Finish Lines & Milestones: Episode 96

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This is a Sandy Boy Productions podcast.

Welcome to Finish Lines and Milestones, a podcast that celebrates the everyday runner.

I'm your host, Ally Brettnacher.

If you run, you are a runner, and every runner has a story.

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Join me each.

Week as I share these stories and we cross finish lines and celebrate milestones together.

You guys, I'm so excited that my favorite running Fuel is now a sponsor of this podcast.

Pure Fuel, which is made by Anderson's Pure Maple Syrup, is just that.

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It is pure organic Maple syrup.

And you might be thinking that that's weird.

Fair enough.

But I discovered it when I was in North Dakota running the Fargo Half Marathon, opted to pick up a few packets to try, and I was so pleasantly surprised at how refreshing Maple syrup can be.

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It's a little bit more liquidy than your typical energy gel, and it's easy on the stomach.

They say waffles to workouts, so it's literally something that not only can you use during a workout, but you can also put on your waffles, pancakes, oatmeal, coffee, whatever.

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And the Andersons brand is sold in grocery stores all across the US, so you'll see them in the syrup aisle.

But I'm so pleased to be working with them.

Also, stay tuned for their creator, Christine Anderson herself is going to be an upcoming guest on the Finish Lines and Milestones podcast.

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So stay tuned for that in a couple weeks.

And if you want to give them a try, which you absolutely should, go to andersonsmaplesyrup.com, click on shop up at the top and go to Pure Fuel.

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And they have 10 packs or 24 packs.

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And one more added bonus is that this family founded business has been around for almost 100 years.

And when you support them, you're also supporting the preservation of acres of hardwood forests across the Midwest.

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What an added bonus.

So thank you, Pure Fuel for supporting this podcast.

Hello, and welcome to episode 96.

This is Ally Brett Knocker.

Perhaps as you're listening to this.

I'm in route to Las Vegas where I'll be running the Rock'n'roll Las Vegas Half Marathon.

2:18

I'm going there with my dad.

He's been doing this for a handful of years with his cousin and his cousin's kids.

And I started tagging along and this will be my third year doing it.

It's so much fun.

They shut down the Strip at night and it's there's really nothing like it.

And my dad loves Vegas.

2:34

He specifically loves playing craps.

And so we will be at the craps table quite a bit.

We will also be going to see the Eagles at the Spear, which I am maybe even more excited about.

I don't know, but I'm really excited to get my first race of 2025 under my belt.

So stay tuned.

2:49

I'll be sure to tell you all about it.

I'm excited to be going to a shakeout run too on Saturday with Nicole Lynn, who is the founder of Below Average Running and she's hilarious on Instagram if you don't already know her.

So I'm excited to finally meet her in real life and hopefully meet a bunch of other new running friends.

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So I'm also pumped to bring you this week's guest.

And pumped is a pun because this week's guest, Curtis Hargrove, ran the Chicago Marathon in pumps and heels to raise money for a domestic violence shelter.

And if you haven't seen this already, go follow him on Instagram.

3:25

He's C Hargrove HARGROV, E15, And there's some videos there of not only him doing this crazy thing like running in heels, but also his day job, which is wild, working on servicing oil rigs, which I know nothing about.

And you'll hear me ask Curtis about during this episode, but I'm really excited to tell you not just about the marathon and his day job, but all the other incredible things that he's done over the course of his running journey, primarily to inspire and help people.

3:55

So he's raised a ton of money for charity and he's currently getting ready to tackle five of the seven world majors this year.

And he'll kick off his running season by running 3 marathons in three countries in 13 days.

So Curtis is just incredible and I know you're going to like him so.

4:12

So please enjoy this conversation with Curtis Hargrove.

Curtis, how's it going?

Good Dolly, how are you?

I am good.

I'm super excited to have you on.

Yeah, thank you for reaching out to me and and wanting to share my story.

4:29

I truly appreciate it.

Totally, so people may already know you first of all from Instagram, but if they don't they'll soon realize you're Canadian given a hint of accent.

I was having to Google where Cold Lake was this morning before I jumped on because I did not know.

4:49

So Alberta, which is actually somewhere in Canada.

I've been to Lake Louise in Banff a long time ago.

It's probably one of my favorite places on the planet.

For anybody who has no idea where Cold Lake is or anything about Alberta, Canada, could you kind of paint a.

5:06

Picture of where you're from.

So I'm from Coal Lake, Alberta.

It's northeastern.

It's a northeastern city.

We have one of the largest air bases in Canada.

We're a military, military community.

It's very cold here right now.

I, I, I can do the calculations for you because I don't, it is minus, it feels like -45 Celsius out here right now.

5:28

So -45 C equals -49 Fahrenheit right now.

Get out of here.

Yeah, that's what it.

That's what it feels like right now.

So yeah, there's no running outside to be had.

Actually school buses and stuff are cancelled today.

5:45

I would hope so, that is insane.

Wow that's really cold.

I was expecting I don't know the calculation.

I'm glad you did because I don't know how to do that in my head, but I was expecting it not to be that much.

God, almost 50 negative 50.

6:00

Anyway, I guess when you have cold in the name of the city where you live, it makes sense.

But that is way worse than even I'm in Indiana and it's just above freezing today.

Yesterday it was almost 70°, which I don't know what that is in, in Celsius, but it was really warm like almost nearing on like summer temperatures and then now it's going to like ice and snow tomorrow so.

6:25

Yeah, I would love to be running in that kind of weather.

I've been running on.

I've been running on tracks and treadmills and I've been going insane.

I bet.

I bet so.

OK, so you're Canadian.

You live in Cold Lake.

Is that where you're from originally?

Have you been there most of your life?

6:40

I've been here my most of my life.

I was actually born in large Germany.

My dad used to be in the military.

So you stationed in Germany.

So I came to Canada.

I was a couple months old.

Yeah.

So Cold Lake's been my my home for my entire life.

And then your job is absolutely nuts.

6:57

Like people are gonna.

I don't know.

My mind is just blown every time I learn something new about you, Curtis.

But your day job is also really interesting.

So are there oil rigs out in Cold Lake?

Yeah, they're all.

They're all over.

Alberta and you know, they're, I mean, they're all over Canada.

7:13

I mean, you see them too in the US and Texas and Montana and all those places too.

But yeah, so I I'm a Derek Hand on a service rig for tree lined wall servicing.

And so yeah, you saw the video.

So just just an example for the other day.

7:29

So I talked about how we were pulling out of the hole with AUSB pump and tubing.

So basically what happened is the pump went down and we had to pull that pump and run a new one to get it producing oil again.

So yeah, as you can see, it was, it's terrible.

7:46

I was up stick there.

It was, I think it was -35 close to -40 felt like especially up there.

It's a lot colder, you know, working 12 to 14 hour days.

Sometimes I was on a 24 hour crew, so I was working 12 and a halfs.

And then, you know, after work, I go in to camp, eat breakfast and I go get my miles in because if I go to sleep, I won't get as much sleep because I have to wake up earlier to get those miles in.

8:11

So yeah, there's a lot of, you know, there's a lot of discipline involved, you know, working in this industry and try to get my mileage in.

Yeah, I bet.

So when you work on a rig, it doesn't have to be in the water.

I just picture that like the only ones I've really seen are like out in the Gulf.

8:29

So yours are just like on land or are they like in the lake?

Yeah, I feel so.

Ignorant.

So no, that's OK.

So yeah, 'cause there's drilling rigs and service rigs.

So I'm on the service side, OK.

So the drilling rigs, they'll drill the wells and service rigs will go in in service.

8:46

So you know, if there's any issues.

So like if any of the tubing has holes in it or there's problems down hole, you know, we can go in and we can figure out what's going on.

And yes, wow.

And you are, you mentioned before we started recording that you're going on nights.

9:02

So sometimes you work at night, but not always.

Yeah, I'll work day shift, night shift, kind of it's whatever, wherever we are at.

Like I was in camp there for 21 days and then I just had three days off and now I'm going back to nights, but I'll be at home every night now.

9:18

Wow.

Yeah, just depends, you know what, where we're at because right now obviously it's a new year, a lot of new budgets, a lot of companies are trying to get things done.

So we're, we got a lot of 24 hour jobs going ahead.

And then, you know, depending like I, I'm, I'm on a crew that lives with me too.

9:37

So because the other guys, some of them are from out of town, so they're staying in hotels.

So it's easier that we all work and travel together.

Yeah.

Wow, that's so wild.

Well I think it prepares you pretty well for endurance given like the shifts you work.

Yeah.

9:52

I mean, it's been, it's, it's been a long time since I've, you know, got into a lot of these projects and stuff again.

So definitely working, you know, and doing these 12 hour days helps a lot.

I mean, I get in probably 35,000 steps a day, you know, by the time I get back to camp or you know, if yeah, if I'm living in camp, sometimes your room is, you know, almost a mile away from like the fitness area or half a mile to the kitchen for supper.

10:23

And then, you know, so you think you walk back like it's like it's a lot of mileage in a day, just just working in a 12 hour day.

