to read about my running years 2013-2015!

March 2013: The Brooks Beasts travel to Albuquerque, New Mexico for a couple
months of high altitude training. I join the group for a run in the Sandia foothills,
including Danny (left) and Brie Felnagle (right).
Left: Kelsey comes to Colorado for a week, so we go to Estes Park, Colorado and
run our favorite loop around Lake Estes. Right: On a run with Katie during her
visit to Fort Collins.
April 2013: Karen and I travel to San Francisco, California to watch Katie
compete in a meet at Stanford. We’ve always wanted to see the Golden Gate
Bridge, so we took a day trip to see and run across the bridge. We also saw a few
dolphins in the bay below as we crossed the 1.7 mile bridge a couple times!
May 2013: The Brooks Beasts travel to San Diego, California to compete in a
professional meet call ReRun San Diego. It started with a 5k race from Balboa
stadium for spectators, of which I placed 2nd in my age group to a man who I’m
sure was lying about his age. After the 5k was a track meet in which Katie
competed in the Mile run with her training partner Brie. During the meet I met
American Olympic medalist and Boston Marathon winner Meb Keflezighi (it was
also his 38th birthday, and all the 5k participants sang him “Happy Birthday”
before we raced). The next day I ran a cool-down around Mission Bay with the
Beasts: Katie, Angela Bizzarri, Danny, Brie Felnagle and Mark Wieczorek.
July 2013: Kelsey and I travel to England and Ireland to see Katie, Danny and the
Brooks group that were staying in London. Here we are running in Dublin, Ireland
after watching Katie compete at the Morton Games.
In England, we stayed in the London suburb of Teddington. The Brooks group
was also staying in this town to train and use as a home base during their summer
of competing in Europe. This small town was also next to one of the Royal Parks
called Bushy Park. Originally a hunting grounds for the Kings, it is now a public
park that holds hundreds of fallow and stag deer. Being a lover of deer, it was a
lot of fun running here every day. Sometimes, however, it took Kelsey and I a little
longer to finish a run because of stopping so often to look at the deer.
October 2013: A run in Wisconsin and a nice October day run near Hughes
Stadium in Fort Collins with Danny.
November 2013: I had made several trips to Terre Haute, Indiana over the last
seven years to watch Katie and Kirsten run at the NCAA D1 Cross Country
Nationals, and this would be the last. I always enjoyed getting there a day early
and running the course, and also thinking about how I would run it during the race
to beat the crowds to the next spot to cheer and take a few pictures. Kirsten and
the UNM women finished 10th.
November 2013: Karen and I celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary and take a
trip to the South Pacific. Our first stop was the beautiful island of Fiji. Here I am
running on the resort where we were staying. I also ran off the resort onto some
back roads, and everyone I passed would say the greeting “Bula”! I think it meant
‘hello’ and not ‘hey, there’s someone running and we don’t do that!’
November 2013: The other part of our Anniversary trip took us to the south island
of New Zealand. This country has to rank up there as one of the most beautiful
places I’ve ever been to and run in. Here I am running along Lake Wakatipu in
Queenstown, New Zealand.
The mountains in the background are the
Remarkables.
2013: I ran mile 89,000 on March 3rd in Albuquerque, New Mexico, mile 90,000 on July 30th in
LaPorte, Colorado, and mile 91,000 on Christmas Eve, December 24th in Fort Collins, Colorado.
New countries run in: England, Ireland, Fiji and New Zealand.
January 2014: Visiting Katie & Danny in Seattle, Washington includes trying to get in a
run with the Brooks Beasts. Here we are on a run around Green Lake with Katie, Phoebe
Wright, Angela Bizzari, and Matt Scherer. It also just happened that a photographer was
in the area to take pictures for an article about the Brooks Beasts for Track & Field News,
and one of his pictures appeared in the magazine!
February 2014: The Brooks Beasts return to Albuquerque, New Mexico for a couple
months of altitude training. I go down to help move them into their home with my pickup,
and then join them for a couple runs in the foothills of the Sandias.
February 2014: Running and finding new types of wildlife is always exciting. Here we are running
in Brazo Bend State Park, south of Houston, Texas. During our ten mile run, Kelsey and I counted
over sixty alligators and over sixty turtles!
March 2014: For nearly 30 years I’ve helped with track & field meets, mostly by working
in the booth to score and announce. Here I am announcing at one of the big invitationals
hosted by Fort Collins High School. April 2014: I reach the milestone of 15,000 deer
spotted while running (above chart documents where all these deer were spotted).
May 24, 2014: This day turns out to be a very special day in my running for two
reasons. First, Karen and I fly to Nassau, Bahamas to watch Katie compete for
Team USA in the IAAF World Relays. On my first run in Nassau, Karen and I run
along the beach where I run my 92,000th mile. Second, later that day at the World
Relays, we watch Katie and Team USA take a Silver medal and set a new
American record for the 4 x 1500 meter relay.
Spring 2014: Kirsten completes her running career at the University of New
Mexico by winning her second MWC All-Conference award in the Indoor 3000 meters!
June 2014: Running in Moraine Park, Rocky Mountain National Park with guys from the
RYM camp at the YMCA of the Rockies. Trail running here during the summer is the best.
