Addicted to Running

By John Schupp

Growing up, I ran when I had to for other sports and that’s it. With the exception of one year on junior high track, which was a grueling experience to say the least. I didn’t see running as something I ever would want to do in my free time or for FUN. It took work. I don’t have natural talent. I wasn’t fast. I quickly decided that it wasn’t for me.

In high school, I struggled to balance my life between schoolwork, girls, wrestling, and partying. I started drinking at 16. At the time it wasn’t a problem, only having “fun” on the weekends and staying pretty straight-laced in school, until my senior year. I didn’t notice at the time, but looking back, that is when I started slipping. I was finding other things to get loaded on. Popping pills, drinking, and weed were my “fun” and if you had some, I wanted it.

Things went downhill pretty quickly after high school. I was graduating to harder drugs and finding no time for college. I ruined my A+ scholarship within a year and didn’t really think school was my thing anymore. Despite partying, I still graduated high school with almost a 3.9 gpa and six college credits. I think I was 22nd in my class or something. Anyway, by the time I was 19, I went into my first rehab. I had a pill and heroin addiction, but really I did anything you were willing to share with or sell me. I knew then I had a problem, but it didn’t stop me yet. It took three overdoses and two more rehabs before I decided I had enough. All before turning 21. Not to mention the reality that sank in when the judge told me I was facing prison time. By the grace of God, I found enough pain to quit, and I have not found a reason to take so much as a sip of alcohol, one pain pill, one joint or anything since October 20, 2009. And man has my life changed since. It’s not all roses, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

First ever 5k!

 Now, fast forward to about three years ago. A good friend of mine called me up that knows me all too well and said there was this 5k he was running and it started in an hour. I was like, "SO?". He said, “Well there’s some pretty girl here.” So, I went. True story. I was so tired at the end of that 3.1 miles that I could not tell you a single face that was there. I definitely wasn’t worried about any girls. I had to focus on not passing out. But I did it. That sparked something in me that felt good. I accomplished something that I had never done before. I’m an ex-smoker. I wanted to run another one. I wanted to train for it and finish stronger. And I did just that. I found running when I needed to. I realized how much clearer I could think after a long run (long is relevant: at the time, 2-5 miles was LONG). My mood improved. It wasn’t easy, and I think that’s what attracted me to it so much this time, which is exactly what drove me away back in junior high.

Training for the next big draw- a Tough Mudder!

I decided I wanted to train for something big, so Greg Wells and I picked a Tough Mudder to do together. We both worked our asses off. In October of 2013, we did the whole thing without walking. Towards the end, I hurt bad. My hip was cramping up. I’d never gone that far before, let alone on dirt, rock, and mud. But I had come so far and I just couldn’t give up. Greg talked me through the last part of that race, and we finished strong. Since I have gotten clean, I’ve learned that I can’t just run away from my issues and giving up only makes things worse. I think running helps me face my issues head-on. It is SOOOO much easier to sit in the a/c and watch tv, but I don’t. Despite, that little voice in my head that says just stop, go inside, you can run another day, I pushed forward. Now, it has become a desire; I want to run all the time. I wonder how the hell I will ever make to where some of you ultra runners are, but if I keep trying, I bet I’ll get there.

Who doesn't do back flips at a Tough Mudder!?

Tough Mudder Finisher

The beauty of running, for me, is it can be as challenging as I want it to be. I find like anything in life, you get out of it what you put in. Often, it’s my mind that I have to convince to take the first steps. Every time I set a goal, big or little, I reach it (maybe not on the first attempt). I store that away for when times are hard and I need a little extra to keep me going. I run because I want to be a good influence on my children. I run because it is a great way to relieve stress. I run because I find peace. I run because it feels good, sometimes. Those “sometimes” make the rougher times worth it. 

John & Greg carrying a log at Tough Mudder- some seriously hardcore stuff.

We’re a special breed. I get asked at work a lot, “Why do you RUN?” “What are you running from?” Truth is, I don’t have a specific answer that sums up the essence of why I run. I do it because I can. I do it because I’m a recovering addict and running helps mold me into a person I want to be. It takes discipline and courage to conquer fears of the unknown for me. Every time I make it a mile further than I thought I could or a little faster than I ever have, it is a nice big middle finger to the life I used to live. That’s often what I think about when my body is tired and my mind wants to give up. I’ve come an awful long way to give up now. It sounds almost unreal, but there was a point in my life where I didn’t see myself living past the age of 25. Running keeps me grounded. It gives me strength in life knowing that if I keep moving forward, I eventually make it to my goal. I really can’t believe I hated it so much when I was younger.

So what’s next on my plate for me? I’ve been training for my first marathon. I figure, why not. I’ve never run a half up until I started training for the Cowbell in October. I think I’m up for the challenge. After all, I do like a good challenge! 