But and then I, like I mentioned to a lot of people, I ask you, how do you get your strength training and stuff in?

And I honestly don't even do any strength training to be honest.

10:40

I do a lot at work.

I feel like I work a lot of muscles at work and you know, when I'm off I'll go to the gym, but at work I, I just, I don't have enough time in a day to be able to let my body fully rest and get my running mileage in.

10:55

So that's the one thing I kind of skip out on is is the gym side of things.

Yeah, she's.

So is this something?

Clearly it's an industry that's prevalent where you live, but was this in your family?

Like, how did you, how did you end up at this job?

11:11

No, I, I just, you know, I, I started out actually I was swamping on a picker truck and then I, my cousin, my cousin works on the rigs.

So I got on, on the rigs with my cousin and then it's just something I've done.

And then, you know, through all my injuries, obviously I've separated both my shoulders, 11 at work, one at rugby and you know, and then with the tearing my Achilles and stuff.

11:36

So I've been in and out of the oil field industry.

You know, I've been in the oil field industry since I was 18 years old.

So for the last.

Seven years.

Wow, that's wild.

Yeah, I know nobody you said something about, Like, what?

Did you just say something on a truck?

11:54

What was the 1st?

So it's like a crane.

You would call it a crane.

Crane yeah.

I was like, I don't know anything.

You're like speaking Spanish to me.

It's so wild.

So for people who might again know you from Instagram, I feel like recently, like you said, you've been doing a lot more podcasts and things like that because the Chicago Marathon last year opened a lot of doors for you.

12:15

You got a lot of visibility, which is amazing given what you're fundraising for.

But you ran the Chicago Marathon wearing red high heels, which is just nuts.

So there's so much more to your story leading up to that.

12:31

But I feel like people most recently might have seen that and be like, Oh yeah, I totally saw that guy.

So tell us about Chicago last year.

Was that your first time doing Chicago ever?

High heels or not, that was.

My first time doing Chicago and that was actually my first world major ever.

12:49

OK.

Like I've done a lot of, as you've seen, I've done a lot of charity marathon running, but I've been so busy doing all these other projects that I never really had time to go to these world majors and stuff.

And then when I, you know, when I was, you know, able to do these things, I was injured.

13:05

So I've had a lot going on.

But yeah, so leading up to Chicago, I was, I was working with Stepping Stones Crisis Society in Cold Lake.

I made a promise prior to COVID that I would attempt to get his world record for fastest marathon and high heels by male to support women and children who suffer from domestic violence.

13:24

And obviously COVID happened, marathons went virtual.

And I didn't want to do it virtually.

I wanted people to experience it first hand, right?

I attempted to run the Edmonton Marathon in high heels and I snapped a high heel 6 kilometers in and I walked another 5 kilometers to like in the heels to the turn around to get to head back for the half marathon.

13:52

And then I I had to basically DNF myself.

I, so I took the heels off, I ran barefoot for the last 10 kilometers just so that I could get 1/2 marathon medal.

And so that was nice.

That was actually the second DNF I've ever had in my life.

The first one, obviously we'll talk about that.

14:08

Wow.

Only two.

That was a little surprising, actually.

Complications.

And then again, I, I, you know what?

So I was like, you know what, I'm not giving up.

My boss actually called me.

He's like, we'll give you time if you want to try it again.

So I went back to work for two weeks and then I registered with the Queen City Marathon and Regina, where I managed to get 21 kilometers in this time in the heels.

14:31

And my heels were breaking on me again and it was really hot.

And I just, I couldn't continue that.

I wasn't going to make it in time for cut off.

I just had to be realistic.

So I DNF myself there.

And so, you know, like I said, like my whole life, I never had, you know, I would push through things and I just, I couldn't this time.

14:51

And my feet were so blistered and, and beat up.

I just, I couldn't along with the broken heels.

And then you know what I was like, I'm not a quitter.

I reached out to the Chicago Marathon and I said, listen, this is what I've been doing the last couple months.

15:08

I said, is there any way that I can do this?

If you want me to change, if you want me to change Carell's, I'll change Carell's just to do this.

And they messaged me back.

They said, don't worry about it.

Stay where you're at, bring your heels, give us all the information.

If you break the record, we'll fill it out for you.

15:25

And so the rest was history.

So I flew out to Chicago and it was such an amazing experience.

I mean running with 50,000 other runners, 50,000 plus runners, 1.7 million spectators.

It's amazing.

15:41

It's hard to beat.

Like, I mean, I've got a busy year this year, but just as a first experience in a world major, like like I don't know how to top that right now.

And I guess I'll find out this year.

Yeah, Yeah, I've done Chicago is the marathon that I've run the most.

15:57

So I'm Indiana, Indianapolis area where I'm from is about 3 hours drive from Chicago, so pretty close to Chicago.

I've done Chicago four times, although the most recent time it's been over 10 years ago, which is sad.

I need to do it again.

But to your point, yeah, spectators like sheer number of runners, all amazing.

16:16

I want to back up really quickly to the promise you made to run in heels to break the record to begin with.

Like, how did you find out about the record that existed?

And then like, what made you be like, yeah, I'm going to, I'm going to do that.

So funny thing is, is the record never existed.

16:35

I was going to be the one to create the record.

Yeah.

So after COVID, like literally last year before, like the before I ran the Chicago Marathon, I got a rejection letter from Guinness, even though I'd already submitted an application.

16:54

And it, it was because somebody had done the rec, like made the record.

So it was a guy from the UK.

He just, he said he wanted to try something fun.

I wouldn't call it fun, but it's definitely challenging.

But it's, and like I said, it's, it's all for, for a wonderful cause.

17:13

And but yeah, so he set the record at five hours and 13 minutes.

And I was like, well, I made this commitment.

I made this promise.

I'm going to honor that promise because I never backed down on something that I promise I'm going to do.

So my intent was now to beat this world record.

17:31

And I started started out really strong.

Like my first 5 kilometers, I ran in 27 minutes.

I was flying.

And I mentioned this a lot.

I'm sure like I'm.

Do you know who Rob Dalto is?

I don't he's.

An influencer well he actually interviewed me prior to the to the race and you know he always gives gives out tips and tricks for all marathons.

17:55

He actually ran all seven world Marathon Majors last year and one of his videos he mentions, he mentions you're like GPS and stuff to change to multi satellites just due to all the big buildings and everything else.

You're not going to know your pace or anything.

18:11

And I was flying like I was flying like I went away too fast.

And then even at at 10 Ki was at like an hour and 5 minutes or something.

So I was on pace to crush the record by about an hour and 15 minutes if all went well.

18:30

And then, you know, I got to, you know, about 25 kilometers.

So I actually had half marathon.

I was still a minute ahead of world record pace and but my feet were fully blistered on the bottom, like I had full bud blisters all across the bottom.

I had to stop in at the medic station and I think the worst part was ripping off the K tape off of my already blistered.

18:54

Feet can't imagine.

And then and then I asked them, I said, listen, can you please retake my feet?

And the thing was, is at this point, sitting down, my legs got super stiff, my muscles were tight.

And I didn't know, like, I honestly thought I wasn't going to be able to continue.

19:10

And I asked for like salt, whatever they, you know, they gave me salt, mustard, anything to just kind of whatever they had there to help me out.

And as I was sitting there and, you know, getting my feet taped and I stood up and I'm like, Oh my God, I don't think I can do this.

19:26

And I was like, no, no, you're going to do this.

Curtis, you flew all the way from Canada to Chicago to support these women and children who suffer from domestic violence.

You got to think about what these women go through every day.

My pain is nothing compared to what they go through every day.

You know, it's your first world Major.

19:44

You're not getting a DNF here.

You know, who cares if the record is not insight?

It's not about the record.

The record was about getting exposure for the charity.

And we got that exposure.

And I, you know, I appreciate that to Drew Menz as well.

So Drew Menz on Tiktok, she was a girl who took a Tiktok video saying, who is this man?

20:02

It was a video of me going through an aid station, walking in my heels.

And the Internet did their thing and, you know, they exploded the story.

So that's another good thing about the running community is there's so many amazing people out there.

People don't know, like don't really realize.

We're part of such a special group of people and you know, the spectators and themselves as well, you know, you know, lifting me up and helping me continue on.

20:27

And then, you know, as I push through like there was a, you know, there was AI think just after the aid station, there was a couple ladies, they had some powdered mini Donuts.

They're feeding me mini Donuts.

Yeah.

They're giving me mini Donuts and I was drinking wine and then and then I, I think, I think it was kilometer 30, Mama B.

20:50

I'm still trying to find Mama B.

So if anybody out there can help me find Mama B.

Her and her family saw me.

They're sitting on the corner.

She asked me if she could say a prayer for me.

And that's something that actually like was really inspiring to me.

Her and her family gathered around me.

They said a prayer and prayed for me to be OK because I was struggling.

21:08

I was struggling.

I I was so close to the bio free zone and I just needed to get to the bio free zone.

Yeah, you know, to get my legs sprayed and everything to help me out.

