The Dailey Edge Podcast
Join hosts Trent, TJ, and Todd Dailey as they explore the intersections of technology, culture, fitness, and personal growth. Through engaging discussions and personal anecdotes, the trio dives into topics ranging from childhood gaming nostalgia and cutting-edge fitness tech to the pursuit of happiness and lifestyle choices. Whether reminiscing about epic gaming marathons, sharing tips for staying on the forefront of fitness trends, or unraveling the complexities of modern life, The Dailey Edge delivers thoughtful insights, lively debates, and relatable stories for listeners of all walks of life.
The Dailey Edge Podcast
Episode 19: Running 31 Miles: The Mental and Physical Journey to the Full Mo
The Dailey brothers discuss Trent's preparation for running the Full Mo 50K ultra marathon and the evolution of this unique race over five years.
• Trent describes his journey from a 500-day running streak to training for the 31-mile Full Mo race
• TJ explains what makes the Full Mo unique – a point-to-point trail race that takes runners from rural Sheridan through various communities to downtown Indianapolis
• Ultra marathons differ significantly from traditional marathons, with a more relaxed atmosphere and focus on completion rather than speed
• Proper fueling becomes critical when running for 5+ hours, requiring solid foods beyond just gels and sports drinks
• The mental preparation for an ultra might be more important than physical training – experiencing the discomfort in training helps prepare for race day
• The Full Mo has grown from 21 runners in year one to a sold-out field of 150 participants in year five
• The brothers reflect on why it's never too late to try something new, whether in fitness, business, or learning new skills
• Community emerges as a crucial element both in race organization and in taking on new challenges
If you're thinking about trying something new but feeling hesitant, remember that most people overestimate what the worst looks like. Having the right community around you makes it easier to take risks and grow from failures.
Welcome to the Daily Edge where we bring you the latest insights, opinions and thought-provoking conversations to give you that competitive edge in life, business and beyond. Let's go, welcome back to the Daily Edge. Trent Daly here with my brothers TJ Daly and Todd Daly. Daily Edge Trent Daly here with my brothers TJ Daly and Todd Daly, and today we're going to talk a little bit about the full mow. So TJ has started a race. What year did you start?
Speaker 2:that this will be year five. So 2020, I guess, or was it 2020? Pandemic, I don't know. This is year five.
Speaker 1:So five years into this race and I don't believe I have run it yet. Actually, you've helped once, yeah, like a training for something, like a planning run, but I haven't officially run it. Was it episode one where we were talking about goals and different things and I said, well, set my goals for me? And reluctantly, tj's like, okay, run the full mow and the prairie, which is in September? So I committed to the full mow and you know it's been quite the journey. I am on a running streak Just clipped over 500 days, which, again, the only reason I started that was because of these two and, uh, I've continued to keep it going. Sometimes I don't know why, but my mileage actually shrunk down to 20 to 30 miles a week and I haven't been running near as far where I used to go out and run six miles at a time. I'm now running. You know I was running one, two, three or four, and so it's been quite the journey and the mind shift trying to get in shape for the full mo.
Speaker 3:Talk about that a little bit, um, because I feel like that can be extra challenging, like mentally. There are times where you're like you don't really have to worry about how far you're running or how long you're running, you just got to get some exercise in every day, right 15 to 20 minutes.
Speaker 2:Let me jump in first and explain the Fulmo so that you guys have a context as to what Trent's tackling. So the Fulmo is a 50K, so for those of you who aren't metric fanatics, that's 31-ish miles. There is an iconic trail in central Indiana that runs from Sheridan down to downtown Indianapolis. Our particular race ends in the Bottleworks District. For those of you that are familiar, it's 31 miles. It is run at the end of May, beginning of June depending, so it's always the weekend after Memorial Day and so it can get very, very hot. It can be somewhat reasonable, but it's never necessarily cool.
Speaker 2:The other thing to note about this particular trail is that, unfortunately for the runners, once you cross the very end and you have the last six miles, the first part of the trail is wonderful. There's a canopy, there's a tree cover. The last six miles you're in an industrial area and it is completely exposed. So Trent is going to has been training to run 31 miles in what could be a 90 degree day. I think we saw that year one. So that's a little bit of context as to what this particular race is. He'll be running it with 150 of his closest friends. It was a sellout this year. This is the biggest race we've ever had, so I wanted to interject that, and then I'll go back to Todd to finish his question.
Speaker 3:Yeah, just talk a little bit about balancing that every day with now having to get in enough mileage. It seems like, psychologically, at least to me, that would be a lot to juggle. And what's that been like?
Speaker 1:It's been really challenging. I got to say making that shift. It's obviously more of a time commitment but I've just been exhausted right, because I mean I've kind of run end to end on my days and a lot of kids' activities. My kids are 15, 13, 12, and seven. The spring is our busiest season. Hadley plays on two soccer teams Roman's playing golf, isaiah's playing soccer.
Speaker 1:So every weekend is travel, travel, travel. So even on Saturdays where it's like okay, it's Saturday, I can sleep in and I mean I'm up. There's been a couple of times I've had to get up at six and one time I ran from 6am to 9am. I got my three hour run in and did a 20 miler and then I had to be at a game at 930. So and then part of that is is when you start dialing your mileage up, injuries start to come up right. So when I'm running one, two, three and four or five miles a day, I felt pretty good, like the body felt good.
Speaker 1:I've always struggled with kind of hip issues when I got my mileage a little bit higher.
Speaker 1:Obviously when you're running anything over 13, 14, 15, you deal with chafing and you deal with a lot of other things. I've had a little bit of a foot problem on the top where the joint is, and so I've dealt with injuries, which you just kind of I've known that since we've done this over a decade that you just kind of manage that. Working in fuel has been another thing. I haven't really ever been great at fuel, so trying to figure out my fuel I realized tailwind and the mixture for me just kind of makes everything slosh so I just can't really do that. But when I'm running these longer distances where I'm doing at least a 10 miler during the week and then I'm doing a 15 to 20 on the weekend, I'm just tired, and so that transition from 25 mile weeks to the last three weeks have been over 50 has been a grind and I've tried not to sacrifice and really miss too much of the kids stuff because of it. It's just required me to either stay up later or get up earlier.
Speaker 3:What has been the difference? I mean mean, as you look back, when I mean you've had several different builds right where you went from kind of being in moderate shape, even though you were having a running streak I think maybe what people may not understand you weren't necessarily running intervals, you weren't running at speed, it was just like going out there. So you would consider yourself starting this journey several weeks ago not necessarily being in super strong fitness shape or at least relative to running a 31 mile race, right. So you've obviously gained a considerable amount of experience in running over the last decade. Like, what are some of the things that you have been thoughtful about with this build based on some of the experience you've gained?
