As posted via Philco's Freedom Team
Another great year in the books. It’s hard to think back and think of one single thing that stood out. So many things happened in what seemed like a short period of time, even though each year is the same amount of time (with the exception of leap years of course).
Thinking back to 2010 – with my running season that took place from the end of April all the way through the end of September, again I had the opportunity to meet hundreds of great people. From runners, to spectators, volunteers and directors of the runs we were part of, it was just plain awesome!
It all started, like it does every year, heading out to Minot, ND to take part in the Tressel Valley Marathon event with my relatives. My sister was able to make it with this year which made it better. That’s how all the madness started back in 2005, so it was good to be back on track. That run preceded the first trip to the 2nd annual Scoops for Troops event in Eagan. At this event I even got to finish along side another man who was also carrying a 3’x5’ American flag. I remember that race he was way out in front, probably a half mile in front of me during the 5K race and I knew I had to try and catch him so we could make it a colorful finish. That I did, caught him with about ¾ of a mile left to go. I met so many great Gold Star families down there, Blue Star families and just a bunch of other people who are major supporters of the military, their families and the fallen soldiers who we run in memory of.
Philco’s 4:13 consisted of the following locations in 2010: Cellcom Half Marathon in Green Bay, WI; Fargo Half Marathon in Fargo, ND; Gopher to Badger Half Marathon that started in Stillwater, MN and ended in Hudson, WI; and finally the Kroll’s Bismarck Half Marathon in Bismarck, ND.
Three of those four were first time events for me. I’ve been part of the Fargo Marathon event since the inaugural event in 2005. I was asked the other day which of the four half’s I did last year was my favorite. I have a hard time answering that question. They were all run so well, the people at each event were very responsive to our cause and purpose, and each location we got a good rep prior to the event with the help of area media.
It started in Green Bay – May 16th, 2010. This event was a Sunday run, starting and ending at legendary Lambeau Field. We got to start in front of it, run through the tunnel the Packers go out each game, run around the field and then back out that same tunnel, to the parking lot where the finish line was located. I wouldn’t have known about this event if it wasn’t for another one of my supporters and hometown friends, Nate Patnode. He had told me about this event a few times in previous years and I finally gave in and guaranteed I’d make a trip out there “next year” – which was this past year. It was one of the greatest experiences in my running career so far. With the help of Nate, the publicity for Corey and all the fallen soldiers was made known by the top rated TV station out in the Green Bay area – WBAY.
The way the story was done, professionally and even down to a personal level made it so easy for me. Sarah and Jeremiah were the two who came out to do the story right from Nate’s house and close by at a residential street for shooting video. We had a great chat before the story, after the story and even still to this day, I stay in touch with both through social networking to keep them updated on my running and just other things that are going on. I just found that really cool that a reporter and camera man from a major market station are interested in my purpose for running and continue to be. They were both running in the event too, which was awesome.
About the only thing people liked to give me a hard time about out there, was the fact that I was from Minnesota. When I informed them I’m not a Vikings fan, everything was just fine and dandy.
The Fargo Half took place that next Saturday, which made for a quick transition period. In a six day period, one of those consisted of a ten hour trip back to MN from Wisconsin! That was the Monday prior to it. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, but still the stiffness seemed to stick with a little longer than normal.
The Fargo run as usual was great. Thousands of people in attendance, new addition of a 10K event made for a longer weekend. The 5K event was the night before the newly incorporated 10K, the half and full as well. All of these had new starting times in 2010. It was definitely a lot to handle for a community bringing in so many people, but well worth the effort. The Fargo Marathon is one of the best run events in the nation from what I’ve heard that other serious runners had mentioned. That’s pretty cool to hear, knowing we’re only 70 miles away from this place that no one dares enter during a time like this when the blizzards are around and snow is non stop!
The run in Stillwater/Hudson happened at a perfect time of the year. It was in August, and it happened the same weekend as the Bryan McDonough Military Heroes Foundation Golf Classic in Stillwater, MN. That gave me the opportunity to volunteer at this event the day before my run. Bryan was the other soldier killed in the blast that took the life of Corey Rystad. That gave me the chance to meet not only the McDonough family, but also a lot of military members that were over seas with Corey during his deployment. Met another one of the guys who was also in the humvee that got away from the blast with a concussion and a couple scratches.
The run actually went right by the golf course that I volunteered at that previous day. I remember running the first half mile and looking over at the course, saying to another runner, “Wouldn’t that be nice to golf that course..” where he agreed with me. A block later, we ran past the parking lot I parked in the day before to volunteer at that same course. Craziness!
