Fear And Groaning At The Hellbender 100
by[photo by White Blaze Productions] [NOTE: 2020 is the tenth year of my blog at Semi-Rad.com, and since I started it, I’ve been…
Running
Winter Running Tips For Masochists
byWinter is the prime season for lots of fun activities: skiing, snowboarding, ice climbing, ice skating, curling, and sledding among them. But you’d rather…
How To Go For A Run In 22 Simple Steps
by1. Congratulations, you’ve decided to go for a run. Today. As you probably know, that’s the first step towards going for a run, so…
Marathon Tips From My Friend Syd
byThese tips are entirely based on my observations while running the 2019 NYC Marathon with Syd, his 11th time running the race. He is…
6 Things I Did Last Weekend That Took Longer Than Someone Running 26.2 Miles
by1. Stayed in bed after my alarm went off. Hey, come on. I work hard all week. And I don’t have 41 teammates waiting…
We Are Running Nowhere
byHere’s a strange thing I did a couple weeks ago: I left my house in running clothes, with a couple packages and envelopes in…
To All The Women Who Think You’re Faster Than Me:
byDear Women Who Think You’re Faster Than Me: Look, I’m a man. I’ve been running for a while now. I know a few things….
The Bighorn 100: A Race Report
byHere’s something you don’t really want to hear the week before you run a 100-mile race you’re not sure you can finish: The course…
The Hill That You Love To Hate
by“I hate this hill,” I said to the man pushing his mountain bike up the dirt road. He was trying to tell me that…
A Case For The Apple Fritter As Endurance Fuel
byAt about Mile 13 of the Colfax Marathon, I was starting to feel hungry. I did the math in my head—I had about 14…
Remember When We Were Young?
byMark and I sat in the front window of a Denver coffee shop, talking about aging. Mark was 44, I was 37. Thirty-seven and…
Yes, A Friend Can Make Miserable Things Less Miserable
byI trudge forward, the muddy road tugging at my running shoes, splattering my ankles and shins, as I finish the uphill part of my…
The Best Semi-Rad Adventure Charts of 2018
byFor the past couple years, I’ve drawn non-scientific charts and other doodles and posted them regularly on my Instagram feed. They’re not always about…
Why Finish Lines Will Get You Every Time
byI didn’t know why it happened. I was doing OK until the guy with the dog came through, and then, all of a sudden,…
I’m Meditating (I’m Just Not Sitting Down)
byI tried. For a while, it seemed like everyone was talking about how meditation changed their lives—friends, acquaintances, podcast interviewees and interviewers, authors, even…
A New York Pizza Marathon
byThe concept was pretty simple, and potentially disgusting: Run a marathon, 26.2 miles, around New York City, and eat five slices of pizza—one slice…
If You Don’t Want To Dawn Patrol, You Can Dusk Patrol
byIt’s (hopefully) common knowledge that if you want to climb a Colorado 14er in the summer, you should be on your way down from…
The One Thing You Need To Know
byTo climb rocks: Use your feet. Despite what you may have seen in Cliffhanger, or depictions of climbing in energy drink ads, rock climbing…
The Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim: A Trail Diary
by4:35 a.m. The wind blows across the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, 20 mph constant. Mitsu and I hurriedly grab hats and gloves,…
How I Learned to Stop Worrying And Love The Strava
byI was hesitant to try Strava at first: Everybody’s heard about some jackass who almost ran over a kid on the trail because they…
How to Run 100 Miles: A Film About Persistence
byJust over a year ago today, I signed up for my first 100-mile ultramarathon with a guy I’ve been friends with for 18 years,…
Motivational Posters For Ultrarunners
byOr anyone who’s run further than they thought was fun. —Brendan More stuff like this in my new book, Bears Don’t Care…
Dear New Guy At The Climbing Gym:
byDear New Guy At The Climbing Gym, or lady running around the track at the park for the first time, or person trying out…
I Believe In Inertia
byIt happened again yesterday, like it always does, about three-quarters of the way through my run: I started to try to talk myself out…
Announcing A New Book: The Great Outdoors: A User’s Guide
byToday, I get to share something that some wonderful people and I have been working on for almost two years: a big, fat book…
Happiness Is Your Backyard Trail
byI plodded my way up the Hayden Trail, headed up toward my fifth “summit” of the day as the sun coasted downward. I had…
I Hate Running
byI hate running, three to four times a week if I have time. I hated it yesterday for a little over an hour. I…