71 | Cary & Micah Morgan: Running Has a Way of Really Bringing People Together

Let’s just state the obvious. Runners are weird people. We know it and we embrace it. But if running is not your thing, please don’t skip this conversation. There’s something here for you.

Cary and Micah Morgan are pillars of the Birmingham AL running community. More than that, they’re wonderful people who genuinely care about others and love well. 

Cary is a physical therapist and owner/lead coach of Cadence Run Coaching, a business that helps runners achieve their goals. Micah is a nurse practitioner who also happens to be one of the world’s most elite ultra-runners. For about the last ten years, Micah has been crossing one challenge after another off her list, including the Badwater 135 ultramarathon, which is considered the toughest road race in the world. In fact, on July 27, 2026 Micah will compete in her third Badwater 135. You can track her progress using the link below.

In our conversation, we definitely talked about running. But more than that, we talked about the community and connection that comes from a shared passion. No matter what you love to do, when you find others who love it like you do, there’s a special connection available. 

Cary and Micah are faithful friends and companions to so many, and more recently have walked through shared grief as well. In December 2025, the Birmingham running community lost a good friend when Christina Chambers’ life was suddenly cut short. We talk about that pain, as well as how many people Christina touched by her friendship. For those of you listening when the episode comes out, please check out the Christina Chambers Twilight 5K, coming August 7th. Link to register or donate is below.

Have fun listening to three obsessed runners (Cary, Micah, Greg) and one sane non-runner (Stacey) talk about passion, friendship, and great connection. 

#carymorgan #micahmorgan #caryandmicahmorgan #beatsandfeetswithmicah #runhardandcaryon #running #cadenceruncoaching #marathon #ultramarathon #badwater135 #connection #community #vulnerability #grace #gospel #transformation #healing 

Cadence Run Coaching website
Badwater135 website
Christina Chambers Twilight 5K race page (run or donate)
Micah on Instagram

Transcript

Cold Open And Welcome

Micah Morgan 0:00

Runners are very strange and difficult people to lose. It's like the person that walks in the room, it's like, here's my marathon metal, and you're like, I do not care.

Announcer 0:12

Welcome to What We Really Want. Conversations about connection. Settle in and get ready for a great conversation. Let's talk about what we really want.

Greg 0:24

Well, hello, friends. Welcome back to another episode of What We Really Want. This is Greg with you. Today it's episode 71, and it features some really good friends of mine and Stacy's Cary and Micah Morgan. The episode is called Running Has a Way of Really Bringing People Together. Now, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Those of you who aren't runners, please don't turn the episode off. We know how difficult it can be to talk to us. We all have heard the jokes and the stories and have lived it where you go to a party and like the joke is how can you tell who at the party has run a marathon? And the answer is they'll tell you within five minutes. We know. We know we're weird. We know we're obsessed, but don't stop listening because there's something that Cary and Micah have to share in a conversation they had with Stacy and me that's really special, even if you're not a runner, because it just talks about the power of connection and community within a shared experience. And in this case, it's running, but there's something that everybody can relate to. I also think you're going to really enjoy getting to know my friends Cary and Micah. Stacy and I have known Cary for almost as long as we've been married. We met him when I was asked to do some music at a singles retreat and met Cary then, became friends. We kept up here and there over the years, but really have been super close over the 17 years that I've been in recovery. We reconnected right after my life blew up and just running miles and miles with Cary and just having his listening ear while I was going through one of the toughest things I'd ever gone through was life-giving, life-saving for me. And then Cary was going through some stuff of his own and just the bond, the shared experience of just having a time when you can be there for each other. For us, it was running. For other people, it's different things. Cary and Micah have been married for about 13 years. They met in the running community, just have a really sweet story of not only just their relationship and the friendships that they provide to other people, but just in how they have worked together to particularly in the last few years help Micah really achieve potential and goals and results in running that so few people can say that they have experienced. Micah and Cary have both done marathons, but then uh several years ago, Micah became convinced that maybe ultrarunning was going to be more of a fit for her. Basically, in layman's terms, ultra running is anything longer than a marathon. And Micah just kind of caught the bug and has become one of the most elite ultra marathoners in the world. And that's not that's not just me putting on platitudes, like the statistics back it up. Micah has run the Badwater 135 Ultra Marathon, which goes from Death Valley to Mount Whitney, temperatures ranging from the 120s to the 40s with 14,000 or so feet of elevation. It's considered the most difficult road race in the world. The week after this episode drops, she is scheduled to run Badwater for the third time. She has run a 150-mile race in Brazil. She's uh run ultra marathons in Europe. She's really got that gear that a lot of runners don't have. But a lot of our conversation really turned toward the relational aspect of things and how running is such a good way to experience support and connection and even kind of some armchair therapy toward the end of the episode. So I hope that you'll you'll stay in for the whole conversation. Towards the end, we talked about another shared experience with people that you uh share activity with. It's not a fun one, and that's shared grief. People in the Birmingham, Alabama running community went through something together at the end of 2025 when a good friend Christina Chambers, who was just such a wonderful spirit, a wonderful person, and an excellent runner, was suddenly and unexpectedly killed. We talk about the pain of that, the tragedy of that, and also how her life story, her legacy is an inspiration to people. It was national news. Many of you, even if you don't live in Alabama, probably heard about Christina. And I wanted to mention, because of when this episode is coming out, that just in a few weeks from now, on Friday, August the 7th, there is a 5K called the Christina Chambers Twilight 5K. It's taking place in her hometown of Coleman, Alabama. You can go to Christina Chambers5K.com, and that link will be in the show notes as well. You can register to run in the 5K if you live locally, or you can donate. So we really hope that you'll check out the Christina Chambers 5K. Run it if you can, support it if you're unable to run it. But thank you for uh considering that as well. It was a great conversation with some longtime friends. It's Cary and Micah Morgan. It's episode 71. It's called Running Has a Way of Really Bringing People Together. And the conversation starts right now. Hello.

Micah Morgan 5:37

Hello. Hello.

Cary Morgan 5:40

Hello. Hello. Hello. You're the only one here. Well, y'all can both sing.

Stacey 5:45

I can carry a tune, but I have to hear somebody with I don't even with me.

Micah Morgan 5:52

I don't know. I'm good in my car. I'll never forget you at my birthday. We were like, you're not coming anymore. When you hit the trip again, American Greg's like so sick. We were like, oh, this is not good.

Greg 6:04

Well, what I remember is making up song parodies in real time on Overseers Highway running towards Key West.

Micah Morgan 6:13

It's actually nice.

Cary Morgan 6:14

You know that's going on right now?

Micah Morgan 6:16

Oh yeah.

Greg 6:18

Wow, that was eight years ago.

Cary Morgan 6:19

So you can say that's the second anniversary of your experience. That's very cool. It's Micah's first hundred.

Greg 6:25

And for those of y'all who are listening to this and wondering, first hundred what? First, running a hundred miles all at one time. But we'll get to that. We'll get to that. Cary and Micah Morgan, thanks for sitting down with us. Thanks for having us. We've been talking about doing this forever. We're finally getting it done. So just have been thinking for a long time, really since shortly after we started doing this show, how much fun it would be to talk with you guys about the connection between running and community and just you know real depth of relationships. So I can't wait to do it. But what do you guys really want out of sitting down and talking to us for a little while?

