Way too long!

Hi everyone who reads this crazy Chemo Is Harder Journal! Sorry it has been so dang long since our last post. Truth is, both Brendan and I have been really busy with non-Chemo Is Harder stuff. Not only that but we are at a point in the process of making this a big deal that we are needing some outside assistance. Chemo Is Harder is about to come WAY to big for just the two of us to handle.

We have been revamping a few things with Chemo Is Harder as well. We are in the works of trying to get a PayPal account set up on our site so folks can purchase shirts online via a secure site. There have been A LOT of folks who have been asking how they can get shirts and soon it will be easier that trying to catch up with one of us.

Brendan, his wife, and myself actually went on a run tonight and talked a little bit about getting together a no-kidding gear list, talking with a sports nutritionist, etc. I have been focusing for so long on a race that I have this weekend (East Meets West Dryland Challenge - 1 Dog Pro-Class Canicross) it felt great to start thinking about our long cross-state run again.

Anyways, just an apology for the lack of updates in the last 2 months. We WILL be making them more often!

Nolan

PS - The picture on the top is of a Mountain Goat on Harney Peak. This weekend Meg and Susan (from the Heart of the Hills Running Club in Hill City) and myself run up Harney Peak. It turned out to be an awesome run with good company to the highest point in South Dakota.

Letters from a tent...

9-1-2007
11:26 PM

Hey everyone,

I'm writing this from my tent in the middle of the Black Hills National Forest. I'm out on a back-to back long run weekend. My original plan was to do a 60 mile tune-up to test the B.O.B. and all of my differant systems on 2 consecutive long run days, originally planned for 30 mile days. I was also going to do all of this east of Rapid City on flat highways, being that that is about all we will encounter on our cross state run.

I changed my plans before leaving town. It was 96 degrees in Rapid today and to tell you the truth, I wasn't that excited to head out of town, pushing 40 pounds of gear while the rubber off the bottom of my shoes melted to the black-top a little more with each step, so...I waited until it cooled off a bit (7 PMish) and got in about 20. My run home tomarrow is a differant route so I am guessing my weekend test-drive will become a 50 miler or so, whish isn't as wicked as the 60 I had hoped for but still, what's better then 50 miles in a weekend, all totally self-sufficient?

Anyways, if my run tonight was any indication of the heat I will have to run in tomarrow, then it's a good thing I plan and getting on the road between 5AM and 6AM. It's late now and I better get some shut eye.

Run long and sleep hard,

Nolan

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Bigger and better website...

Hey everyone,

Thanks to John from Black Hills Web Hosting, the website has been updated and redone a little bit. A few pictures have been added and some info has been changed. One of the significant differences is the picture of Brendan's Mom and Dad on the "How It Started" page. There is also a picture of Brendan and I on the home page by our contact info, this is something that should have been a done a while ago judging by some of the comments we have received in the past.

Also, our route has been changed a little bit. We will now run a 47 miler on Day 13, ending on Day 14 with a 10 miler. Day 13 should be the true test of the journey. And boy oh boy...10 miles on our last day, if all goes well that should feel like CAKE!

Anyways, things keep changing with the site and getting better and better all the time.

I'll write a journal post this weekend from the road. I (and possibly Brendan) will be doing two 30 mile days, back to back, with the B.O.B.'s. Camping out of our strollers and making a Chemo Is Harder tune-up out of it.

Should be wild!

Nolan

The Lean Horse 50 miler!

Hello Chemo Is Harder Fans!

It has been awhile since I last posted, but I wanted to Let everyone know about how the Lean Horse 50 miler went this past weekend. I met a ton of great folks over the past couple of days and it is amazing how the "Ultra" community bonds together. Many of these people tend to know one another despite that fact that they are scattered all over the country. The one thing I noticed most of all is the genuine concern for one another and people were curious how training went in order to get to that point. No one was "sizing" another person up as I have noticed many runners do for shorter distance races. It's not the speed that counts as much as the ability to endure pain over much longer periods of time. It is truly a race of mind over body.

It seems that Ultra running attracts a fair amount of experienced runners. In fact, it turns out that I was one of the youngest runners in the event. That was a bit surprising, but it did not matter on the course.

One of the coolest surprises was a fellow co-worker that came out to see me on the course! She lives near Pringle and took time out of her day to see how I was doing. Ma, You ROCK!! That made my day and just wanted to thank you so much for being out there for me...

