Rope Swings and Curious Bikers

Yesterday Brendan and I got in 20 miles with the B.O.B.'s and Chucks. This was Brendan's first long run with the stroller and although I can't speak for him, I think he was impressed by how easy they are to push and maneuver.

The highlight of the run for both of us I think was the rope swing over Rapid Creek at mile 14. The temperature was starting to get hot and taking a wild swing into Rapid Creek is just what the doctor ordered.

We also had a chance to meet a really nice guy on the trail, Ken. Ken stopped us and asked what the deal is...us pushing big strollers along, loaded with drybags, tents, water, etc. Even though we get a lot of looks on runs or can hear people say, "There's no baby in the stroller!", this is the first time someone has stopped us on the run and asked what we are up to. Ken was in somewhat of a hurry because his daughter was on bike ahead of him and was waiting for him to across the street, but he said he would check out the website. Ken, thanks for the questions and thanks for checking out the site.

Better run,

Nolan

A Sight To See...


This morning I ran to work, 17.1 mile from my front door to my office door. I left at 4:30AM long before the sun came up. About 4 miles into the run I looked behind me, back towards Rapid City, and was surprised by the sight I saw. No wonder why so many people are pulled towards ultra-running! What else gets you on the road at 4:30AM to see something like this besides long-hual trucking?

Thanks for everyones posts on the Guestbook, it is fun to see people are following this Chemo Is Harder Journey and are now part of this adventure with us. If you haven't signed in yet, what are you waiting for?

Run long and strong,

Nolan

Relay for Life

Hello folks~

I wanted to share with you our experience with the Relay for Life that was held on the 8th of June. Nolan and I were extremely excited about this opportunity because it was ouf first of many speaking engagements. We were also quite nervous because we did not know what to expect for a crowd and we needed to look legitimate for our first appearance! We went over some topics each of us would cover and kept it short and sweet.

Another hurdle to overcome was the fact we did not have any shirts made up, so I went to a friend that owns Master Awards & Embroidery in town and she only had a couple of hours to get some cool shirts and our logo embroidered on the shirts for our first event. I was a nervous wreck since I knew these shirts would be key to help launching "Chemo IS Harder" in the public eye. I was extremely impressed by the quality of work and the timeliness. Thank you Marilynn!!

Nolan and I met with Patty Neumiller, the regional coordinator for the American Cancer Society and she got us on stage for folks to see. All went very well and people did ask us about our run and me, my wife Jonette, Nolan, and his fiancee Kaylee walked around the track to check out all of the hundreds of luminaries that were out on the inner part of the track to honor those people that have battled cancer or are currently battling it! It really puts things into perspective...

Those of us that don't have cancer cannot imagine what it must be like, and both Nolan and I have seen what cancer can do to a person and is why the "Chemo IS Harder" slogan is so perfect!! Even when you may be in the dumps, having a bad hair day, cannot seem to do anything right, just got into a fender-bender, or whatever misfortune that may have occured, CHEMO IS HARDER no matter how you look at it.

Cancer is a terrible monster that seems to affect everyone we come across in some manner. That is why Nolan and I are on a crusade to pour our hearts and souls into this cancer research campaign, and why we know it is going to be a huge success!! We cannot do it without you... Your help will be vital to our success. So please, do what you can. Visit our "How can I help?" page and send in your tax deductable donation to the address listed. Together we all can fight this!!!

Thank you,

Take care and happy running!!

BRENDAN~

A short-long run!

This 4th of July morning I went out for a 20 miler with the B.O.B. and had a blast. I loaded the stroller with everything I thought I would be using on the actual across the state run (minus a few little things) and it was a really cool feeling knowing how self-sufficient you really can be. It's the same feeling I get on every mountaineering trip or backpacking trip I do!


With me I had my sleeping bag, a tent, cloths, 1 gallon of water, first-aid kit, food, digital camera, water bottles, mp3 player, GPS unit, and a small portable ham radio (in case the "stuff" hit the fan...still cell phone-less and loving it!) .


I left the house at 4:30AM and for the first 8 miles it felt like I was fighting the B.O.B.. IT would fade one way and I would fight it back over and end up over correcting it and then I'd have t fight it back the other way. Over and over and over this happened. Then, about 8 miles into the run, it just started to click. I was getting the hang of turning the B.O.B. and making it hold a track on a straight line. Miles 8-20 were amazing. There were times when it felt like BOB was running himself, it took almost no energy to maintain its speed and it was staying on the course I desired with almost no help. That is when I started to realize just how cool being this independent on a long run will be (429 miles worth)!