Mark Bongers and the staff with Final Stretch, Inc. that put that race on did a great job that weekend! I had talked with Mark earlier that year to confirm that it’d be alright to run with the flag there. At that point, he had invited me to about 15 other runs around the state to do the same thing. By the time I’m done with my running, hopefully I’ll have participated in a high percentage of his races.
The last one was another great weekend in Bismarck, ND. Nate that I talked about previously was a classmate of my sister back in high school. The family I stayed with in Bismarck – Jon, Carrie & Haley Hoefer – Jon was another one of my sister’s classmates. That was a nice, relaxing way to finish off the 4:13 schedule in 2010. The only downfall: it was 29 degrees the day of the race start and it had snowed the day before so people were going nuts when I went to pick up my packet!
This was September 18th by the way…
Jon is an Army recruiter out there, so I got to meet some other military guys out there while I was on my mini-“vacation”.
That last race, which ended up being the final run with the flag I’ve used for four years, I lost the golden eagle at the top of it. It fell off somewhere between mile four and five of the 13.1 mile half marathon. I was going to check the top of the pole every mile, which I did until after mile five when the eagle was gone. It had flown away, or just got knocked off from a tree branch as we ran through a lot of parks and residential area. It’s alright though, it was still worth it!
In 2010, I also attended other 5K/10K events in Mayville, ND; Oklee, MN; Detroit Lakes, MN; Minnetonka, MN and I think that is it.
The thing I will remember most about 2010 isn’t even a running event, but was related to what I do with the running. On November 11th, 2010 – in Red Lake Falls, MN – Lafayette High School where both Corey and I graduated (him in 2004, I was in 2001). John Kriesel came to speak to the students, staff and community members on Veteran’s Day. He also made a trip over to Oklee, MN at Red Lake County Central High School. John talked about his experience, “the day” (Dec. 2, 2006) and life experiences of how the blast changed his life and way of thinking. This speech is available on my website, www.philcosfreedomteam.net in the Media section if you have thirty minutes to spare and listen to John’s talk. Along with that speech, on there is a presentation I gave in front of my alma mater. I presented my flag to John in honor of his service to our country and respect towards his and my friend, Corey Rystad. I thanked him for being there with Corey and helping him out in his time away from home while being deployed. I never got the chance to say ‘thank you’ to Corey when he got back, so this was my chance to say it to a guy who was one of the last to see Corey alive. It was a special moment that lasted maybe five minutes. A moment I will never forget. I was going to shake John’s hand after doing my quick speech, instead, he pulled me in for a hug as we both tried to fight off the tears.
There’s more to life than just making resolutions. There’s making things happen, even when it doesn’t seem like the “cool” thing to do. John knows this first hand after winning the District 57A Representative election and making history by doing it. There’s doing something you never thought possible in your life, but trying it anyway. I’ve learned that the more you say “I can’t” the easier it will be to sit back and watch others succeed. I’ve learned that each opportunity you let pass by, is another opportunity someone else is going to take advantage of. I’ve also learned that no matter what happens in life, no matter how much things hurt or how terrible you think your life is, somebody’s got it worse than you. I wrote in a speech I gave on Memorial Day this past year that “as selfish as this may sound, I’ve heard and taken advantage of the quote one man’s loss can be another man’s gain.” The loss of a friend can gain you a mental strength you didn’t even know you had. It helped to change my spark plugs (so to speak) in the engine that was running idle for way too long. The wheels are turning now and they’re not going to stop! 2011 is a new year. For some, a new beginning…for others, continuing a mission you have set out to accomplish, one step at a time.
The final thing I’ll leave you with is this. A lesson I learned back in 2006 sitting in a church basement.
Life is way to short to sit around and complain about how life is so unfair to you. Complaining is wasting time. Complaining is sitting there, doing nothing about the circumstance you could change by doing something. Complaining gets you to one place and one place only…right where you’re at while you sit there complaining. So really, it doesn’t get you anywhere. It keeps you in your place that you know you don’t like, but aren’t willing to change it. It’s harsh to tell people they should get up and do something…but one thing that’s worse is having to witness a loss of a friend and live with it the rest of your life than actually listening to someone else who tells you it’s good to get up and go. What’s going to motivate you to get going? Will you take a risk and try to expand yourself to do something more in 2011?
Whether you do or don’t, I wish you the bet! Happy New Year!!
Following the speech John Kriesel (left) gave at my alma mater on 11/11/2010
John & I raise the flag I've carried with each of my running events the past four years.
"This is for you, Corey! Our flag will be in good hands!"
