Get your kicks...off of Route 66!

Hello peeps, what up?

Seems like life gets crazier and crazier everyday. This Sunday I will run the Route 66 Marathon in Tulsa, OK. I love the fall weather and by the look of the forecast the temperature should be perfect. Somewhere between 45 and 65 degrees. AHHH....now that's good marathon weather.

Unfortunately life and death happens....My cousin Blaze passed away on Monday. At the age of 47 he was found in his home by himself deceased. I grew up with him and he was always quick with a joke and could make you smile. He also is part of the reason I like to hunt. He was one of the few people who introduced this exceptional sport to me when I was very young. No one knows why the good Lord calls us when he does; but I am certain God has an exceptional plan for Blaze and also for those of us who have been left behind to learn from Blaze's life here on earth. We will miss you Blaze!

This Saturday after the funeral I will get in my car and drive 6 hours to Tulsa. Some think I'm nuts, some think I'm crazy. Running marathons is just what I do. Running keeps me sane and provides a positive outlet for me to make everyday a better day. I thank God that I am blessed that I can run!!! Things in life seem to change so much everyday. People you meet, work that needs to be done, activities that you attend, hurdles and obstacles that arise in ever day life. My running is one thing that remains constant. Some days it is very hard to get my run in. I struggle with it but when I am finished with my run at the end of the day it seems as though God has given me just a little more peace to take into the next day.

After Tulsa I have one more marathon this year in Vegas. My brother Kyle will join me there but I will be flying solo in Oklahoma. Maybe we will hit a big jackpot in Vegas and can all retire! :) It's good to dream!!!

Don't be afraid to take risk. Don't be afraid to fall. One of the greatest gifts God has given us is the ability to dream! Listen to your heart...

Run til it's done! Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for those sparkly ones!

Catch me if you can!

KB

Share your talents and treasure your gifts!

Hello Guys and Gals,

I got 5 miles in yesterday and had my 10 mile run finished by 8:00am this morning. Even after 13 marathons I am still experimenting with my blood sugar. I have noticed the faster I run the more it accelerates my insulin in my body. Guess I will have to run slower or start eating more food before my run. :) That's what we call a win-win! :) !!!!

Yesterday was a busy Saturday. 1658 Saturdays left if I live until I am 75! :) Enjoy every one of them to the fullest! We went to Ulysses S. Grant Memorial for a Cub Scout outing that turned out to be very nice. We got to explore his old home and found out a lot of interesting facts about a very decorated war hero; not to mention our 18th President. If you ever get the chance to explore this memorial it is well worth the visit. Even an old guy like me can learn something new. We went from the Cub Scout outing to Ted Drewes(Missouri's most famous custard). I couldn't have picked a better spot myself. Even though I am a diabetic, I do let myself have a little ice cream now and then. Now you know the real reason I run!!! After Ted Drewes it was off to the pumkin patch to explore the corn maze, eat kettle corn, play on the playground equipment and of course pick out the larges pumpkin I have ever bought! After the pumpkin outing it was starting to get dark. We went by Jefferson Barracks Cemetery and saw over 30 deer roaming around in the park. The deer have become so tame that they almost walk right up to the car. I did notice someone throwing food out their window. The deer have a pretty good gig going there. It does make for some free entertainment for the kiddos!

Now when I say share your talent some people automatically think talent as in Lebron James or Tiger Woods. Doesn't have to be that at all. Reading to the elderly, talking to children about positive experiences you have had or even helping a neighbor to the store who needs a ride. We all have talents and gifts to share. Life is amazing that way. You can't give without getting so much in return. I myself need to practice that more often! It makes you feel so good I am not sure why we all don't do it more often. One of those things we need to schedule every week to do a good deed!

Keep running, keep laughing, keep giving and keep loving!!!

Catch me if you can,

KB

Rise like a phoenix!!!

I rose from the ashes!!! Hey folks! I'm back!! Sorry I been away for awhile... I took a little sabbatical but I am back and still on my mission to complete these 50 marathons in 50 states. I have successfully completed Chicago and will participate in Oklahoma in November and then off to Vegas baby in December!!!