I want to say how blown away I am from all the support and encouragement I’ve received and see from all of DRC’s members since I joined the group a few months ago. I have only felt that way from a group of complete strangers, probably, only a couple times in my life. Ya’ll seriously ROCK!

Want to get to know John better? Check out his Runfie Questions!

What brought you do DRC? I think Greg told me about it this spring and I have to say, It’s lived up to its hype! 

Do you have a dream race? I’d like to qualify for Boston. If I was to be really ambitious, my dream would be to complete an Ironman. Mad props to anyone who can even walk after a 2.4 mile swim. I’d probably die.

What is the strangest thing you’ve seen while running? I haven’t seen a whole lot that stands out in my head at the moment. The dead skunk in the middle of the bridge on the Katy was kinda amusing… I didn’t know I could run without breathing!

That Fear Factor

From <1 to >26.2

By Stacey Hagen

I remember Track and Field Day in the eighth grade.  The coaches from the high school came and watched us participating in various activities.  As I remember it, the high school coaches picked students they thought would be a good fit for a particular sport.  The Cross Country coach had this crazy notion I would be good at running cross country (I pretty much guessed they had figured out I had absolutely no coordination or athleticism and were just throwing something out there).  When I heard this news, I laughed out loud, as I choked on a Marlboro Red.  Yeah, that was me…the delinquent adolescent, who hung with the wrong crowd, smoked weed, drank whiskey, smoked cigarettes, had the mouth of a sailor (some things haven’t changed) and sure as hell wasn’t interested in running.  Needless to say, I did not join the cross country team.

As a very young adult, I became a mother and, eh hem, much more responsible. I decided I needed to be a role model, quit smoking, start focusing on health, but nope, still hated running.  This lack of enthusiasm would stay with me for quite a few years.  To be clear: I hated running.  Had no effing desire to do it…ever!!  BUT, deep down, I had a secret admiration for runners.  I knew it was hard and they made it look so easy, so effortless.  A part of me envied them, but the other 99.9% of me had no interest in running.  Gosh, it wasn’t until I was the ripe old age of 28 that running became a part of my life, but even back then, it was only out of necessity…to achieve fitness goals, nothing more.  In fact, it remained just that for quite some time.

I first started running on the treadmill (gasp)…in the gym…(no effing way!).  And when I started running, I lasted all of one minute.  True story.  I would run for a minute; walk for five.  That’s how it all began, with one minute of running.  I slowly increased my running time and decreased my walking time until I was running for a full 45 minutes.  And that’s where I stayed for at least a couple of years, running at the gym to stay fit.  

In those days, you couldn’t get me to run outside.  Nope.  Running always felt harder outside.  I mean, there were hills and wind and pavement and stuff!  Eventually though, it happened, I was forced outdoors after numerous problems that were all attributed to treadmill running.  It hurt!  It was tough!  I didn’t enjoy it.  I looked for advice, read books, talked to people at the running store to look for ways to make the running easier, enjoyable.   One of the running books I read talked about how I was supposed to be breathing while running.  I would practice breathing in rhythm with my foot strikes, as the author described…it was daunting, annoying.  Nothing about it was comfortable.  I REALLY was not enjoying it, but I was achieving my fitness goals; I was getting lean.

Eventually, something changed.  My life got really hard(er).  I needed a way to work through some stuff.  I began to realize my running was a bit of an escape for me.  The time out there on the road, that was my time.  The solitude was necessary to stay sane.  I needed it.  So I began to run more often and longer.   Those standard four or five mile runs became six mile runs…seven mile runs.  I can still remember the day I ran eight miles….at Creve Coeur Park…on a very hot day.  It was a BIG DEAL for me!!  It was hard.  But, it was great!  And so an idea was born.  I was going to run a half marathon. 

The idea was a bit scary.  I had run eight miles and it was difficult.  Running 13.1 seemed like such a long way to run.  I was intimidated.  I was worried I wouldn’t be able to run that far, but I found a training plan and on September 18^th,  2005, at the ripe old age of 33,  I ran my first half marathon.  It was hard, but it was fun! It was thrilling!  Oh, the adrenaline!!  I wanted to do that again, but I wanted to run farther.  I signed up for a marathon and 7 months later, I ran my first marathon.  Believe me, I was intimidated by that distance, too; overwhelmed, actually.  I could not wrap my brain around running twice the distance of my first race, but I pushed back those feelings of doubt, trusted the training and I got it done.  It wasn’t entirely pretty.  I didn’t really know what I was doing.  I hardly drank or ate anything during that race and I bonked pretty hard.  BUT, I did it.  I finished a full marathon.