Speaker 1:I would say the biggest is I think you want to always just go all in. I knew I had to build my mileage and I had to build it in a way so I didn't get shin splints. I know that's something that has been big for me. So the the one of the best parts was I had a base. I had a base of 25 to 30 miles, so I had a base level of fitness. But you're right, my cardio. I hadn't run a mile probably under an eight minute pace in months and so I went from 30 to 35 to 40 to 41 to 50.
Speaker 1:So I've gradually kind of worked my way up from a mileage standpoint, trying to again prevent injury, shin splints, a lot more stretching this time around, and then just fuel. I think would be the other thing. I've never done well at fuel. When you're running for five hours, which is probably where I'm going to come in around Um, you just gotta have fuel and I don't think I do really well with the gels. Even I think I can do that for a couple hours, but I'm going to have to throw in some bananas and some other things.
Speaker 1:So for me it's just been fuel, slowly building my mileage and probably the other thing which I'm generally pretty good at, but it's just been recovery. Like I just got to sleep. Like yesterday put down a 14 miler, I was with the kids, we played pickleball for two hours, we were out in the sun, we were at the lake, we were doing all stuff. I mean it went nonstop. I mean I was active for five or six hours yesterday and I just smoked. So making sure that I'm still getting seven, eight, eight hours of sleep and focusing on recovery and eating somewhat decent, right, like you got to, you kind of got to eat good, because that compounds if you don't eat good you're even more tired and you're more lethargic, so it kind of forces yourself into shape.
Speaker 3:TJ, one of the things you did not mention about the full moat. The start is this obviously falls in the category of ultra marathon, right and uh. From my experience, this is a very, very, very different type of race than a marathon. I think most people, when you tell them 31.4 miles, their eyes just get huge, like you're actually going to run a marathon and then go run another five miles on top of that, like you know what is what is wrong with you. Um, but this is the ultra races are very, very different in nature. Why don't you talk a little bit about that? I mean, we just got done running a marathon and just it's a completely different experience.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I think I want to talk about this in the context that we this race is to encourage people to explore something different. We've we've talked in prior episodes about how important it is from our perspective to explore different things within whatever discipline. It is that you're pursuing greatness, but yeah, with this particular race it is it is more laid back. So this is really more about the distance itself and completing the race than it is going out. We will have people. The course record was set last year at three hours and 17 minutes, which is like roughly a 620 pace for 31 miles. We will have a couple of people at the front of the pack that are going for that. But the way this race is set up, this is really designed to help people tackle those extra five miles and enter the ultra world. So it is laid back. We have seven aid stations and an aid station that you would traditionally deal with in a road race. You're running by, you're grabbing a cup, you're slamming your water If you don't have gels on you a lot of times you can grab those on course, but it's a very quick interaction In our world. It is much more laid back. So when Trent gets to aid station three or four. There will be candy, there will be pretzels, there will be bananas. You are carrying your water on you. We had an individual who shout out Thad Blossom and Anai Dela Cruz, and I'm going to have to think what we have. Oh, and Lindsey Welty. Those three people have finished every single FOMO and they'll be lining up again this year.
Speaker 2:We lost Molly Brunner to Montana. She was our other potential five-time finisher, but the first year Thad showed up. He didn't have any context, and so Thad thought this was going to be like a regular marathon. He didn't carry any water on him at all. Luckily, somebody had a plastic water bottle or plastic Gatorade bottle that they gave him at one of the aid stations. Um, but he had severe issues after the race, um, with just a little bit of heat sickness and and uh got sick a couple of times on the way back up to his car.
Speaker 2:But uh, that said it's much more casual. Um, we have people that'll walk, jog, this thing. We have an eight hour cutoff, um, so you know it's it's really more about completing the distance, but I think with Trent, I don't think he'd feel very fulfilled going out there and doing this in seven hours. So you know, respecting the distance is something that I think you're taking seriously. That said, I guess I'm going to jump off of your question and pitch it back to you just for a second. You know, when you're out there running 20 milers by yourself, starting at 6 am, what are some of the things you're telling yourself to stay in it, because this isn't your first build, you're not exploring running a 20 miler for the first time. You know you have run ultras, you have run a 50 miler before. So what are some of the things that you're telling yourself to keep yourself motivated throughout this process? And then, what have some of the small wins been that have kept you going?
Speaker 1:Well, on my long runs I generally listen to a podcast. Um, which has been nice and actually it's been. It's generally on a Friday or Saturday, so I listened to our podcast that that came out, just to kind of, um, get myself thinking about something else, cause I know it's going to be a longer day. The other part is is like when you decide you're like I'm running 20 miles today and you kind of settle into that just like anything, the last two or three are the hardest, cause you're like I'm almost there. It's like I got to use the restroom. The closer I get to the restroom, the more I got to go Right. So for me, once I get going, uh, you know, it takes two or three miles to get the diesel engine moving, and then I just kind of settle in and as long as I've set the expectation for the day, the one thing I stay away from is like, well, I'm either going to do 15 or 20. It's like, no, I've got a number, I've got to set that, I've got to commit to that. Or I've got a time frame. It's two hours, it's three hours and I've got to commit to that up front. And so for me it's about putting the mileage in.
Speaker 1:I know because I've been underprepared for races before that if I don't get up and I'm not doing the mileage, it's going to hurt that much worse on the race day. And you got to put yourself through those mental battles. I was telling one of my buddies I'm like you need to go out and run a 20. It's not for the fitness gain at this point because you're not going to get it. You need to feel what it feels like from mile 15 to 20 on your legs. You need to know when you get to 20, what that feels like. So I think part of it is you got to re retake your mind through the pain of what you're going to feel, to realize when it hits race day. You can make it through it, and so part of this has been that mental preparation as I've.
Speaker 1:I used to feel that at 13, I used to feel it at 15 and feeling it and I definitely will feel it at 20, but when you're sitting there at 20 or 25, you know what that feels like. You've got to have the time on your legs Because for me my legs tend to be giving out and having more issues with my legs than my lungs. I feel like my cardio is really, really good right now, and then, every now and then, you surprise yourself Again. I was on a race, or I was on a run the other day and everything clicked right. The weather was good, the fuel was good and I I ran a progressive and just worked my myself down into a territory I haven't been at in years. So taking those gains and celebrating those, being consistent, committing to the work and sticking to a plan are things that I think you have to do, and I think that will lead to a better experience on race day.
Speaker 2:Shout out to Christy D. This blonde runs for a program that seems to be working for you. She's fantastic when it comes to building out those types of structures because she's run 50Ks, 50 milers. She has a real broad perspective there. I'd like to kind of kick it over to you. You've finished Fulmo three times, or twice Twice. This will be number three. So what advice? Having done it in a couple different ways? You've run part with somebody, you've run part fast before. I mean you've done a bunch of different ways. What types of things would you tell Trent? You know, as it relates to this race, that he may not be thinking about to look out for?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I mean I've finished it twice in both Um. One I ran the whole thing with someone and then the other I ran the first half and then um for kind of pace and speed and then and then ran in um with someone. I would say fuel, I mean you've talked about this, but fuel is just critical because you don't think much of it. You're out there another 45 minutes, you know post marathon ish distance, but it compounds and you guys know this. Once you get behind in fuel it's too late and it compounds and that's the mistake that I have made in the past in many races and it just gets so hot to your point.