I am loving the fall weather and it makes me really want to get out there and run. The weather has been gorgeous here in St. Louis. I bought some new sneaks and some new socks today and I am fired up and ready to finish out the year with a bang!

I have been practicing an attitude of gratitude. Whenever I am feeling down, I stop myself and immediately reflect on 5 things that I am grateful for. You see, if we realize all the wonderful things in our life and focus on what we have, we are not always trying to find things everyday that we don't have or that we wish we had. It is okay to set goals and to dream, just don't forget how blessed we are with the things already right in front of us.

"How high can you fly?", said the baby eagle to the master grandfather eagle? "As high as you want", said the master grandfather eagle. No one on this earth knows what we are capable of or how far we can stretch ourselves other than ourselves and God. Be all you desire. Don't let anyone dictate how high you can fly or how far you can run!!! You are the only one that can set limitations. Dare to dream, dare to push yourself to be above average.

Just another note; when you do something, make sure you start out doing it right. If you start off on the wrong foot, it will inevitably end up wrong. Take for example. If you cheat on a test in school; you will probably get caught, get a zero on your paper and fail the class. Nothing good can come out of starting out wrong. On the other hand, if you study hard for a while, take the test and feel good about it, get an A, you will pass the class with flying colors!!! I have come to know through much trial and error that it is always best to start out right. If you can't, then don't start!!!

I look forward to sharing many stories along my journey. I hope you will tune in from time to time to follow me on my adventure. It has been one heck of an adventure so far. I have learned many things already and I haven't even really got started. :)

Thank God for the blessings in your life. Don't be afraid to step out there and want more than other people want. Be true to yourself and be true to others!

Catch me if you can!

KB

Celebrate Today!

Hello Everyone!

Today I started off my morning with a 5 mile run. I was back at the house by 6:30am. I showered and dressed for work and was greeted by my family who had made me pancakes in the shape of the numbers 4 and 3 . Yes, today I am 43! Let's celebrate! My kids had made me wonderful cards and my wife had a card for me and also wrapped up was the jar I have been meaning to buy with 1664 marbles! If I live to 75, I have 1664 Saturdays to enjoy! Each Saturday I will throw away a marble to remind me how precious life really is and how quickly it goes by. I drove my kiddos to school along with 3 of there friends and they all sang Happy Birthday to me. What a wonderful way to start my day! As I started to think about this day I thought how we should cherish everyday as if it was just as special. My kids and I had the discussion at breakfast what would you do if today was your last day here on earth. I initiated the conversation not to be morbid but for all of us to realize how special each and everyday is for us on this earth. We should treat people with care, understanding, honesty and love. Treat everyone like it is there Birthday and you will get back more gifts then you could have ever dreamed!!!

I share a Birthday today with David Copperfield, Mickey Rourke, B.B. King and Michael Smith to name a few. Time has really flown by and I remind myself today that I need to live every moment to the fullest because you never know when the good Lord will call you to be with him. Treasure each day and treasure the friends, family and loved ones you have who make your life special.

My daughter Katie and my son Trent made me some very special Birthday cards today. On Katie's card she had drawn a big oak tree on the front of it. She had written the words, "You were born too make me stand tall , so...don't ever forget that you are loved by me!" "Dear Dad, I hope you will have a happy Birthday! If not well hopefully this will make you feel gree-at! I love you forever and always! XOXOXO Happy Birthday, Love KatieXOXOXO, P.S. Have a great day!" My son Trent had made me a card which he had drawn a picture of him and I standing under a rainbow with a sun over the top. In it he wrote Happy Birthday! It is your special day! He had another picture of me inside a big heart with many little hearts all around. He also wrote, "I hope you have the best B-day! , Love Trent." Now folks you can spend all the money in the world on presents, trips and fancy cards, but these two special gifts given to me are priceless and mean more to me than anything in the world. Hallmark couldn't come anywhere close to the special words my children have shared with me on this day!!!!

Thank you for allowing me to share my day with you! I hope all your days are special and I wish you a very happy day as well...Thank you for letting me share a piece of my world with you!

Enjoy today and make every day special!

Love with all your heart!

Keep running, keep laughing and keep loving!

KB

From this moment forward...

Happy Saturday Peoples!

