Mentoring

Mentors; we could all use them & they help guide us in many areas of our lives. We have spiritual mentors, business mentors, financial mentors & sports mentors. All of them are people who have achieved some level of excellence in an area that we are aspiring to improve. They can make a major difference in whether or not we reach that "dream level" of excellence or often times even finish our goal at all.

Everyone talks about how important they are, companies discuss the role that they play in new hires & up & coming managers so we can all agree that having a mentor (or two) could play a crucial role in many aspects of or lives.

Where does one find a mentor? They can be a local person in our city who we know, it could be someone we are introduced to through an acquaintance, it could be a work associate or even some who has long died & we learn from them through books. With all of this said, one would think that finding a mentor would be fairly easy.

Well my friend, I hate to burst your bubble, but they are not. Companies talk about the importance of mentors but yet they do not have mentorship programs. Okay maybe they have the for newly hired college graduates, but what about those of us already in the workforce who are aspiring to grow & achieve more. We seem to be left alone. They talk the talk but do not walk the walk.

Such is the same even with those we know. They also know the importance of a mentor & might have even had someone mentor them, but now one is willing to take the time or make the effort to mentor someone else.

So what is a person to do who may be seeking a mentor? Well my friend, my suggestion would be to become a mentor yourself. I believe that if we become mentors to someone else, it will create the environment, the magnetism, the karma so to speak, that will ultimately draw that mentor into your life at just the right time & will be just the right person.

Your homework then, is to go out into the world & become a mentor to someone.

God Bless You;
Ken

Looking into the future

Well, I have officially registered for Mother Road 100 - Part 3. Know No Boundaries needs redemption in the 100 mile distance. Training will be ramping up immediately with increasing distances from here on out. I will also get in some more heat training as I will be back in the desert of Oman later in the spring & possibly early summer.

To start with, I am running in the 50 Mile Midnight Madness sponsored by the TATUR group here in Tulsa.

Well, pray that the training goes well.

I am also going to ramp up our fundraising efforts so look for some great events in the near future.

God Bless You

K2

Heat! What heat?

Once again, KNB finds themselves against a so called boundary; one of heat. When temperatures begin to rise, at what point does one decide that it is "too hot" to run?

Every year, many of the worlds ultra athletes gather in one of the most desolate places on earth; Death Valley; to run the Badwater Ultra marathon. Here it is not uncommon for temperatures during the day to reach 120 F.

The Key - HYDRATION and proper protection. As the temperatures begin to rise, we begin to "sweat like a pig", so we need to ensure that proper precautions are taken.
I am not sure that pigs actually sweat, but you get the idea.


KNB was in Oman where the summer has not quite started yet however the temperatures were still in the 90s. Sunglasses & proper headgear were essential.

Here yours truly was getting in a few "hot" miles while listening to some motivating tunes. Somehow I think the flames on my bandana are appropriate, eh?

We need to be hydrating on a regular basis & not only when we feel thirsty. By the time we experience thirst, we are already slightly dehydrated. If we continue to push ourselves without proper hydration, we are in route to some serious problems. During a sponsored event, we need to take advantage of the aid stations & drink at EACH STOP. Depending upon the distance between aid stations or in the case when we are just "out for a long run" on our own, it is not only wise, but essential that we carry water with us. We can always learn from the example of others (even if they are one of our furry friends!)

God Bless You & drink up!

Ken

The Week After

Well, one would think that after such a grand display at Post Oak (back to back races) I would rest my little tootsies, but I could not get myself to do that.

A few of us & the TATUR TOTS ( Tulsa Area Trail Ultra Runners Training on Trails) decided to run at Chandler Park.

After some brief trail instructions by our celebrity runner Ken Childress, we were off.

Heading down the rocky trail, we took a wrong turn right off the bat. Here Charlie demonstrates how to decend so as not to get knocked over by runners behind you.

Heading down the trail, we ran through some tight quarters. Good thing nobody was claustrophobic.

After a while, we came across an old fire pit. We thought this would be a great place for a fireside chat sans the fire. Brian & Ken head the chat.

A little further down the trail, we ran across the home of the Three Bears.