Micah Morgan 7:00

A good conversation.

Cary Morgan 7:02

Same community. Just getting to hang out with you guys is actually this is probably a lot of things that we would talk about, even if the mics weren't that's right.

Greg 7:10

On what could be better than hanging out with Greg and Stacey?

Stacey 7:13

That's right, exactly.

Greg 7:14

All right. Well, we're gonna do that. We're gonna have some good connection here. A little bit of background of the four of us, you know, I've known Cary only slightly less time than I've known my wife. Uh we met almost 35 years ago.

Cary Morgan 7:28

I don't know. I I told somebody this week that that I've known you for 30 years, and this morning I was actually thinking about I was like, no, I'm older than that. It's closer

Running As Lifeline In Crisis

Cary Morgan 7:38

to 35.

Greg 7:38

Yeah. Yeah, that that's how far back we go in our friendship. And then we saw you on New Year's Day, New Year's Day 2009.

Cary Morgan 7:49

You were going to eat at the pancake, original pancake house.

Greg 7:52

Original pancake, and you were running a resolution run.

Cary Morgan 7:54

And I was running a run that we used to do that day every year, and yeah, we connected and it was fun.

Greg 8:01

And had no idea. The bottom was about to dry. That's right. Well, what I got exposed as having done had already happened, but but I had, you know, the bomb hadn't gone off yet. That was gonna happen just five days later. Shortly after that, I was running on the Lakeshore Trail, ran into you, and you said, How's it going?

Cary Morgan 8:25

And I said, Well running went from fun way to stay in shape to a necessity to stay alive, yeah, mentally.

Greg 8:35

Like you're not exaggerating. No, I'm serious. Yeah. Because I found out in those days that I wasn't the only one that was going through hard things. And it just became a real time of just connecting with somebody who would hear and get and receive. And and you know, the thing that was so cool for me, other than you, Cary, being such a good listener to just me talking about how my life had blown.

Cary Morgan 9:00

I was like, wait, who was this?

Greg 9:03

Good listener, yeah. But also, like when you started sharing some struggles, I'm like, oh, like, do I get to do that anymore? Like, do I get to be there for people? You know, there was just so much, I guess it was a form of shame. Do I get to do anything meaningful for people? And and that was really, really helpful. I know you were just this morning, hun, reminiscing about some of the things you remember about Cary in those early days. And Mike, I promise we're gonna talk to talk about you.

Micah Morgan 9:30

This is good. This is good.

Greg 9:32

Well, you you came into the picture a few years later. Like we're talking about 2009, and then y'all's connection started a little bit after that. We'll get to that next.

Stacey 9:40

I just remember, I don't know the context of the day that you came to our house and we were all talking, and it was a big deal because I mean, when you are walking through the aftermath of sexual brokenness, people run and scatter. I will always remember people of that. And there weren't many that were just right there.

Greg 11:29

A lot of people who just provide presents to somebody who's hurting tend to think, man, I wish I could do more. And they don't realize, oh my gosh, like you're doing by by being there and by not being weird, just being there and not feeling like you have to force yourself to say anything. That's the greatest gift that hurting people can receive, is just somebody to show up and say, you know, I don't even know what to say, but I'll just I'm just here for you. That's worth its weight in gold. I mean, it really, really is from a relational standpoint. And that kind of locked in what has just become, you know, one of my longest friendships in my life, Gary. And I'm just so, so grateful for you. And and then a little bit later, you guys' stories intersected. And I'd love to hear both of you kind of talk about what was going on in your lives when you met and kind of how you guys came together. And y'all

How Cary And Micah Met

Greg 12:22

have been married twelve, 13, 12. 13.

Cary Morgan 12:26

It was March 3rd of 2013. Okay.

Greg 12:30

And we were there on the beach right after y'all finished a half marathon. Leading worship.

Cary Morgan 12:35

Yeah. Yeah. At our wedding.

Greg 12:36

So cool. But before that, tell me how things got started.

Micah Morgan 12:40

Yeah, I guess we have to bring up Jennifer Andris for that.

Greg 12:45

So come on, bring her up.

Micah Morgan 12:47

I was running on my side of town, you know, just kind of learning the ropes of running at the time. And I think I had there was some race that I did, and the time kind of triggered her. And she was like, hey, come out here and run with us. And then once I came into the group, Cary was a long-standing member of that run group. And then the second she was kind of like, you guys should meet. And then when we met, we were just in, I would say it was like instant friendship from there. We were just like buds. And then it kind of turned into, of course, marriage and a relationship, you know, up to this point. But we were, I mean, I would say inseparable. It was just an immediate connection. And I was like, this dude is becoming one of my best friends. And it's so strange. Cause I always thought, you know, we're, you know, 10 a little over 10 years apart. And I was like, no way. You know, I was like, this is the best thing that ever happened. And then I mean, I it's really been instant best friends. Yeah, it's cool.

Cary Morgan 13:43

Yeah, we'd both come off of broken marriages, much different time lengths. Mine 17 years and hers just actually under a year. And you know, it's funny to think about all the things that had to happen. I mean, you talk about running with somebody, but as anybody who runs knows, you know, everybody runs at different paces, everybody has different fitness levels. And we, unless she was faking it and really was slowing down just so she could run with me, we we ended ended up having, you know, similar easy paces. And so we ran a lot together. And yeah, when you run with somebody, and this translates to very, very good things and can translate to very, very bad things, you spend, you know, an hour a day and three two to three hours on the weekend running with somebody, you really, really get to know them because it's one-on-one. I mean, had we had we not dated and and gotten married, I mean, we probably would have spent more time talking than most couples.

Greg 14:44

Yeah, I mean, you you referred subtly to can go into some good things or some not good things because there's a lot of talk time. And I was just in on a run with somebody last week, and he he was telling me something he had heard about why men tend to open up with each other during exercise, is because you're not looking at each other, you're both looking straight ahead. And so you get men who are running in the same direction next to each other for an hour, sometimes two hours, and you just gotta talk about something, or you're just gonna be sitting there, you know, clop, clop, clop, clopping, you know, with a whole lot of awkwardness. And I think it really does open up a lot. And so when you've got people who are going through hard times, and particularly like we've known a lot of people who are having struggles in their marriages, who, you know, you you really can build what feels like intimacy with people that you're running with. And if you're not guarded and clook and careful, it can go in some negative directions. But in terms of friendship, gosh, it can just be so deep and meaningful. I I remember some of the early days. I mean, you asked questions, you were curious, you introduced me to Steve Brown, who I've had on the show and talked about you during that episode. But yeah, just such a such a rich time. So you guys started enjoying each other's company, you started hanging out on runs, and then you started to feel like there was something more there. And then in 2013, you got tell tell me about your wedding day. I mean, I know about it, but tell tell our listeners about it.

