Howdy my fellow readers, runners, and everyone in between! My name is Paul and I have a long, proud history of being an average runner. What a joy that is though and I sure love to write about it!
I set a fun goal to see if I can turn from an average runner to an above average ultra runner looking to raise $100,000 dollars for charity during my running career. I currently have little background or credibility that hints either of these as a likely possibility. That’s part of the fun though. As of 2026, I am closing in on $3,000 raised for different charities!
This blog is a place where I wanted to record my running journey and more importantly, to make corny jokes and convince myself people are laughing behind their screens. I may not be Olympic-level in my running or humor but…oh well.
Although my name may never reach the level of Courtney Dauwalter, Kílian Jornet, Scott Jurek, or even Will Ferrell, I absolutely love ultra running (jogging). I shall do my best to make a fool of myself on the trails and share the stories here!
(The view from San Luis Obispo, California in 2019. I stopped to catch my breath for five minutes at the top before smiling for this photo).
WHY DO I RUN?
My running journey began in 5th grade out in the Midwest cornfields (Go Hoosiers and Hawks!) and I quickly fell in love with the sport. That is, I only felt that way a full week after my first run. During my first practice for the local cross country team, I wisely thought two glasses of milk was a good pre workout choice. Not the best start to my running career…
After that rough initiation into the sport, I grew to love the adventures, the team bonding, and the true accountability that comes with the sport. You get out of the sport what you put into it and as my Dad used to say, “The track never lies.” He also used to say I needed to speed up on the hills but luckily my other brothers were able to fulfill that role.
And some days, I am not sure why I do it so I look to one of the greatest philosophers of running who can describe it well. “I just felt like running.”
Over the years, I had the opportunity to run throughout junior high, high school, and one season of collegiate running. On my team I had once consistency, remaining an average runner.
In junior high, I actually set the school record for the mile. To be fair, it was the first year they started tracking records… and mine lasted exactly one season before being absolutely destroyed by faster runners. I’m pretty sure it’s at least a minute faster now. So yes, you could argue I peaked early. A few fun facts, both my younger brothers ran faster times so they probably had the record too! My older brother ran faster than I did in junior high but the school wasn’t recording records back then, too bad!
In high school, I competed in many Junior Varsity races with one varsity season and my brief one season of college running ended early due to injury. I was often a permanent feature of the back of the pack at that point. And with that, my “formal” running career and it was at that point where I started to discover ultra marathoning. It’s been a journey ever since!
By the end of 2024, I have had the opportunity to finish two ultra marathons. You have never heard of them because I was too cheap to pay for an actual race and I created my own.
My first one, the 2021 – ’94 Corolla Run (Sponsored by the aid station of my ’94 Corolla) was a 50 mile effort that I finished in about nine hours. Highlights included being passed by an 80 year speed walker and successfully eating a pizza halfway through without stomach issues. I didn’t have abs at the time (or since), only a caloric deficit of 4,000 calories halfway through my race.
My second ultra was a 12 hour fundraising event in 2024 in the heat of a Texas summer. I covered 52.2 miles which someone pointed out meant I stopped 0.2 miles short of running a double marathon distance. The run took place in downtown Austin. It is pretty hard to look like the roughest one out on sixth street while sober but I managed to take the crown that night. I only cried once (maybe twice), didn’t manage to eat a pizza or any food really the last five hours, and perhaps the greatest achievement, is that I remained married to my wife who crewed for me for her first time! (The ’94 corolla had since died on us).
Since then, I have kept running and chasing my next running goals. These future goals include finishing races, maybe crying a little less, and finding ways to keep positive along the way.
Thank you for spending your time here. I hope one of these posts can bring you a smile and for some, maybe inspire you to lace up the shoes to see what your feet have to show you today.
And as always, it’s a great day to have a great day!
Average Runner Paul 