2016-08-31 - Run aware, run with care

Karen McKeachie, an old friend and amazing athlete was killed this week when she was struck by a pickup truck while out on a training ride. www.freep.com/story Tragedy is a harsh reminder of how fragile and precious life is, a brutal reality check of the risks we face every day as part of our active lifestyle. All the cool things in life seem to come with a bit of risk and danger but missing out on them can bring on stress and depression. The answer is to respect the risks, mitigate them to the best of our abilities and head out the door to live life fully.

Run, bike and swim smart,

Randy Step, a shocked, saddened, admitted obsessed runner and triathlete who suggests you avoid roads as much as possible because distracted driving has changed the game. When on the run, head to the trails, parks and woods, find a running friend, ditch the headphones, alter your routes, always run against traffic and respect the weather. On the bike, find routes with wide shoulders, ride with traffic, yield to traffic when appropriate, be predictable, stay alert at all times and don't flip off the jerks even though they deserve it. Dang.

2016-08-24 - Your own records are meant to be broken

randy ironIt's a combination of things that get us out the door and running each day. One that can fire us up big time are stories of inspiration, stories of medals won and world records being broken. It's a gift to see these larger than life people living and performing on the edge, way beyond any comfort zone. When we watch the young American, Galen Rupp, drop his pace to 4:40 per mile at mile 22 of the Olympic marathon to run with the world's best and medal in only his second marathon, or read about the American, Zack Bitter, running 7 minute pace for 100 miles for a new worlda record. It can only help us to imagine moving our edge out a bit farther than we what we thought was possible. Let the accomplishments of others give us the OK to dream a bit bigger.
 
Live, train and run without limits
 
Randy Step, an admitted obsessed runner who is in a bit of post Summer Olympic depression ... Soon to be broken, as I watch 200 brave souls line up to run 100 miles at Run Woodstock. Come join me for a soul cleansing, inspirational weekend in the woods. Perhaps volunteer, run a trail 5K or whatever, to witness the seemingly impossible, to get inspired and to dig the live performances on stage, a sure cure for the post-Olympic blues ... and a lot more. Go to runwoodstock.com and click on the volunteer or event entry tabs, dig?

PS: We have loved having a HOT, HOT summer... but we won't lie, it has been getting us excited for beautiful fall days! Join us for fall running in the apple orchards at Almar Orchards in Flushing, MI on October 2, 2016. Hard cider, running and an all you can eat pancake breakfast... we're in! runscrumpy.com