A friend of mine asked me to write a short biography about my journey as a coach and a runner. So, to begin with, I am a coach, a husband and father of one beautiful daughter. These two are the most precious jewels God has given me, and the greatest love a man could ever possess. As far as running and coaching, though, as I look back, it is something growing up I never envisioned myself doing – fo
r many, many reasons. First, for much of my life, I had little drive or motivation. “The Easy Way Out” was my M.O. And as far as I was concerned, after years of Little League football, running was nothing more than punishment. Then, though, at the age of 15 I received a diagnosis that has shaped my life for the two-plus decades since, for good or ill. I was diagnosed with epileptic seizures, a disorder which still affects my life in profound ways daily. For a long time, though, I let it define who I was and dictate what I did. Then, in 2007, at 27 years old, I hit what was undoubtedly the lowest point in my life. I had a seizure shortly after that birthday, weighed 200 pounds, and hit the end of a very broken marriage. Safe to say, my self-image was non-existent. I hated myself for who I was and what I had done. At this point, I nearly retreated, nearly took the easy way out. But by the grace of God, for the first time in my life, I stayed and faced down the adversity and owned up to my past. I will not say it happened quickly or easily, but over a period of years, God’s transformative love began to overhaul my life and renew my spirit, beginning with the love of my life, Staci, who I met in early 2008 and married a year and a half later. The first thing I had to do was learn to see myself through God’s eyes instead of my own. I had to accept that he loved me and would forgive me, I just had to be able to forgive myself. But accepting God’s love meant that I had to confront my struggles and insecurities and be willing to grow. That is where the start of my running journey comes in. In early 2010 at the age of 30, I took my first run, an anger-filled three quarters of a mile around a local lake. Given my lifelong distain for running, I cannot honestly explain what prompted me to continue pursuing the sport. The only thing I can say for sure is the Lord placed the spark. Over time, it became His chosen avenue in my heart and mind to overcome so many things that had once held me back. As I got further into it, I learned more and more about dedication, perseverance, and taking adversity head on instead of shrinking from it. One other thing began to change, too, over time. As I felt the transformation in my own heart, the Lord began to place people in my life that showed me that running was far more than an individual sport. I became part of a local running group, and then a Christian racing team, Care Runners, and the more I allowed God to expand my boundaries, the more joy I found in the camaraderie and fellowship of running. I started to see running as more than something that made me better, but as a gift and a tool that He had placed in my hands to use to touch others the way He had touched me. After I completed my first full marathon with my twin sister (a sort of mutual challenge) in 2014, the first twinges of desire to coach began stirring in my heart. I pushed it aside for a while, again fighting my own inadequacies, but God’s leading would not be ignored, it was time to take another step way outside of my comfort zone. I became certified as a distance running coach in September 2015 after a two-day class in Joplin, MO, another running community through whom the Lord has overhauled my life and my outlook on the sport I am passionate about. This is a community that demonstrates exactly how powerful running can be as a ministry, and they did far more than increase my passion for coaching. So, what has running and coaching meant to my life? There truly are not enough to say. All I can say is that the Lord took a shattered vessel and as He does, chose to make beautiful pottery from the broken pieces. And He continues to do so daily. Running and coaching continue to push and stretch my boundaries daily, and discover that what God says is possible is far more than I could ever dream of. One day, I hope to run the streets of Boston, if He is willing. But even if I never do, what He has done to transform my life through running means far more than words can say. If there is one lesson I have learned, it is that real, lasting change must come from the inside, and there is no one too broken for God to use in mighty ways, if they are just willing to take that first step. But once you do take that first step, be ready to move. Because His love can carry you farther than you could ever imagine!