Cary Morgan 16:19

Well, back up a little bit. I like to brag about my proposal because I

Proposal Route And Race Day Wedding

Cary Morgan 16:26

I did it in a pretty creative way back then, and now it's been used by everybody, and Strava has made it famous. Yep. Yeah, I ran a 10 and a half mile route in downtown Birmingham using the block streets to spell out Will You Marry Me? Which was it was kind of fun. I finished that. She was she was injured at the time, so I had her come meet me for coffee at O. Henry's where we start and finish our runs. And she was injured, and I was wanting to show her my run, quote unquote, and on the computer, and I started with it, you know, nice and close, and then I kind of zoomed back till you could read what you know it said. And I was angry. Yeah, she was angry because exactly she's injured, so she's not running. I can't, she's jealous that I was doing to run and she wasn't, but yeah, she uh why are you rubbing it in my face?

Micah Morgan 17:21

I was just what is this?

Cary Morgan 17:23

And so yeah, I backed out until she was like, Wait, what? That says something.

Greg 17:27

Well, you were one of the first, I think, to do that. Didn't it get into Runner's World?

Cary Morgan 17:32

No, but Garmin, Garmin picked it up. There, I forgot. It was, you know, in the tens of thousands that had followed it and liked it. And the comments, I still look back at some of those comments and they're great. It's like, do you really want to, you know, marry a guy who runs a 9 30 pace or do you know, oh, he didn't really do that on purpose. He lost his dog. You know, it was funny. It was it was really good. But yeah, the wedding day was awesome. We went to the seaside half marathon, and we had seen a a wedding dress that she had a friend that was a seamstress make it for her, and I ran with a little tuxedo t-shirt. Yeah. And um, we ran the whole thing together, and she wanted to chill, and I wanted to PR.

Greg 18:13

And so we ended up uh which stands for personal record for those of you who are not running.

Cary Morgan 18:18

So about two or three miles in, I was really, really pushing her to speed up. And she did, and we we we PR'd on our wedding day and in the half marathon.

Greg 18:28

And then walked across the street, and the minister who married you was a guy named Joe Gibbs, who at the time was one of the one of the ministers at Cathedral of the Advent, which is an Episcopal church here in Birmingham. He he still had his compression socks on. He threw his shroud or stole on. And and I didn't run that day, but I brought my guitar and Stacy and I stood out with about what 30 friends who all came down. Many of them ran, some of them didn't, some of them drove all the way down to Florida just to stand with y'all on the beach and watch you get married. Yeah. And that kind of transitions me into the next thing I want to talk about, which is just sort of running as a really significant deep community. You guys are probably among the most well-known runners in Birmingham. I don't think that's, I mean, that's not like braggy

Birmingham Running Community And Curiosity

Greg 19:20

to say that. I mean, that's just kind of acknowledging anybody who runs talks about Cary and Micah. And most people know who they're talking about because Cary, you've been in the community probably longer than just about anybody, Micah, you as well. And with some of the things in your running experience, we're going to talk about in a little bit, it's just people have heard of y'all. It's not just being around, though, but it's just about what people experience when they are around y'all that makes it really special. And I just love to hear you guys talk a little bit about what relationships and friendships within a community of people who have shared interests are like. And then, hun, I actually want to get you to weigh in because you have a perspective that's different. You've come to some of these gatherings of runners as a non-runner. And I mean, I'm sure that there's a part of that that feels awkward, but also I'm just curious, maybe at some point, of what you've noticed. But yeah.

Cary Morgan 20:12

Okay. Yeah, I think we both have kind of run our whole life basically for other sports. Like we did not run, or I didn't run, you know, primarily as a sport until college. And then even then, I ran a marathon and then I took 10 years off. But yeah, I mean, running in Birmingham, I mean, I've put in, I think Strava says I've run the Lakeshore Trail over 5,000 times. And you know, people have come and gone, and and it's crazy because people who leave have to leave Birmingham all say the same thing. Like the Birmingham running community is super special. And even in the big cities, you know, these people move to Chicago or somewhere where it's really known to have huge, incredible running communities often say that Birmingham is still the best running community. And so yeah, it's just I don't know what makes it so special. But yeah, you really you do get to know people and share deep deep parts of your life. I mean, we just this week, we you know, we've got a person in our group that's going through the divorce and another person in our group that had a cancer scare with one of their kids. So you know, you just try to be there for each other. We lean heavily on each other. It's really cool.

Micah Morgan 21:34

I think we've been able to, like you said, when people move away and they always say there's something about Birmingham for whatever reason. I think the mixture of people that have kind of come in and out of this group or, you know, the multiple groups that we have, we've always been able to ask questions. And we've always been able to kind of dive in when you see somebody and just say, like, you know, what's your story or what's going on? We I feel like there hasn't been any fear, you know, once you kind of get to know them, we don't want to scare anybody, but like we've just been able to like ask questions and get deep with people and meaningful and not just, hey, the sun's out, it's a pretty day. We've been able to kind of get deeper with folks. And and I don't know what that is. It's just kind of, I guess just the group of people, we've just been able to get into that space with each other.

Cary Morgan 22:24

Yeah. And in a time in our history where, you know, the algorithms are pushing the agendas, you know, further and fart farther apart, yeah. Running has a way of really bringing people together. So, I mean, we have people in our group that are politically far, far left.

Greg 22:41

I was gonna say you you said, like, I don't know what's so special about it. I feel like a a community like that, it's the anti-social media. You know, because in social media, it's so easy to just marginalize and ignore or attack people who don't think exactly like you think. Let me tell you something. There are people that I have run with and had great discussions with, and we couldn't be farther apart idealistically. But the thing that, you know, one of our friends, Lauren, mentioned on a run one time is the the ability to be curious has been largely lost in culture, not so on a run, because you got an hour if somebody says something and something in you goes, ooh, I don't understand. Agree with that. You know, you could say, Well, that person's an idiot, and now you're going to be miserable for the next one, or you got to peel off and go be by yourself, or you can say, Tell me how you came to that.

Micah Morgan 23:39

Yeah.

Greg 23:40

You know? And like, I'm really interested in knowing why you believe that. And I've heard, like, and there have been some pretty intense but very respectful like debates going on during runs. And it's it's a lost art.

Micah Morgan 23:53

Well, isn't there something to be said too, like how you mentioned kind of men being able to be vulnerable, but they're not looking face to face, and women usually look face to face and we have these deep conversations. But there's something about adults sweating and pushing themselves in, you know, like a track workout and cheering each other on that kind of creates that space too. Because where as adults do you get that? You, you know, you play sports as kids and you have these team events, but then it's almost like a team, you know, as we get older.

Greg 24:25

Because we might, you know, vote for the person with R or D. We might have had very different beliefs and experiences about COVID, but the fact that we're all out here means that we share something that we love. And so all the things that I think society and people try to tend to use to get us to separate, it's like, but we are reminding each other every time we pull up in that parking lot that we have something in common. Yeah. So it's not as easy as just saying, well, you're an idiot and everything that you stand for is stupid, because you believe very deeply in something that I believe very deeply in. And so we at least have that in common.

Cary Morgan 24:58

And you know, there's very few things now that I think about you just made me sit here and go, okay, what are some areas where people with completely opposite views do come together? And it's sports, which throw running in that, of course. And then music is one. I mean, whether you're far left or far right or atheist or Christian or Muslim, you find yourself liking the same music. And you know, and you can talk music or you can talk your favorite sports team, you know.

