About the ThreE Legged Dog
Christopher McBride
You know? I did a Thing! I wrote a freaking book. I shared my world for six months with some self-indulgent pity and some self-indulgent congratulations but mostly honest breakdown of my pursuit to run 100 miles six months after spinal fusion surgery. This is probably as close and real of a “couch to 100-mile” as you’re going to find. If you are juggling career, family and running this is a good map. If you’re a data person, I think the Excel sheet and race conclusions will be super interesting. If you are not interested in running, but want to follow along someone’s quest to accomplish something big, this is a good read. I just did it, so I guess I'm a freaking author.
Family Man
After a long absence from dedicated running, I reconnected with running because I was a family man. The years spent between running at university and picking it back up on the roads of Seattle, I was into big mountain adventures. I spent a lot of weekends and incredibly long days in the mountains, typically snowboarding, but also climbing peaks. When I started my second family, I realized it just wasn’t cool to disappear for a weekend or 12 hours a day. To be honest I wanted to be home with my family, but I still needed a physical outlet. So, with minimal kit and maximum effort, I could pop out of the house and hammer out some miles. This supposed selfish pursuit was a very conscious choice to be present at home and still get the heart pumping. The picture above is from a trail race in South Africa during our one year road trip through Africa.
Runner
Running, I just did it. I started, with no adult help, the Kiona-Benton High School Cross Country program as a junior in high school. This program is celebrating 37 years! My first Ultra was a trail 50 miler, and I used my kids backpack and took second place at 44 years old. My range is Pac-Ten Championship 2nd place for 800m to a 15th place male division at Western States 100. I have a love of running and a good fundamental understanding of training and racing. So, I’m just going to do it and become a coach.