There are two things that helped me get through life, art and sports. Art gave me a way to express myself and helped me to communicate with the world when I didn’t have the words. When I was a kid we moved around a lot because of my father’s job. By the time, I was thirteen years old we have moved twelve times and I had gone to six different schools between kindergarten and eighth grade. The hardest part about moving around so much was that I was constantly the “new kid” at school and never really found a place where I fit in. Sports gave me a chance to feel like I belonged somewhere. I was never great or the star athlete, but I loved being a part of the team and pushing myself physically.
When I was growing up I played a wide variety of sports but soccer was my favorite by far. I haven’t been able to play for years for a variety of reasons. I tried to stay active but after years of repetitively spraining both ankles and living in chronic pain as a result I eventually realized that my days of playing soccer were over.
When I first decided to pursue a career in photography my primary focus was largely on landscapes because it didn’t require talking or having to interact with people. I would grab my camera and head out to check out the various hiking trails in the area. At the time I was living in Grand Junction, Colorado and there were plenty places to explore and choose from. I was able stay relatively active and take some pretty cool photos along the way. But in September 2012, I was finally able to get my right ankle fixed and was no longer living with constant pain. The doctor told me there was no chance I’d be able to play soccer, but I could at least start running again.
I attempted my first 5k in August 2013 and even though I wasn’t able to finish it I was hooked. I may not be the fastest person out there and may not be able to run as well as I'd like to, but it doesn't keep from getting out there and doing it. I've learned a lot of great life lessons through running too. In February 2017, I tore one of the menisci in my right knee and then got rear ended a couple months later but I didn't let it stop me even though I had to take a long break to let the various injuries heal, at least not right away.
The last 5k I completed before this year was on my 40th birthday in 2018, I pain in my knee from the meniscal tear started became overwhelming as a result I decided to walk away from running. I registered for a few races after that over the next few years but wasn’t able to do complete because of illness or weather conditions cancelling them. I slowly started to shift my focus over to hiking instead, but leaving the camera at home, because it was a little easier on my joints but still gave me the opportunity to stay active. When COVID-19 hit in 2020, hiking became one of the best ways for me to get out of my head especially after losing my routine and having to cope with the quarantine and lock down.
Surviving asthma complications, COVID-19 and then losing my father shortly after getting discharge from the hospital for the second time in less than a month I realized that I needed to find a way to get back to running. So I took part of the inheritance I received from my dad and decided to take up mountain biking, something I had wanted to do for years. It took a couple of months to build up my stamina but in doing found that it helped rehab my busted up ankles and knees so I decided to start running again. I registered for the Kennesaw Grand Prix Series and to date I have successfully completed the first 2 races of the series in spite of having some difficulties with asthma. I refused to give up and even though it would have been easy to quit, I found the strength I needed through the encouragement of those around me and a little extra push from God to make it across the finish line both times.
I know the only chance I ever have of placing my age group is when there is less than three people out there but I love push of competition. It's not about trying to beat the other runners either; it's about setting a goal for myself, training for it and then crossing the finish line no matter how easy it would be to give up along the way. I started this crazy journey back in 2014 and after a short break ready to get bak out there and keep going. I've lost count of how many races I've actually done over the years but every time I crossed the finish line it was a victory and accomplishment I’m proud of.
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