Without our Mother, we would not even be here . . . well, Rocky might be because I think he might be adopted. But, without the support and love of our mother we would probably be in jail or doing something innappropriate for a living. In honors of mother’s day we would like to present this album to our Mom.
Mom, you are the best mother The Running Brothers could have ever asked for. Thank you for your support, guidance, wisdom and self-esteem boosting. You are truly one in a million.
He competed in the 135-mile Coastal Challenge, “a six-day stage race on incredibly brutal and gorgeous terrain in Costa Rica . . . (he) explored a lot of rain forests and other terrain . . . running as long as 35 miles in a day to as short as 18 miles on another day.” Who is this crazy person who would agree to participate in such an exhausting event? Can you believe that he completed the entire 135-mile race by running? This man is our fourth hero and a co-worker of my father’s at The Orange County Register . . . Greg Hardesty. Greg is an ultramarathon runner. He has participated in over 24 ultramarathons and agreed to share his wisdom with The Running Brothers and our heroes.
Greg Hardesty
Ever heard of an ultramarathon? I didn’t until today. Ultramarathons are basically running events that are longer than the traditional 26.2 mile marathon events. Greg says that he is the “worst trainer in the world,” because he doesn’t diet or stretch, and runs relatively low mileages . . . he tries to run between 40 and 50 miles a week. (If 40 to 50 miles is considered the worst training in the world, then I know I’m in trouble). He also says he runs on hilly terrain which he believes is the best way to train. He also works out at the gym and performs “serious” workouts on the StairMaster. He says that recently he completed a half marathon on one (impressive).
Greg recommends taking training slowly . . .performing long runs on the weekends and using a lot of hills.
He is passionate about his career. He loves honoring people through his writing, who die before their time. Writing has encouraged him to seek understanding for what truly makes a person happy. He says that “too many people get caught up in planning and acquiring material goods,” but miss what is important in life, “enjoying it.” He’s a man who lives with passion, which is also a reason why he says he is “poor.”
Greg lived in Japan for six years and recommends that every person should have the experience of living abroad for at least a year. He said that at times he felt uncomfortable, but that he really got a sense of happiness when he constantly placed himself in uncomfortable situations, because it forced him to “live in the moment” and “be truly alive.”
Competing in the 135-mile Coastal Challenge along some of the most beautiful Costa Rican terrain he has seen and competing in 24 ultramarathons are just some of highlights of Greg Hardesty’s eventful and exciting life. He certainly deserves to become one of our heroes as his passion is undeniable and his willingness to push himself is second to none. Some may call him crazy for running 40 to 50 miles a week and competing in running events with distances of over 100 miles, but we call him our hero.
Greg Hardesty is a reporter for The Orange County Register and the father of two children. He is a member of a great group of runners of all levels, whose website is www.socaltrailheadz.org
In Part 1 of our interview with Peter Engwall, we learned about the man who lost nearly 150 pounds when he decided to change his life for the better. In Part 2, we are going to learn about Peter Engwall, the man he is today. Peter has “an amazing wife, and the best son in the entire world!” And loves coaching his sons baseball and football teams. He’s a Project Manager for a wireless telecommunications company in Seattle, Washington. His schedule is extremely busy, but Peter always makes time for his Ironman training. Peter remains extemely active and we asked him a variety of questions relating to his fitness goals and about his website, http://auggiesdad.sweat365.com/.
As you may recall, Peter began exercising in order to lose weight and quickly discovered that entering himself in endurance events would help him stay focused on the end result of losing weight. One summer, he decided to sign up for his first Sprint Triathalon. Four years later he is planning on completing his first Full Ironman in November. Peter has also set a variety of other goals. He wants to complete an Olympic Distance race in under three hours and plans on completing his first Full Ironman in the alotted 17 hours. Lastly, he wants to remain injury free.
Peter’s life has been filled with memorable experiences. He married his best friend. He witnessed the birth of his son. He was on the Oprah Show. He completed a sprint triathalon. He completed a half marathon. And he completed a half Ironman. As a beginning runner, I know what Peter means when he says that those are memorable moments. It’s about being able to complete something that once was impossible and being able to accomplish something like that makes anything seem possible.
Training allows you to “get away from it all,” Peter says. When in training, all your thoughts and worries get focused on your training and it allows you to clear your head. And for Peter, it has been a surprisingly social activity. He has met numerous people that he has trained and worked with, including our first hero, Mitch Roberts. Peter began training with Mitch because he recognized the fact that it was important to find people to train with that are smarter and people to train with that are faster. I’m not sure which category Mitch falls into, but my guess is that it’s not the smarter one (Just Kidding).
http://auggiesdad.sweat365.com/ is a place that Peter goes to log his workouts and serves as a reminder to when his next races are scheduled. He has been able to track his distances through the website and he says it’s great to see his results grow. His post on http://sweat365.com/blog/2008/05/14/lifestyle-changes-yield-big-results/, is how I learned about Peter losing nearly 150 pounds as a result of his lifestyle change.