And then just after that I got to a station, I shotgun a couple beer with people 'cause I'm like OK, like I need some pick me UPS.

21:25

Yeah.

I need anything to help me get through the line and then right near the finish they did those fireball shots and then, yeah, I'm sorry, I'm just being honest with you.

I mean like.

No.

I was, I was using everything on the course to help me get through there.

21:40

And then of course, you know, I love the signs that people have the Super Mario power ups and just the energy.

And then it was kind of cool because as I got to mile 25, like that's when the storm was kind of starting to come in and I had a tailwind and it was so strong.

21:56

It literally blew the hat off my head.

And like I caught it mid air and put it back on my head.

And it gave me that little final push before you come around the corner to go up that last little hill towards the finish line.

And I tell you, it was such an amazing experience, Ally.

22:12

And I'm so thankful, you know, to the city of Chicago for all their support, all the people for their support, the running community, you know, everybody doing their part.

And help me share my story.

Yeah, geez.

OK, so you mentioned OK, so 30 kilometers in, so that's like 18 miles ish.

22:30

Like Oh yes, sorry, a little bit more.

No, I'm just for people.

Most people who listen probably are like, oh Dang it, I don't know kilometers either.

So Mama B, is that what you said?

So how did you know?

OK, and so that's how we're on mile 18.

So if anybody else encountered this woman, so how did you know her name?

22:45

Like, did you just You were?

Just struggling.

Yeah.

And well, she saw I was leaning against a stop sign post or whatever, OK, a post.

And they were there and they saw the heels.

And of course, you know, everybody's shocked.

They turn and they look at you and what's going on.

23:00

And they told them what I was doing.

And we got the photo on her phone.

I didn't get, I didn't get information.

So yeah, I wanted to do something for her and her family, if somebody can find them.

Find her, Yeah.

Find her.

But yeah, it was such a cool experience.

23:16

And then like, like I said, just the people along the way.

Yeah.

I don't even, like, I can't even describe it.

It's so surreal.

The moment is surreal.

I bet.

Well, I can picture the whole like shotgunning beers and and fireball.

I remember.

23:31

I don't know if it was my most recent Chicago or not, but I remember like right before you're about to make that turn up the hill towards the finish line, Like there were people handing out PBRS like full on, like, you know, and I just remember grabbing one and just like holding it up and like just letting it pour.

Like all that my face.

23:48

I don't know how much of it I actually drank, but I just remember like, yeah, it was the most amazing PBR I've ever had in my life.

So I imagine you were in so much pain at that point too.

Like anything to kind of distract you from the pain or like numb the pain a little bit was probably very welcome.

24:06

Yeah.

Well, and it's funny they mention that because like just before that, so I actually had like medical medical staff following me.

There was one these two gentlemen, they were carrying my Gatorade and stuff for me so that I could just continue.

And then my, my right leg just all of a sudden straightened out and it I was cramped so hard.

24:26

I'm like, you can't be doing this to me at mile 25 legs.

Why are you doing this?

Like, I'm just, I'm almost there.

I'm like, please don't do this to me.

And then, yeah, I just, you know, I push her through.

And you know, I'm actually very thankful too, that the Chicago Marathon, the organizers didn't make me change Corels because if I would have had to change Corels that day.

24:48

Wouldn't have, I wouldn't have made it.

I would have DNF.

So it's another thing I'm very thankful for because I was in wave B, which is where a lot of, you know, the people that right next to elite runners are fast.

Everybody's like, yeah, they're fast.

And everybody's like, what are you doing in here?

25:04

I'm like, oh, you know, they, I asked them to change.

They said they didn't want to change me.

So I got very lucky sense too, Yeah.

Yeah, well, I mean, clearly it needed to happen that way, so that's pretty cool.

OK, back to the promise again.

Like the reason you did this for domestic violence in particular, was it somebody in your life who'd experienced that first hand?

25:24

How did that cause?

Yeah, so there's been a couple people in my life.

So my you know, my sister was abused by a babysitter growing up someone.

That was called family and.

And then my aunt, she was actually owed on a run and some guy tried to rape her on the trail.

25:41

She screamed for help, she managed to get away and I think people in the area where came to help her.

My other aunt was an abusive relationship, her husband was an alcoholic.

So I mean, there's a lot of people affected and that's why when some people, they hear about the things you're doing, they think that I'm just doing it to do it.

26:00

But a lot of them do have a meaning.

There's a lot of connection to these these charities that I, you know, that I have obviously when we discuss later on how I get in got into it.

I mean, it was crazy how it happened.

But, yeah, so, you know, yeah, there's a lot of people I know that have been affected, you know, even, yeah, friends and family that I know in my community.

26:22

And, you know, it was crazy, too.

Like, you hear stories, you know, I've had women message me.

I had, you know, after the Chicago Marathon, my Instagram and Facebook and everything was blowing up.

And, like, I couldn't keep up with people.

I couldn't keep up with the messages.

You know, some people were sharing their stories in the comments.

26:40

Others were sending me personal messages.

You know, I've had women show me pictures of them being abused from, you know, 8 to 10 years ago, you know, and then sharing photos of them and their daughter now fully healed, you know, away from that.

And, you know, just just the, the stories of what these people have gone through.

27:00

And it really opens your eyes.

I mean, you know, what happens a lot.

But when you hear these stories first hand and you hear from these women first hand, it's like, you know, This is why I'm doing this.

And of course, you saw it online.

There's a lot of haters.

There's always going to be a lot of haters.

It blows my mind, really.

27:17

You know you can do so much good and people always have to find the negative in.

Things but.

But like I say, you know, there's always, you know, there might be 1 bad apple, but there's always 100 people fighting back.

Yes.

And so I'd like, I'd like to not engage in those activities.

I just let the people fight those battles.

27:34

And, you know, I think 2 is like, sometimes when stories come out, they don't get the full story or, you know, headlines are, you know, deceiving.

They don't tell a story.

They just say man, man runs in high heels.

But they don't say what it's for.

So that people are just assuming I'm just doing it to do it right.

27:52

They don't understand I'm doing it for a wonderful cause to help a lot of people.

So people, I always like to say that when you start getting the trolls, that's when you're doing something right because you're finally in front of enough people to where you encounter those people who just have to be trolls.

28:09

I don't know, it's wild to me, but clearly you're doing something right and getting the right amount of visibility once you encounter those people.

For this particular charity, how much money did you raise in Chicago?

We raised, we raised about $10,000.

So amazing.

28:25

So it was pretty good.

It was pretty good.

You know, I was, I had a little bit higher expectations, but like you said, it was, you know, amazing.

And The thing is too is like, you know, I, I get it, it's a little bit harder.

I'm from Canada.

I'm fundraising for a foundation in Canada.

So sometimes people are a little less to, you know, want to donate cause, you know, it's not in their community.

28:44

And I get that.

But there's so much support.

Like there was so much support.

Like I was, I was getting donations from Chicago, I was getting messages from people in Australia, from from Tokyo, from all over people donating.

So it was incredible to see the support that I got around the world.

29:01

And we have exciting news.

I don't know if you want me to share it.

Yeah.

Are you going to talk about sneaks?

Yeah.

Well, and I want to show you because I did bring these out of the the cage.

So this is the high heel that I wore.

So this is welded.

So that's still in One piece I.

29:18

Had to Weld.

I had to get it welded so that it wouldn't break on me.

So if you see the bottom, that's I was a lot of damage on the bottom there.

Yeah, and it is.

I mean, I'm surprised there's no, there's rolls in the bottom.

They aren't as well.

I guess I can't tell as much, but yeah, OK.

29:34

So we'll talk about my other project later, but this is the OG high heel.

This is where my walk in high heels first started.

This is the OG high heel.

I walked 185 miles in 10 days in four inch high heels.

They were 4 inch.

29:50

They're now 2 inch.

I had to.

Hockey tape them just to just to make them less you know hurt my feet less yeah you could still kind of see on the sides I know it's kind of gross but that likes blood from.

30:05

I mean.

Wearing the heels, this is what the the heel looked like.

So yeah, you're talking about holes.

These are the holes I got in the bottom of my feet, the hole on the toe like so, yeah, jeez, a little look at that's.

That's well.

And you mentioned, I mean, that you, you walked 185 miles, which is 300 kilometers in heels.

30:26

Because I'm sure people are wondering like, did you actually train to run a marathon in high heels?

Like what did that look like?

And so that was when we did that in 2013 was when you did the walk in heels.

So leading up to this year, last year, Chicago, did you put them on for any sort of runs or walks or you just strained I.

30:46

Did one time with my nieces and nephew just for fun.

I tried to see.

I was like how, how, how, you know, running a mile in high heels and like just a mile.

I got a crazy blister on me.

Big town.

I'm like, Oh yeah, this is awesome.

This is going to be great.

Yeah, this is.

31:02

This is, yeah.

Yeah, and for anybody who wants to see, you did share the aftermath of your feet on Instagram.

And it was really gnarly.

