He Signed Up for a Half Marathon in 4 Weeks—Then Guided a Blind Athlete Through an Ironman (and Now He’s Training for 100 Miles)

Laura, Maggie, Holly, with special guest endurance athlete Kelly' reunite in person on Average Age Groupers to discuss Kelly’s path from saying yes to a half marathon in 2008 with only four weeks to train—despite never running more than two miles—to completing multiple Ironmans, 70.3s, and ultras. Kelly shares how working at Fleet Feet led to guiding with Achilles International, including guiding Rod, a blind athlete, through Ironman Wisconsin 2012 using a swim tether, tandem bike, and elbow hold on the run. He describes a solo Ironman DNF in 2013 driven by mental and emotional factors, and how continuing to guide, volunteer, and fundraise kept him in the sport. Now in 2026, he’s training for the Badger 100, running 70+ miles per week, practicing run-walk pacing, fundraising for FOP through “Moving to Keep Eli Moving,” and seeking pacers for night segments.

00:00 Back Together Intro

00:37 Meet Kelly Guest

01:17 First Half Marathon Leap

03:56 Solo Racing Lessons

06:05 Fleet Feet and Discounts

06:53 Guiding Epiphany

09:12 Blind Ironman Breakdown

13:18 Tandem Chaos and Speed

15:55 Solo Ironman and DNF

22:03 Staying in the Sport

24:55 Race Vibes and Community

29:49 Ultras and Slowing Down

31:12 Ultra mindset training

32:37 Badger 100 course

33:18 Pacers and night running

34:28 Big training runs

36:43 Weekly mileage routine

38:25 Run walk race plan

41:11 Aid stations and fueling

42:45 Overnight expectations

44:09 Back to back Ironman

46:43 Fundraising for FOP

50:01 Future goals and guiding

51:56 Wrap up and links

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUYFKP1OYAMiMR1Ve36fOAw

https://www.instagram.com/averageagegroupers/

https://averageagegroupers.substack.com/

Follow Kelly: https://www.instagram.com/kfgriego?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==

Support Moving to keep Eli Moving: https://ifopa.salsalabs.org/MovingtoKeepEliMoving2026/index.html