Through Peter’s website, he has been able to make many new friends from many different areas. His favorite websites are http://runningbrothers.com/ (obviously) and http://www.slowtwitch.com/. He encourages all of you to be yourself and have fun.
Lastly, Peter believes that every person should make someone else’s life just that much happier. He recommends that you change the life of someone else for the better. And I can honestly say that your story, your participation and becoming one of our heroes has changed our lives for the better.
If you would like to learn more about Peter Engwall, please visit his website, http://auggiesdad.sweat365.com/.
When my brother and I began RunningBrothers.com, we did it for a variety of reasons, but mostly because we were both seeking a lifestyle change. My brother and I needed to get more healthy and we figured that by starting this website, our readers, ourselves and each other would help to hold us accountable to reach our goals. Peter Engwall was one of our readers and has commented on our blog often and we interviewed Peter, our hero, to find out more about him and allow our readers to learn about one of our heroes as well. In the process, I was amazed to discover the journey that Peter has gone through. His story is amazing and his attitude is even greater.
Before Peter changed his life, he weighed more than 300 pounds. One day, while watching the Oprah show, he came across a program designed by Bob Greene on thebestlife.com and made the decision to get involved in the program. Thebestlife.com was not a diet, but a lifestyle change. Peter made this decision for a variety of reasons, he wanted to stop being lazy, to be healthier, but most of all, he wanted to be able to play with his son.
Peter began the program by making small improvements in his diet and exercise. His local gym kept tabs on those trying to lose weight and Peter began to see his weight loss results posted in the gym. He made the top 100 and as the months continued on, Peter began to move up the ladder. Because of this lifestyle change, Peter Engwall lost nearly 150 pounds. His weight loss results were so amazing that thebestlife.com wanted to share his story as one of their success stories and even invited him to be a guest on Oprah’s show.
When I interviewed Peter, I had not heard of his story, I simply knew that he followed our website and was extremely enthusiastic in doing so. During the interview he made almost little to no mention about the fact that he lost almost 150 pounds and appeared on Oprah. When we talk about heroes on this website, we are referring to you, our readers, because you help us to stay motivated and encourage us to do better. Every comment we receive and kind word that we get makes us try that much harder. Peter, since visiting our blog, has continuously encouraged us to do better through his kind words and willingness to participate on our website. But, he is also our hero for another reason. It takes a lot of guts and effort to commit to a lifestyle change and it’s not easy. Peter’s story is inspiring to all of us because it demonstrates our ability to make a decision for positive change in our lives.
I want to thank Peter for being our friend, our follower, and our hero.
For more information about Peter Engwall, visit his website, auggiesdad.sweat365.com.
Stay Tuned for Part #2 of our interview with Peter Engwall
My brother and I have been running for quite some time now and we’d like to make a shout out to one of our heroes, Beau Hodson. Beau Hodson runs his own website, http://www.integriousproject.com/. The Integrious Project is designed to bring the word integrious back into common usage. Currently, the word integrity has no adjective to describe someone and it is Beau’s mission to make integrious that word.
Not only is Beau committed to making the word integrious a certified word in the dictionary, but he is also promoting the ideology behind the word. He is hoping to bring about a movement of people who act with integrity on a daily basis. The Running Brothers support Beau Hodson’s goal and we have been encouraging him every step of the way. If you are interested in finding out more about Beau Hodson and The Integrious Project, visit his website, http://www.integriousproject.com/.
What has been your most rewarding experience through your blog so far?
I have really enjoyed the writing process. I like to put my thoughts down through writing.
Do you have any tips or ideas for a new running blogger?
Setting small and attainable goals that are part of the overall goal is a great way to keep track of your experiences and get a sense of
accomplishment.
What type of posts do you get the most feedback from?
It is hit and miss. Some posts that I work really hard on and put lots of work into don’t seem to get any traffic or feedback. But, some posts seem to end up getting traffic for reasons that I have yet to understand. I think that most people who read my blog are more interested in my personal thoughts than anything, since they are mostly friends I think.
What was your inspiration for starting the blog? Has your vision changed since you started it?
The vision is always subject to change. But I’m sticking mostly to reading and writing and working toward the
eventual goal of an Ironman.
Have you gotten a chance to see our website? If you have, do you have any tips for improvement?
I have checked out the website! I really like the new pictures from the Christmas photo shoot. I need to get a
tracksuit, and quickly.
What has been your most rewarding experience since you started training?
Probably swimming a mile in the pool. Swimming laps is really tough. Really an incredible workout and fun, but dang I was
beat afterwards. It really showed me how much work I have ahead of me.