Yeah, so I've shared some photos of the blisters and stuff, and then I just did a recent video.

31:20

I got my first victim.

I lost a toenail and actually since then I've lost two more toenails on the other foot.

So yeah, the damage is still there.

I do like my feet.

I do have some, I think permanent scarring from the blisters that I received because I got multiple blisters.

31:38

I mean, it is what it is.

But again, like I said, I mean, what I went through is nothing compared to what women and children go through every day.

There's some people that, you know, we're fighting for their lives every day.

And then, yeah, some people who will never heal from that trauma.

I'm gonna heal.

And it's funny, the comments you see from people is like, oh, this guy's going through foot treatment.

31:59

Like he's never gonna be able to run again.

It's like, I literally flew home and I went to work the next day.

I put my steel toes on.

I went to work, I put my hockey skates on.

I was playing hockey.

But yeah, it's crazy.

The stories that'll come from the Internet.

Yeah, people are crazy, but.

32:14

People.

Yeah.

So I tell you.

Like I said it for me, I never did any training.

I've just always used what I've had.

I mean, I got a lot of marathons under my belt.

I, I'm pretty good mentally.

Like when it comes to the run game, I know what it takes to to complete a marathon and I I use that in in pretty much everything that I've done in order to complete this marathon.

32:38

Yeah, so, Curtis, did I cut you off when you were going to share some exciting news?

Because I got excited.

Oh, no, that's OK.

I was kind of sure.

The heels, yeah.

But so, yeah, I, I reached out to Guinness and I asked them if sneaks were acceptable because I got asked if I would ever try to do the record again.

32:58

And I, I created a TikTok and I said, listen, the only way I will do this again is if I have a pair of these.

And they're sneaks.

They're a luxury hybrid high heel created by Sarah Blakely.

She's also the founder of Spanx.

33:14

And she replied to my video asking me what's your size?

So, you know, so good.

And the crazy thing was, is like through all this time, as I was doing this run in these stilettos, she was in the midst of launching this product.

And I'm like, where was this like a couple months ago?

33:32

I'm like, oh, I needed this.

You know, you look at, yeah, you look at the sneaks and you see like they're, you know, they're running shoe high heels.

They're amazing looking.

And like, you see, like women all over are wearing these things.

And, you know, even this with fashion, like it's, it's amazing.

33:47

And, you know, her company's exploded all over.

And I thought it was pretty cool.

You know, these sneaks, they're, you know, they take 4 hours to make.

They're made in Italy.

You know, you, you saw the pictures, obviously from the video.

Like it, it's literally a running shoe with a heel on it.

Yeah.

34:03

And they still meet the requirements.

They're still over the 2.75 inches and at the tip of the heel, they're still under the 1.5 centimeters.

So everything meets the requirements.

And so after the Chicago Marathon ended, I got run domestic violence at Run DV out of town, picked me up as part of their team.

34:25

So I'm going to be running for Run DV out of Town, an organization out of Illinois.

They look after, I believe, 92 counties.

And we're going to go for the record again, but I'm going to be wearing sneaks this time.

So I'm going to be back in Chicago, back in the high heels, doing this for the women and children of Chicago area.

34:47

That's so cool.

Does she have a red version?

Is there a red pair of sneaks?

There is, yeah, Okay, I've looked at a couple different.

I mean, it doesn't.

I mean, it would be ideal to have a red pair obviously.

Right.

Yeah, so that people can.

I mean, certainly, I don't know.

35:03

I just picture like when I'm running a marathon, I'm like kind of in my own world, right?

Like, so having them be that red color was smart just to get, again, the visibility on what you're doing and why you're doing it.

I cannot wait to cheer you on for that.

That's so cool.

You can't tell, but this whole I'm wearing a a sweat suit.

35:21

This is Spanx.

I'm obsessed with Sarah Blakely in general.

And then you and I, Curtis, have a shared love of the big ass calendar that her husband, yes, Jesse made.

So anyway, just two incredible human beings.

Very, you know, just very talented, very inspiring.

35:37

And I love that she made that shoe for women.

They are not cheap.

Like you mentioned.

They are made in Italy and it's, they're like, yeah, I can imagine 4 hours to make them.

No wonder they're so pricey.

They're like $400.00 I think.

Yeah.

So I don't know if I'll ever have a pair, but, you know, that's because I live in running shoes in athleisure these days.

35:57

So.

OK, Curtis, so cool that you're going to go back and do that in Chicago.

So you mentioned kind of flippantly like, Oh yeah, I have a quite a few marathons under my belt, but there's like, I can't even wrap my head around the fact that you've run over 300 marathons, right, 300.

36:15

So I have 310 marathons under my belt right now.

Right.

Yeah, Jesus.

OK, so in your first marathon was when you were 15, so like 20 years ago?

Yeah, 20 years ago.

So I, I was, you know, I was always into running when I was younger.

36:33

I ran on, you know, the track and field cross country running teams.

I competed with the Northeastern Alberta track team in Saint Paul.

My uncle had this idea.

He's like, do you want to run the Edmonton Marathon with me?

So the Edmonton Marathon, it happened to be the Centennial Centennial Marathon, where Edmonton was celebrating being a city for 100 years.

36:52

So it was pretty special.

So I ran with my uncle and he kind of kept the pace for me.

And then, you know, he's like, you can go, you can, you can unleash, like get out there, start running.

And I was with this pacer who was like, you can break the four hour if you keep going.

37:08

And so I ended up running the Edmonton Marathon in a time of three, 5742 at 15 years old, winning the 19 and under category.

And that's where, you know, my love for marathon running grew.

You know, I'd always been into running, but you know, my passion for the marathon started there.

37:28

And so Edmonton, how big is that race?

Like how many approximately?

Well, back then it was probably a couple thousand I think now last year they had their biggest entry.

I think it was over 9000 last year.

OK.

So yeah, that's.

Pretty big.

That's really cool.

So I start to try to figure out how in the heck you fit 310 marathons into 20 years.

37:50

And so there's been times where you've done like 30-4 marathons in 34 days, you've done 58 marathons in 49 days.

So like, I know we don't have time to cover all of these experiences that you have had, but can you just kind of I guess talk us through this journey you had like starting when you were 15 kind of clearly?

38:12

Following a short story.

Yeah.

So, yeah, so I, I could, like I said, I competed nationally and internationally with that track team I was with.

I went to Idaho for the Simplot Games.

It's the world.

It was the world's largest indoor track meet.

So it did stuff like that.

And then, you know, I, I, you know, I was a district and zone champion multiple times through my cross country and track and field.

38:36

And then when I graduated, when I turned 18, my grandfather died, was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

And my grandfather, you know, he's my biggest hero.

Unfortunately, he passed away just over a year ago.

It's almost 2.

And he, he did a lot of fundraising for different charities.

38:52

He ran for the blind, he ran for the Terry Fox Foundation.

So Terry Fox Foundation, for those of you that don't know, Terry Fox is Arcadian hero.

Terry Fox attempted to run across Canada.

He lost his leg to cancer.

So he was running across Canada on one leg and a prosthetic leg.

39:08

And unfortunately no cancer stopped him when he hit Thunder Bay and he couldn't continue.

But it's his, his legacy has continued for many years.

And that's what you know, the schools and the kids and people all across Canada continue to fundraise for Terry Fox.

39:25

So I thought I would fundraise for my grandfather and Terry Fox, 2 of my greatest heroes.

So on August 12th, 2007, I set on a journey to run 34 marathons in 34 days across all of Alberta and British Columbia.

Ended up doing that and raised $50,000 for the Terry Fox Foundation.

39:43

And.

Then so after that I went off to read your call.

I took a year off of school, I went to read your college and running soccer scholarship and kind of got into the party scene.

I lost my way.

So second year I didn't really care too much.

I was just drinking, partying.

39:58

And one night I was walking home from the bar and like -35 weather like we're talking about in T-shirt and jeans.

And you know, I was kind of looking for a sign.

I was like, you know, I was like, God, please just help me, help me get back to.

Who I used to be, the person I used to be, A said I'm not who I am.

40:16

I'm lost.

And I shit, you know how I got home.

And that next morning I got my sign.

I got a call from Jeff Murray.

He was a host at the local radio station K Rock.

He got a phone call from a girl, Delaney Saunders.

She was a little diagnosed with a rare type of tumor in her foot.

40:33

She had cancer.

And she had reached out asking if I would be able to help her raise money.

And so I just had to start.

I left college.

I went home.

I was working in the oil field and I made a surprise trip to the stolen Children's Hospital right now.

So I was going to run across Canada.

So yeah, in 2012, I set on a journey running across Canada, raised a quarter $1,000,000 for the stolen Children's Hospital.

40:55

And so this kind of ties into the high heels.

So the lady I worked with at the stolen Children's Hospital, Stephanie Pirelli, she was the community initiatives manager.

She ended up getting a position with the YWCA, which is also a charity that helps women and children who suffer from domestic violence.

41:11

So when me and Morgan and the girls were on our way home, we ended up stopping in Edmonton to celebrate.