Greg 25:25

I'm interested in hearing you weigh in, huh?

Stacey 25:28

Yeah, I'm gonna get a wah wah.

Greg 25:32

Not so well, not only well No, go ahead. Just what what's it like for you listening to what we've been saying for the last few minutes?

Stacey 25:40

I say 100%, that's what I observe. I mean, I don't go on the runs. Obviously, I'm not crazy. Just kidding. I love them all, y'all, but y'all all crazy. But I have been in situations where y'all are all together and I can tell. Like I can just tell. And then it seems like years ago you used to have more parties or whatever. I would go and it was awful because I'm an introvert and I don't know anybody. Awful just because of those reasons. It was a good environment. But I could tell there would always be people, because y'all always talk to me, and so I don't know who, but some people would intentionally talk to me. I could tell that you had a good relationship and that there was a camaraderie and all of that just because of the way they talk to me about you. So that was always sweet. But I kind of got to a point where I was like, I think you can just go enjoy your running people and watch my show and have a beverage at home.

Micah Morgan 26:34

That's fair. Runners are very strange and difficult people. It's like the person that walks in the room that's like, here's my marathon medal, and you're like, I do not care.

Cary Morgan 26:45

Yeah, we we it's an addiction. I mean, and there's no question. Our friend Erica, she she often says, you know, some people love running and some people need running. I think that there's a I'm in that camp that I need it for lots of reasons.

Greg 27:01

And I think there can be a healthy need for it and an unhealthy need for it.

Cary Morgan 27:04

Sure.

Greg 27:04

I mean, I I know you well enough to know that there have been times in your life when it literally helped you survive.

Cary Morgan 27:11

Oh, for sure.

Greg 27:12

Some things that that at least emotionally, mentally felt unsurvivable. Absolutely. Yeah.

Stacey 27:18

I was thinking about uh what were you saying, Micah, that triggered this? Oh, the whole cheering each other on. I know at at the marathons that I would go to and you would finish and then you would cheer everybody else. Base plan in one a couple times. I'm like, okay, do we have you're done. But you know me, and I want your approval. And so I can't run. So there's no scenario where Greg's cheering me on or proud of me of something like that. And I've I always was kind of jealous of that. So I remember the one time we've taken a sabbatical, and remember I was up on the hill at our house weed eating like a badass. Leave it in there because it's true. But he's down there working, and I just wanted so badly for him to like talk about how I was a badass and be so proud of me or whatever, but you were doing your work or whatever, and you weren't paying attention.

Greg 28:16

I looked up once and I just waved.

Stacey 28:18

You just waved, and I'm like, dang it. But I didn't have to do that. Anyway, that's one thing I thought of like, there's not a really another scenario where it's like that, and I can't run and I'm not gonna do that, so I can get you to go pro be proud of me for finishing a race or whatever.

Greg 28:34

Well, I'm fairly proud of you for forgiving me and not divorcing me.

Stacey 28:40

Which, by the way, is something, Cary, that you would text very kindly different times throughout the years, and just I don't know if it would be birthdays or anniversaries or whatever, that you would text and just comment on that.

Cary Morgan 28:52

And that meant a lot because I think hero is a word I used a lot. I think you do because there's very few people that would do that. Even when my humanness says should do that, would follow through with that kind of forgiveness and grace and mercy. It was yeah, it stands out. I mean, I don't know anybody else. I mean, I know other couples where there's been forgiveness, but yeah, I don't know them as closely as I do you guys, and so it's uh it's unique.

Stacey 29:27

Well, and I think it's such a god thing because I am not the kind of person that I think could get over this. I I know I'm not on my own. I know there are people well, I don't know actually.

Greg 29:38

Well, I was gonna say, Cary, we know people who've gone through similar things and have not divorced, but as far as the the partner who was betrayed actually saying there's work for me to do, I mean, not right at first. I mean, just no.

Stacey 29:53

First time you said you didn't like something I was saying, I didn't know.

Greg 29:57

But I mean, after working through your anger and all all of the things that go with betrayal trauma, to say, hey, I'm realizing that you're getting better and I'm still miserable, and maybe I can't blame everything that's wrong in my life on you. And just to say, I have work to do. Like, we don't know many people who both partners really dive in to to fully do the work. And so, like, here's three runners focusing on the non-runner for a minute.

Micah Morgan 30:24

How did we get here? Yeah, yeah. But forgiveness too. I mean, you there's not a lot of just true forgiveness in the world. There's a lot of people that we preach forgiveness, you know, forgive each other, but to actually see that in that scenario is I mean, it's unworldly. You don't you don't see that. Yeah, you don't.

Cary Morgan 30:42

And when it seems so one-sided to the world, like you guys just said, I mean, it it becomes where it's accepted that it's okay for her to give you 100% of the blame and never to have to look at herself ever.

Stacey 30:57

Yeah.

Cary Morgan 30:58

And so that's uh part of the hero. And for a while I wouldn't have argued with that.

Stacey 31:02

And I tried that. For a while, you you were the problem. I mean, I I remember the time that I got mad at you for not liking the way I said something. I'm like, I think kidding me. Like, you don't like the way I said that after all, I've forgiven you for. Like, that's the piece that people get stuck on, which I get because I and you said, Do I not get to be annoyed at anything for the rest of our days? And I said, No, you do not. Or you do and you just slap it off.

Micah Morgan 31:29

Right.

Stacey 31:29

You don't get to tell me.

Greg 31:30

I want you to think that the annoying things that I do are precious.

Stacey 31:34

Oh, she's cute, you know. But yeah, that, but so I tried, but it actually did not give me what I wanted. It didn't give me enjoyment or a healthy relationship.

Greg 31:46

Well, by virtue of what we've been talking about the last five minutes, noticing that where your narrative in this conversation might be, I don't have much to contribute. Like when we've really gotten together, the four of us, which we don't do as often as I'd like to, but when we do, you're not just sitting there as a wallflower with nothing to contribute. And so I think that we do have more in common. It's just that we have to make sure that we're not those annoying runners who only talk about.

Stacey 32:12

Yeah, you just gotta be intentional. I don't yeah, I don't remember times where it's all about running.

Greg 32:17

Okay, back to running. So so I ran my first marathon in 2003 and was on a street for a while doing about one a year. Micah, you got into running marathons. I remember all three of us would be training for something, sometimes the same race at the same time. I think we've run Mercedes back when, you know, may May She Rest in peace. Yeah, a few times. But you walked the half. You did. You walked.

Stacey 32:44

And I came in at the same time as Greg when he ran the full. I ran up the five.

Greg 32:49

You came in about 10 minutes before me, I think. Nice. Um but I I remember, tell me if I'm getting this wrong. I remember that you were having a pretty constant frustration because you had a particular time goal that you were trying to break and it just was eluding you.

Micah Morgan 33:03

Yeah.

Greg 33:04

And was it is it fair to say that you were like thinking about just forget it, I'm not gonna do this anymore? And is that a part of how ultra running kind of came into your view as something that you wanted to check into?