We all have the ability to change our life or our situation. We have to make the decision, the commitment and then put it to action. It all starts today!!!!...From this moment forward... I will choose to be accountable for all of my actions. From this moment forward... I will choose to be a kinder, more gentle, compassionate person. From this moment forward... I will choose honesty, integrity and trust as traits that will not be compromised. From this moment forward ...I will rid my soul of jealously, bitterness, anger, rage and grudges. I will forgive others and stop waisting my life trying to get even. From this moment forward...I will live my life with more passion than ever before and go after what I want. From this moment forward...I will live a better life!!!

I ran 10 miles today and felt pretty good. I am a little off my schedule but hopefully will get back in the swing of things next week. The physical therapist I have been going to is working with me on some great stretches and also helping me with my running mechanics. I think both of these will pay huge dividends if I can be diligent in putting them into practice. Today I ate a late lunch because of some work that I had to do. I did not take any insulin purposely because I knew I would be running shortly there after. Your blood sugar should be between 80-120. When I started my run it was very high; 451! Ouch! Interestingly enough I took 2 units of insulin, had a PowerBar Gel Packet at mile 5(27carbs) and when I finish my run my blood sugar was 109. Perfect. It never ceases to amaze me what a roller coaster running and maintaining a good blood sugar seems to be. I have done a lot of running and just when I think I have it figured out, something crazy occurs that blows my entire system! I just keep, keepin' on!

Tonight I will join my cousins and my uncle for a bachelor party. My younger cousin Josh is getting married and I was cordially invited to the bachelor party. Now I will be almost twice the age of most of the guys going, but it should be great time. We are playing it safe by taking a bus out to the nightclubs and then we will all stay at a hotel at the end of the night when the bus brings us back. A song Toby Keith sings reminds me of tonight, "I'm not as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was." I'm headed out with my jeans and my boaconstrictor snake skin cowboy boots. We will definitely be kicking up some dust! I think it has been about 15 years since I was on a bachelor party! Guess I need to make up for lost time!!!!

Enjoy today, cherish tomorrow and look forward to the day after.

Love with all your heart. Be true to yourself and to others.

KB

"God is great, beer is good and people are crazy!"

Hello Earthlings!

Some of you are too young to remember the sitcom "Mork and Mindy." This was a show that Robin Williams starred in as someone from outer space who came to earth in an egg and had special powers. He used to say, "Hello Earthlings!." Special powers? Do you have any? I think we all have unique special powers. That uniqueness is our personality. We all are different: think different, act different and react to situations different. It is our personality that makes up a lot of who we are. We all have faults and we all make mistakes. We also have the ability to do good and give more than we take. I am trying to remind myself more of this everyday. To give!!!

I ran 5 miles last night when it was getting dark. It's crazy as a diabetic sometimes having to get my blood sugar up high enough to go for a run. I feel like the energizer bunny sometimes. Once I eat the right amount of food I am all wound up and then I need to go for a run!!! On my way home from my run it was very dark. I do have a fluorescent running vest I wear to make sure cars can see me in plenty of time before they get close. When I got back to my subdivision there was no traffic and at one point no street lights. There was about a 25 yard stretch where it was pitch black and I could see nothing! I trusted that the sidewalk I was running on was straight and that there was nothing laying in my path. It was really kind of weird. I remember thinking how there is so many times in our life that we need to have faith and trust in God or in other people. So many times in our life the path is taken away from us or we are misguided on the wrong path by some choices we make or some external forces that pull us in different directions. We as a society or sometimes to proud to ask for help or assistance. Sometimes we just are to afraid to make the hard decisions to do the right thing. I have seen a lot of people with addictions in my life. Maybe at one point in my life I had a few myself. The crazy thing about addictions is that there are things that make us feel like we are on top of the world but that are very bad for us. It's the very bad for us that we have a hard time realizing and that's why we can't stop. Sometimes addictions ruin peoples lives. Not just their lives but many of the people around them. Don't be afraid to ask for help and don't be afraid to pray!!!