After that race, I remember thinking, “I’m not very fast, but I would like to see just how far I can run.”  Even back then, I was thinking about ultras, but it would take me a long time to bite that bullet.  Over the next few years, I ran a couple more marathons, but really didn’t race that much.  I still ran and I ran long distance.  I loved it.  But, I maybe ran in a handful of races a year and mostly just for fun, with my friends. 

Fast forward to 2013, the year I began to run trails.  I was sort of forced into this because I moved and I really didn’t feel safe running on the roads around my house.  My husband, Dave, encouraged me to get out on the trails.  Once again, I was intimidated.  It was hard; there were rocks and roots and stuff.  I felt so slow…and I was slow already.  But, I did it.  I went out there, ran, fell, cursed, got up and ran some more, got overuse injuries, and fell in love.  I have always loved to be surrounded by nature.  What I learned from my time out on the trails is trail running is the perfect mix of these two passions.  I mean, seriously, is there anything better than spending hours in the woods? Umm, NO. My time in the woods has been both time spent suffering and time spent feeling more gratitude than I have ever felt.  Trail running is my rejuvenator, even when it is sucking the life out of me. 

As I ran more and more on the trails, it became clear it was time.  It was time to bite the bullet.  It was ultra time.  Those same doubts that crept into my mind before all the other distance leaps came lingering back.  How was I going to run further than a marathon?  A marathon is pretty freakin’ hard!!!  Thirty miles, 50 miles, 100 miles…that’s a lotta damn miles.  Who does this?  Why would anyone WANT to do this?  Man, can I do this?  Do I really want to do this?  The answer:  Absofuckinglutely!!

Eight months after I began trail running, I ran my first ultra, a 50K.  Then, I ran a couple more.  Eleven months after I began trail running, I ran my first 50 miler.  The 50Ks were important.  They were practice.  They were stepping stones.  But, the real biggie for me was finishing my first 50 miler.   Fifty miles is quite a leap from 32.  I had 18 miles of unexplored challenges I had never experienced to think about.  Going into it, that was intimidating (that word again).  I chose CO for this race(not always the brightest crayon in the box), so had to contend with some elevation. Also, it was hot, temps nearing 90 and nearly half the course was exposed.  I ran nearly the entire distance alone, only meeting and talking to two people over the entire day.  It was hard.  It was really hard.  But, I never thought I couldn’t finish.  I never felt I wanted to quit.  Finishing that race meant a lot to me because it reminded me of what fear can do to your life.  Fear of losing.  Fear of failure.  Fear of DNF.  It can hold you back.  It can prevent you from going for something you are fully capable of achieving.  At mile 48 of my 50 miler, I cried.  I cried because I knew I had done it.  I had achieved this goal, this goal that had seemed so out-of-reach, so unattainable.  I had run 48 freakin’ miles!!  The race was all but done.  Death was the only thing that would have prevented me from finishing.  I felt amazing! I felt strong! I felt proud!  My husband was there waiting for me at the Finish Line.  It was a great day.  One I will always remember.  But, at the finish, I still thought in my head, “How the hell am I gonna run twice this distance? Fuuuuuu….”

Stacey at the starting line of The Bear Chase- a 50 miler!

Stacey after her 50 Miler!

Want to get to know Stacey Better? Check out her Runfie Questions!

What is your favorite distance to run & why? Hmmm...I'm definitely a double digit run lover. Sometimes it takes me a good seven miles before the run feels good, then I just want to keep running. I've always said if I only ever ran 3 miles, I would hate running. I love the LSD (long, slow, distance). As of late, I've really been enjoying 50Ks, but for a weekly long run, I love the 20-24 miler.

Favorite shoes? How many pairs of running shoes do you have? I'm still ISO the perfect shoe. I love the traction I get with my Salomon Speedcross 3s, but I love the wide toe box and cushion of the Altra Olympus. I've lost so many toenails thanks to my SS3s though. frown emoticon I've been doing long runs in Hokas lately, but neither the Olympus nor the Hokas have the grip I'm used to with the SS3s. I think I have 10 pairs of running shoes currently, but...I have my eye on some Topos.

How many years have you been a runner? Been running for 15 years this year. Woooo hooo!!!

Crazy Is As Crazy Does

By:  Frank Evans

It didn’t start out to be such a big thing, and it certainly didn’t start out as five ultramarathons in fifty days. It began as something that sounded just as crazy at the time, but simple - my first 50 mile race. It sounded crazy for several reasons... I had not done a full marathon since 2006. I had not done anything longer than that since a 50k in 1999.  And more importantly, I was coming off back surgery and was working my way up to runs of eight miles or so. But, to paraphrase our running idol, Forrest Gump… “Crazy is as crazy does.”

