Any pre run or pre race habits?
I usually have a 2 or 3 hour drive to get to the Black Hills. I try to make it to as many trail races as I can.
I usually eat my overnight oats on the way!
What’s one of the best running related investments you’ve made?
Good quality shoes!
What’s the most memorable thing you’ve ever seen or done while on a run?
In 2020 three of my kids and I went rim to rim at the Grand Canyon. It was totally amazing!
Toughest race you’ve ever done? Why?
2022 Austin Falls ultra 25k it rained for two days before the race. The course was very muddy. Four days later, I went into urgent care in Rapid City, and got a stent in my left coronary artery.
What advice would you give to a new runner?
Listen to your body.
What, if anything, do you listen to while running?
Alan Jackson to Led Zeppelin.
What’s one running item you think is a gimmick and won’t buy?
I think I’ve already bought about every gimmick there is.
If you could go run with any living or dead historical figure, who would it be and why?
George Sheehan, Living and Running, was what got me running in 1979!