The purpose of the run was just to experiment with how the BOB handles, how hills affect it, how the slope of the highway affects it, etc. After 8 miles all the bugs were worked out for this run and it was almost effortless. I ran the 20 miles in just under 3 hours, averaging just under 9 minute miles, including all the walking/running/screwing around with the BOB/and photos. A far cry from my normal 6:30 training pace for long runs but good practice nonetheless for an ultramarathon I will be running in August and the Chemo Is Harder run in May '08.


Run long and strong,


Nolan

Inaugural B.O.B. Run

Brendan and I got together this morning to take out the strollers for our first runs together with them. Some how we convinced Kaylee to roll out of bed 5:30 AM to get some pics of B.O.B. and CHUCK on the run.

I suppose I better explain. Brendan decided to rename his B.O.B. because everyone calls their B.O.B. strollers BOB so...CHUCK IT IS! For now on when you read about CHUCK, you'll have to know that that is Brendan's term of endearment towards his new stroller. I haven't come up with mine yet but I know Gretta is a good possibility.

It was good to get in a run with Brendan today as he has been out of town for 3 weeks. We ended up putting in 6 miles with the strollers and went out for another 2 strollerless along West Blvd in Rapid City's historic housing district.

Run long and strong,

Nolan

Hey... it's me, Brendan. Yeah, I'm alive and finally got a chance to Blog. The run went very well and it feels great to get up before the sun does, because I feel like I put in a full day by the time most folks get up on a Saturday morning.

By the way, CHUCK has a bit of a temper out on the trail. He tries to get away from me and turns when he is not supposed to when he runs into a crack in the pavement. It will just take some time to train him do what I want him to! I am excited to get out and do some really long runs with Nolan so we can get used to the additional weight.

I want to thank B.O.B for the AWESOME strollers and accessories!!! Their product support is huge for our cause and really allows us to breath more life into our run across the state in May 08'.

Take care and thanks for visiting our site today!

BRENDAN~

First Miles of Thousands!

2 days ago our B.O.B. Ironman Strollers came in the mail. Here's the scoop and my initial thoughts:

*These strollers are very easy to put together and maintain. Quick release everything and most of it is pre-assembled.

*Very lightweight, although because of B.O.B.'s attention to detail they feel incredibly tough and bombproof.

*Slick tires and good looks made it awfully hard not to want to take it out for a test spin within' minutes of having it assembled.

I did take it out yesterday morning and I have to say, I love it. I think it will handle our journey with ease. Also, Brendan and I were talking the night they were assembled and agreed that they sure will open up a whole new world of training possibilities for us.

Keep your eyes posted on the journal here, Brendan will start posting pretty soon as well and we will both keep this thing going with current info on what Chemo Is Harder is up to, how our training runs are going, where we will have appearances and speaking engagements, etc. Also, if you haven't signed our guest book what are you waiting for?

Good News!

Hey everybody,

We got good news this week from a potential sponsor. B.O.B. Trailers and Strollers agreed to help us out with our high performance strollers. Coming this week in the mail will be 2 Ironman Strollers with a bunch of cool accessories.

They are one of the world's leading makers of high performance bike trailers and strollers. You can check them out at http://www.bobgear.com/. We were really wanting to work closely with them on this adventure because of their great reputation of making tough, light, strong, fast, and dependable gear.

While crossing South Dakota, having the right stroller will make or break our journey. We are thrilled to have them with us and can't wait to get out with our new strollers. They are shipping them out on Monday, which we are really excited about because we are hoping to get 1,000-1,500 + miles of training mileage on them before our cross state run. Check back here soon for some updates on how are runs are going with our strollers as well as for pictures of them in action.

Besides that everything is coming along great. We have already had 1 appearance at a Relay For Life event in Rapid City and have a bunch more planned. In the next couple weeks we should be getting shirts, merchandise, and brochures made as well...there are so many things going on right now with the Chemo Is Harder cancer research run.

Brendan has been out of town for the last few weeks but from what I hear he is getting in his highest mileage weeks of his life right now, getting ready for his 50 mile ultra in August. ROCK ON!

Run long and strong,

Nolan