Category: My Personal Journey
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Hidden Gem #1 – Running with a varicocele
A year and a half ago, I started to realize that my left-sided friend down under was significantly larger in size than the right-sided friend down under. I also noticed that exercises like jumping jacks or certain stretches caused me peculiar pain. It was the type of momentary pain I had experienced for years in…
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Why I’ve chosen a 6-hour for my first ultramarathon
I first started dreaming of ultramarathon glory in high school, before I had even completed a half-marathon. But after years of injury issues and slowly falling out of love with the sport, I concluded that running wasn’t meant to be in the grand scheme of my life. I decided that it was silly for my…
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Coping with a running injury
Let’s face it. You’re devastated. I’m devastated. We’re all devastated when it comes to running injuries. So much of our identities revolve around running, and while we’re often fine taking running off by our own omission, it’s terrible for us to take time off when it’s thrust upon us instead.
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Lifestyle and mindset changes since I started training for an ultramarathon
At a low-point in my life, an awfully difficult day of desperation and distraught, I turned to my computer and searched for meaning in the form of upcoming (sold-out) ultramarathon races in Ontario. ‘I’ll get out there next year instead’, I said to myself. Since taking on this path, I feel happier with who I…
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How to prioritize running in your life
The most common barrier to training for an ultramarathon is time. For those that want to make running a priority in their lives, it takes a massive amount of devotion and dedication. If you mix running and exploration together like I do, you’re likely going to be taking up even more of your time as…
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Finding your motivation to run long
There are both healthy reasons to run, and unhealthy reasons to run. Sometimes those reasons merge, and sometimes what started out as a journey toward better health quickly becomes a journey toward worsened health. I found myself in this state between 2017-2018, where I was inevitably destroying my body.
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Falling in love with running again
Addiction is funny. Conveniently, but simultaneously inconveniently, so is love. When you put those two together in a cake mix, it’s hard not to find a delicious treat waiting on the other side of a burning oven. From around 2010 to 2018, I was addicted to running. Conveniently, but simultaneously inconveniently, I also loved to…
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Too good at goodbyes
I knew I was leaving my last job for nine months before accepting my next role. This time around, it took a small bit of build-up toward a nine minute phone call, for everything to change. Plan C quickly became Plan A, and I realized it was time to leave the greatest stairway I’ve ever…
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Staying intrinsically motivated…
You must be the one to keep yourself in check. You must be the one to celebrate your success stories. It’s a pessimistic viewpoint, yes. But one that will help you strive toward positivity within the inevitable disappointments of life; and toward whatever it is that you’re chasing in life.
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How I coached an unbeaten team
In the summer of 2021, I took a youth team to an unbeaten campaign, in their first ever season playing together. While winning is never the most important part of youth soccer, I share some of the key tips and tricks that allowed me to achieve success with my team and instill a positive culture…
Rhys Desmond 