Speaker 3:I know we've talked about running the full mode backwards at times because you would want ideally, the morning to be the uncovered uh, where it's maybe a little crisp, and then finish up in the canopy Um. But you get down there and it gets so hot, uh, depending on the day, and maybe again there was that, like you said, first year, I think it was 90. It's really really difficult and it's a grind and I mean I think you're doing the right things putting yourself in adverse situations in training so you have the context for it. But ultimately I think, having run marathons before you know a lot of it is contained in that experience. It's just a little bit longer.
Speaker 1:I would say some of the other things I've tried to do. Again, the mental preparation you guys both have talked about. This is like I'm running hills, I'm running roads. It's easy for me and Marion to get on this trail, the Cardinal Greenway, and it's as straight as an arrow and it's as flat as an arrow and I just I can get on that and I can run back and forth, run out four and back four.
Speaker 1:But like I've been really trying to put myself in situations where I'm having to deal with wind at mile 17, 18, 19, where I'm running, you know, 500 feet of elevation, and a training run where, um, I'm trying to get myself into some of those adverse positions, cause mentally, if I turn a corner and it's 22 miles in and the wind hits my face, you know I want to be ready. Like okay, I just one foot in front of the other, just keep my cadence and just go versus like I'm toast, I'm dead. So that mental preparation, I'm trying to simulate some of that now in order, on race day, again that I'm mentally prepared, because I've heard you both talk about this it's like 75% of this is probably mental if you put in the mileage. Now I know some people don't put in the mileage. They try to go out there and just wing it, but it feels like most of it's going to be mental.
Speaker 3:I think you may want to store a theragun or something at aid station four or five, like from a hip perspective, because if that goes bad it's not grinding out the last few miles you might have 10 to go if that hits you at 20 and and taking the time at the aid stations to stretch those things out and work those things through. That's a nice thing about the this ultra. I would run this 10 times before I'd run. Now I'm going to run it a little harder this time than prior years. But relative to a marathon, you know your typical sprinting past, chugging the water I would run this sort of a race and that may shock some people 10 times. Compared to a marathon, from an effort exertion perspective it's just a much more enjoyable uh experience expounding on that, you you have finished it twice.
Speaker 2:Um, you seem to be an injury magnet because both people that you've run with have been, like, catastrophically injured by the time they finish but um, you don't want to run with you talked about, you know, enjoying it, you know they're. The cool thing about this race is it does pass through a number of different towns, locales, different vibes. Do you have a particular part of the race that's your favorite?
Speaker 3:I'm thinking I mean naturally just being from westfield, um that part there's just a lot of familiar trails and paths. I mean, obviously it's all in the full mow, but I've run those a ton, so there's a level of familiarity too that I always enjoy. It's funny you and I have talked about in the past. You a lot of times enjoy running brand new scenery and I really enjoy running familiar paths because, for whatever reason, it makes it go quicker for me, having done it before, because I psychologically know what to expect. So I would say Westfield is great, it's not only cooler, you hit some of the parks, there's, yeah, a lot of interaction there. I would say I have some of my best memories from that north part, I mean, I think going over the 140, well, some of this is when I ran it last year.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, I had a friend um from my circle uh, hung up a sign on the monon um and he lives right on the monon and so he went out into his in the monon. I mean that's like a car and a half width and then there's trees on both sides. He's an outdoors guy, he's just kind of, you know, he hunts and does things outdoors. So however he did this. He got up and of me on a plotter, and so that's always a fun part of the race, even when I'm just running on the Monon on a daily basis that I come through that, that I have to laugh. I was mortified because those of you who know me know I'm not. I was mortified because those of you who know me know I'm not I like to fly under the radar and there was people from Marion that were walking on the Monon the next morning. He didn't take it down right away, posting this on Facebook and tagging me and I was just mortified that my face was. I mean, I don't know how many thousands of people were going down the Monon on that Saturday after Memorial Day, but that was certainly a fun part as well. I mean there is a joy in for me the grind of the last several miles there.
Speaker 3:I remember the year we had to basically was it the second year, first year. First year we had to change the course, basically in real time, because when we got down there you had ridden the bike maybe a couple of weeks before and we got down to the finish line and they had started the project on I-70 West and they had blocked it off, so we had to basically find a new path that matched the distance and then I remember running in the first like four runners to make sure that they got to the finish line. So there's some good memories there. So long-winded answer to your question of of what I enjoy the most. But Westfield's known for its parks and you know Carmel's known for its business. You run through city center. You know up further North is just there is, like you said, a lot of different locales. Obviously, downtown you're getting more of the industrial on that home stretch. So it's just, it's really neat.
Speaker 2:So you have helped before. Two years ago, I think, you did shuttle in the morning and then helped what you know, thinking other than us challenging you, which was always going to happen, other than us challenging you, which was always going to happen. What aspects of that event did you enjoy and kind of maybe made it easier to commit to this particular thing, Like you know, having been there from a staff perspective, crew perspective- I've always wanted to do it.
Speaker 1:Timing just hasn't been great. My kids go to a camp in Missouri which just kept me out. But you guys have talked about you get to see every part of Indiana, right, you start in rule and farm and you kind of work through so and I think it's a beautiful path, like I. I truly believe it's one of those. Like it's a, it's an easy 50k, right, it's one I want to say there's easy, fit that a 50k is easy, but I mean it's a trail the whole way. You get to see a lot of scenery, it's run very well. It's slightly downhill I hear the whole entire way, um. So yeah, I, I think, for for me it's, it's obviously I want to support it's one of your, your races, but I think it's a pretty incredible race.
Speaker 1:I mean, if you're going to go do a 50k, you can go sign up at a lot of different places. I was talking to somebody the other day that was here. It's like I'm into ultras now I'm like you should try the full mo Um, and there's been a lot of. You know great experiences and you do such a good job making sure people feel important and have a great experience. So, uh, if I was ever going to race again which, again, it's been almost two years, um, this was going to be one of the ones that I did.
Speaker 3:So, tj, you mentioned very briefly, humbly, uh, that it's sold out this year. Um, remind us I think you've kind of mentioned this before remind us what year one was like, uh, and then talk about running a race and seeing it to the point of it selling out. Uh, five years in and and knowing you probably could have filled even more spots, but what's that been like?