Micah Morgan 33:16

Yeah, I guess. I guess you could say that. Fix anything that's inaccurate. I think it was just getting frustrating because I was just right, you know, and most people, if you are a runner, it was that sub theory of like getting under three, and I was just right there, every just seconds away, or watching the clock turn to three hours as I was coming down, and it was just getting really frustrating.

Greg 33:35

Because you really got close a couple of times within seconds.

Micah Morgan 33:38

And it was just like one after the other. And so it was getting frustrating. And and Cary really signed me up in my sleep for a 12 hour and was like, I think you should try this.

Greg 33:49

Was that the one in Cape Fear?

Micah Morgan 33:51

That was Delano. Delano.

Greg 33:53

Oh, Indicator, yeah. In Decatur where you ran in an ellipsis for 12 hours.

Micah Morgan 33:57

Yeah, yeah. Then that's where you know maybe I am crazy for doing this. Because at first I was like, I am not doing this. No way. Why am I supposed to do this? Like, you didn't sign up for it, but I'm supposed to. But then it didn't end up being a really good day. I read and speaking of people showing up, there was a couple people from from here that showed up that day just to kind of check it out. I ended up having, I guess, a really good day. It we had no idea what was going on. And then Cary was kind of like, this might be found.

Cary Morgan 34:26

Yeah.

Micah Morgan 34:27

And then Erica as well was like, I I feel like this is go this direction. You know, and at first you're like, No, it's the sub three for me. But then it ended up just kind of turning into something that has been really beautiful and really fun over the past couple years. So yeah.

Greg 34:43

I remember Cary joking about like your Nordic track shuffle when you run, but it kind of lends itself for just going energizer bunny, you know, just going and going and going.

Micah Morgan 34:54

Yeah.

Greg 34:55

So then you did that, then you did a 50-mile ultra.

Cary Morgan 34:59

She did a few. I mean, she did the Nashville Ultra, and then my sister and her husband have a home on Baldhead Island. And that's it. We had both grown up with knowledge of the Badwater 135, 135 miles in Death Valley. It goes from the lowest sea level in North America to the trailhead of the highest sea level in the contiguous United States, Mount Whitney. It's uh it's 125 degrees, and you do it in July anyway. We'd kind of just been enamored by you know the documentaries about that. But you know, getting in was really tough. Who would want to do that anyway? But they had a sister race called Cape Fear, and it's an ultra on that bald head island, and she crushed it and set the course record, and by virtue of winning, got an entry, automatic entry, into the the Badwater 135. But you also had to meet their requirements, their prerequisites, which are three hundred-mile races. And so one of the the one of those has to be in the last 12 months. Well, we talked to him and he's like, How about if all three of them are in the room? I know, right?

Micah Morgan 36:15

This is how green we were.

Cary Morgan 36:16

We were like, well, yeah, so she's we're we're looking at the calendar, trying to figure out how we can do it just logistically and financially.

From Marathon Frustration To Ultras

Cary Morgan 36:24

So we you know, we wanted to look for things that are fairly close. And lo and behold, all three of them are in Florida. So the first one is a race called the Keys 100, which is a hundred miles in May from Key Largo to Key West, and it literally follows the mileage signs, like you start. You start a mile 100 and it goes all the way to mile marker zero.

Greg 36:52

Yeah. Micah, getting ready for that, like I mean, I know I remember you talking about your excitement, just of the concept, but you had never done a hundred miles before. And and planning for that, training for that, like were what was the predominant thing that you were feeling carrying with you? Was it excitement? Was it fear? Was it other things? Like, how was it getting ready? And like, can I do this?

Micah Morgan 37:16

I think it was just being completely naive. I had no idea what to expect, but definitely excitement. Yeah. And just to stand on the starting line and be able to even try to complete that.

Cary Morgan 37:30

But what was your longest prior to that? The 71, I guess, 71 miles at Delano in the 12 hour. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Greg 37:35

Because that's one of those, just see how far you can go in the allotted time.

Micah Morgan 37:38

Yeah, yeah, yeah. But I mean, the good thing is is you know, Cary's run coach. He's very, you know, he's smart with this stuff. He looks into the science, he knows who he's talking about. So at least have like a good plan. But then again, we were both like, is this a good plan? Like, we have no idea. Because even I'll never forget, like, even being at that race, I didn't have a hat on. And there was a gentleman there who had run a million, you know, hundred miles, and he's like, Where's your hat? And I'm like, I don't have a hat, you know. So I mean, there were just so many things, I think. But I think that I didn't know. So, like, even going in, but I feel like that was kind of the joy in it, too, of just absolutely the unknown.

Cary Morgan 38:15

You were just so pumped about running Badwater that that nothing was gonna stop, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Ignited her. She, I mean, she definitely couldn't finish because then she would have to pick another hundred to do. So we had to make sure we got all those in before we could uh apply.

Greg 38:31

So and it was so fun. I got to be a part of that first one.

Cary Morgan 38:35

Yes, yep. Greg was our choice of crew member, and yeah, we could take a crew member with us. So we picked Greg, and Greg was perfect. Micah still looks back and says, That was Yeah, that was it was great.

Micah Morgan 38:48

It was great.

Greg 38:49

It was so fun. It was my first trip to Miami and the Keys, and I just remember like how much we were joking around, and then the the day before, like getting that map out and figuring out okay, these are gonna be our transition places, and then from here to there, Cary's gonna run with you, and from here to there, I'm gonna run with you. The the nerding out to the logistics was the part that I felt like I could contribute the most, and it was so cool. That's well over half the battle. But I'll tell you something, hun, you were talking earlier about those get-togethers that you would go to when we would have like parties of all these runners, and you felt like you had nothing to contribute. Okay, I'm a runner, but when I got there and to like the check-in and here and meeting all these other people that you had heard about, some of them you had heard legendary things about, and you're talking, I had nothing to contribute to the conversations. And I felt a little bit about what you feel, but it was so cool because like the o I could either just sit there and sulk or I could just say, I'm gonna turn on the curiosity and just start asking questions. And it was so fun asking other people to talk about something that they love. Because if you ask somebody to talk about something they love, they're gonna have stuff to say.

Micah Morgan 40:03

Yeah.

Greg 40:04

And it was so cool to see also, I mean, it's a competitive thing because, like you, like Pam, you know, and some of these other women that you've gotten to know who are technically your competitors, but they've become some really close, close friends.

Micah Morgan 40:19

Yeah.

Greg 40:19

And and and just to see how, even in the race where you're both running it and you're both trying to come in before the other one, like so much support and so much encouragement along the way. That was just cool to observe.

Micah Morgan 40:31

Yeah. It's such a long way. And so it doesn't matter if, I mean, yes, there you you have that competitive edge, you're like, I want to cross the line first, you know, but I feel like it's such a the distance is so long. Whether you come in first or you come in last, you completed a long distance. And half the time there's I feel like there's no perfect weather anymore. If that's just the thing of the past. So you're running in storms and rain or just the frigid cold doing these things, and just to see people and their story and what they've been through, and just that camaraderie to like you and your crew get that person, the runner there. I mean, it's it's it bonds, it bonds all those people. And then again, the the stories that those people have. I mean, oh my gosh, I just it's it's incredible.