July 2014: Kirsten is back in Fort Collins and we enjoy a run in LaPorte.
August 2014: Kelsey, Kirsten and I go to Idaho Springs to run the Georgetown to Idaho
Springs Half Marathon. Despite struggling with West Nile (which I was diagnosed with in
June), Kelsey and I run a good pace. Kirsten was way ahead as usual.
September 2014: Katie is invited to race for Team Americas at the Continental Cup in Marrakech,
Morocco. Here I am running near our resort among camels and exotic birds. Morocco is the
twenty-first country I’ve visited and run in, and the first time in Africa.
September 2014: Going for a run in Madrid, Spain during a layover on my way back from Morocco.
October 2014: Katie and the 2008 UW National Cross Country championship team are inducted
into the UW Hall of Fame. We fly out for the event and of course, run with the Brooks Beasts at the
Redmond Watershed near Seattle, Washington.
November 2014: Going for a run in the Badlands National Park in South Dakota.
November 2014: One of my running goals before hitting 100,000 miles is to run in each of
the 50 United States. As a part of this quest, Bob Stowe joins me on a trip to North
Dakota to check off that state. Here I am running along the Missouri River in Bismarck,
North Dakota, following the steps of Lewis and Clark. (4 States to go).
Upper right: Last eight years of running shoes. The Brooks Glycerin is by far my favorite
shoe over the last thirty-eight years. It’s comfortable, durable and fashionable.
November 2014: Going for a run with the alligators in Brazos Bend State Park, TX
Running with the girls on the Greenbelt trails and the Lake Houston Wilderness
Park in Kingwood, Texas.
2014: I ran mile 92,000 on May 24th in Nassau, Bahamas, and mile 93,000 on
October 23rd in Seattle, Washington. From June of this year on, I struggled with
the effects of West Nile which made running difficult at times. New states run in:
Georgia and North Dakota. New countries run in: Bahamas and Morocco.
One of the highlights of my running experience has been the opportunity to meet and in some
cases, run with elite athletes and those associated with the sport of Track & Field. As a fan of the
sport, few have had the opportunities as I have to meet these people, mainly through my
association with Katie, Danny and the Brooks group. How many guys my age have had the chance
to run with athletes who have made World teams or play board games and have dinner with
American record holders or Olympic medalists? My first glimpse into this world began with a
friendship with Ryan Fenton of Flotrack. We met during Katie’s running career at UW, and
continued as I found that Danny was also a good friend with Ryan. Later during the 2012 Olympic
Trials, Jesse Williams of Brooks had me and my good friend Bob Stowe stay in a house for two
weeks with Ryan, Alex Lohr and the rest of the Flotrack crew. As we prepared meals for many
elite athletes, we got a unique glimpse into their world. As I’ve been able to travel around the
world over the years to see Katie and the Brooks group train and complete, I’ve had the
opportunity to meet and spend time with many great athletes that I admired from a distance. At
the Continental Cup in 2014 I was able to have dinner each evening for a week with Katie, Leo
Manzano and Bernard Legat- what a treat! We also were able to spend time with many other top
American track athletes during our time in Morocco. Katie’s training partners, especially Brie
Felnagle and Angela Bizzarri have logged many Follett miles with me. Hosting Katie and her
training partners for a week in our home also was a great experience seeing the routine and
schedule these athletes go through on a daily basis. Garrett Heath and Danny email on a regular
basis as we discuss stocks and investing. Sharing Thanksgiving dinner with Nick Symmonds was
a highlight for both Karen & myself! All in all, I feel blessed to have had the opportunities to get to
know and see ‘behind the scenes’ the lives of some of the top track athletes in the world! Here
are a few pictures from over the years:
January 2015: Left: New Years Day run with Kirsten and Lady Dog. Right: Running with Amanda
Mergaert, Brie Felnagle, Katie, and Joanna Murphy in Owl Canyon during their Pre-Altitude camp
in Fort Collins.
Running with Katie and playing ‘Coach’ with the Beasts training group in Fort Collins.
Running along the Rio Grande River while in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
January 2015: Running with the Brooks Beasts TC while visiting them at their High-Altitude
running camp in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Here they are training at Albuquerque Academy.
March 2015: One of my running “bucket list” goals has been to log a run in each of the 50 United
States. Over the years, I’ve run in most of the states by just traveling on family vacations and to
track & cross country events the girls were competing in. In March of 2015, Karen and I took a trip
to the Southeast to visit the sights of this part of the country, and to run in the last four states on
my ‘yet to run’ list. We began the trip by flying into Georgia, renting a car, and heading west to
Alabama. Our first stop was in the little town of Hefrin, Alabama to run and celebrate by eating
some famous Southern BBQ including fried corn, fried ocra, fried green tomatoes and pulled pork!
Running in Hefrin, Alabama
March 2015: Running in Alabama
We stayed in Birmingham, Alabama the first night, and I ran a short ‘shake out’ that next morning
before heading on to Mississippi. Tupelo, Mississippi, the birthplace of Elvis Presley was our next
destination. After touring the Presley home and museum, we drove to the nearby Tombigbee State
Park for our next run.