Speaker 2:It's been really crazy. You know, this came up, this was a thought that I'd had for a long time and had kept it to myself. And then one day I was running with Christie on the Midland trace and she's she's like we should do a full mo, we should do a race on the Monon, and I'm like okay, thinking to myself, yeah, I've been thinking about that. And so we're like let's make this a real thing. And this was probably spring or summer of 2020, because 21 was the first year. And then I hit you guys up. I'm like let's try a test run. I think we went out that october um, it was global msa day, I believe, and we did it very casually, but we finished at 50K and we decided, all right, let's launch this the following year, again, like thank God for Christy and Caleb and those people and our friends that first year that were connected enough to get some people out. Year one we had 21 people. Um, I yeah, I have talked about in prior podcasts where it was a really scary thing, you know, because there is an element of you as an event producer, having done that in a prior life, that is convinced that an event's credibility is related directly to the size of it. And so having 20 people there, you're like, okay, am I over the threshold to the size of it? And so having 20 people there, you're like, okay, am I over the threshold? To the point that these people feel like this is a legitimate, actual race? We did some things that year that were different. We're always about differentiating ourselves. So I know that year, you know, typically you go to a race and you get any more a quickly, cheaply made race shirt. That year we did custom singlets that I think, resonated Again. We had Orange Theory Fitness. We had Scotty and Molly. That year, again, prior to her moving, we had a couple of different people that I've just called out in the past that were there that first year, that have kind of stayed with us and that have helped evangelize it. You know I mentioned Lindsay earlier. This is going to be her last year as well. She actually is moving out of state. She scheduled her move around the FOMO, which is very cool. That makes me feel really special that you know she did that for us and she's coming to, you know, get her fifth finish. She's been on the women's podium, I think, or close to it, every single year. She's a phenomenal competitor but seeing it grow, from that first year I think we got some fairly good feedback.
Speaker 2:Year two we improved some things. I think that was the first year that we year two or year three was the first year we dedicated an aid station to our mom. So our aunt comes in from Arizona and runs that with my daughters and sometimes your kids will come down. So we've got some really special aid stations. But I think what's helped us grow this is the community around it.
Speaker 2:So those of us that are on the Fulmo team, you have Angie Frazier who is extremely connected in the Westfield area and just politically across all of Hamilton County. She has rode the lead bike, I think from year two on. She helped found Westfield Run Club. They do a couple different aid stations for us so that's big. So you have a run club involved there. Then we had some of the Fishers Run Club and the Carmel Run Club hit it in year two and year three and Fishers. Actually in year three Fishers had such a presence. I think you ran it that year Like they just did their own aid station and they had streamers and like you run through and there's these confetti pops going off and so we formalized it was just before 96th Street.
Speaker 3:Yes, I remember going through there, it was unbelievable.
Speaker 2:So we've put them in an official aid station at the Monon center and they will be actually for the first time this year we'll have a sweeper team. So that's been. One of the big things is, this is an eight hour cutoff and we're the kind of race that if you're running eight, 15 or eight 30, we're probably going to keep the finish line open for you. Obviously, we can't be there for 10 hours, so we advertise seven and a half to eight hour cutoff, but we've always been in a position where I'm running out to see where the last person is. So Fisher's Running Club, we had that sweeper team in there. So there's another group of individuals that have a big footprint in the community. I mentioned Orange Theory earlier and two of their people running it that first year. They have a big footprint. You know Athletic Annex is a great partnership, so year around the Fulmo advertisements are run on their screens. So you know they've helped us gain presence. And then, of course, I mentioned Christy, who does our social media. Corey Nero, who used to produce events with me in Seattle, flies out and he is a professional event producer for Microsoft. So he flies out and lends his expertise. Uh, the packet experience this year is going to be next level. Uh, because he has worked to improve that for us.
Speaker 2:Um, of course, my wife, who has helped. Uh, tara, who has helped make the the gear and source the gear for us. Uh, dakota, who's helping, and we've designed a really cool medal. So we're starting a brand new medal series this year. So we're going to commemorate every segment of this trail so that you're going to get a unique medal, and she's helped drive that. And then, of course, you know John Faust, who's a staple at all of our races. He's the reason. Initially he worked for Ruth's Chris. He's now a partner over at King Go Pizza, but working at Ruth's, we're the only race in the state that has Ruth's Chris sliders at our finish line Delicious. Rob D, chrissy's husband, helps and really, pretty much with Corey, runs the finish area, which is right there at the garage, and it's just really cool curated experience. So, um, you know, all of those people and all of their networks, and then the people within that have experienced this. Angela Kumar comes to mind. I know I'm rambling, but I'm obviously excited and passionate about this. She's been a huge champion for us, um, you know. So it's just been really cool to see it grow from something that even the first two years, where it was 21 and then 50 and then 70 and then 100 and now 150. It's just, you know. I'm super grateful for the people that have helped us throughout this whole process. I stress over things a lot.
Speaker 2:One of the last things I'll mention, and this just goes to show the kind of people that are around us and that are part of this community. I think it was year two, I think I handled it year one, but anyways, this is a point-to-point race, and so you have to get people that don't have local support and there are a handful of these people from one point to the other, somehow, typically in a point-to-point race, and so you have to get people that don't have local support and there are a handful of these people from one point to the other. Somehow, typically in a point-to-point race, you will go to the finish and then you'll transport them up to the start. So when they finish their cars there, I remember your wife waking up I think it was year two where we had to do this a little more formally waking up at four in the morning to meet down there.
Speaker 2:We'd gotten all these shuttles and we'd spent all this money. There were supposed to be 30 people using the shuttles and like seven showed up. And then we tried to do it again the next year that you were helping, and it was the same thing. We had these two vans and there should be 40 people and, like we, only filled five or.
Speaker 2:So and we only had one van full. And so you know, um, we decided after that because that's by far the biggest expense when, with a race of that size, there just wasn't money to cover it. So the next year we didn't do it. Um, our grandma, my kids grandma, comes down and shuttles the people back up to their cars at the finish line every couple of hours again, just to make sure we could get people there. Next year I think not this one, but the following we'll be able to re-implement shuttling again. But that goes to show that everybody's willing to pitch in to make this what it is, because it sure isn't me and it's been really cool to see it grow.
Speaker 3:So it's 2030 and we're coming up on the full mo. What's your vision for it?
Speaker 2:It's an interesting year that you picked, and I say that because 2030 is the year they're supposed to have a bridge completed over 86.3. So one thing about this race is that it crosses probably 15 to 20 streets. It's just not something that will ever be big enough that you can police those. There may be an instance where we get to a point where we can pay volunteers to stand at those intersections and just kind of have their little vests on, but it is like you said earlier. It's also an extremely fast course and I'd love to see probably maximum 500 people in this race. I don't want it to get much bigger because then it really starts to feel like a different type of production and probably becomes more of a. We'll see how it evolves, but anyways, so I'd like to see it there. I'd like to see the community continue to grow. We've brought Timmy Hot Dog Howard in phenomenal Just another big name in Hamilton County running. He's doing our photos. That's something we haven't really done well with over the years, so we're gonna be capturing those. So I'd love to have a lot of multimedia involved in 2030.