Cary Morgan 41:16

I was sitting there thinking about who was there that day. I mean, you got Lisa Smith Batchin, who's run 50 miles in 50 states. She's done a bad water quad, I think. So back and forth.

Greg 41:26

That means she ran it, turned around, ran back the other way. Oh my gosh. Turned around, ran again, turned around, like 135, 135, 135, 135. That's insanity.

Micah Morgan 41:44

But you know what's amazing about her, like you said, community. She's she's still you talk about a badass woman. That is, she is incredible, and she still is incredible, but she still coaches people, but she still shows up for people. And I had never, I mean, she is so inspiring but encouraging to others. Like, so even though she's not doing that stuff, I'm sure she's still doing a good bit. No, she's still doing a lot, but she's still there. She shows up for people, and it's that's incredible too.

Cary Morgan 42:13

The guy that told you about that was Grant Mine. Grant's climbed Everest, he's done the I Did a Rod, Thousand Mile I Did A Ride with no dogs, pulling pulling a sled himself. He's done self-supported Badwater where you know he carried a rickshaw full of water where he didn't have any crew at all. He he's just to me, he's one of the most amazing humans.

Greg 42:38

Who was it that that ran pushing the stroller from Alaska to that?

Cary Morgan 42:42

He has the world record for both TransCon, California, New York, and he has a crazy, he called it key to key. It was the far northwest tip of Alaska all the way to Key West.

Greg 42:53

That's through Alaska, through Canada, through the contiguous US, yeah, and then all the way down.

Cary Morgan 42:59

I think when he hit the border of US Canada, it was like halfway. That's crazy. Yeah. Yeah, he's incredible. And but also there the race director, Bob Becker, yeah, who we just saw, you know, 70, I think he was 73 finished Badwater. And the year before he basically crawled up. He had, you know, the lean where he's bent over and he barely can walk. And the guy's just that's one of the most inspiring things I've ever seen. We actually went back and watched him finish the next year.

Micah Morgan 43:34

I had tears. So many tears. I couldn't even see him cross the finish line. I think I was crying so hard. It was so it was amazing.

Greg 43:40

So I'm gonna embarrass you for a second, Micah. These are some of the accomplishments on your list. This is your CV of Ultra Running. Eighth place at the 24 hour world championships in France in 2019. And that, by the way, that is 24 hours of running on a track.

Cary Morgan 43:59

168 point, I'm sorry, 148.68 miles.

Greg 44:04

Second and third place at the Badwater 135, because you did that in 2018 and 2023, which doing it again this year.

Cary Morgan 44:11

And by the way, in 2018, it was the hottest year on record. We have a picture with the official thermometer in starting at 11 p.m.

Greg 44:18

And what was the temp?

Cary Morgan 44:20

117. But the day we left laughable.

Micah Morgan 44:23

It was so funny.

Cary Morgan 44:25

Yeah, the day we left Fat Death Valley, we have a picture with the official thermometer in Furnace Creek, and it's 131 degrees. The all-time highest temperature ever recorded on the planet's 134 in Badwater Basin, right there.

Greg 44:39

So third place at Spartahlon, 150, 154-mile race that followed the original Phidipodes route from Athens to Sparta. So he did it in 490 BC. You did it more recently than that. And then one of only a very, very elite list of females who have gone under 15 hours in at least three hundred-mile races. And then last year, the highest distance in the 12 hour by any female in North America. And then not too long ago, you went to Brazil and you ran the Brazil 150. Yeah. You came in first, and you were seven hours ahead of the second place finisher.

Micah Morgan 45:18

Yeah.

Greg 45:18

So I think you found something that you're pretty decent at.

Micah Morgan 45:21

Yeah, yeah. It's been it's been fun. It's been fun. I don't know. I still have room to grow and learn, but Dear Lord in heaven. Room to grow. But yeah, no, it's been it's been fun. It's been fun. That's amazing.

Greg 45:35

A recent episode that we had with my friend Andy Gullah, I was talking about this concept of like being around people that you don't do what they do and just having the opportunity to be curious. And I was telling the story about when we went down to the keys. I was talking about y'all. And then I talked about Badwater. And he says, That's in a car, right?

Cary Morgan 45:54

Yeah, yeah, yeah. For some of us. Yeah, for some. For some, yeah.

Greg 45:57

Yeah, for some. It and it's fun to talk about it. I'm it must be fun for you to look at those those stats and realize, like, I I've done that. Like, that's something that I was able to do. Yeah. And do you ever, does it ever like surprise you that you've been able to achieve as much as you have?

Micah Morgan 46:13

Yes. And I'm currently learning to, I feel like life has been an interesting journey the past like couple of years or whatever, but I'm learning to find the joy and realize what's going right instead of what's going wrong. So while I say yes, it's really it, it's I never thought I could do something like that in my life. And so I feel like now I'm trying to find the joy in that and actually like realize that, like what some of these things have, like what it means to accomplish this and with others too. And it this isn't something that's like just by myself. You cannot do ultar running by yourself. And anybody that says like it's a you know one person job is lying. Um, I think I'm currently trying to realize that. I never thought I'd be able to do it. But it's also too, it's the things that I have been able to accomplish. It's it's almost like a you can look back at it and go, I can do this. Like when the job gets hard, when life gets tough or family or situations, marriage, anything like that, when it gets tough, like you can say, like, I've dug deep within myself, like I can do this, whatever it is. So it's really helped from that perspective, you know, in the daily aspect of life.

Stacey 47:31

But discipline and the I mean, it's not, I've seen your some pictures of your feet after everyone. I'm like, why would she want to do another one? I know, but that so there's it's like people could say, Oh man, that's all fun and get a metal, and but the hell that you kind of go through training.

Micah Morgan 47:59

Everybody always says, What do you get? I'm like, a belt buckle.

Cary Morgan 48:03

And people always ask why, like, why would you do that? And I think she feels the same way. There's just something about pushing the human limits and just to try to squeeze out every bit of the impossible. It's always amazing. Runners tend to be this way. Yeah, when a marathon's, you know, no longer ho-hum, then let's see if we can go 50. Well, let's see if we can go 100. Now let's see if we can now now the big craze is to the 200 mile races.

Micah Morgan 48:32

I love seeing women do, I mean, men too, but I love seeing women do hard things like that too.

Greg 48:37

And I think too, that's another the weaker sex, right? Yeah, yeah.

Micah Morgan 48:40

But it's but that's the community part of this as well, is like seeing, you know, these women doing hard things and then others going, I want to try that too. But also, you know, when you do an ultra, you take people with you. Like you said, there's a crew of people that are helping you. And again, as adults, where do you do that? But then also some of these people go, could I run a 50K? Could I run a 50 mile? And then you're seeing them kind of push themselves onto something different. And I think, you know, that's the beautiful piece of it too. Like, yes, it's pushing human limits of what I can do or what I'm capable of, but to take that leap is really, really cool.

Greg 49:20

Well, all joking aside, and Cary, I didn't, I didn't tell you I was gonna ask you because I didn't decide to ask you this until just now. When you think about what you've observed and been present with in Micah's ultra career, and I'm not just talking about her running achievements, but when you think about your wife, what are you the most proud of?

