My running journey started when I moved into my office career and started walking every day to earn that wellness-plan benefit money while doing something about my kayak’s buoyant depth and having to stretch my pants out after doing the laundry. I added two minutes of running to my walks. Two years in, I met my “I made it” goal and ran the River Bank Run 25K.

After 4 years of running River Bank, I set my goal to running an extra 11 miles after the RBR. My one-and-done marathon plan was doused by late-race hail. Around that time, my sister had met Don, got talked into blogging for training for her first marathon, and told me we’d be running Grand Rapids in the fall.

Bri linked us to a Sunday running group made up of long-time Grand Rapids Marathon pacers, and they brought us up to snuff to make it happen in the fall.

The next year, we became pacers and have been helping runners ever since then to make their times while keeping some sanity through the ordeal. My only real running goal now is to keep doing it while I can and to slow down when time catches up, so I can remain in good health and mobility until late in life.

My first time on the GRM staff was unofficial. It was 2018, and Gail from our Sunday crew invited me to help her husband George do start line setup on Saturday. I like to build things, so I gave it a go.

In summer of 2021 as the world was restarting, Don asked if I would like to join staff for real. I agreed as long as I still got to pace with my sister on race day. So since then, I’ve made the questionable commitment to do two days of setup prior to running the marathon. It may catch up to me soon enough, but I love that I both play a part in making the race village a thing and that I am one of the few on staff that gets to experience the fruits of our labor.

My piece of advice for running is that every step forward is progress. No single run matters so much that you should push yourself to injury. You’re out there doing it, and all those physical and mental benefits are worth preserving for the long term. The glory of race day is like no other, but those decompressing weekday runs are essential.

When not running, I usually have a woodworking or some homeowner DIY project going, and I enjoy a whisky and some video games when I sit down for a bit before calling it a day. Even though my sister moved across the state to start her family, we get a run in almost every time she visits, and she always comes back for the Grand Rapids Marathon. Running also led me to meeting my lovely girlfriend (in a hot tub after party following a crazy January marathon relay). My favorite part about my regular running routine is going to breakfast with the crew after that Sunday morning run (and the general pass it gives for eating).