Now, of course, me, I was, you know, a couple run deep.

Like I'm, you know, I'm tired.

I've ran a couple 100 marathons, you know, across the country.

I'm tired.

And she she's like, so.

41:28

And I was like, oh, no, she's going to throw me a pitch here.

She's like, have you ever heard of the walk a mile?

And I was like, yeah, of course I have.

She's like, I was like, tell me a little bit more though.

And she says, do you think you want to do the walk a mile?

And I said I, I could walk a mile.

I said I bet you I could walk from Coal Lake to Edmonton in high heels.

41:45

And she says done.

I'm like, oh she called, she called my bluff.

I, I kid you not.

The next day Stephanie had a banner made ready for the RV and I, so I went home with my high heels that they gave me.

And literally 2 weeks after finishing the run across Canada, I walked 300 kilometers.

42:04

So 185 miles in 10 days in four inch high heels and I raised about $15,000 for the YWCA.

And yeah, so those are how all those things kind of tied together.

Jeez, Yeah, I mean, OK, so when you did the 34 marathons in 34 days, where did you do those?

42:24

Was it just like around your?

No, it was like right across, like right across province to province.

So like I went across all of Alberta.

So I ran, you know, I ran across Alberta, I ran through the mountains.

Like I basically Forrest Gumped it.

Yeah, yeah.

OK.

So you ran across and so OK, Alberta, British Columbia is on the farthest to the West.

42:44

Yes, so.

OK.

That's what I thought.

So you took off and you went W 34 marathons, 34 days, correct.

OK.

And an RV.

So you got to you slept in an RV when you're doing that.

Yeah.

So I had ARV for that.

43:01

And, you know, and then like hotels or different places, restaurants would donate meals or stays.

Campgrounds would give us either donations like a free, you know, a free stay, or they would really give us a good deal.

It's just incredible the amount of support we got from people.

43:18

Well, it's incredible, especially because of the year 2007.

That's, I mean, Facebook was like probably still for college kids at that point.

Yeah, 'cause I remember my freshman year of college was 2004.

So that was when Facebook, you know, was launched.

43:35

So yeah, 2007, the fact that you can get something like that done and get the support that you did, I guess without, you know, what we have now is pretty incredible.

And then gosh, across Canada, the like the whole how many miles is that it's about. 7000.

43:51

Kilometers 7. 1000 / 7000 kilometers.

OK, yeah.

I mean, there's yeah.

And so at what point?

So you already mentioned, you talked about a little bit about your partying, right?

Like getting in to college, falling into like the party scene.

44:06

I feel like that does happen to a lot of kids.

So what year would that have been in this timeline like I'm trying to piece together?

So college was 2010, eleven 2000 and. 11 yeah.

OK.

44:22

So like between the time that you ran across the provinces in the 34 days and then when you took off to do this entire run across Canada, you also shared in another podcast that you had this like near death experience where you had kind of fallen into this party world and it got to a point where it almost killed you.

44:41

Could you share that story?

Yeah.

So that happened.

So that was just prior to COVID, so 2018 19.

OK.

So that was eight.

OK.

Yeah, so on this after so after this, so basically what happened, I did, I'll just briefly break this down South 2015 I ran across Wash.

45:00

I did 58 marathons in 49 days across Washington, Oregon and California for a growth down central autism.

Jesus.

And then I came home and then I didn't really do any projects. 2018, I tore my right Achilles.

I suffered a right Achilles tendon rupture and that's kind of when my life started to go downhill between that.

45:18

I suffered multiple concussions in rugby.

I talked about my shoulder injuries too.

So I suffered a grade 3 AC separation in both my shoulders.

So I literally couldn't do any physical activities.

I couldn't run the guy I was living with.

I started to do drugs, so I was doing cocaine and I would just, you know, do it here or there and it's something I never done in my life.

45:36

You know, I drank, maybe smoked like weed a couple times.

There wasn't really anything I, you know, I really, I really was like, I honestly was a good kid.

I was focused on my running, I was focused on my sports.

I didn't games any of those things that, you know, in, in my community, there's a lot of drug stores around when I was growing up and, you know, still.

45:53

And so at this point I was, yeah.

So I was still working in the oil field.

So what happened was, is it was right before Christmas too.

So December 22nd, I went to work.

I worked a 12 hour day, 13 hour day, came home, I was partying with a buddy, drinking, doing a bunch of cocaine, stayed up all night, went to work, did it again, came home, drank, did some more cocaine, went to work.

46:21

So I was up for like 60 hours.

Jeez.

And I ended up going to work and it was, yeah, December 23rd, just before Christmas.

I dropped to my knees and my heart was just beating outside my coveralls.

And I had to go tell my boss.

And he didn't know because, you know, he's known me for a long time.

46:37

He didn't know that I did that stuff.

And like, like everybody was panicking and they called the medics.

I got rushed off the site and then at the gate, the Bonneville ambulance picked me up and I was at a point my, my blood pressure was 240 / 220.

I was in heart attack, stroke range and I was in the hospital.

46:54

They gave me the, the help button.

They gave me a little button.

And I just remember trying to get out of help.

I was like hell, hell.

And those lady, I just remember lady screaming.

I seen the monitors.

It was like those when it hit two 240 / 220.

I just remember kind of it was like white.

47:11

I couldn't really see anything.

My heart sucked up inside my chest.

It just went like this.

It just went, and then just a little bit later, it just puffed out again.

And I thought I was dead at that moment when I felt that.

Yeah, just I feel like I'm lucky to be alive.

Yeah.

I had a couple doctors, nurses surrounding me ready to air vac me to Edmonton.

47:33

And I think the biggest thing was is I lied right?

Like when I got there, the first question I asked you, are you on drugs or, you know, have you been, you know, partaking in any other activities?

And I said no because I was scared because so many people know me.

A lot of people at the hospital, they know me people.

So I panicked and I said no.

47:50

And so whatever they gave me probably counteracted with with the cocaine.

And that's what boosted my heart rate.

And, you know, like I said, I'm very lucky to be alive.

I feel like somebody was watching over me.

Yeah.

And that I have a bigger purpose in this life.

48:06

And yeah, it was a, it was a tough part of my life because, you know, I go to the schools, I go talk to kids.

I got a lot of sponsors, a lot of people who look up to me, you know, the kids call you a hero.

And, you know, I don't like to be called a hero because I'm just doing my part.

I'm doing my thing.

But, you know, that's how the kids see you.

48:22

That's how people see you.

And I felt like it was living in two different lives, you know what, this one life, you know, I'm put on a pedestal for all the wonderful things that I've done in the community.

And then on the other side, I feel like I'm just a loser who's off just doing drugs, doing all these things that people don't even know about.

48:38

So I came out to the public before anybody could say anything, I did it myself.

I shot a Facebook Live video.

And then I just announced everything that I had going on.

I had to, you know, air my dirty laundry.

And it was a hard time for me because a lot of my family, you know, especially my grandfather, like he didn't know these things.

48:54

And, you know, these are things were very hurtful, like, you know, yeah.

But there was, there's a lot of people that supported me because a lot of people understood like, hey, like people make mistakes.

People, you know, people go through things, you know, and I always feel like, you know, our struggles don't define us.

49:11

You know, and I mentioned to you that The thing is, is, you know, sometimes you do have to hit rock bottom to realize who you really are.

And, you know, I, I felt that, you know, I had so much support and stuff around me after, but at the end of the day, like you're the one that's got to push through.

49:30

You're the one that's got to want it.

And, you know, there always is a light at the end of the tunnel.

And I feel like sharing my story has helped a lot of people.

There's a lot of people who have struggled with their mental health and, you know, addictions and, you know, this, this is one thing that has affected me dearly.

49:47

And like I said, I didn't do it a lot, but I did a lot in a short period of time that affected me.

And.

You know, with Chicago Marathon and sharing my story and all these things leading into the addictions, you know, I'm happy to announce that.

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50:06

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50:30

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50:47

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51:06

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51:24

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You know, I'm happy to announce that I will be running the Boston Marathon for the first time in April, and I'm doing that all for the Boston Bulldogs Running club.

51:45

So my goal is to raise $10,000.

I set mine at 15,000 because I always like to exceed.

I like to do a little bit.

So yeah.

So the Boston Bulldogs Running Club is a Coed nonprofit that offers anonymous and safe support for those who are suffering from addictions.

And it doesn't just help the people that are suffering from addictions, it helps the families as well, because I mean, the families have gone through a lot of stuff as well.

52:06

So, you know, and my, my friend Dan, the bearded runner, he's called on on Instagram, reached out to me and he told me to reach out to Megan and the organization and they were happy to bring me on board.

So, yeah, so it's awesome now.

Now, I've ran for a lot of other causes, but you know, now I'm running for something that has truly affected me.

52:27

And I feel like that's so much bigger now to run, not, not just running for somebody else, but running for myself and sharing this story.

And you know, maybe if I could just help change one person's life with my story, I've done my job.

Yeah, yeah.

Is the are Boston Bulldogs, do they help in the Boston community in particular?