As true trail runners that we are, we had to go in to see if anyone was home.

Lucky for us we scared them off as they stayed back in the brush nearby.

Before heading out, Ken takes a final look back.

Not wanting to over stay our visit, we soon headed back down the trail en route back to start as true TATURS do.

All in all, we got in about 8 miles. Not bad for having run 58 miles the previous weekend.

God Bless You & see you on the trail.

K2

Post Oak Trail Runs - Back to Back

Well, I did my first Back to Back races this past weekend at the Inaugural Post Oak Trail runs.

It was also the 1st fund raising event for Know No Boundaries. Seeing as KNB stresses the fact that we sent our own limits, our own boundaries in life, I just had to push through mine to do the back to back races; trail marathon on Saturday & trail 50K on Sunday.

Day 1 - Trail Marathon

After a needed early start, we headed up the paved road towards the main lodge, circled the parking lot & then headed off onto the trail (or at least that was the idea). The first trail marking was an orange plate with a black arrow but it was off to the left on the grass. Plenty of the front runners missed it & ended up adding a bit of extra mileage to the run. K1 (aka Trail Zombie) & I stopped just before a fence line & caught the fact that we missed a turn. We headed back about a 100 yards or so & then were back on trail.

Lots of new trails so there was a lot of new experiences.

After passing our first aid station at Flatrock, we headed back onto the trails for a double pass loop out & around the Botanical Gardens. Yours truly heads out of the woods coming up on the Botanical Garden aid station.

Volunteers can make or break a race & the volunteers at this inagural race were great. The Botanical Garden workers were friendly & very upbeat. Trying to stay warm can be a chore as there is not much body heat generated when they are not running.

Lots of ponds along the course which made for beautiful reflections.

Although most was on rocky, muddy, grassy trails, there was an out & back portion on gravel roads just to add in a bit of variety.

The road headed off towards W 41st Street N . According to Tom, this was about a mile from his homestead; he could have run home after the marathon.

At some point on the course, we topped Holmes Peak; the highest point in NW Oklahoma. During our 1st training run, it was really foggy but God saw to it that we had a sunny day with a beautiful view from the top.

After heading down Holmes Peak, once again headed back into the woods. Loads of tall grass trails

and mud

From here, we headed back over to the start/finish by the Post Oak Pole Barn & then back out, up & over Hamburger Hill.

Oh did I mention, there were PLENTY of water crossings. A fellow runner stopped counting at 48! Try as I might, I was not able to keep my little tootsies dry the whole race. Luckily they did not get soaked until the last 5 miles or so.

After a full day, we ended up back at the Post Oak Pole Barn for the last time.

A beautiful custom finisher's medal was waiting, two brewskies & a great BBQ Beef sandwich.

Day 2 - Post Oak Trail 50K

The start of the trail marathon was not much different except that we headed onto the trails earlier. Again, it was a beautiful crisp morning. I even had a chance to see a bit of the local wildlife early on in the 50K.

The 50K was a double loop, one loop forward & one loop run in reverse. Here is where much of the confusion happened as some of the trail markings were a bit confusing when seen from a different point of view. Some were obviously easy, while others were not.

I have to say that I came out unscathed; only one tiny blister & a slight pain in my left knee. Now, three days later, I am ready to run again.

Looks like the Six Hour Snake Run put on by the TATURS & my good friend Ken Childress (aka K1) is on the near horizon later this month.

God Bless You & Happy Trails.
K2

Post Oak Double

Well it is a few days after my first back to back races; Post Oak Trail Runs.

A Trail Marathon on Saturday & Trail 50K on Sunday. We were off for an early start (I felt I needed it) as we headed up the paved road up towards the main lodge, around the parking lot & then off onto the trails.

First Wheelchair Recipient

Well, Know No Boundaries has its first wheelchair recipient. 12 year old David in Ghana walks to school with crutches each day. Because of this, he gets to school late & misses a lot. A wheelchair would help David get to school on time.


Know No Boundaries will be running in the Post Oak Trail runs; Trail Marathon on Saturday February 27th & the Trail 50 km on Sunday February 28th.

Come out & run or just come up support us.