Speaker 2:I'd like to get the track USATF certified so that we can have some people trying. We have some people that are close to us that have the physiological capability to break records in the 50k, especially the masters 50k. So, as that, as it stands today, 86th street prevents that, unless you want to get hit by a car. Um, same with college? Uh, there's, I think. The tunnel, 161st is back on. So most of the major roads right now, save maybe three, have bridges over them or tunnels underneath them. As those other three get addressed again, with two of them hopefully being addressed by 2030, then I think it's a little more viable to get get usats certified so people can try to break records on it so one of the things I thought you were going to talk about is the almost full mow.
Speaker 3:Have we yet run the full mow Like?
Speaker 2:in its entirety.
Speaker 3:So that's been one of the things that's been funny following this from the get-go and I'll start this and you can finish it. But every year there's some sort of detour. There's some portion of the Monon that is under construction. You know the finish was under construction for a couple of years. You had parts in caramel. There was a detour, and so the ironic thing about this race is called the full mo, because you're running the full length of the monon trail from up in sheridan down to downtown and we have yet to actually run the full mo. Like do we is this year? Do we know if there's actually detours? Could this be the first true full mo? I actually don't think it'll ever be the full mo I think that's going to be the first true Fulmo.
Speaker 2:I actually don't think it'll ever be the Fulmo. I think that's going to be the thing. So yeah, like you said, year one, we had to move the finish line in real time. I think it was.
Speaker 3:Year two was still blocked.
Speaker 2:But what year was it? Was it year two or year three, where Carmel was a complete disaster and we had that huge detour?
Speaker 3:Yeah, that was I think three, because remember someone picked up the sign too.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so there was a—and luckily we had had a runner I'll have to look his name up who had deferred, who was going to help us volunteer, and he was standing in the Salon 01 parking lot and he was like the godsend because without him, because someone did steal our signs and luckily he had it memorized and it was communicated to him that they were stolen, so he was telling people turn by turn where to go. But yeah, year three we didn't. And then year four, last year, they had opened up the southern end of the Monon and then reclosed it. Like they'd opened it up three weeks prior and then re-closed it. So it's technically open now. But the Monon loop over there at the garage is such a good finish because you have like there is a naturally architected finish chute, there is places to sit, there's a grassy area, Like it's the, and there's-.
Speaker 1:Is that where, when I came, when I was there? Is that where, when I came, when I was there? Is that the same? Finish that little area.
Speaker 2:So it's across the street now.
Speaker 1:So now okay.
Speaker 2:So you're three. That was a very tiny triangle.
Speaker 1:last time I was there this is more space across the street. Yeah, it'll be interesting to see this is obviously Can you cross, or is there you got to stop? And then?
Speaker 2:kind of stop. We're going to work through that Like that's probably from a course perspective. My biggest point of stress is you have to after you've run 31.1 miles or 31 miles. You have to then cross two streets to get to the finish line. We may have people there with flags and vests for the early runners getting them across. We had one person say last year they had to wait three minutes at the finish line, whatever, which is unfortunate. Shout out Alan, my apologies. So we're going to try to address that this year, but I think that area finishing there versus finishing in either Centerpoint Brewing or a parking lot, it just seems so much more exciting. And then, of course, this year we've added the Sheridan addition, which is another 0.75 miles north of the start, which, coincidentally, last year, the day of or the day before the full mow, they had caught the ribbon to start construction on that particular segment, and now it's done, so we have an extra 0.75. So, yes, it's never been the same. All five years We've had something different.
Speaker 1:Does that change one of the out and backs with that 0.75?
Speaker 2:Yes, it does. We had a catastrophic issue from a I wouldn't call it catastrophic, but a really unfortunate issue two years ago, maybe a year ago where a friend of ours again part of that Orange Theory community, big fitness community member cut the out-and-back short, total accident, because she's a phenomenal athlete, she's a Boston finisher, and she cut it short and that resulted in a swap in position, finishing position. So we've removed that this year. We've made it a little bit more scenic. You're actually looping through a neighborhood, you're getting to go around the pond, but it does shorten the out and back. The first year we actually ran into somebody's farm land. Uh, you just ran right out there in the middle of farmland, turned around and came back. So we've fixed that, um, but this year.
Speaker 1:Yeah, for me and pam, or potentially we were out on that.
Speaker 2:That leg out, I think yeah, yeah, you guys were there. So that year where you guys were sitting the first year, you'd have gone another tenth of a mile into the field, um, because it was a different finish. But yeah, so it's. It's definitely never it's been the almost full mo again. Maybe one of these years we will run it in reverse, but, um, you know we're on the cusp of. I think, if things continue and and we continue to get the support we've gotten, uh, next year will be the largest 50K in the United States, starting from 20 people.
Speaker 3:Wow, have you ran it the first year.
Speaker 1:Is that right? Is that?
Speaker 3:the only year you've run it or did you run it twice First? Year, first year when are you going to run it again?
Speaker 2:I don't know, I think as we get this year.
Speaker 2:You know, if Corey ever moves back, which we've been talking about now for three years, I'd feel a little bit more comfortable.
Speaker 2:You know, I do feel like it's extremely important. There's been a lot of tension in the ultra world lately with certain race directors not treating their team, their community, in the right manner, in the right manner. So one of the things that was actually specifically brought up on a podcast that I was listening to recently, as it related to a particular person, was that she wasn't at the finish line handing out medals, like it was for a 250 or 300 mile race, and it was almost like and this individual that was telling the story had finished. Third, and it was more like you know, and it was like a co-director or somebody else I want to make sure that we're celebrating One thing I'm terrible at and anybody that's run the race can attest to. I recognize faces and that's not a cop-out. I'm just not great with names and so people will have to remind me, but I want to make sure that we celebrate every person that finishes this. It's so cool to see Fulmo singlets or long sleeves or T-shirts out in the wild people that have accomplished this.
Speaker 3:And they're the ones that make the race the way it is. So so this all started from accountability trip being challenged, uh, to run the full mo and then the prairie. So you're not thinking much beyond that. Probably at this point, uh, the full mo and the prairie this year. Um, probably at this point, the Fulmo and the Prairie this year. Either of you have other things that are out on the horizon that you would put out into the universe, that you are considering or contemplating, or maybe something you have for me.
Speaker 1:You're saying that we get to assign something for you to go do Well.
Speaker 3:I just this could be an interesting opportunity to put some challenges out there.
Speaker 1:I will say that having the accountability and committing to something is super important and it always takes you to a greater place, but there's always a hesitation to do it and I'm like I'm grateful for the fitness I'm in, even though it's always a hesitation to do it, and I'm like I'm grateful for the fitness I'm in, even though it's been a journey to to get here, um, but I'm grateful to be in that spot, um. So, yeah, I, I don't I don't always love the pressure, um, but you kind of love where you end up and then you know it's going to be a grind and then you love the accomplishment and keeping stuff on is is important, but I don't I don't have any challenges at this point that I can you know, this has been this real undercurrent lately.