What do you enjoy most about training? The least?
I enjoy running the most. It comes easily and I like both the solitude of running alone and the companionship of running with a group. Either way, running is the best for me. The least? I think that the bicycle sections of the two triathlons I’ve done were pretty tough for me. Because of where I’ve been living, there just are not very many opportunities for road riding. I don’t feel safe on the roads on a bike. Mountain biking for me is a much better alternative.
Any recommendations for someone who is just starting out their training?
I really think that sticking to attainable monthly goals is the way to go. That huge goal of a marathon or Ironman seems too huge
if you don’t break it down. Also, I find it really helpful to tell as many people as possible about my goals. It seems like a bad idea,
seeing as how if you mess up many people will know about it. But it is a great way to keep yourself motivated if you know that you’ll have to tell someone that you didn’t get your run in or something along those lines… I guess just having someone to hold you accountable is what I’m saying.
What is something that you did that you think everone should do at least once in their lifetime?
I think traveling and living in a different country has been one of the most life-changing experiences I’ve had, or ever will have. It totally changes your worldview as well as your personal views.
What are you most passionate about?
Writing has been an interest and passion for me for a long time. I’m not the best, but it comes easily for me and is probably my easiest form of expressing myself.
What is something you would do differently in your training or your blogging if you could do it all over again?
I wouldn’t change anything. It has been a great experience and I feel like I’m missing something
if I don’t write or workout for a while.
*If you are interested in finding out more about Steve Ference or Viva Movement, visit his website, http://vivamovement.blogspot.com/
Steve Ference, you posted two comments, one about swimming during lunch so that we can eat whatever we want and how quitting the drinking of alcohol was a good thing. In order to return the favor, we have made the decision to make you one of our heroes. The honor is immense, but you are worthy.
Viva Movement began as a blog about Steve wanting to become more adventurous. One new such adventure was a sprint triathalon. As Steve puts it, “It was one of the most rewarding things I’ve done.” After that, he was hooked and now VivaMovement has transformed into the chronicling of his journey to become an Ironman.
Steve has a very practical approach to attaining this goal. He is trying to accomplish little steps along the way to reach his ultimate goal. His next step is to run a marathon.
When I emailed Steve, asking him for an interview, he indicated to me that he was moving to South Korea. Originally from Indiana, PA, he and his wife, decided to up and move to the other side of the planet, to teach English to South Koreans. They figured that with no children and no commitments, that this would be there only time to do something like this and is now finding himself getting situated in an entirely new country.
In my interview with Mitch Roberts, he made a suggestion to me and our readers, he said “Go Gluten Free.” When he suggested this I thought I had gone Gluten-free my whole life, because I thought it was referring to the muscle on my rear-end. Turns out, Mitch was talking about something else entirely.
Gluten-free is a diet, completely free of Gluten. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, rye, malts and triticale. Mitch said that he did not realize how much Gluten affected him and that by going Gluten free for a time period, he felt much healthier as a result. He recommended that everyone should try it for at least a week to see how you feel afterwards. Perhaps later along in the training process I may try to go “Gluten Free” for a week or two.
Mitch, thanks for the advice and enlightening us all about “Going Gluten Free.”
Throughout this process of running, and blogging, I knew that I was going to come across new things that I had never encountered before. In my interview with Mitch Roberts, I came across a new term that was previously unfamiliar to me . . . The Farmers Blow.
In all honesty, I have used this technique before, but did not know that it had a specific name.
If you are unfamiliar, here is a picture . . .
David Beckham Farmers Blow
Yes, Farmers Blow . . . disgusting. The term refers to plugging up one nostril and blowing out mucus through the other. Sorry if you planned on eating before reading this, but I had to share my newfound knowledge with you.
I love to view comments made our posts in order to check out other blogs, one such comment sent me to a series of blogs called Sweat365. I asked one of these blogger, Mitch Roberts, about his affiliation with Sweat365 and how it works. According to Mitch, Sweat365 is a social networking blog used to log workouts and connect with other athletes.
Mitch typically uses Sweat 365 as a way to log all of his times, but occasionaly includes blog posts. He has made many friends through Sweat365 and actually has kept in contact with other athletes to help motivate each other.
On his website, mitchr.sweat365.com, Mitch uses several Side Bar Widgets, which can be found on the Dashbord. He uses Logbook 2 to record the distances for his workouts and a countdown timer set for Cour d’Alene where he plans on completing his next Ironman event. (Rocky, these look like really cool widgets, we should look into getting some for our page)
Sweat365 looks like a good way to meet others who like to run, bike and swim. If you plan on running, biking or swimming, it is worth looking into as it’s a community of like-minded individuals who will keep up on their workouts and try to motivate you to keep up on yours.