52:46

Are they a nationwide organization or?

Yeah, they're from the Boston community and you know, it's so awesome to see.

Like, I feel jealous every time I'm looking at the group chats or I'm seeing everything.

You know, they're doing their group runs and they're running some of the course.

And so I'm actually going there at the end of the month to meet the team.

53:04

So that's so great.

Run with them and then they're actually doing a viewing, you know, the Boston Bulldogs like story with some of the runners and you know, their experiences.

So I think that's going to be super cool to you know, I've read up on everybody's stories, my teammates stories.

I know you know what everybody's kind of went through or you know, their family, friends and people that went through.

53:24

But now I get to see these stories first hand and just, you know, to share them with them.

So.

Yeah, that's really.

Special moment.

Yeah, well, I mean, for anybody listening to this who feels so inclined, I'll definitely link to your fundraising efforts in the show notes and when I share on social media as well.

53:43

But I mean, I think I've found, especially in starting this podcast and talking to a lot of endurance athletes, like addiction is really prevalent in our community, especially of runners.

I find that a lot of us have addictive personalities.

Fortunately, fortunately, now a lot of it is then, you know, geared into running instead of instead of otherwise.

54:03

But I think I, you know, I find a lot of inspiration in what you're doing and that you're just that you've shared all this.

I had to be really tough.

Like to your point, you're like this children's hero who's done all these really amazing things.

And then, you know, you get in, you get in a bad way and you know, in, in a time when if you're injured and not able to run, that's a really hard, hard time.

54:27

I can only imagine.

And the scary thing too is not just that like, I mean, like, so you look at like I took myself out of the schools for a couple years until I, you know, like I loved going to the schools.

Like they'd invite me for the Terry Fox runs every year.

I'd go for sports days, I'd read to the kids, you know, and then I look at sponsors.

54:44

Are people going to ever sponsor me again?

Are they going to support me?

And I got actually got a lot of support from the community and people, you know, because I'm honest, right?

I'm being authentic.

I'm being as real as I can be.

Yeah, I'm sharing my story.

55:01

And that's all you can do is, you know, if you're 100% honest with yourself and others, you know, most people will see through the bad things, right?

Because that's the hard thing too, is I share all the good times.

And a lot of people never got to see the bad times.

So I want people to see the bad times.

55:18

I want people to know that it's not all sunshine and rainbows.

And you know one, one of my favorite, you know, I love Rocky.

One of my favorite parts is a code in in Rocky Balboa when he said life isn't all sunshine and rainbows.

The world is a cruel, nasty place, and it'll beat your to your knees if you let it.

55:37

You know, it's not about how hard you can hit.

It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.

Yeah, that's how winning is done.

And that's something I live by.

I love that mantra so.

Yeah, yeah.

So after that point in your life, you know where you survived, that's really a very traumatic experience and your mental health still has to be in a bad way.

55:57

How did you get through that like and how are you continue to work through that with like mental health?

So I started 'cause I, I never had anxiety in my life and I was getting anxiety and so especially like might just be sitting there by myself, my thoughts, my heart, heart would start racing.

56:16

I ended up getting, I, I got on meds.

I didn't think I needed the meds, but I did it just to try it.

Yeah.

And then, you know, I got to a point where I, I don't have them.

I don't have panic attacks or anything anymore.

I haven't had.

That's great.

A couple years, a couple years or whatever.

I quit the meds cold Turkey.

56:31

And, you know, I just got back out there doing the things I love doing.

And the big thing I found is, is you know, I've always, my passion has been running and helping others.

And that's where I leave all my problems behind.

56:48

Everything just just seems to disappear.

Yeah, yeah.

And like I mentioned, sorry to cut you off.

Chicago was one of those places that turned my life around because it showed me my purpose again.

It showed me like the amount of support that I've got all over the world shows me why I do what I do and why I will continue to do what I do until the day I die.

57:11

Yeah, yeah, I mean, there is no shame in the mental health game these days.

I, I think people think, God, we're in a community now that's more accepting of talking about these things because I mean, anxiety, I, I personally have gone through a journey of figuring out, yeah, what kind of medication and what, you know, with my therapist, with medication, with running, like what are the tools I need to have in place to make sure that I'm at my best?

57:41

And, you know, it was something I think previously people just would shy away from and not talk about at all.

And so I'm just grateful now that we can at least talk about it more openly because people, I mean, gosh, a lot of people I know, if not like everybody I know deals with these things, right?

57:58

So man, Curtis, so this year maybe we talk about what you're tackling this year and like all of the recognition that you've gotten that's been so well deserved.

Tell us about this calendar year because it is it is so crazy.

58:15

When you and I were emailing back and forth, I'm just like, what?

So tell, tell everybody kind of what's what's coming.

OK, so as we discussed, I haven't even touched my big ass calendar.

Like, my sister and my friend are probably gonna help me with this this month because I've been away for 21 days.

58:34

Like I basically been away since the start of January, I guess you would say.

Yeah, I'm starting off my running season with three marathons in three countries in 13 days.

So of course, of course you are.

I'm running.

I'm also running 55 out of seven World Marathon Majors this year.

58:52

So I'm going to be starting with Boston April 21st for the Boston Bulldogs Running Club.

Then I'm going to go to sleep, I'm going to get on a plane, I'm going to head to London, England and run the London Marathon.

And I'm doing that in support of Hospice UK.

So OK, I talked Hospice UK, you know, we talked about my grandfather and how like how it's important for, you know, people to live out their lives, how they want to live them out in their last days.

59:17

My grandfather, you know, he wanted to live out his last days at home.

He didn't want to die in the hospital.

He want to be surrounded by his family and friends.

He, you know, so he got to live with that life.

We had, you know, the nurses come into the home and help him.

So, you know, that's something, you know, people I think deserve in their life.

59:36

And so that's, that's one of the reasons why I accepted to run there as well.

And then I will be right leaving from there.

I'll be flying to Toronto.

I'll be running the Toronto Marathon.

I'll be representing them as an ambassador and that's on May 4th, so literally Boston, April 21st, London April 27th, Toronto May 4th, right.

1:00:01

And then May 4th is a special day.

That's the anniversary when I started my run across Canada.

So that'll be cool significance doing that in.

Toronto.

And then two weeks after that, I'll be doing the Woody's Marathon in in Red Deer.

And then what?

You're still going two weeks after that.

1:00:17

I'm at yeah.

And then a week after that I'm gonna do the Calgary Marathon.

OK.

I don't really have anything scheduled for.

Well, I had a friend ask me if I would run the Missoula Marathon, she said it's pretty awesome, so I might register that in June.

Why not?

Seems like you probably will.

Yep.

1:00:32

July I don't have anything going on and then August I'll be running the Edmonton Marathon again.

OK.

And.

Then I will be doing the the Sydney Marathon, so that's gonna be special.

So Sydney is gonna be, you know, it's going to be a huge celebration because it's their first time ever being a world marathon major so.

1:00:52

So cool.

It's going to be amazing time there.

I've never been to Australia.

Australia's on my bucket list.

And then after that I'll come home.

So where are we at?

We're in September now.

I'm planning on running the Queen City Marathon, Regina again.

1:01:08

And then we're talking about, you know, Sarah and Jesse.

I'm going to try and sneak in the running fest the running.

Man Festival.

And they're trying to get.

That that's a.

Couple days later and then into October.

This is where it gets crazy.

1:01:26

So.

No, no, it's already crazy.

Yeah, it gets crazier.

So, you know, we talk about my addictions and, you know, running and struggling with drugs.

So during this time frame, we didn't discuss it, but I attempted my first ever 100 Miller and of course, I this was my first ever DNF in my life.

1:01:45

So we talked about the DNFS in high heels.

I've never actually DNF when wearing running shoes until this point.

This like, so this is back in like this is back when I was during my drug addictions and stuff.

I met with some friends and I said I was just gonna go out for supper at Boston Pizza.

1:02:03

Ended up turning into drinks, partying.

I did a bunch of cocaine, didn't sleep, showed up to the start of 100 Miller drugs in my system drunk.

I kind of just put my head put over my head.

I didn't want people to see me because I was obviously embarrassed.

I ran for seven hours.

1:02:19

My heart rate was I was in zone five, 190 beats per hour for seven hours and IDNFD myself.

And then I attempted to do this race again the next year, same thing.

I gone under the drugs because I just knew like my Achilles was going on me at going on me at this point.

And so I was like, you know, I got to do something to try and help me get through this.

1:02:39

So I got into drugs, I went to the hospital, called Lake, told them that I, you know, I ended up making a mistake.

So I was on IV, I was stayed overnight and IV and the next day I got out of the hospital bed.

I pulled the IV out and I was like, I gotta go, I gotta go, I gotta register for this race.

1:02:58

I gotta make it to registration.

So Saint Paul's an hour and a half away.

I literally had like an hour and 45 minutes to get there to pick up my race package, everything.

So I did it again after this time.

I managed 63 kilometers, and I DNF myself again.

