In S2Ep3 of the PRP Adam schemes with seasoned ultra marathoner, emergency veterinarian, life long trail enthusiast and aspiring race director Dan Hughes who has been preparing for the inaugural running of the Huron 100 on May 21st, 2022. The Huron 100 is a 100 mile point to point trail race through the Huron River watershed. The course features 8 different parks throughout Southeast Michigan and highlights all the immaculate beauty the region has to offer. What is so unique about today's episode? This epic course was methodically created and designed by our guest, Mr. Dan Hughes, who has spent the better part of 2 years scouting, adventuring and plotting in the area with hopes of one day making his dream a reality.
Lauren Hughes, budding ultra marathoner, crew chief extraordinaire and Dan's better half, joins the show as guest host an offers her poised insight on just how much time and effort has gone into this project. Lauren humbly displays her stoic approach to life whilst sharing details about how she supports both her daughters and her husband in their life endeavors; provide tools, emotional stability and allow them to make their own decisions and chase the dreams that make them happy.
The PRP listenership is regaled with the tale of how Dan took this project from conception to implementation. How many times did Lauren drop Dan off in the middle of the woods at night and how many emergency trail burrito deliveries have been made over the past 2 years?! Dan provides a lens into his unique life schedule and explains how the craziness of his day-to-day has lead him to his quirky training & race preparation. The pillars of his approach? Run when you have the opportunity, do the running that makes you happy and be open to where life takes you. Dan then shares what he's learned from Strava over the years; broaden your community, follow a larger swath of people and this will ultimately lead to a better relationship with the platform.
Before episode close, Dan provides fascinating insight into what has likely been the the most difficult factor in assembling this course: designing it for a personal project use case vs designing to be a proper and sanctioned race. A river crossing in the middle of the night with a buddy is one thing, but shepherding hundreds of exhausted runners across the Huron River at night safely is a whole different beast. Dan's ultimate plan for inaugural race day? Listen to his body, listen to the earth, and most importantly, listen to his wife.
How many trees is Dan actually friends with? How does Dan flip training lows and turn them into training highs?! How many times did Dan run certain sections of this course to ensure that he was comfortable navigating them on race day? What's next for the Huron 100 and how can YOU get involved in helping build this tremendous event?!?! All of this and oh so much more in this motivating and unique episode of the PRP.
Recorded May 20th @ 12:30PM EST