Why I’m Running 100 Miles Before I’m Done
Let me be honest about something… Running 100 miles is objectively silly. There is no practical reason to do it. It hurts, it takes months of preparation, and the finish line does not come with a trophy that justifies the suffering. I know this going in and I'm doing it anyway. That's kind of the point.
It Was Never Really About the Race
For a long time, athletics was my anchor. Not in the way people talk about fitness as a hobby or a stress outlet, although it is both of those things. I mean anchor in the most literal sense. When I got sober, running and competing became the structure that kept me moving forward. It gave me something to train for, something to show up for, and a version of myself I could be proud of when other parts of life were harder to navigate. What started as a tool for survival opened doors I could not have imagined 10 years ago. New communities, new opportunities, a physical identity that carried me through some of the most important chapters of my life. So when I say I want to run 100 miles, understand that it is not really about the distance. It is about closing that chapter the right way.
Ending Things on Your Own Terms
I have a pattern. I can see it clearly when I look back. Gymnastics, jiu-jitsu, my corporate career at CDW and Gartner, and now competitive athletics. Each one had a beginning, a period of full commitment, and an ending that I chose. I didn't drift away from any of them. I decided when I was done, checked the box, and moved forward without looking back. Most people don't believe me when I say I won't race again after this which is totally cool. I just know myself.
The 100-miler is that moment for competitive athletics. It’s the thing I need to do so that one day I can look back and say I did everything I wanted to do during that time. No unfinished business. No wondering what I was capable of. Just a clear and deliberate ending to a chapter that meant everything to me, completed on my terms.
Why This Matters for HUMN
I am building a health club, which means I have to walk the walk. But more than that, I genuinely believe in what movement does for a person. Training keeps me sharp. It gets me outside, gets blood flowing, clears my head, and honestly makes me better at every other thing I do. That is not just something I say to investors or partners. It’s something I live every single day.
The client HUMN is being built for understands this. The 2026 consumer is not working out to look a certain way or hit a number on a scale. They are working out because they have connected the dots between their physical health and their performance in every other area of life. Remote work is here to stay, the lines between professional and personal have blurred, and the people who are going to win in that environment are the ones who treat their health as a non-negotiable. HUMN exists to make that easier. We are not selling memberships. We are building the platform that removes the friction between wanting to live better and actually doing it.
The Box Gets Checked
Once those doors open in Q1 2027, nothing else will matter besides protecting and growing what we've built. That is not a figure of speech. HUMN is the thing I have been building toward across every chapter of my life, and once it is real and open and serving people, it will have my complete and undivided focus. But I have a window right now between where I am and where we are going, and I intend to use it. The 100-miler is the last item on a list I have been working through for a long time. When I cross that finish line, I will have done everything I set out to do as an athlete. Then I close that chapter, set it down, and continue to lean into HUMN.