There is a song by Matt Maher, "Jesus, my everything." I strongly recommend to listen to this song and turn the volume up loud. Even if you are not a spiritual person I am confident this song will speak to your soul. We all could use a lift from time to time and this song will LIFT you up! I believe in God and I certainly could use his hand to pull me along sometimes and also to lift me up when I am feeling down. I also could use his help to give me direction when I "can't see the path." Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZU6x9pGUo If the link doesn't work, just google the title and the artist and I am sure you can find it. I promise this is the best medicine you can take today!!!

I have a 10 mile long run this weekend and then 2 more weeks until the Omaha Marathon! Go Corn Huskers!!! My younger brother Kyle will be running with me at this race. I know he has been training although he has been sandbagging and telling me he is not in good shape. We will see if the old bull or the young bull prevails in this race! :)

We all fall off of our "horse" in life from time to time. Don't be afraid to shake the dust off and get back on. Don't be afraid to ask for help to guide you down the right path!

Run strong, run long,

KB

I Love Saturdays!!!

Hello Folks,

Getting ready to run my 5 miles today and then gearing up for a long 16 mile run tomorrow. I have 3 weeks and then I will visit the beautiful state of Nebraska. My first cousin, Loren, lives there with his family. He teaches at the University of Nebraska. Perhaps I can persuade him and his family to come and cheer my brother Kyle and I along!

I have always loved Saturdays! Maybe because it's the only day of the week that I really don't think about work. Friday is a work day and on Sundays I am always thinking about the work that I need to do on Monday. My kids and I have even thought about getting t-shirts that say, "I love Saturdays!". I recently read a story that I would like to share and I have decided that I to will incorporate this philosophy more into my every day life. The average person lives until he or she is 75. 75 times 52 Saturdays is 3900. That's how many Saturdays we have in our life. I will turn 43 here in just 2 weeks which means I have approximately 1,664 Saturdays to live it up! 1,664 more Saturdays to enjoy my family and spend time with the ones I love. I am guilty of spending too much time traveling and working and not spending time with my family. In the book I read it presented the idea of putting 1,664 marbles in a jar. Every Saturday I will throw a marble away. This may sound somewhat morbid but watching your time run out gives a whole new perspective on prioritizing the things you want to do with your life. This makes us focus on the really important things in your life. Working to make more money is NOT one of them. Spending time working and travelling to have that vacation home, BMW, trip to Germany or to build that dream house doesn't seem all that important anymore. Spending time every chance you get with your family is what is most important to me.

So there you have it....I have 1,664 more Saturdays to enjoy! How many do you have? How would you like to spend them? Who do you want to spend them with?

It is interesting how stories can speak to our soul. I almost did not pick up this book to read and gain this valuable insight to the hourglass we all have to accept as our lives move on. I am so very glad I read it.

Enjoy your Saturday and best wishes for thousands of more Saturdays to come!!! I am off to buy 1664 marbles!!! :)

Love the way running makes me feel,

KB

Touch Someone Today!!!

Hello Boys and Girls of all ages!!!

I am pumped up for my trip tomorrow to the great state of Idaho! My family gave me a potato today with 26.2 miles and a heart written on it. Not everyday you get a potato as a present! :)

I received an awesome e-mail today from a gentlemen in Montana. His nurse had seen a news story about me on television several weeks ago and he wanted to tell me his story. He also is a type 1 diabetic and had a heart attack several years ago. As it turns out he is a marathon runner as well and his running saved his life because of how strong his heart really was from running and the additional vascular channels it had built because of all his training. I am so glad he reached out and shared his story. Touching peoples lives in a positive way is what life is all about. We all have obstacles, we all face hurdles and it is through the inspiration of others that we are able to continue on and sometimes achieve great things.

People ask me why I run? I do it for many reasons but if I can inspire one person to live a better life than it is all worth it. Last week I spoke with a church group. Many members had diabetes and were looking for motivation to help them manage their health and thus their lives a little better. I tell everyone that you don't need to run marathons to be healthy, but exercise as a daily routine is difficult and takes motivation and is a crucial element in managing diabetes. The ADA states if you can exercise for 30 minutes a day for 5 days a week and eat healthy and maintain a good weight that you can prevent type 2 diabetes. When I ask people if they would do this to prevent type 2 diabetes; guess what the answer always is? YES!!! Now we just have to discipline and motivate ourselves to go out there and do it!

