Imagine you are a young, rising star college runner who wins the extremely competitive Division 2 national cross country championship as a redshirt sophomore, helping lead the team to the national title as well. That year you also win the Division 2 national 3000-meter steeplechase title on the track. You then get to run in the Olympic Trials steeplechase. But next an unfortunate accident puts you in a coma, hospitalizes you for months, and erases all of that. That is what happened in 2012 to Ryan Haebe while he was building his running career at Western State University in Gunnison, Colorado. Ryan had to re-learn how to talk, walk, feed himself, etc. But he used that determination also to build a teaching career in one of the most difficult places possible, on the Navajo reservation in southwest Colorado. Not only is it challenging for him to teach as an outsider to the local culture, but the lack of resources possessed by both the schools and the residents there is staggering. Add on the pandemic. Parents, teachers, and students alike in this country complained about the uphill climb to teach and learn remotely. Imagine what it was like for Ryan and his colleagues to surmount the same challenges where most of the families didn’t have computers, Internet service, or in some cases, even basic necessities like running water. Ryan has also returned to the running scene, but now as an ultramarathoner, overcoming some additional challenges to achieve success there. All the while, as you will hear, maintaining an unbridled enthusiasm for exploring the natural beauty and history of the Southwest and native culture. I hope you will enjoy Ryan’s great comeback story and his appreciation for the Navajo people.

Ryan Haebe
Instagram @rhaebe04_

Bill Stahl
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Facebook Bill Stahl
Instagram @stahlor