Cary Morgan 49:41

One of the first things comes to mind is, you know, she's got a nursing degree, and one day she's like, you know, I I really feel like there's more. And so how would you feel about me going back to nurse practitioner school? It's always wanting to take on more. Micah often tells people this that we really push each other to be better. And she's pushed me a lot harder, probably, than I push her. But she just within the running space specifically, I can't tell you how many times she's at mile 90 of a hundred mile run going 820 pace. And I literally just tear up and shake my head like, how the heck does she do this? Like, yeah, it never ceases to amaze me how tough she is, how you know, you can tell she's in the pain cave and she's hurting and she's not gonna stop. So many places. She's just such a good listener. What a kind person she is.

Greg 50:42

How's that for you?

Micah Morgan 50:43

No, that feels that feels good. I'm like, Cary's like, you're a kind person, and I'm like, are you sure? Yeah, are you sure? We didn't say 100%. I know, right? I know. No, I mean, like just to like piggyback that too. I mean, I guess in our relationship with this, just to be able to push each other, like that's one thing, not to bring up the past, but if I was still in my past, I would I would have never done these things. Yeah. And I think Cary's done nothing but push me to be the best version of myself in every aspect of life, running or not. And

Records, Crews, And Why We Push

Micah Morgan 51:16

so it makes you want to do, it makes you want to be better for somebody. Every single day, try to be better for that person.

Greg 51:23

Some of the things I've been thinking about that people are going through, I mean, adultery, divorce, disordered eating, other types of trauma. I mean, these are parts of the stories, ours and the people that we run with. So just to have a place where yeah, we go through all this stuff together. And then, you know, just in a very, very real sense, more recently, I mean, shared grief. I want to talk about Christina for a few minutes, if y'all are okay with that. Cary, in December, uh one morning, I was just scrolling Facebook and I just saw some weird cryptic post about our friend Christina Chambers. And I thought, there's no way that this means what it sounds like it means. And I texted you, and you confirmed the worst, which is that our our friend had been killed earlier that morning, right after running with some of her regular friends. Yeah.

Micah Morgan 52:22

Yeah, that's a I'll never forget it. We had actually had to call paramedics into my workplace that day, and they were the situation was kind of just being talked about in the background amongst kind of just the EMS folks. And you kind of hear it and you just move on and you're just like, oh goodness.

Greg 52:44

And then immediately Well, working in your space, I imagine there's there's like, yeah, bad things happen. And you kind of have to keep doing the job, right?

Micah Morgan 52:52

It was we had somebody, you know, we were taking care of. And then the second I walked back to my cell phone, it just was blowing up. Yeah. And it was, I I just, I'll never forget it. I just everything just kind of dropped, and it was just the worst pit in my stomach just thinking about, I mean, is this true? You know, is this real life? And then just thinking of her life, you know, it's it was just tragic and so shocking.

Greg 53:21

Yeah, for people, and Cary, I know you have something to say. For people who don't know and didn't see in the news, it was national. So probably a lot of our listeners recognized her name when I said it. But Christina was just a wonderful woman. She for many years was a sports reporter here in Birmingham, Alabama. But she did a lot of stuff in the community. She was was a super friend to people. And, you know, you just always knew that you were gonna get a great, cheerful experience when you were with her. That's the the friend that we're talking about. And this was December of 2025. And Cary, I'm looking at you here in 2026, and it's still hitting you like it was like it just happened.

Cary Morgan 54:04

Yeah, it's still hard. Yeah, and we you know, we ran with Christina a ton and had not regularly run with her in recent years, but still from time to time, and I had the pleasure of getting to see her the Saturday before the tragedy happened on Tuesday. And then several of our friends that are more part of her recent group ran with her that morning. And yeah, so she was the victim of the ultimate domestic violence, where not only did she lose her life, but her husband took his own after he had killed her and did so with their three-year-old son in the house. It has been really, really tough for so many of us who knew her well. And at her funeral, it became very apparent that it was amazing. Like somebody made the point and even ask out loud how many of you in here would consider Christina your true best friend. And y'all, the number of hands went up. It was amazing. Like, most people have one best friend.

Micah Morgan 55:21

Yeah.

Cary Morgan 55:21

You know, and you think, well, that's not fair, you know. But she really did pour her life into in different areas of her life. And her best friend, who was her running friend, got to share some special time talking about her a lot in Boston. Christina's last race that she had signed up for was this year's Boston Marathon.

Greg 55:45

And bunch of you ran with shoelaces.

Cary Morgan 55:48

Yeah, and actually Micah did that in Brazil. Um, her family, her sister had given us a shoelace from one of her running shoes, actually, I think it was to make into a bracelet.

Micah Morgan 55:58

Yes. And it was one of those things I have to say with the with the shoelace, you know, briz Brazil in itself was very difficult. That was not an easy race. And so there's so many lows that were kind of happening for me. And every time I had left the like the plastic piece on the ends of the shoe strings a little loose. And every every time I was like, Can I do this? What am I doing? I want to quit. They would hit me in the palm of my hand. And it was like Christina was like, and you could just hear her because she was girl, you know, just keep going, you know. Cause I mean, again, just like that. Yeah, and too, you know, it even, I mean, she was she always sent me messages, but they would just hit my hand every time. And I was like, I have to keep going. And it's one of those things I'll I will never race without that shoestring, ever. Yeah. Yeah.

Cary Morgan 56:50

So several of us yeah, got to do that too in Boston, and that was special. And then you crossed the finish line, got your medal, and then Yeah, so I'm getting mine, and I literally when I say I ran with Christina in mind the whole time,

Christina Chambers And Shared Grief

Cary Morgan 57:04

it was the entire race. It was my playlist, it was her favorite songs. My so she was on my mind across the finish line. And in 2018, we ran the dreaded worst weather Boston ever. It was like a 30, it was like 48 degrees and a 30 mile an hour headwind in the heaviest rain I've ever run in in my life. And there were so many. It was a monsoon. But we took a picture at the finish line together that was very special. Anyway, I had the thought when I crossed the line of I want to get a picture again here, and I was gonna get one of the paid photographers to take a picture of me. And when I got my medal, I I told the lady the story, and at first she was like, Yeah, I don't think I can do that. Um they were told many times.

Greg 57:58

They probably have a lot of lies that people tell them to get a shit. Oh, I mean, I could have hit it. They can sell on eBay.

Cary Morgan 58:02

I could have hid it in my pocket and she wouldn't have known that I had one, and I could have gotten a second one. But I just, you know, I want to share a story and see if they would be willing to to give me one the honest way. And I start, as I am now, kind of tearing up, and she teared up, and I just told her, I said, Hey, this means so much. And I said, I don't want you to just think of this as a nameless. I really want you, if you have your phone, Christina Chambers, please Google her, look her up, see her face. I want you to know what you're contributing to, and this was her last race. And anyway, I got a picture holding my medal and her medal.

Greg 58:38

That's gonna be that's gonna belong to her son.

Cary Morgan 58:40

Yes, so Constantine, her son, is going to eventually get this. Along with Boston gave us, gave Rachel, her best friend, her bib. So we have her bib and her medal that she's not for non-runners.

Greg 58:56

The bib is the the paper that you wear that has your race number on it.

Micah Morgan 59:00

Yeah.

