+FillUs

A runner averages about three or as many as six or seven runs a week. For me, I've been averaging about four runs a week. Out of the four, I look forward to my Sunday run the most. I look forward to running with my Sunday crew, and to the time spent with them afterwards over coffee and baked goods. With that said, the runs which energize me the most are the ones that I go with the intention to enjoy solitude, nature, and God. Nothing feels better than finishing a run with a full heart of joy, contentment, and gratitude. I had one of those this morning which left me reminiscing at 11:45 at night. What difference a run can make. Scripture for thought: “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised. It may be that the Lord will work for us, for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few.” -Jonathan, 1 Samuel 14:6 Notice Jonathan says “It may be that...” I'm confronted with this all the time.  I know from history that God of the Bible is powerfu...

Pictures say it all. Here are our pre-race clean and sparkling shoes: Here are our battered post-race shoes: I'll admit that the mud did add to the fun even though I wasn't very fond of it, especially when it's on my body. Rain started pouring down when we were waiting around at race start. Turned out other than getting soaked, the rain kept the temperature down and was perfect for running. The original course included a greenway section that was flooded, so they changed the course to doing a loop around the lake, and then an out-and-back on part of the loop.  The trail condition deteriorated quite a bit for the second half of the race after all the rain and beatings. I found myself dancing around mud holes while trying to stay balanced and plant my feet properly. Although that probably slowed me down a bit, at least I was never bored. Going into the race as a training run, my friend Brian Boyle from Gaston Rehab Associates suggested me to try negative-split the...

The final report of the CEDAN project in Haiti came in the mail some time ago. It was nice to see the summation of our effort in a tangible format. The architectural scope is to design a new multipurpose building which will house a school, a clinic, a meeting place for the community, and some housing. Meanwhile, the team of engineers make sure infrastructures like electricity, water, and septic are in place to support the building and its service to the occupants. Flipping through this report brought me back to the good times we spent in Haiti. I still have some unfinished business there, which is to run the complete loop of mountains ridges aptly named "The Necklace." I believe our strongest passion is found in things that we are willing to do for free. Perhaps even for the rest of your life. For me, being able to provide design services to better lives and be able to run in God's creation are two things that I'll do for free for the rest of my life.

The first eight minutes of Woods Ferry 24Hr. I was in the first few seconds standing around waiting for race start.

Did I think I could run for 24 hours? No! But I entered the Woods Ferry 24 Hour Ultra Trail Run anyway and came out finishing my first ultra in the least expected and unplanned way. For one, I didn't sign up until a week ago. And I didn't even think I could finish a marathon distance. Let alone an ultra. Woods Ferry 24 Hour is a low-key trail race organized and directed by Terri Hayes, who started the South Carolina Ultra Trail Series. Four years into its existence, the series now offer five races featuring various distances in different forests throughout SC. The best of all? They are all free events. No frills, no chip-timing, and no t-shirts. Only labors of love, fully-stocked aid stations, unique finisher's award, and good times. The race didn't start until 4 p.m., but I arrived early to set up my tent. Terri briefed us about the course 15 minutes prior to start. It's a lollipop-shaped course which consists of a 1.3 mile out-and-back connecting to a 4.5 ...