The Stubborn Tortoise

I had Easter lunch with my friend, Jessica. Over the course of our conversation, we agreed to do the Wild Hare 50K in November. We also agreed to hold each other accountable in our respective training plans.

Another form of commitment is that I am signing up to be the team captain for The Flying Chanclas relay team this year at Snowdrop.

I'm looking for a few folks willing to loop around a .69-mile course for a couple of hours throughout the 55-hour event. That would likely mean you would have three shifts, or be a masochist like I was a few years back when I did the whole six hours in one stretch. Not recommended.

Anyway, follow the link above for more info and let me know if you're in. C'mon, you know you wanna.

I reached WAAAAAY into the archives and uprooted this old gem from the early days of this podcast. This is about the relationships you make while on the trails. It's fun, short and sweet. Enjoy!

I have talked to my fair share of gritty runners, but Lisa Tuckwood may be the grittiest.

Maybe it's her background in the Army or maybe it's just how she is, but regardless, Lisa is one tough lady.

She's always been athletic, but didn't start running races until 2015 -- three months after back surgery.

Her record speaks for itself. No DNFs, but enduring some incredible challenges.

She's got a 200-miler this month in Georgia, followed by a couple of hundos later this year.

Feel inspired. I was.

This week, I thought it might be helpful to offer advice and tips to those who are new to trail running. You generally won't see people holding signs and cheering for you in the woods, like you might on the road. I go over things like shoes, hydration, sports watches and more. I don't cover everything, but there are some useful tidbits if you want to hit the dirt.

After years of running at Colorado Bend State Park at night, I finally got to see it during daylight hours. It's almost more gnarly because you can see stealth rocks that catch your toes, the narrow, terrifying rock ledges and tombstone-sized rocks.

I also found new parts of the park where I'd never been. I learned that you should never ignore the race director's pre-race briefing, where they go over the details of the course. Had I listened, I would have heard about the multitude of water crossings, like seven of them (I didn't count, but someone told me this).

It was one for the books for me and reminded me of why I do this stuff: it's all about the stories. It's also about strategizing where to put your feet and, sometimes, other body parts.

Two of my San Antonio Off-Road-Running friends joined me this week to talk about completing their first 100K (62 miles).

What sets this effort apart from others is that they tackled it under extraordinary conditions: extreme water, mud and roots.

Huntsville State Park, on a good day, is challenging with its crazy tree roots cluttering the trails.

This one sounded insane: knee-deep water in sections, wet feet and MUD.

We talk about their experiences and background.

Plus, I recount a fairly epic cold/windy 10K I signed up for on a whim and lived to talk about it.

Oh, and here is my playlist.

Steve Carter is a Michigan-born, San Antonio-based retired Air Force veteran. He is also an accomplished cyclist and ultrarunner.

Kate Motsko and I share a common conceit: we've both received the Spirit of Dan Keitz award, the highest honor bestowed by Tejas Trails. I won it in 2022 (and had no idea that it existed) and Kate got it this year. It is well-deserved.

She has a storied career as an ultrarunner but also has sustained some epic injuries along the way.

She's taken up cycling in the meanwhile and has some ambitious goals.

Last fall she was the assistant race director for the inaugural Great Springs trail race in San Marcos.

She says she enjoys volunteering at the particularly long races because she can apply her hard-earned expertise to help the runners get through the tough parts.

She has an infectious smile and upbeat attitude. You should run a Tejas race to see her in action.

In other news, my washing machine saga continues. I had lunch with my birthday-month buddy, Jessica Kestermann and offer shout-outs to a few folks who tackled the Rocky Raccoon 100 and 100K this past weekend. It was a slopfest, based on what I saw.

Kudos to anyone who tried.

Timothy Sneed, admittedly, dealt with addiction to stimulants, off and on, for years. He is finally clean and is living away from bad influences in Kerrville, Texas. He is wicked fast on 50Ks and loves the trail scene. I cajoled him into doing the Cactus Rose 100K next year and offered to crew for him. I love that runners are so suggestible. (I should know.)

Meg Eckert, a native of Spring, Texas, began her running career seven years ago.

In that time, she has won a number of long-distance races.

Over the New Year's weekend this year, she set the course record for female runners at the Snowdrop 55-hour event, running 100 miles in 16 hours and 6 minutes.

She went on to complete 218.87 miles in hours - another record.

The middle-school special education teacher, who now lives in Santa Fe, NM., likes a combination of road and trail races, but likes mountain trails.

She is super upbeat and generous as a runner.

Photo credit: Susan Kretschmer Leining

Snowdrop 2023-24.