Touch someones life in a positive manner today. If not today; definitely tomorrow. Life is short. Make it count. I have found that you can't take back bad choices so think about what you do before you do it. You may not know it, but you could affect or change someones life forever.

I read an article in the paper today. A woman was looking for her soul mate. She said that she had loved with all her heart someone who did not love her and she has dated someone who loved her with all of their heart in which she did not love. She has dated her best friend and someone who has treated her like she was an angel. Now she wants all of those things at the same time!!! She said she is in no hurry because it is in the Lords hands. When I read this I couldn't help but pray that we all have this come true in our lives!!!!

From one potato head to another...tell the people you love that you love them. Some of us may think that we say "I love you and it becomes a habit." If we could only form more habits like this the world would be a much much better place. :)

Come run with me,

KB

Life Is Good Today!!!

Goooooooooood Morningggggg America!

I hope everyone had a great weekend. This was the last weekend before my kids went back to school so we tried to pack as much in as possible. I have been caught up in work and life for the past year and have really tried to take a step back and appreciate the important things in life; my family!!! Sometimes we all fall into the trap of working to get ahead, hobbies outside of our family, events or even bad influences that pull us away from what's most important. Keep it real, be honest to yourself and others and realize that the most important things in life are free!!!

Saturday my family and I made a trip down to visit my parents. We went to church on Kaskaskia Island. The mass is at 3:30 and over by 4:15. There is less than 100 people that live on this Island but people come from miles around to benefit from the early and short mass. :). We joined my parents for some incredible fried chicken in Ste. Genevieve, MO after church. Fried Chicken, mash potatoes and gravy, green beans, corn and who can forget the wonderful cherry cobbler with ice cream!! Did I mention that this was a buffet!! :)

Then the bottom fell out....My son Trent came back from the rest room at the restaurant and told us he had blood in the stool. Without going into graphics it brought up an immediate HUGE CONCERN. Apparently this had been going on for the last 3 days unbeknownst to my wife and I. Just that quick; how the world can stop and all these things start running through your head. We took grandma and grandpa back home and hurried back to St. Louis. After one phone call to the doctor, Trent and I were headed to the emergency room at Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital in St. Louis. Blood in the stool is nothing to mess around with. After 3 hours at the emergency room we were headed back home. We are still awaiting the lab results. Please pray for my son Trent and our family that all results will come back just fine. I can't even tell you the things that run through your head when something like this happens. I will tell you that all of a sudden nothing is more important than the health and well being of your family. You think of the good the bad and what you wished you would have done differently. I pray to God that my son will be just fine. How precious life is and how we all take it for granted everyday. As I drove my son to the hospital that night I tried to get his mind off of what was happening. I told him we would go to the Cardinals game the next day if we didn't have to spend the night in the hospital. All of sudden you want to do everything humanely possible to make up for lost time. If only we could bottle that feeling and bestow it on our children everyday.

Sunday my wife went to a wedding shower and Katie, Trent and I headed downtown St. Louis to see if we could buy some Cardinal tickets off of a street vendor. As soon as we walked out of the garage there were 3 vendors right there willing to sell us tickets. We picked up some awesome seats 14 rows from the field and out of the sun!!!. As I sat there between my kids sharing a soda and peanuts with them I thought to myself how awesome sharing this experience with them really was. To see their smiles and their laughs was priceless!!!! There was a rain delay with some Dippin Dots Ice Cream and then we were back watching the game again. Then it started to get cloudy again and we could see the rain coming in the distance. Katie suggested we head to the car. It was the bottom of the 7th inning and the Cardinals were losing. We had almost given up hope. We saw the rain coming down on the other side of the stadium. We all got up and started running. There we were, Katie, Trent and I sprinting through the stadium and dodging people as we ran out the stadium and to the parking garage. We got in the elevator at the garage and the down pour started! Katie, Trent and I looked at each other in amazement. We had beaten the rain by literally one second. They laughed and giggled and talked about it all the way home. Out running the rain. They didn't care who won the game but they would remember our run through the stadium and to the car forever. An awesome memory that we will all have tucked away to share another day. Oh, by the way. We found out later that in the 9th inning Colby Rasmus of the Cardinals hit a 2 run homer to bring home a victory for the Cardinals!!! I think the Cardinals manager; Tony La Russa said it best, "It's a feel-good day. Enjoy the moment. There's so much ahead of us." I know he was talking about the Cardinals Team, but I will apply this to my life and my family!

