What Comes Next When the Races Stop (For Now)

Let’s get the obvious out of the way: I’m injured. Surgery-level. I’m not naming it. That’s a personal rule—I don’t give injuries more presence than they deserve. I’ve been racing, running, and lifting for 50 years. If this is the worst that happened, I’m lucky. But it still changes things.

Over the past year, things started to feel... off. Not dramatic. Just wonky. Tight in the wrong places, slow to recover, pain I didn’t earn. And in true Neanderthal fashion, I kept going runninug spartan, m arathons, ultras, local 5Ks. Until the structure gave out In Ohio two months back and now I’m here. I'm a few days out of surgery with four months of rehab ahead; maybe more. I’m 69. I’ve run 225 Spartan races, plenty of marathons, ultras, half marathons, and any other race that would have me. I know the terrain and the grind. I’ve trained through sickness, soreness, and weather that should’ve benched me. But this is different. This one doesn’t care how tough I am.

I’m still signed up for races in November, December, January, February, and March. I want to run them. But this time I know better than to promise anything. I’m training, but the race is internal now. Here’s what isn’t stopping: the writing.

You’ll still hear from me here. Race previews will keep coming—but from memory, not mud. And if they sound different, it’s because I am. I’ve earned the perspective. Even when I’m not on the course, I still know what it takes to get there.

And there’s something else.

I’ve started a new writing project called Post-Illusion Press. It’s a separate set of writing I am publishing on Substack—one that covers the stuff I think about when I’m not grinding reps or reviewing gear. Psychology. Philosophy. Reading. The mental aftermath of living in a body that can’t always do what it used to.

I’ve published three zines in this space: “The Art of Showing Up,” “The Discipline of Staying Human,” and “Leave Science Fiction Alone.” Each of these zines features three or four articles centered around a common theme in a single issue. I’m also working on another one coming soon that explores the phenomenology of injury—not the pain, but the texture of living inside it.

I don’t expect everyone who follows me for OCR to follow me there. But I do want people to know that I’m not just moping around the house feeling sorry for myself. I'm still training hard at Shank Gym, and once I’m cleared, I’ll be hammering Peloton classes. The work never stopped—it just changed shape. I expect to be back on the course soon, just not now.

So that’s where I’m at. Not a comeback story. Not a pity post. Just a marker in the dirt as I start a new kind of race.

Still showing up. Still thinking. Still training—differently.