Speaker 2:I was running with a buddy of ours, Caleb, last week and we were talking about so we've mentioned on prior podcasts that we do hard things together, right, We'll do relays and relays and things like that, and we were very consistent with it really from 2019 up until 2023. And then last year we didn't do anything. As a group, Subsets of us have done things different years. It shifted a little bit. But Caleb and I are running and we're talking about what it would look like to do something and what's been interesting is what's happened is the group is not necessarily fractured from a community standpoint, but our goals and our focuses have shifted.
Speaker 2:We have individuals who just love to hammer. We have individuals who are in the complete opposite end and just want to go do something adventurous and explore, and we have people that kind of sit somewhere in the middle and so finding something that is going to scratch all those itches gets very difficult to do and kind of paralyzing in a sense. So Caleb and I are talking about what that looks like and Caleb's like we've got to do something in 2026. Well, we get home from that run and within an hour I had an email from Todd talking about do you guys want to do Ragnar, Berb and chase this year?
Speaker 2:Which is again way which is again way more competitive, but I think we're at a point where we're not. That particular race, as it relates to all the Ragnars, is by far the most competitive one and they typically have teams that are kind of out of reach for us. So there would be a different goal for us as opposed to winning that race. And then, I think three days ago, I got another text from Christy with a picture of us from GA5K and she's like yo. I got another text from Christy with a picture of us from GA5K and she's like yo, we got to get this crew back together. So there seems to be this like let's go get it, let's go do it, and I'd love to try to figure something out. You know the problem is schedules.
Speaker 2:We've talked in prior episodes about, at this stage of life, getting things together.
Speaker 2:People have, you know, our number one guy, anthony Bruns. His daughter is a very, as you can imagine, with the physiology they have. She just ran a 524 mile in track as a sophomore and she's going to qualify for state and so when we'd want to do something in the fall, which is when it is in October, she's got cross country and he doesn't want to miss that and likely we don't want to miss our kids' things at those times of year. So finding a time that everybody can do something will probably be in the summer and it will probably be crazy hot, like in September, august, but I'd love to get together and, whether that's going and running part of the Lake Superior Trail or trail or, uh, you know something else like that, that event, I would challenge us to figure out how to make something happen, if we can this year as a collective group, to kind of um, and maybe it is something a little bit different, that's a little more exploratory or a little bit better of a blend ragnars have been a lot of fun.
Speaker 3:You mentioned that and I know we've taken a little bit of a different competitive approach. But I got to imagine there are maybe people listening that are either not familiar with that or might enjoy something along those lines. Let's say, the vast majority of those teams. It's not a it's not necessarily a fitness even thing and it's kind of crazy to say you can run 200 miles and it not be kind of a fitness thing. But all walks of life out there covering that. You know, some of them just walking it, some of them doing a little bit of a walk run. Talk a little bit about the ragnar experience either, or both of you, I mean you guys have done that um, yeah, so I've done two.
Speaker 1:Right, we've done two michigan and minnesota, is that?
Speaker 3:right, uh, I think, yeah, I think it's just two, because then we did Hood Coast after that.
Speaker 1:So for me the camaraderie has been awesome, right? I love just being with the guys and seeing people achieve Talk through the format of it. Oh, the format, yeah, so you generally have 10 to 12. I think most of us have been 12. So you have 12 racers, generally around 200 miles, and so it's broken up into 36 segments. So you have each person has three segments. So if there's 12 runners, you have 36 segments and your segments are kind of mapped out and you get assigned runners. Some of them are more difficult.
Speaker 1:They have what's called a ragnar leg, which is supposed to be one of your hardest. So you assign based on elevation and speed and then so if you run um leg one, you're doing leg 13 and then leg 25. So, um, yeah, you have two, two vans. You have six people in the first van six and so the van one is on the course for the first six legs. And then they have these big changeovers where van two will jump on and van one jumps off and it's it's nonstop. So you go until until you finish the um aid stations kind of. We've had a few instances where we've gotten so fast, where we've actually got to an aid station before it opens up and had to slow down. Uh, so we we did have a problem there, but you know, you kind of go throughout the night and there's six runners and you know the six, and then you kind of switch vans and you uh put it all out there. So it's kind of non-stop.
Speaker 2:You try to find time to sleep a little bit when your van's off, but that really doesn't work out too well and um, that's kind of the format of it yeah, I think that uh, like you said, it's kind of fun because you're doing things that you would have done as a kid, as an adult, like we don't have sleepovers as an adult, I mean outside of you know, hanging out at your lake house during the holidays, you don't have sleepovers with your friends and you don't do fun things. So I think if you're doing it casually, it becomes kind of that. There are people that are pounding beers at exchanges, there are like there's there's different things you can do. We, like you said, don't do it that way. Um, for good or for bad, somebody was saying the other day I was running with guys, so we've run the hood to coast relay and we have this entry, so the coast is the largest relay in in the united states and there's a thousand teams, teams and we've done it. We did it one year and what we finished?
Speaker 2:11th yeah and then we got an entry and we let it go because it's not easy to get into. It took us three or four years to get that first entry. And then somehow another local buddy of ours, jacob rich, got an entry. Uh, not the year after we missed. And so what we've done is we put together teams that are good enough to win free entries every year, and so I was talking to an individual who had taken our entry two years ago or last year they took our entry last year and he was talking about how it was one of the most enjoyable times of his life and I just didn't resonate with me because it's fun to look back on but it's awful in my perspective during it because you're sleep deprived and it's funny.
Speaker 2:It presented itself at Ragnar, minnesota, as it relates to running casual versus not casual. We're sitting at the start line and we were the last group to start. So what they do in these races they want to minimize the amount of time that roads are blocked, so the fastest teams start the latest, the slowest teams start the earliest, and in Ragnars typically, and in Hood to Coast as well, I think we finished seventh. The last time we ran out of 1,000 teams. We're typically the last ones to start and Todd, as he said, is very under the radar, very humble. And we get to the start line and there's like six or seven people in this last group that are starting and the guy gets on the loudspeaker and he's like all right, last group, you're the last one off. Does anybody think they can win? And Todd kind of sheepishly raises his hand like sorry, but you know, because you could kind of not to judge a book by its cover, but like everybody else, even the vibe of their teams just seemed more casual and he was kind of shyly reinforcing that we were going to destroy everybody here.
Speaker 2:So, different experiences to each their own. We enjoy looking back and you know we we told the story in a prior podcast. The very first Ragnar we did, which I think lit this fire. It was a 200 mile race that we won by 20 seconds, um, with a group of people that were just again, local friends from a, from a in family that we grew up with, and so that is kind of but you want to talk about a really cool entry. I know so many groups of women, so many groups of men, so many co-ed groups that have done this, just getting a couple of people together and going up there. You know, I would not recommend it any specific way. Do whatever kind of floats your boat and it's a really cool thing to do with a group of people.