Cary Morgan 59:01

And they were kind enough to give us that. They wouldn't let us have it before the race, obviously, but afterwards, Billy and Steven, two of her other everyday running mates, got that and took the medal the next day and got it engraved with her name.

Greg 59:14

So you you've mentioned the Lakeshore Trail, and people in Birmingham know what that is. And on the Green Springs end, there's a parking lot at the kind of the homewood soccer fields. And there's a spot where every morning her she would pull up in her car, and then after her death, y'all and several of her other close friends took chalk and wrote messages to Christina in that spot. It has since been painted over so to make it permanent, and it it says Tina's spot.

Cary Morgan 59:47

Yeah, it's really cool.

Greg 59:48

If you're listening and you don't have running as one of your special things, I bet you you're still listening because when you hear us talking about it, it reminds you of something that's really special to you where the relationships are far more important than the activity. The activity that gets you together is just secondary. You know, it's kind of it's like the frosting on the cake, you know, but the the real treat is just the the connections and the relationships that we make. And hon, I'm looking over at you, and you have spent probably the least amount of time around runners, but like the time that you spend, you get it. And and I think because real authentic relationship means a lot to you. I'm just curious, what has it been like for you being a part of this conversation?

Stacey 1:00:31

I was thinking about when you said people would say, why would you do that? You know, why would you do another race or any of them? It's because it's something that you love. I mean, I joke that y'all are crazy, although I kind of think you are, but I love y'all and I have a relationship with you. So it's not a mean thing, but like people are just mean, you know, like it's weird and crazy and so I've had the question, like, why would you stay in a marriage when this happened to you? It's a very different situation. You mean ask of you? Ask of me that. And it's like they don't consider the fact that maybe I love this person. I don't know. I was just kind of resonating in odd ways to things that y'all were saying, but just remembering, like, when you hear of somebody doing anything that you don't understand, get curious, like you said, instead of being feeling like you didn't have anything to contribute, which I was like, whoa, Greg didn't have anything to contribute, like the record show. But then you got curious and you asked questions, and I'm still learning to do that, honestly.

Greg 1:01:33

Well, we always have our curiosity to contribute if we don't forget about that.

Stacey 1:01:37

Yeah.

Greg 1:01:37

And that's special to other people.

Stacey 1:01:39

Yeah, it is. And then I was thinking about my little dinner every Tuesday night before my recovery group that I go to, and it's so sweet. We've walked through hell, all four of us, and been there for each other, and our stories have all played out differently. That's like my running time. It's like therapy, but it's not hard to show up and get a margarita. Yeah, but it's my time.

Cary Morgan 1:02:04

Listen to the phrase you used. We walked through hell. The physical, a little faster run. Yeah. Is a great analogy. The running suffering that Micah obviously does more than Greg and me. The suffering physically is so minuscule compared to the suffering that you went through with what you guys had to endure. It just stood out like a sore thumb when you said walk through hell, because we are talking about running and yet we make so many parallels to life.

Greg 1:02:41

It brings to mind what Winston Churchill has attributed with saying is when you're walking through hell, keep walking. We don't get to choose when those hellish times and seasons are gonna be over. And the only thing worse than going through hell is going through hell by yourself. I just think as maybe we're wrapping up here about one of the things that Jesus said to his followers, he says that you they will know that you are my disciples by your love for one another. And, you know, that's the thing when you're walking through hell and you've got somebody, or when you're walking through a great time and you've got somebody who's there with you and they're loving you, they're celebrating with, they're, they're rejoicing with those who rejoice, they're weeping with those who weep, but they're like, they're the we're not going anywhere, people in your lives. And that's that's part of what makes us able to live life to the fullest, which is another thing that Jesus said he came to do. He came to do it, and one of the ways he helps it to be real is by giving us people who make uh it easier to see joy.

Stacey 1:03:42

Here's a thing that hit me just now. Okay, you

Vulnerability, Celebration, Closing

Stacey 1:03:44

talk about finishing a race and cheering each other on, or cheering each other on during. I have not experienced very many people from my past, but like when this all blew up and as it unfolded, and we, I mean, we have been working our butts off with our marriage and relationship and over the years still doing work, but there's so many people that have not celebrated that you chose to do your work, you know, and I've chosen to do mine. And it's like rejoice with those who rejoice. I have felt a very big gaping hole of not getting that from a lot of people that I had relationship before. So the ones who do, Cary and Micah, celebrate and stay with us and stick with us. It's just priceless, you know. I'm so grateful. And I don't mean to be ugly about people who don't celebrate, but like if you are in a place of seeing people making it when they're walking out of whatever hard time, like celebrate.

Micah Morgan 1:04:41

Yeah.

Stacey 1:04:41

Yeah.

Micah Morgan 1:04:42

And hopefully you would hear this in in the people that are so scared to be vulnerable, yeah, that you would take that leap and just find that person, whatever it is, situation, somebody, that stronghold, that you can start to share those things because there's a it's hard being vulnerable, but there's a freedom in being vulnerable. I feel like if you hear this, no matter what it is, whether it's I mean, we have talked the whole gamut of you can imagine the things that we have hit subject-wise. Kind of feels like a long run. Yeah, right.

Greg 1:05:14

But I mean, in you have now been on a long run with that.

Micah Morgan 1:05:17

In this and on a long run, just the things that you speak about, but just to be able to be vulnerable with one another. I mean, there's just nothing, there's nothing more freeing, you know, what no matter what it is.

Stacey 1:05:29

So to And I didn't walk into it because I thought, oh, this looks like a good idea. Let's be vulnerable and open up and share our life. I came into it kicking and screaming and did not want to be there. So yeah, it's something that a lot of people I think experience out of hard time.

Greg 1:05:45

Well, Micah, to your point, you know, finding somewhere, someone that you can trust with that. Yeah, just saying, you know, on a running trail might be a good place to start looking if you get yourself a good pair of shoes and yeah, just walk.

Micah Morgan 1:06:00

That's right.

Greg 1:06:01

Walking's good too. Oh, thank you guys for being some of those who are walking and running with us. It's been a gift to have people who will be with us when we're having sorrow in our joy and joy in our sorrow and realizing that that's okay. I mean, that's that's how it works, is it's not just one or the other, but who can carry that with us. And so, yeah, thank you guys for being our friends and being in it for the long haul.

Micah Morgan 1:06:29

Same.

Cary Morgan 1:06:30

Thank you for having us. I often talk about Greg as and of course Stacey too, being the the the people that can I said that this week to somebody, there's very few people that can always encourage you, and I think of that word literally means to instill courage. And even when I know part of the motive is to give me some corrective criticism, it's there's very few people who can confront you, but that you walk away not defeated or beat up, but you walk away ready to tackle the 100-mile run. You're ready to tackle anything. It's a gift you guys have to be able to do that and encouraged by that.

Greg 1:07:25

Well, it's easier to take, I imagine, when you know that the person who's saying it loves you. And exactly and wants wants what's best. And we've received that. We've received the not great side of that, but we've received that. And man, what a joy it is to be able to give it other people. Thank you guys for for spending the time. This has been great. Love y'all. Thank you guys.

Micah Morgan 1:07:46

Love you guys.