Exploits of A Nobody
Hi.
I'm a dad. A college professor. A runner. A nobody trying to make sense of things.
I tell stories about topics most people keep to themselves—the unraveling, the shame, the failures, the invisible battles that don’t make it into highlight reels, the messy middle. The unfinished work of being, and the journey of becoming.
Some episodes are pulled straight from my journals. Others are adapted from pages I never thought I’d read out loud. All of it comes from within the storm, raw, reflective, and unfiltered, unpolished pain.
This podcast is for anyone trying to hold it together quietly, thinking no one’s listening. For anyone who feels alone out there, running their own long miles—mentally, emotionally, or literally.
Exploits of a Nobody is part of a new genre called Rough Draft Radio—voice-driven stories told from the middle, not the end. Before the lesson.
Episodes
14 episodes
Plastic Plates and Race Buckles
I used to think that when I quit drinking for running, everything would change. It would look like growth. I’d become a better, stronger person… taking control of my life. And it would feel like progress.One day I was looking at the fini...
Big Bend 100k: Just Let It Happen
Signing up for the Big Bend 100K, I daydreamed about finishing faster, about racing. For years I battled the voices in my head, perfection, and the habit of settling for just finishing. This time something shifted.This isn’t a story of r...
Stagecoach 100: Just Keep Moving
What if pain isn’t a warning to stop? What if it’s a doorway? A way of stripping away everything we don’t need, the doubt, the shame, the critic? Until all that’s left is the truth: I can keep going. Even when I think I can’t.Stagecoach ...
Messy Middle Pt 2: No More Skin to Scar
The messy middle isn’t just pain on the trail. It’s the storm we all try to shortcut. In this episode I dig into the temptation of hacks, pills, and perfection. From chasing sobriety with medication, to chasing races with training plans and cal...
Songs, Stories, And One Quiet Truth
What we listen to while we run says something. Music can be a painkiller, a punch in the gut, and a time machine all at once. Sometimes it’s noise, and worst of all, a crutch. This episode is made up of songs, stories, and one quiet tr...
The Messy middle
This one’s personal. It’s about the part of the story most people skip—the messy middle. The part between the breakdown and the breakthrough, when everything hurts, your mind’s screaming, and you’re still somehow moving forward, even though the...
This Too Shall Pass: UTMB Canyons 100K
Every ultramarathon has a map. But there’s another one we never talk about, the emotional topography.In this episode, share the noise and the quiet moments of my experience at the Canyons 100K: a race along the Western States trail that ...
Bonus—The Deep Dive – Endurance: A Blessing and a Curse
In this follow-up discussion, we go beyond the story and unpack the deeper lessons. Is quitting really failure, or is it sometimes the strongest choice? What are the warning signs we ignore—on the trail and in life? And what “race” are you stil...
Endurance: A Blessing and a Curse
We’re taught that endurance is everything—push harder, suffer through, never quit. But what if endurance isn’t always the answer? What if knowing when to stop is the real strength?In this episode, I reflect on a race I never expected to ...
Running Beyond the Medal: 50K Without a Finish Line
Six months after quitting a virtual 50-miler, I set out to run a 50K training run—no race, no medal, no finish line celebration. Just me, the trail, and the question: Can I show up and push myself when no one’s watching? What started as a test ...
The Mountain Will Have It's Way
In ‘The Mountain Will Have Its Way’, I share the raw, unfiltered story of how Leadville and I found each other—a journey that began with a race but grew into so much more. This episode isn’t just about chasing a buckle; it’s about conq...
Self-Awareness And The Colorado Bend 60k
I wrote this entry July 19, 2021, revisiting it multiple times over the years, feeling it wasn’t clearly communicating what happened out there that night, and how I felt about it. Five years later, I finally feel I can articulate what happened....
The Run That Started It All
In 2009 my brother called and asked me if I wanted to run a half marathon with him. What started as an impulsive commitment to my brother quickly became a test of endurance, pain, and willpower. From the exhilarating start fueled by salty ocean...
My First Bandera 100k, 2020
In 2019, recently sober, I signed up for my first 100k distance trail run. I had a history of running a few shorter trail distances and many years of road half marathons. I thought I knew what I was getting myself into until the wheels began to...