Speaker 3:I think some people might be thinking at this point and it's a really cool thing to do with a group of people. I think some people might be thinking at this point it's too late for me to do anything like that. I'd be interested. A lot of what we've talked about today have been things that have manifested in the last few years for us. You're 44, you're 46, I'm 40. And this could be from a fitness perspective or a business perspective, but you've built a race now over the last five years. I mean, our running journey has really just been the last 10 to 15 years, maybe 12, 10 to 12 years. Talk about that a little bit. And what's interesting about this is from a whether it's new races, new distances, prs. You know to be in our 40s and still achieving, you know, and trying new things. Talk about that a little bit. I think a lot of people naturally think it's too late to start a journey like this um, business, business or fitness.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I, I don't think you have to be as intense as we are. I mean, one of the things I laugh at is, like you probably don't see a smile, a ton, on this podcast. We're we're very kind of serious by by nature and we take things to a level of intensity of winning. And I think one of the challenges with the Ragnar is like I feel like if I'm not in six 30 shape, I'm letting everybody down. So there's this unbelievable amount of pressure to come and deliver a, uh, a really fast number for myself. Um, but I would just say, like, have fun with it. Like I think that's the way you start, because, to your point, there's not too many things you can do as adults to actually spend time together.
Speaker 1:It's not like we're getting together and playing video games and having sleepovers, but you know, luckily you stumbled upon fitness as something that was going to be in running, more particular for you, which you've brought to all of us, and when we get together, we go on a run, right, and it's something you can do in a community. So I would tell the listeners like, look, you don't have to be great at it. And I think again, we've talked about this before we're afraid to fail, we're afraid to not be good enough, so we're afraid to even start. And for those of you that just went out and maybe did a 5k, you go out, you hit a 5k and you're like, oh man, that's great, but I could never do a 10k Like you, just kind of work into it.
Speaker 1:And if you signed up for Ragnar and you got 12 friends and you had to run, walk, jog your six mile leg, you know three times, but you were there in community and you had fun with it and it wasn't about performance at first, like I think it pretty much anyone can do it. I mean, and you see people out there, uh, all different walks of life, all different ages, young, I mean. I would say there's probably teams out there with people in their fifties and sixties and seventies even, um, that are competing. So not being afraid to start would be something that I would bring to them, because every single time that we've taken on something new, it's just been getting over the hump and just putting in the work, starting it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, there's so much inspiration out there. You know I talked, I mentioned this guy in a prior podcast by the name of Ed Whitlock. I think passed away in his 80s but he started running. I think passed away in his eighties but he he started running. I think it is mid fifties and broke almost every world record you could break for age groups. He was the one that ran sub three to seventies. So it's like you know starting, you know, here we are like stressed about breaking three in our thirties, you know when it happened, or forties, and this guy did it when he was 70. Now, granted, probably in a little bit more of an elite physiology, but like there's the inspiration If this guy can start at 70 or 50 and continue to progress, like that's the coolest thing. That's what we talk about a lot is that you know you starting at a later age.
Speaker 2:I think you could take it two different paths. Sometimes there'll be the couple, where you don't have that much mileage on your body. Well, there is that aspect of it, although we've we've alluded to this again in prior podcasts that I think you can perceive that how you will like, um, but the other side of it is the mental side of it and I I think there isn't a limit to it. We're seeing that kind of with a LeBron James, if you will. But like there, there it gets more difficult, I think, to maintain the necessary focus Once you exceed 20 years of doing something hyper-competitively. You can do it, but I think that's the part for me that gets harder. It's like so if you start at 40 and you're just working your way in. I mean it's so cool.
Speaker 2:Like the fitness and the running thing. The great thing about that is there's no distractions. You know, whatever it is you're doing, even if we're together playing video games, a lot of times one of us is on their phone watching YouTube or the other one's on their phone researching something we're running, we're like super present in that conversation. When you're in the gym without your phone and you're working out with somebody, you can be super present during that conversation. When you're swapping in between sets and things of that nature. So like that's a really cool piece of the puzzle.
Speaker 2:But just looking for things, and I think the relay thing is really a great start. The relay thing is really a great start and I'm sure there's relays out there that are, you know, 20 miles where you have to walk to. There's all types of different races out there or types of different events. So you know there's all kinds of inspiration. I saw a guy the other day that ran a half marathon in two hours and 54 minutes, which seems really for some people seems slow until you realize the guy is 92. So like it's not too late to start, there's still a hundred year old people. There was a guy who's 104 who ran the mile at the Cincinnati flying pig this year.
Speaker 2:So there's there's so much out there from a motivational standpoint, I would say the the amount of, because once you get started and you get over that initial fear and you start to get into things, you hit this inflection point where you're willing to explore anything Like the group of people that we've developed as because we weren't there when we started. If you got the 20 people together in that group and you said, hey, we're going to do a 50 mile hike in a couple of months and, provided schedules aligned, everybody be like, okay, let's go, just because we've done enough, and the stories that you would have from going and hiking you know some type of trail somewhere for 50 miles. You just don't get those kind of experiences where you get to connect with nature like that and you get to tackle something together that's so unique. So I would say, man, just get the ball rolling, just get started in the most minor way, and then back to one of our earlier podcasts bring a community with you, and where it takes you is like nowhere else you'll ever go.
Speaker 1:What are your thoughts On On just community races in general, getting people out there that maybe haven't got started? Kind of the same question.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I don't know that I would add anything. I think that was really well covered. Honestly, I think it's never too late to learn a new skill. I just signed up for a class on storytelling because I think, as my position has evolved and over the course of my career, that's an important skill set and I think the vulnerability to jump into something I also just signed up to present at a conference that I've never done before either. So I should probably take that course sooner than later Because I just I think you never know how shoring up some areas that you're not strong in could really play into your strengths.
Speaker 3:Now, obviously, some of that's in a professional sense that I say that, but I think that can also be the case Fitness wise. You never know what skill is going to ignite a broader flame that's going to lead down a path and blaze a brand new trail for you personally. I tend to find that in life I think maybe I've touched on this a little bit, but I'll reiterate it I think we very much underestimate the intricacies in the very small ways that the entire trajectory of our life can change. I think the lines are a lot finer than we give them credit for and I think there's different things based on finding yourself living in the present moment, embracing things, embracing opportunities to grow, and just staying to some of those key principles can have a monstrous impact on how much fulfillment you ultimately have in life. So I do my best to embrace it, although I'm one who also naturally plays it pretty close to the vest and it's pretty hard for me to get out there. But I think we have to.
