Introduction...

Hello fellow team mates. Let me introduce myself. My name is Matt. I too am from the Kansas City area, in fact, I have a bachelors in economics from the University of Kansas... Rock Chalk Jayhawk. What a great season. Amazing Final Four....Anyway, more about me. I am married and have two little girls, Savannah 3 and Emily 18 months. I have been running for about 7 years. I made it a goal while on my mission in Montana to run a major marathon. I hadn't run more than a few miles at a time when I made the goal which made it a somewhat monstrous feat. I don't have the typical runners body either making it that much more unattainable, or so I thought. A year after I got married became the time to begin training. I read books, magazines, and websites about training, the right shoes, diets, stretches, injury prevention, chaffing, etc etc. I settled on a training program by Mr. Chicago Marathon himself, Hal Higdon. I began training with the goal of running the Kansas City Marathon in the fall. I can still remember, like it was yesterday, the first time I ran 10 miles as part of that training schedule. To me training became a series of mental hurdles. I had never run 10 miles before, but I would never fear it again. I ran the Kansas City Marathon that fall and caught the bug as they say. My wife thought I had gotten it out of my system, but a few days after the race I was already planning for the next one. I know its crazy. I have since run the Chicago and St. George Marathons, and a hand full of other races from half marathons to 5K's. I look forward to the Wasatch Back with each of you...