Another great year in the books. It’s hard to think back and think of one single thing that stood out. So many things happened in what seemed like a short period of time, even though each year is the same amount of time (with the exception of leap years of course).
Thinking back to 2010 – with my running season that took place from the end of April all the way through the end of September, again I had the opportunity to meet hundreds of great people. From runners, to spectators, volunteers and directors of the runs we were part of, it was just plain awesome!
It all started, like it does every year, heading out to Minot, ND to take part in the Tressel Valley Marathon event with my relatives. My sister was able to make it with this year which made it better. That’s how all the madness started back in 2005, so it was good to be back on track. That run preceded the first trip to the 2nd annual Scoops for Troops event in Eagan. At this event I even got to finish along side another man who was also carrying a 3’x5’ American flag. I remember that race he was way out in front, probably a half mile in front of me during the 5K race and I knew I had to try and catch him so we could make it a colorful finish. That I did, caught him with about ¾ of a mile left to go. I met so many great Gold Star families down there, Blue Star families and just a bunch of other people who are major supporters of the military, their families and the fallen soldiers who we run in memory of.
Philco’s 4:13 consisted of the following locations in 2010: Cellcom Half Marathon in Green Bay, WI; Fargo Half Marathon in Fargo, ND; Gopher to Badger Half Marathon that started in Stillwater, MN and ended in Hudson, WI; and finally the Kroll’s Bismarck Half Marathon in Bismarck, ND.
Three of those four were first time events for me. I’ve been part of the Fargo Marathon event since the inaugural event in 2005. I was asked the other day which of the four half’s I did last year was my favorite. I have a hard time answering that question. They were all run so well, the people at each event were very responsive to our cause and purpose, and each location we got a good rep prior to the event with the help of area media.
It started in Green Bay – May 16th, 2010. This event was a Sunday run, starting and ending at legendary Lambeau Field. We got to start in front of it, run through the tunnel the Packers go out each game, run around the field and then back out that same tunnel, to the parking lot where the finish line was located. I wouldn’t have known about this event if it wasn’t for another one of my supporters and hometown friends, Nate Patnode. He had told me about this event a few times in previous years and I finally gave in and guaranteed I’d make a trip out there “next year” – which was this past year. It was one of the greatest experiences in my running career so far. With the help of Nate, the publicity for Corey and all the fallen soldiers was made known by the top rated TV station out in the Green Bay area – WBAY.
The way the story was done, professionally and even down to a personal level made it so easy for me. Sarah and Jeremiah were the two who came out to do the story right from Nate’s house and close by at a residential street for shooting video. We had a great chat before the story, after the story and even still to this day, I stay in touch with both through social networking to keep them updated on my running and just other things that are going on. I just found that really cool that a reporter and camera man from a major market station are interested in my purpose for running and continue to be. They were both running in the event too, which was awesome.
About the only thing people liked to give me a hard time about out there, was the fact that I was from Minnesota. When I informed them I’m not a Vikings fan, everything was just fine and dandy.
The Fargo Half took place that next Saturday, which made for a quick transition period. In a six day period, one of those consisted of a ten hour trip back to MN from Wisconsin! That was the Monday prior to it. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, but still the stiffness seemed to stick with a little longer than normal.
The Fargo run as usual was great. Thousands of people in attendance, new addition of a 10K event made for a longer weekend. The 5K event was the night before the newly incorporated 10K, the half and full as well. All of these had new starting times in 2010. It was definitely a lot to handle for a community bringing in so many people, but well worth the effort. The Fargo Marathon is one of the best run events in the nation from what I’ve heard that other serious runners had mentioned. That’s pretty cool to hear, knowing we’re only 70 miles away from this place that no one dares enter during a time like this when the blizzards are around and snow is non stop!
The run in Stillwater/Hudson happened at a perfect time of the year. It was in August, and it happened the same weekend as the Bryan McDonough Military Heroes Foundation Golf Classic in Stillwater, MN. That gave me the opportunity to volunteer at this event the day before my run. Bryan was the other soldier killed in the blast that took the life of Corey Rystad. That gave me the chance to meet not only the McDonough family, but also a lot of military members that were over seas with Corey during his deployment. Met another one of the guys who was also in the humvee that got away from the blast with a concussion and a couple scratches.
The run actually went right by the golf course that I volunteered at that previous day. I remember running the first half mile and looking over at the course, saying to another runner, “Wouldn’t that be nice to golf that course..” where he agreed with me. A block later, we ran past the parking lot I parked in the day before to volunteer at that same course. Craziness!