Speaker 1:It's funny me and my youngest were wrestling the other day, had one of my favorite hoodies on and he grabs. Me and my youngest were wrestling the other day, had one of my favorite hoodies on and he grabs it and he just rips the front pocket off and I'm just I'm I'm kind of upset about it and I've just let it sit there and I'm like why don't I just learn to sew it on? Like literally, how hard could this be? There's got gotta be a YouTube. I got thread and a needle. I probably tie some knots. Like this really can't be that hard. Like I should be able to do a stitch.
Speaker 1:But there's part of me that's like oh, I just got to throw it away. Like, no, I can stitch this. Like why am I not willing to learn to your point? Like I think there's so many skills that and I'm not saying it's going to be sewn on perfectly and look great, it's going to be functional, and so one of them, before the next podcast I'm going to sew that pocket on, because it goes back to being willing to learn and there's just something in me that's like I can do that. But the other part of me is like I don't know, like I've done projects in my life before where I tried to put in a hardwood floating floor before and it was a disaster. And so I've been discouraged by my failures and doing those things. But I think you're right, there's something to being willing to try things whether fitness or sewing or business, being willing to learn, fail and grow from it that, for whatever reason, innately I tend to shy away from.
Speaker 2:You make a good point. I think that's a great juxtaposition to kind of what we've been talking about is that, like you know, we talk a lot about fitness and we've had a lot of success there. Uh, and I maybe people listening haven't, but they've had success elsewhere, and I would say that I'm like that. I'm extremely fearful of anything around the house. I was talking to my wife the other day and there are probably a dozen things that need to be fixed in the house right now. My son's friends tore off the hinges playing.
Speaker 2:We have a couple different window dressings that are pulled out of the wall and it's like because I've tried to fix those myself in the past and they continually get pulled down, like I have a fear of trying to go any deeper because it may not work. So I'm like, oh, let's just hire somebody like a GC to do it, when I could probably spend some time, some effort. And really, you know so I have those same fears about getting started in something. Because you know so I have those same fears about getting started in something because, you know, we didn't grow up in a house where there was a ton of DIY almost none, frankly, I mean, dad could do a little bit and you know he has a toolbox, but you know it kind of it, kind of the buck, kind of stopped there. So you know where you may be hesitant. I think it'd be good to make a commitment to learn how to tell stories, learn how to sew, learn how to fix a door.
Speaker 1:Is that a commitment Are we making? Because there's something else I want to learn, too, that I've been putting off that.
Speaker 3:I just want to say failure's great. I think it puts us in a place where we realize we can't rely on ourselves for everything. I think mentally, taking risk I think puts you in a position where you have to lie Taking risk and be willing to fail. You have to rely outside of yourself for survival. You've got to really be putting it out there. I'll just talk about this crucifix.
Speaker 3:So we've talked about this on prior episodes Eternize and I decided that, based on some recommendations, I would run a Kickstarter campaign. So a Kickstarter campaign is this idea where you can put your idea out into the universe, on a platform specifically, and then if people think it's a good idea, they can back it. We set what we thought was a very reasonable goal to be backed and essentially the campaign flopped right, like we did not hit goal, and I can remember, going into that, the amount of anxiety of like, oh my gosh, not only are we going to put so much money in this, then we're going to put this idea out, and then what if the campaign doesn't go well? And then we've lost out on this money and then everyone thinks this is a bad idea because it didn't go viral and all these kinds of things, and I think sometimes we overestimate what the worst looks like. We have a tendency to say, to build this situation up in our head like it's something we're not going to be able to survive, it's going to be a black swan event, it's going to be the end of the world. And it's not. And we've realized.
Speaker 3:We've learned a ton from this experience not only how to market digitally, but what is resonating, what doesn't resonate, how difficult it is to convey a physical experience digitally, what language to use and how to optimize, how to connect with our different target audiences out there, or what does not work, what does not work. And then the barriers of in today's society where everything's a one-click purchase on Amazon, when someone's got to go in, create an account, pledge a certain amount, it's a very complex process if you haven't been on Kickstarter previously. So it's just like I look around in my life right now and I already mentioned. So it's just like I look around in my life right now and I already mentioned, I think at the start of this, the resignation of one of our great Power BI developers and we'll see how that situation plays out.
Speaker 3:But there's failures happening in my life on a daily basis, and I think I'm really grateful for it, because it not only instills a consistent level of humility, but it just puts me in a space where I have to. I continue to stay motivated to do everything I can with what I can, and that's all I can do. But I would say, for those that are, you know, hesitant because of what might or not, might not be, it's not that real.
Speaker 2:And it makes it easier when you've got again the right people around you. You know I didn't mention this earlier, but one of the things we started with the FOMO bringing this full circle, one of the things that made it easier at the beginning was like you guys believed in it too. Img was our first sponsor. It easier at the beginning was like you guys believed in it too. Img was our first sponsor and you know I couldn't have afforded to print those shirts the first year. On 20 registrations. It like I think it was a $75.
Speaker 2:Uh, so you guys and you guys have been there every every year since, and so I have our other sponsors that have come in. Mount to coast has been a huge one that's come in and and been a big supporter of us. So you know, having those people there, had I failed that first year, it would have been a little bit easier. You're right, it wouldn't have been the end of the world, but I had people that kind of shouldered that burden with me and boy you want to talk about. Um, you know, getting into producing races is one thing, launching a product in the religion sector, like. I have looked at some of those comments and it's just it's not right, wrong or indifferent. It's just like you've heard your entire lives. It's polarizing and people have very, very strong beliefs on how particular things should be conveyed, especially in religion and politics. So yeah, I just wanted to shout out bring it full circle with the Fulmo and the whole community thing. And you're right, it's not the end of the world, we'll figure this out.
Speaker 3:You guys good.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think it's a great place to what's one thing that you're going to commit to try to learn for the next episode.
Speaker 2:I will, or the next, or over the next couple months. Let's just say that I will learn how to fix that particular, those situations around the house. I'll do those myself.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 3:I think I've already thrown mine out there. Storytelling I'll take that class. There's a class on storytelling and a class on presentations and then I have to give that presentation in the middle of June. Here coming up, is that Simon?
Speaker 1:Sinek stuff based.
Speaker 1:One of them is yeah, I want to learn to fish. Like I've got fishing poles and I got these tackle boxes for Christmas and my youngest and we got a lake place but like I've always been so afraid of like fishing, like what bait do I use and what do I not do? I'm not even willing to try because I'm like paralyzed. So this summer I want to learn to fish. So that's going to be something I'm not going to. That just means I think I just got to get out there and cast that I don't. I'm not going to catch big fish, but I want to kind of have that experience and be able to have that piece and to experience that with my kids. So that's going to be the big one for me Sounds good.
Speaker 1:So I think having goals is important because it creates progress in our lives. The full Mo being something that I committed to, and TJ, building this race out from scratch and Todd with the Eternize, like setting these goals and having a vision ultimately is what I think drives us. Find your community, stick to something and hope to see you next time. Thanks.