The Active Joe: Hug a Dino
In February of last year, I ran my first trail race, the Cross Timber Trail Run Marathon distance. I had a fantastic experience, ran into issues and fought my way over 26 miles of climbing, descent, rocks, roots and sand. I trained hard over the summer and ran several other races, particularly focusing on the 50k distance. These runs took me to Colorado, all over Oklahoma, and became shared experiences with my partner, Jessy. Come September, I embarked over a new adventure, the 40 mile distance at the Rough Creek Trail Run. This included a very strenuous hike over a portion called the Rusty Crown due to a series of incredibly steep, hand over hand climbing, followed by almost immediate decent, outlining a crown shape. This was a big race for me because it was a new distance, a new vertical challenge, and it also took place a couple weeks before I left for Africa. Jessy and I were struggling to navigate our new life as co-parents, partners, she was in a