Tupelo, Mississippi. Birthplace of Elvis Presley and Tombigbee State Park
March 2015: Day three of my running trip in the South took us from Tupelo, Mississippi, along the
Natchez Trace Parkway, all the way to Nashville, Tennessee. The Natchez Trace is a National
Park road that runs 444 miles from Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, along an old trail used by
Indians and early explorers who traveled this area a couple hundred years ago. I ran a 10 mile
segment that included part of the original ‘trace’ and also along the beautiful parkway. As a
bonus, I saw a total of 8 white tail deer along this run.
Tennessee: Running along the Natchez Trace parkway in Tennessee.
Day 4 in Nashville, Tennessee: In Nashville we enjoyed the nightlife of “Nashvegas”, including
great live entertainment and BBQ. The next morning we toured the Grand Ole’ Opry and ran in
Shelby Bottoms Park along the Cumberland River near downtown.
Running in Nashville, Tennessee
March 2015: In southeastern Tennessee, we drove through the Great Smoky Mountain National
Park. At the top of Newfound Gap pass, where the Appalachian Trail follows the Tennessee -North
Carolina border, I went for a short run along this trail which still had a little snow and ice in spots.
Running along the Appalachian trail in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.
At the end of day 5, we ended up in Greenville, South Carolina. This state would be the last of the
50 United States I needed to run to complete my goal of having run in every state. We ran this epic
run in downtown Greenville at the Reedy River Falls Historic Park.
Running in Greenville, South Carolina.
March 2015: Having completed my goal of running in every state, we head back to Atlanta,
Georgia. On our last day on this trip we spend the afternoon at Stone Mountain Park, a huge
granite mountain with the carvings of the Confederate figures Jackson, Davis and Lee. It has a
beautiful 5+ mile path that circles the base of the mountain. This was a great run and great way to
end this trip to the Southeast.
Running in Atlanta, Georgia at Stone Mountain Park.
May 2015: While on a visit to California to watch Katie and the Brooks Beasts compete at
Stanford, Karen and I find a few great places to explore and run including the Golden Gate Bridge.
May 2015: Running amongst the massive Redwoods of Central California at the
Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park outside Santa Cruz!
May 2015: The first time in three years that the three sisters were in Fort Collins
at the same time. This of course meant a run together at Prospect Ponds.
July 2015: Katie races in Stockholm, Sweden at the Stockholm Diamond League
meet. She ends up winning the 3000 meters, perhaps one of her biggest wins up
to this point in her career, and I was able to be there at the track as well as the
week leading up to the race. We had some great runs together around Stockholm.
Stockholm, Sweden sits on several different islands, lakes and the Baltic Sea
July 2015: Running in Stockholm with Katie, Molly Huddle and Robby Andrews!
On the way home I had a layover in Amsterdam, Netherlands!
Canals, bicyclists, and windmills on a beautiful morning run!
August 14, 2015
One of the stipulations of marrying any of my daughters included having run at least one
“Follett mile” with me before the wedding. Here we are on August 14, 2015, just one day
before Warren and Kirsten’s wedding. Warren ran his one Follett mile from Miramont
Health Club with me, and then we all (Danny, Eli, myself and Warren) lifted weights!
Coincidentally, Kirsten ran her 1,001st mile with me three days earlier.
August 25, 2015 I run my 95,000th mile in a new pair of Brooks Glycerin 13s in the Poudre
Canyon. It was a warm 95 degree afternoon, but I kept cool with a couple dips in the
river!
November 2015: Thanksgiving is spent in Seattle with Katie and Danny, and of
course this meant logging miles with a few of the new Beasts. Among these are
Hannah Fields, Jessica Tonn and two-time Olympian Nick Symmonds, all logging
their first Follett miles! I attended practice each day as the Brooks group was
ramping up their mileage and getting in workouts at Green Lake. During our week
there we also enjoy an evening out for pizza with Nick, and then a huge
Thanksgiving dinner with Katie, Danny, Nick, Jesse Williams and John Pierce.
New Brooks physical therapist John Pierce also worked on my back and SI joint
which had been giving me trouble since March.
December 2015: A quick trip to Texas to see Kelsey & Eli means some great
running in great weather in some great places: Lake Houston State Park and
Brazos Bend State Park to see alligators, turtles, birds, deer and an otter!
December 2015: With everyone home for Christmas, we brave cold temperatures
in the teens, wind and snowy conditions to get in our miles.
2015: I ran mile 94,000 on March 22nd in Seattle, Washington and mile 95,000 on
August 25th in the Poudre Canyon, Colorado. New states run in: Alabama,
Mississippi, Tennessee, and South Carolina (completing a run in each of the 50
United States!) This year I struggled with sacroilliitis, swelling in my SI joint. I had
two injections to help with the pain of which only the first helped for a couple
months. Physical therapy seemed to help by the end of the year.
Filename:
My 100,000 Mile Quest by Kevin Follett
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C:\Users\Kevin Follett\Documents\Kevin's
Running\OneHundredThousandMileQuest
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Title:
My Life As A Runner by Kevin Follett
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Kevin Follett
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