miles of SMILES
Podcast interview? and by a NY Yankees fan? That’s a DOUBLE no. LOL> Intro hints of scheduling delays in making this [interview] happen. Reality? HUGE case of imposter syndrome. I personally intake lotta marathon media — print articles & video. Super passionate about the sport, both road & trail. So what could I add?
Bill Stahl, Leadville 100 FINISHER. Race Director for the 9/11 American Heroes Run. Me? I’m a back-of-the-pack marathoner who’s Forrest Gump’d his way across 7 continents and all 50 States. Never did I ever… 11 years later, dream… I’d be characterized ‘a serial marathoner’.
Faith, friends & family. That’s the secret sauce.
Strong Christian faith, GREAT friends, bestest FAMILY.
And grit. And self belief. And miles of road.
American Heroes Run is a small local event, which I’ve selected as my 100-mile race destination. It’s where I met my run-buddy Karen in 95-degree heat & shared my cancer diagnosis. Crazy intimate details marathoners share with other marathoners; makes our sport unique. Long miles, physical push-push-push fatigue — it’s all part of the recipe, the ultra adventure.
2023, I returned to American Heroes to FUN RUN the marathon with Karen, start-to-finish. Conversation pace, 5+ hours. Knew then, HERE would be my 100.
Friday Sept 6/Saturday Sept 7. 30-hour time limit. Say a prayer that day.
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1452355/14685517
Keenan Haga is who you might call a serial marathoner. In fact, he has run 311 of them so far. On every continent, including Antarctica. He has run one in every state – three times. Keenan’s goal for 2024 is to run 100 marathons, including 13 in 15 days, plus a 100-miler. You’ll undoubtedly enjoy hearing about his cool experiences running among polar bears, sea lions, on the race track at Churchill Downs, at Crater Lake, Oregon, and the not-so-great ones like getting a parasite from water at an aid station in Brazil. In the midst of all of this marathoning, Keenan also beat stomach cancer, chemotherapy, the whole works. He credits running with helping him develop the attitude that he could dig in to battle it. But he kept his diagnosis to himself, even to his family, until he met another runner, Karen Kay-Timonier, at the American Heroes Run to whom he opened up and began to share his cancer journey. Keenan had already discovered how much he cherished the running community he’s met throughout the world, but now he has also been absorbed into the cancer survivor community in which he can share his experiences. The first things I noticed in our chat is how down-to-Earth Keenan is about his life’s extraordinary journey, his positivity, humility, warmth, and his gratitude that he gets to do the things he does. For you distance junkies, Keenan also shares a lot of helpful little tips from a guy who covers an awful lot of miles. I think you’ll enjoy this chat a lot.
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