So October this year, I'm going to conquer my demons and I'm going to finish this 100 Miller.

1:03:19

I'm going to finish this 100 Miller.

And then eight days later, I'm going, for the record, in Chicago.

Yeah, in high heels for Run DV out of town.

And then after that I am going to be doing the Marine Corps Marathon.

1:03:34

It's gonna be the 50th and the 50th.

And I wanna go.

Yeah, so do it.

You can meet.

Up.

Oh my God, I just got so excited.

Sorry.

I was like.

So, well, my, my buddy Eddie Nolan, he passed away this last year from cancer.

He had throat cancer.

1:03:50

He is, he was, he, I know sucks.

And he had honoured Terry Fox every year.

So he was one of those people too.

He struggled through his life and he saw Terry Fox running across the Karche Bridge and he did the Terry Fox run every year for every year that has been going on.

1:04:07

And every April 12th, he honoured Terry by running a marathon carrying Terry Fox's flag and around Quebec.

And he gave me a shirt from the Marine Corps Marathon.

It's from 1993 and I'm going to wear that shirt and honor him in the in the 50th anniversary.

1:04:28

And then from there, a week later, I've got the New York Marathon go and OK, that will be the end of my season, unless I decide I might treat myself to a trip to Hawaii and maybe finish off the year with the Honolulu Marathon and then just call her a year.

1:04:44

Or just like go to Hawaii and just lay down sleep.

No, that's that's not your style.

Wow, Curtis.

OK, so when I asked you to tell us about this year, I had written down the ones that you told me about, which is funny because now it's like, oh, then there's like ton more How I'm envious of your year too, because how what incredible experiences.

1:05:09

So each one, each of these, do you have a 'cause you're running for?

Are there some of them where you're just simply running?

So New York will be the one that I'm just strictly running.

Well, I guess out of the world majors, New York's the one that I'm just strictly running, running.

1:05:25

So so yeah.

So I mentioned Boston's for the Boston Bulldogs running club predictions and London is for Hospice Hospice UK, Sydney, Australia is for MSUK.

And that one's caused near and dear to my heart.

My sister is diagnosed with MS-7 years ago.

1:05:42

So my sister has been a rock like the rock in my life.

And you know, my sister was one of the reasons that I'm probably still here today.

When I was struggling with depression and my mental health, my sister was literally the person that helped carry me out of that.

And you know, to be able to run for her and to honor her in Sydney at their the first time being a world marathon major is going to be an incredible experience.

1:06:05

And then for Chicago is for run domestic violence out of town again, New York, NY will just be for me and I might get crazy like I might end up I'm not sure if you saw that girl Justine like that could be me in in New York.

OK, I didn't see that girl.

1:06:22

Justine, tell me, what are you talking about?

She was a girl that she went famous on TikTok.

She she's like, I'm drunk.

She was at every station.

She was a girl.

She was having drinks and partying.

She had a good time.

Oh, that might be me in New York ending my year.

1:06:39

That's funny, obviously.

So, you know, I've talked, you know, speaking about it, you know, I've committed myself to my Boston team.

I I haven't drank alcohol since December 14th when I found out that I was going to be part of the team.

That's something that I'm committed to doing up until Boston just to, you know, to be a good teammate and just for my team because I know there's a lot of people that suffer.

1:06:59

Great.

Yeah.

So that's something that I've committed up until then.

I'm going to honor that.

So.

Yeah, it's a it's going to be a fun year.

And like, you know, I've met a lot of people in the community and then, you know, now I've met you and share my story with so many people.

1:07:15

And now I get to meet some of these people, some of these events or multiple events.

We're going to meet up and we're going to share stories.

We're going to go for drinks and, you know, go for dinner.

And I love like I could talk for days.

1:07:30

I could talk, you're off for days.

But one thing I do love hearing is I love hearing other people's stories.

I don't like to compare because that's one thing people do.

It's like, oh, well, you've done so many marathons.

It's like, yes, I understand that, but that's my story.

That's not your story.

Tell me your story.

1:07:45

Tell me how you got into it.

You know, I love hearing why people got into it.

And you know, I shared a story recently.

There is a struggle with a lot of runners coming forward or a lot of people wanting to become marathoners because I do feel like a lot of people are being pushed out from others due to slower times and stuff.

1:08:02

I'm sure you saw that and it is.

It's becoming in our community.

Oh, well, you're not a marathoner because you don't run fast enough.

That's a walking speed.

But I don't give a shit what those people say.

Like you finish a marathon, you finish a marathon, you're a marathon.

It doesn't matter if you have to crawl across that finish line.

1:08:18

You're a marathoner.

And again, that's just some people in the community.

That does not define our community.

And I've mentioned.

That a couple times.

I had a lady trash talk me.

She's like, oh, I hope you have fun.

Walking in your.

I hope you have fun walking your high heels.

And it's like, listen, lady, I could be super rude.

1:08:36

Like I researched you.

I've checked up your marathon times.

I've destroyed your PB.

But that's not what it's about.

Like, that's not why, you know what I mean?

Like if you wanted to sit there and nitpick at everybody, it's like there's always somebody going to be faster out there.

1:08:51

There's always going to be somebody better.

But that's not why you're doing it.

It's just totally against you, right?

It's you against you.

And if you're crushing your goals and you're and you're, you know, you keep bettering yourself, that's all that matters, right?

And.

Yes, yes.

1:09:06

Amen.

That's how I see it anyways.

Yeah, I'm like, say it again.

I am with you, lady.

Yeah, and you've run a sub three hour marathon.

Let's just throw that out there too.

My.

My TV is a 256 but that was.

Also when I was.

Younger and in better shape, I was also 50 lbs lighter.

1:09:24

So yeah, yeah.

But well, yeah, still pretty cool to have that under your belt.

So and your first marathon you ever run, you got a sub four, which is pretty cool too.

So yeah, do you let's nerd out a little bit about running in particular.

Do you have like, what do you eat when you run?

1:09:40

Like do you use a code?

Like are you just, are you just kind of at this point, I guess you're running a lot for charity, not as focused on time.

Tell us a little.

Bit about that.

So this is one thing that'll probably blow people's minds and it's not to be cocky.

I never really trained.

Like if you saw some of my videos, I know you did some research, but some of the stuff I posted, I showed my mileage last year.

1:10:00

If you saw like I maybe ran A5 or 10K prior to doing Chicago and high heels.

I didn't do any any training and it was just because I was going through some injuries with my other left Achilles and I didn't want to overtrain or, you know, hurt myself or do any of these things.

But so I took from my first marathon was 15 to the 310 marathons.

1:10:19

I ran, like I mentioned before, I know what it takes to finish a marathon.

I did train much during all that.

So like when I went from the first marathon to the 34 marathons in 30-4 days, I was, you know, I was very athletic.

I played hockey, soccer, basketball, volleyball, track and field, cross country.

I was always doing a sport every day.

1:10:35

So I was physically fit.

I just did the 34 marathons in 34 days, just did it, you know, and then from that going to college and running and everything else.

So it's the same thing.

I just went out and did it.

And that's why I've suffered the injuries I've had because I didn't take it seriously.

1:10:51

I, well, I took it seriously, but in the sense of training now doing with being part of the Boston Bulldogs running club is the first time that I've actually taken training seriously.

I'm on a program, have a coach, you know, I'm sticking to the schedule.

1:11:07

Obviously these last week and a half, I've kind of fumble, I've been mentally and physically drained with the work.

Obviously saw what I've been doing.

Yeah, working in the cold weather, running 24 kilometers or like 14 miles on a treadmill is very.

Training and sucks.

1:11:22

Yeah, I've been there.

Probably doing that tomorrow actually.

Yeah, and I just, so as far as that goes and then for eating, I think this is the hardest part when you're, when I was running 50 kilometers a day, every day, I was crushing close to 10,000 calories a day.

1:11:39

I, you know, I was eating couple large pizzas, double Big Macs, double baconators.

I was eating whatever I wanted because I could run it off right now.

Like that's the one thing that I've, I've worked on a lot.

Like I I drink a lot less pop or soda, you guys call it.

1:11:55

Pop too depends on the part of country.

I guess where you're at.

Yeah.

And then, you know, like my goodies and stuff.

And then, I mean, I still crush my Big Macs and Baconators.

It's something I love.

But yeah, as far as nutrition, like I've got a lot better.

I've learned to train myself using gels because normally what I would eat was I'd pack little snacks like gummy bears or gummy worms or like something sugary candies and stuff to help me throughout my runs and that.

1:12:20

So as far as nutrition and stuff goes, it's kinda it, it was out the window for a long time, but now I'm focusing.

You know, I especially, I don't have my gallbladder either.

So during the time where I was suffering from addictions, I ended up with an emergency gallbladder surgery.

So I have to watch what I eat as well because basically everything will run right through me and I don't want to have that struggles on the course.

1:12:41

No, you don't.

Yeah.

Wow.

Jeez, That is a whole nother whole nother ball game, too.

Yeah.

Wild.

Oh, gosh.

Wow.