That 50-miler was the Prairie Spirit race in Ottawa, Kansas. I was staring at a coupon from the race director, and I could get a decent discount if I signed up in the next 30 hours. It was late November, and the race wasn’t until the end of March. Four months. Four months to go from stringing together a lot of one and two mile runs on the treadmill at SNAP Fitness to running much farther than I have ever run before. I thought there was a chance I could do it, but I needed a second opinion.  I e-mailed Meghan, and is her custom, she gave me intelligent advice - don’t sign up yet.  Forget about the coupon, and see how you feel in March. That was the smart way to go. I don’t remember how many hours I waited until I signed up. One? Maybe two? And I don’t know how many hours it took for Meghan to go to the Prairie Spirit website and scan the list of entrants for my name. Probably not many. Meghan didn’t say anything to me about it. She didn’t have to… I knew she knew. We’re good that way.

Ultras are different than other races in a lot of ways. If you ever get a chance to run, volunteer, or just watch one, I highly recommend it. It’s just unlike any race you’ve seen before.  But in another way, ultras are like every other distance - once you accept that you are an ultra runner, you just start signing up. It’s just like when you first go from a 5k to a 10k. You start looking for the next 10k you can schedule. Then half-marathons… full marathons… And then ultras. Crazy is as crazy does.

I already felt confident I’d be able to run Prairie Spirit when the registration period opened for the Double Chubb 50k. I’d have several weeks between them, and there wasn’t a great chance I’d get into Double Chubb anyway. The race is very popular, and there are a limited number of entries. But now my mind was already accepting the idea of running multiple ultras, close together. The Skunk Run popped up. Held in southern Missouri on rugged trails, it was an 8-hour timed run. I’d have two weeks between that and Prairie Spirit, and realistically, a run that long should be on my schedule before 50-miler anyway. (See how rationalization works?)

I was running 5-6 hours on my long runs each weekend when I decided to join Mackenzie, Andrea and Casey at a six-hour timed race in Cuba. They would run as a relay. I would run solo. I would have run about that far anyway, I rationalized. It was a week before the Skunk Run… which was two weeks before Prairie Spirit. Then I got a surprise from the Double Chubb folks. Everyone who entered the lottery was in. Yikes. I was now set for 4 ultras in 44 days. 

Had I known about the Frisco event, I might not have signed up for Prairie Spirit.  Another “rail-to-trail” run (think KATY Trail), the Frisco was in Willard, MO, just outside of Springfield. It would have satisfied my yearning to run a 50-miler, with less travel and expense. I started talking to Mackenzie about Frisco. It offered shorter distances also, including a 50k. This would be a very good way for her to get her first ultra. I started thinking about it myself. It would be a week after Double Chubb. Maybe I could do a 50k a week after Double Chubb. Maybe I could sign up for the 50k, and if I couldn’t do that I could always drop to one of the shorter distances and just be there to help Mackenzie.  Just a few hours after finishing Prairie Spirit, riding in the back seat of Meghan’s Volvo while she and John talked about John’s upcoming World 24-Hour Championships, I misused my phone and signed up for the 50k at Frisco. It was now Five in Fifty… five ultramarathons in fifty days.

Of course I knew a lot of people were worried about me. From my mother to my DRC friends, many people had concerns - and they were valid.  This was not the smartest thing I’d ever done - especially given the lack of recovery time I was giving my body. But I knew people who had done as much, or more. We run with people all the time who can run an ultra every weekend, and they run them fast. I do not. Even locally - John can, Meghan can, and so could others. The bottom line was this - the back surgery made me even more aware of how short our window of opportunity can be. And I was going to shove as much as I could through that window before it closed.

Now, while you like to know people are concerned about you, you also find ways to avoid hearing about it. That’s probably why I didn’t tell anyone when I decided two days before Frisco to message the race director and change my entry from 50k to 50 miles. It had been 3 days since Double Chubb, and I was walking without much of a limp. My mind saw that as a sign. Rationalizing again. Mackenzie busted me when she went to pick up my race packet and they didn’t have one for me in the 50k group. Note to self: Always tell someone you’ve switched distances if you want them to pick up your packet.

You’re reading this, so you know Frisco didn’t kill me. Mackenzie got her first ultra and looked great. Meghan crushed the women’s field to finish first. And after all those ultras, I actually ran it 19 minutes faster than I ran Prairie Spirit and won my age group… all while stopping along the route to take selfies and post them to Facebook. 

Coming up? Well, there’s the DRC Dirty 30 in June. There’s a St. Louis Ultrarunners Group (SLUG) six-hour run in July. And sometimes I would swear I can hear the Hennepin 100 whispering my name.

Crazy is as crazy does.

       Frank Evans can be found running in and around Lake Sherwood, as well as other areas, with no outstanding warrants on file.