One last thing in this lengthy blog. So much to say, not enough time to say it....:) If you haven't heard the song "Toes" by the Zac Brown Band, you need to check it out. It will bring a smile to your face and you may find yourself tapping your feet or even downloading it to your iPod!

Have a great day and don't take one second of your life for granted!!!

Life is a marathon...Run long and run smart and cross that incredible finish line!

KB

What makes you do the things you do?!?!?!

Hello Folks,

What makes you smile? What makes you walk faster some days compared to others? What makes you put your hands over your head when you dance? What makes you hold the door open for a complete stranger? What makes you get out of bed early for no reason other than to get the most out of your day? What makes you want to do a cannon ball when you first get to the swimming pool! What makes you want to say; "Will you marry me?" We all have passion, some of us wear it on our sleeve, some of us are afraid to show it and some of us just keep it suppressed and are afraid to let it come out. Live your life with passion!!!! We all are getting older and one day the man upstairs will call us to be with him. We don't know when that day is so we must live the life we want and get the most out of it!!! Don't be afraid to go after what you want; you just might surprise yourself. Be true to yourself and be true to others and I am confident you will live a fruitful life!


I ran 11 miles this morning. I am not a fast runner and I averaged a 10 minute mile for 11 miles. I felt good about my run. I ate a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast and ended up eating 2 powergel packs to keep my blood sugar up to where I needed it to be. I finish my run with a 148 blood sugar! That was just super-fantastic for me!! When I got back to my house both of my kids were still sleeping. I ate some yogurt and a granola bar and took a shower and got ready for church. Yes, my kids were still sleeping.... I just have to smile because I remember the days when I was young and could sleep until 11 o'clock am. Soon will be the day when I recruit my daughter to run with me. For now, I will let her sleep and grow....

I just made my reservation last week for my upcoming run in Idaho. The race will take place in a small town called Ashton. The only place left to stay was a cabin at the Squirrel Creek Inn! STOP THE MADNESS!!! I asked if there was air conditioning and the answer was no. They did tell me that I could open the windows for some fresh air. :) I found another hotel about 15 minutes away that has a little more modern day conveniences. Trust me when I say I can rough it with the best of them but when I am needing my rest before and after a marathon, I will take all the luxury I can get!!! I know there are some fancy people out there that would concur that the Squirrel Creek Inn would not cut the mustard for a pre-race snooze! There will only be about 500 runners for this race. I love the small races. You get to know so many people who are there just to soak it all in. This will be a dramatic difference when I run Chicago in October with 40,000 people. Simply Amazing!

Enjoy today and look forward to tomorrow. If you love someone don't forget to tell them TODAY! Tomorrow is not soon enough and will be another opportunity to tell them AGAIN!!!

Put your hands in the air when you dance the next time. You may ask why, but it will make you smile!!!

Go make a difference in your life...You will be surprised how many people will benefit along the way!

Come run with me,
KB

God is everywhere! Let him give you strength!

Hello Sports fans!

I got up this morning at 4:00am to get in my 20 mile run. When I first went out to get the paper it looked like it was going to be a clear day. There were no stars in the sky so I was a little skeptical. After my bowl of oatmeal and my coffee, I strapped on my two friends and away we went for our 4 hour journey out into the night. How peaceful with no cars and nothing but me and all of Gods creatures of the night. As the sun started to rise I thought how beautiful it was that I could enjoy one of Gods many wonders. My run was going just fine. I had 10 miles in and I was clicking along just great. All of sudden the clouds turned black and the thunder started to roll in. Just another one of Gods many wonders. All at once it started thundering and lightening and raining extremely hard. I looked up in the sky and said to God, "Is that all you got!!! Come on, you can make it rain harder than that!!!" Just then it started to rain harder. I said out loud, "Come on, you can do better than that!!!" "I'm not given' up so let me see how hard you can really make it rain!!!" Some how it started to rain harder and the thunder and lightening continued. I couldn't get any more wet and I wasn't given up! I thought that the worst that could happen was I could get struck down by lightening. I was ready for God to take me if that should be his plan. It was him and me and all this incredible weather that he was bringing down. I was more motivated than ever to continue to run. My wife pulled up beside me in the car at some point in my run and told me to get in. I told her I had 5 miles left and I wasn't given up. She was worried but she knows my determination and knew I wasn't getting in that car. I ran by a house with a man standing in his garage watching the rain. He yelled out asking me if I needed a ride somewhere. I waved and said no thank you; I have 5 miles to go. Have a nice day I said as I continued to run by. I had 3 miles to go and the ran subsided and the thunder and lightning stopped. I thanked God for the challenge and the inspiration. God made me stronger. I successfully completed my 20 mile run and I will put this strength in my pocket to use it one day when the chips are down and I am not sure I can handle a challenge. Determination, motivation and persistence come in many flavors. Today God gave me a good dose of what I needed to help me not only on my run; but on life's difficult journey.

