Ten Entrepreneurial Lessons From the World of (Ultra)Marathons

August 28, 2023 by Stephen Hallgren in Life, nonfractional, Races

If you couldn’t tell, I’m obsessed with running. Throughout the years, running has been my mental lifeline, particularly in some of my darkest moments. Running has also brought about some of the most impactful ideas and lessons I’ve been able to apply to life. While running shorter distances are powerful for freeing my mind to ideas, I’ve found that the longer distances are what have pushed me beyond the normal limits of mind and body.

Kit: My First Ultramarathon

July 16, 2020 by Stephen Hallgren in Gear

Last Summer I ran my first 50 mile ultramarathon, the North Face Endurance Challenge, in Massachusetts. Up until then, I had only ran two marathons and had no idea what I was getting myself into when I signed up to run 50 miles. To prepare for the ultramarathon, I read and researched a LOT. While the thorough research helped, I still didn’t feel super prepared. In my reading, I knew I’d need certain gear, but beyond that, what gear I bought was determined by people writing reviews and me hoping that their reviews didn’t suck. In our world of almost unlimited choice, it was very difficult to feel like I was doing the right thing…

Every Mother Is An Ultramom

May 10, 2020 by Stephen Hallgren in Life

In the ultra running world some of the fastest runners, both men and women alike, can run 100 miles in less than a day. Times vary depending on the course and the runner, but the pros are ridiculously fast. For the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run, the course records are 14:09:28 for the men, set by Jim Walmsley and 16:47:19 for the women, set by Ellie Greenwood. If you are an average runner like me, 100 miles can take well over 24 hours to complete. For reference, I was able to complete a 50 mile race in 13 hours and was pretty sure I was going to die. Jim Walmsley essentially ran twice the distance, almost twice as fast as me, and probably didn’t regret his life choices as much as I did…

Book: Running Home - A Memoir

January 27, 2020 by Stephen Hallgren in Reviews, Books

Memoirs, especially running memoirs, seem to more often than not, revolve around the success of the writer and their running. As if greatness is all they’ve ever known, or if everyone did what they did, they’d be amazing too. Running Home is not one of those books. As the chapters unfold, I kept wondering when I’d get to the part about running, but with each chapter I became more and more engrossed in the narrative of Katie’s life. Her writing went deep into my own heart and put words to my own inward battles…

Stop and Dream

January 01, 2020 by Stephen Hallgren in Life

There was a day when I’d slip Side A of my cassette tape into the deck, sprawl my awkward teenage body out on the couch, open up a magazine and dream. I dreamt seemingly impossible, yet fantastically amazing dreams of what I envisioned my life would be like. Some day I’d be a professional mountain biker shredding down epic mountains, winning trophies and earning fame. Or maybe if that didn’t work out, I’d be designing and programming the latest and greatest video games for Sierra Entertainment. Of course I’d have a fallback career as an architect. People would flock to the revolutionary houses and buildings I had designed, I would be the next Frank Lloyd Wright or Frank Gehry…

40 & Beyond

December 02, 2019 by Stephen Hallgren in Life

I’m 40. I’ve been told I don’t look 40. I definitely don’t feel 40, in fact, I’m in better health both mentally and physically than I’ve ever been. But, I checked my birth certificate and it does indeed confirm the fact that I am 40. The clothing and hair styles of my parents in my baby photos also confirm that I was born at the end of the 70s. While 40 seems old to some, or that it indicates years of decline, I see something different. I see years of growth from my 20s and 30s that I’m excited about continuing well into the rest of my life...

My First 50 Mile Ultramarathon

June 08, 2019 by Stephen Hallgren in Life

Sometimes people work their way up to a 50 mile race, I decided to jump in head first. I honestly had no idea if I’d be able to finish or not. My mind said I could, but my fears said I couldn’t. I had put in my training time and felt confident. I knew things would be tough, turns out the race was tougher than I had even feared it might be.

My alarm went off at 3am, although I’m not sure I was actually asleep to begin with. I slept terribly and had been waking up every couple hours. Forget pre-race jitters, I was experiencing pre-race anxiety. Fortunately, despite the rough night of sleep, I was feeling pretty good, ate a bowl of oatmeal and headed over to Wachusett Mountain for the start of the race …