Mark Bongers and the staff with Final Stretch, Inc. that put that race on did a great job that weekend! I had talked with Mark earlier that year to confirm that it’d be alright to run with the flag there. At that point, he had invited me to about 15 other runs around the state to do the same thing. By the time I’m done with my running, hopefully I’ll have participated in a high percentage of his races.
The last one was another great weekend in Bismarck, ND. Nate that I talked about previously was a classmate of my sister back in high school. The family I stayed with in Bismarck – Jon, Carrie & Haley Hoefer – Jon was another one of my sister’s classmates. That was a nice, relaxing way to finish off the 4:13 schedule in 2010. The only downfall: it was 29 degrees the day of the race start and it had snowed the day before so people were going nuts when I went to pick up my packet!
This was September 18th by the way…
Jon is an Army recruiter out there, so I got to meet some other military guys out there while I was on my mini-“vacation”.
That last race, which ended up being the final run with the flag I’ve used for four years, I lost the golden eagle at the top of it. It fell off somewhere between mile four and five of the 13.1 mile half marathon. I was going to check the top of the pole every mile, which I did until after mile five when the eagle was gone. It had flown away, or just got knocked off from a tree branch as we ran through a lot of parks and residential area. It’s alright though, it was still worth it!
In 2010, I also attended other 5K/10K events in Mayville, ND; Oklee, MN; Detroit Lakes, MN; Minnetonka, MN and I think that is it.
The thing I will remember most about 2010 isn’t even a running event, but was related to what I do with the running. On November 11th, 2010 – in Red Lake Falls, MN – Lafayette High School where both Corey and I graduated (him in 2004, I was in 2001). John Kriesel came to speak to the students, staff and community members on Veteran’s Day. He also made a trip over to Oklee, MN at Red Lake County Central High School. John talked about his experience, “the day” (Dec. 2, 2006) and life experiences of how the blast changed his life and way of thinking. This speech is available on my website, www.philcosfreedomteam.net in the Media section if you have thirty minutes to spare and listen to John’s talk. Along with that speech, on there is a presentation I gave in front of my alma mater. I presented my flag to John in honor of his service to our country and respect towards his and my friend, Corey Rystad. I thanked him for being there with Corey and helping him out in his time away from home while being deployed. I never got the chance to say ‘thank you’ to Corey when he got back, so this was my chance to say it to a guy who was one of the last to see Corey alive. It was a special moment that lasted maybe five minutes. A moment I will never forget. I was going to shake John’s hand after doing my quick speech, instead, he pulled me in for a hug as we both tried to fight off the tears.
There’s more to life than just making resolutions. There’s making things happen, even when it doesn’t seem like the “cool” thing to do. John knows this first hand after winning the District 57A Representative election and making history by doing it. There’s doing something you never thought possible in your life, but trying it anyway. I’ve learned that the more you say “I can’t” the easier it will be to sit back and watch others succeed. I’ve learned that each opportunity you let pass by, is another opportunity someone else is going to take advantage of. I’ve also learned that no matter what happens in life, no matter how much things hurt or how terrible you think your life is, somebody’s got it worse than you. I wrote in a speech I gave on Memorial Day this past year that “as selfish as this may sound, I’ve heard and taken advantage of the quote one man’s loss can be another man’s gain.” The loss of a friend can gain you a mental strength you didn’t even know you had. It helped to change my spark plugs (so to speak) in the engine that was running idle for way too long. The wheels are turning now and they’re not going to stop! 2011 is a new year. For some, a new beginning…for others, continuing a mission you have set out to accomplish, one step at a time.
The final thing I’ll leave you with is this. A lesson I learned back in 2006 sitting in a church basement.
Life is way to short to sit around and complain about how life is so unfair to you. Complaining is wasting time. Complaining is sitting there, doing nothing about the circumstance you could change by doing something. Complaining gets you to one place and one place only…right where you’re at while you sit there complaining. So really, it doesn’t get you anywhere. It keeps you in your place that you know you don’t like, but aren’t willing to change it. It’s harsh to tell people they should get up and do something…but one thing that’s worse is having to witness a loss of a friend and live with it the rest of your life than actually listening to someone else who tells you it’s good to get up and go. What’s going to motivate you to get going? Will you take a risk and try to expand yourself to do something more in 2011?
Whether you do or don’t, I wish you the bet! Happy New Year!!
Following the speech John Kriesel (left) gave at my alma mater on 11/11/2010
John & I raise the flag I've carried with each of my running events the past four years.
"This is for you, Corey! Our flag will be in good hands!"
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