Sometimes when we are faced with the greatest of challenges, it is then and there that we acquire some of the best tools that will assist us for the rest of our life!!!

Embrace Gods challenges; Live Strong!!!

KB

Happy Birthday Trent!

Hello Everyone,

I want to dedicate this blog to my son Trent. He is 9 years old today and what a wonderful little boy he is. I unfortunately am in a sales training class in California and unable to be with him today. I will call him 9 times today and wish him a Happy Birthday! Trent is one of the amazing people in my life who motivate me to run and to do many things. You will never find a more caring, compassionate, loving little boy. He is always the first person when we sit down at the dinner table to ask me how was my day. I am very hard on him and want him to have the perfect manners, be the most athletic, be a model citizen, best student and on and on. It's funny how we try to live our lives through our children and forget sometimes that they are just kids. They are human and are not perfect just like us. My son Trent is very smart. He gets all A's on his report card and tries hard at everything he does. I am very, very proud of him. I gave him a BB gun for his Birthday before I left for my trip. I told him to go get some of Daddy's bags out of the trunk and when he opened it up; there was the BB gun. The look on his face was worth millions! It's not about the BB gun or any money in the world. It's all about that precious smile!

We all try to teach our children as much as we possibly can. Sometimes we need to take a step back and realize how much we can learn from them. Their sincerity, their innocence, their patience, their love. Someone once told me to lead by example and say very little at all. Be a good person and live a good life and your children will grow up just fine. Give them all the love you can and if your lucky when you get older, they will give it back to you ten fold.

I just finished a 6 mile run today and really wish I was with my son. Don't ever take your children for granted; they are the best gift that God has given you!

Happy Birthday Trent! Thank you for loving me unconditionally and being my inspiration!

Love Daddy

Resting for the next challenge!

Hello Everyone,

Four days post marathon and my legs are getting back to normal. It's amazing when you run 26 miles vs 20 miles the tole it takes on your body. Completely different. I guess that's why people hit the wall sometimes at mile 20. The additional 6 miles is a journey in and of itself. I have been doing my part in replentishing my body with some complex carbs such as potatoes and different energy drinks and energy bars. I have also managed to slip in a little ice cream! :)

My next marathon will be in Missoula Montana on July 12, 2009. I am really looking forward to this marathon because it is in such a beautiful part of the country. Perhaps I may be able to get in a little fly fishing while I am there. Experiencing different parts of the country and the people has been one of the exciting things about this 50 states journey. I am thrilled that I have many more places and people yet to experience.

I have been using Hal Higdon's Marathon Training Guide to train for each marathon. When I do multiple marathones I typically take a week to two off from running and do some weight training. I then start the 18 week marathon training schedule wherever I need to be to be on target with the program to finish it by the time of the marathon. I use the Intermediate 1 program and have been successful with doing the two 20 mile long runs in this program. The weekly mileage is certainly manageable with any job and the long runs just take some time management and some getting use to.

I have changed my philosphy for running. Instead of telling everyone I "have to run" xx miles everyday; I now say I "get to run" xx miles today. Not everyone can run. Some people are physically not capable. I am priviledged I have been given this gift and this ability. Thank God for this gift!!!

If you want to run faster, you need to run faster!!!

Have a superfantastic day!!!

Kurt