I met folks from Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas, Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas, Canada, and of course South Dakota. Each person I met was truly amazing! Each of them had a unique story and it made my experience one that I will always cherish. I hope to see them all down the road (literally) in future races... Thanks to them all for helping me get through the day.

Mark Forand was my running buddy for the last 10 miles (another Rapid City runner) and he was awesome! It really made the last part of the race an enjoyable one. I know it won't be the last time we "run" into eachother... Great job Mark!!

My wife, Jonette, is my hero! She really made my day by helping me out throughout the race! Her encouragement every step of the way made my experience a positive one. When I crested a hill and saw her (and my dog Tyson) standing there waving and cheering me on, it made my day. Tyson was great too cause he would run to me and tell me that I was doing good!!

Thanks Joni~ You're the best!!! I love you...

Well folks, until the next time-

Brendan~

Late breaking news!

I talked to Brendan last night and found out he finished the Lean Horse 50 Mile Ultramarathon in his goal time of sub-10 hours! When I talked to him he said he felt like a million bucks the entire 50 miles and he thinks he's been bit pretty hard by the ultra bug.

I'll encourage him to post some race commentary here in the next days.

As far the Chemo Is Harder Run is concerned, after Brendan's success with his 50 miler, we are now going to move Day 13's mileage up to 47 miles so we would only be left with 10 or so miles the last day! 47 miles with the Bob and Chuck should be WILD!

Run long and strong (like Brendan),

Nolan

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It's been a while!

Wow...it sure has been a while since I posted on here. So much has happened since the last time I updated the journal I don't know where to start.

Brendan and I have been getting a pretty awesome response to our project so far. The Rapid City Journal did another article on us and KEVN FOX News wants to run a news story on us in late August. The foundation has been laid, now we just need to get the word out!

Everyone from cancer survivors to friends and family to people affected by cancer to folks who heard about our project in the media have been sending little notes, either on the guestbook or on email. AWESOME...keep em coming. I am guessing that at mile 350 or so next May these little notes and words of encouragement will be what keeps us going.

I ran the Elkhorn Hurl Ultra a couple weeks ago. It was a 50K outside Helena, Montana. It was also an INSANE run! I wish I had pics of some of the trail sections. A little word to the wise, when you go to a mandatory race meeting the night before a race and they refer to sections of the trail as "Ridge of Despair" and "5 Mile Mountain" you best believe that they're not fibbing and your in for a fight! It went really well, and I got to meet some really cool folks. I also got to run with some really experienced Ultra "Old Heads". They should feel pretty good about themselves because of imitation is a form of flattery I was doing some serious flirting. When they stopped to eat, I stopped to eat. When they walked a hill, I walked a hill. Some of these guys have run 35 or more Ultras in the last 10 years, up to 100 mile races, so they are the ones to watch! Everyone has told me that the best ultra-marathoners are women 30-40 yrs old and men 40-50 yrs. old. I believe it now...I don't know if it is lack of testosterone, more patience, higher pain threshold, or what but for some of these guys who can't break a 7:00 minute mile they sure do make running 8:00 on wicked trails look really easy!

Since the Elkhorn HURL I haven't run a whole lot this week. I don't really have another race planned until November, so this seemed like the perfect time to let my legs repair themselves a bit. I start the running again at the end of this week as my body feels great, although it never really hurt, a little bit of a recovery never hurt anyone! I have, however, been getting out and doing some kayaking, canoeing, mountain biking, swimming, and hiking. The photo of the goat was taken on Harney Peak, the highest point in South Dakota on a hike recently.

Karen Land (A great musher and fantastic author) did a nice article on the race for the Great Falls Tribune. Check her out at http://www.mymusher.com/. I'm sure she will add the HURL article to her "Recent Columns" sections soon.

Brendan is getting ready for his 50 Mile Lean Horse Ultra that will take place in less than 2 weeks now. I haven't gotten to run with him in a while due to both of our busy schedules but it sounds like he is in the best shape of his life. I considered helping pace this run as there is a 100 Mile option as well, and in the dead of night, about 2:00 AM, those 100 Mile folks feel pretty alone and exhausted so there looking for folks to help keep them awake and sane on the trail by running and pacing them. Could be a cool adventure to volunteer for.

Anyways, I better cut this short and get on with the day. Sorry for the long gap in entries, now that I am back in town and have my Ultra done with I'll have a little more time to post at least once or twice a week.

Run long and strong,

Nolan

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