Curtis, I could talk to you all day long.

I got to figure out how to get well.

I want to meet you in person at some point, hopefully.

1:12:56

Marine Corps.

I have family that lives in Alexandria, so I've done the Marine Corps once.

I always forget what year that was a while ago.

My dad and I really want to go back for the 50th.

I think it'd be so much fun.

Oh.

It's going to be a huge, huge, huge.

1:13:12

Celebration.

Yeah, I have a couple of friends who have both been on this podcast that are going and I got a couple guests that live in that area and I'm like, OK, I want to go.

It's the weekend before.

Is it the week I look at my big ass calendar?

It's the weekend before New York and it's two weekends before the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon.

1:13:31

So that's our big marathon here where I live.

So it's definitely doable for me.

So anyway, but I have young kids.

It's 2.

Weekends before Indianapolis.

Yeah.

So when so?

OK.

So if it's two weeks, yeah, so.

You could just, you could just go from New York, squeeze in Minneapolis.

1:13:48

Oh, that's what it's the.

Weekend before Yeah, it's.

Indianapolis is after New York.

Yeah, it's the weekend after.

It's on Saturday the 8th.

So, you know, just squeeze it in there, it's fine.

Might as well add another one.

Well, do that and then I might as well just head straight to Hawaii from there.

1:14:04

Geez.

I mean, yeah, I could.

I'd still have the money left.

I'd go.

Yeah, right.

I know.

I'm like, we could do Philadelphia, you could do Saint Jude in December.

There's still plenty of options.

What's Philly?

Philly is the 23rd of November.

It's like usually right before Thanksgiving here in the US That's an excellent race.

1:14:23

And you mentioned Rocky earlier, so just saying you got to go do that one at some point.

Yeah, so many great, great experience for you to have.

I mean, you could just come run in every state here in in the United States.

That's a big thing.

So I could see you doing that.

1:14:38

I actually probably eventually will be running across the US.

It was something that I had planned.

I actually met with a lady when I was running, doing that run across Washington, Oregon and California.

I was at a Run with Kevin Hart event in Portland.

1:14:54

Oregon.

That's cool, I met.

With her and she, she, she works with like military veterans and, you know, people that, you know, have lost limbs or, you know, and she wanted me to run for the military veterans in, in the US because I always like to run for A cause sometimes, you know what I mean?

1:15:12

Like I like to run for a 'cause that, you know, if I'm in that country, I want to try and do something for you guys that's going to benefit you guys to make people more willing to donate as well.

And so we had talked about this back in the day and I was going to run across the US and then I tore my Achilles and everything kind of happened.

1:15:27

Another one I was going to run across Australia too, because I think it would take me.

I can't remember how long it would take me, but it was a project that I was going to.

Do yeah, I don't know the animals there is what would scare me I.

Know that's why I was worried about like getting yeah getting bit by a crocodile or.

1:15:43

You know, something like that.

Coming across the road and punching me in the head.

Right.

Those spiders.

That's scary.

Yeah, the spiders in particular.

I forgot about the snakes.

Yeah.

No, that's a no for me.

I really want to, I want to run Sydney at some point though.

My daughter, my oldest daughter's name is Sydney and she kind of gets her name from Sydney, Australia.

1:16:02

Both my husband and I have been there and it's just a place that we love and hopefully get a chance to take her there at some point.

But I got to run that marathon.

I heard it's jealous.

It's got some hills too.

It is hilly, I've heard.

Yes.

Which I'm like, oh, well, Oh well, whatever.

1:16:17

OK, what else was I going to ask you about?

I'm going to make sure I didn't miss anything.

I could talk to you forever though.

So what do you think, like in terms of how people can best support you?

I mean, obviously donating to whatever cause for certain races.

But you know, I'm surprised frankly, Curtis, that you don't have like all these branded sponsors, like people like that supporting you.

1:16:39

And I mean, 'cause you deserve that additional support.

So how can people help you if anybody's listening that has connections that could support you?

Yeah, I mean, I've reached out to a couple companies.

Obviously I heard back and like, I guess you, it stems back to like you talking about like where we grew up, like we didn't have the social media like we did.

1:16:58

I'm sure like if I had, you know, social media was it was like it was then I probably would have blew up here Then like there's still some people there like, you know, like people comment and that's not why I do it.

But it's like people are like, how is this guy not more famous or like.

How about more?

People, people know about him and it's like then people comment they're like, well, he did this back in 2012.

1:17:17

And it makes sense.

Some of those people weren't even born, right?

Like some of these kids weren't born.

Some of these runners were like five years old, seven years old, just kids, right?

So I look at it that way.

And then I guess too is like, you know, like, like, yeah, maybe I, I don't have a big enough following for some of these companies to seem to right.

1:17:35

Maybe jump on, which is fine.

I'm not worried about that, right.

Yeah.

I just, you know, people want to follow me on my socials, my, you know, my Instagram, Facebook, it's all C Hargrove 15.

I share my stories, you know, good and bad, my adventures.

And of course, this year is going to be crazy.

1:17:51

It's going to be a crazy journey, especially the start of the race season.

Like I said, the, the three marathons in 13 days in three countries that it's really going to kick me off.

And I, I think the biggest part of my, you know, I guess my story this year is hopefully, I'm not even saying hopefully I'm gonna, I'm gonna crush that 100 Miller, the first thing that ever defeated me.

1:18:12

And then I'm gonna go 8 days later and I'm gonna break the world record in high heels.

In Chicago.

So wait, which?

What race is the 100 Miller again?

It's the Air Force 100 Ultra Air Force, Saint Paul, Alberta.

It's about an hour and a half away from here.

1:18:27

Yeah, from you.

OK, OK.

Yeah, 100 miles.

Yeah, my last two guests, both 100 mile.

Well, one an attempt that he's getting redemption for, and then another 100 Miller.

I mean, people.

Yeah, for me, I'm just a lowly marathoner.

I mean, I'm joking because it's still you're a marathoner and it's all relative.

1:18:46

But like, the more people I meet, just the more insane and just incredible people are.

I I can't, I can't wrap my head around it.

It's just so cool.

Well, I can't.

I mean, I'm so excited to continue to support you, Curtis, and hopefully get a chance to meet you in person.

1:19:02

And yeah, I could see like this time next year, I just can't even imagine where you're going to go and like what things you're going to do.

You mentioned you were born in Germany.

Have you done a lot of other travel outside of US and Canada?

Not too much.

I mean, I've been to England and like Wales and stuff.

1:19:18

Like my sister's, my sister's ex was from Wales and that area.

So I went out there.

That was actually, I went out to Wales prior to running across Canada.

That was pretty.

Cool.

OK, like.

Three weeks there.

It was a good time, you know, Yeah, just mainly been inside the USI haven't gone like to too many different countries and stuff.

1:19:36

So yeah, it's gonna, like I said, it's going to be an amazing year.

I'm going to meet so many people, hear amazing stories, going to try and share more people's stories and yeah, just continue to do what I love doing.

You know, I mentioned that and you know, hopefully you don't knock on wood that I have a great year.

1:19:55

One of my goals this year, I actually did say this is the Cruise Hardrove Redemption Tour. 2025 is my redemption traversal and one of my goals is, you know, I'm hoping to BQ in Boston.

I, you know, like I got to be realistic.

I don't know if that's going to happen yet, but I mean, I'm still like I feel by the end of the year I can get that BQ and I'll be there.

1:20:16

And then, you know, carrying into next year, I'm hoping that I can finish my, you know, my world marathon 6 star journey, you know, hope to get to Tokyo and Berlin and finish that off.

So if it does happen, I, I, if you get Tokyo, I'd be finishing off in Berlin, Yeah.

1:20:33

Germany and wait, it's seven stars now.

Yeah.

Right.

Do they have a different well?

No, so that no, they still.

They still have the six.

Star yeah, but they have different things where you're gonna be able to put different ones on different things if you want.

And I think they're gonna, they're not gonna change it until they have 9, which is, you know, Cape towns coming on there and then, you know, Shanghai like, yeah, good chances that those will probably get pushed through.

1:20:58

And then we're gonna have the nine World Marathon Majors.

And I know the rest will be history.

But yeah, yeah.

I was really trying to shoot for seven World Marathon Majors in the year, I think when I reached out to Tokyo, cuz I didn't have a drawing.

I reached out to them, like reached out to contacts to try and get me in there.

1:21:14

I reached out to some bigger sponsors.

I think what they were thinking is that I was going to run at high heels because they did get back to me.

And they said that, you know, they're very strict in Tokyo, you know, with your race attire and everything else, they want you hurting yourself.

But I had mentioned that I was going to do it in runners.

So hopefully I get into Tokyo next year.

1:21:31

Yeah.

And then obviously Berlin as well.

And then I don't know, like, you know, who knows?

Maybe I do all 7 next year.

Who who knows, Like they're I mean, I got to get through your first, right?

OK, Yep, First things first.

1:21:47

OK, so end of the podcast questions.

I love that you love Eye of the Tiger.

So the first question is your mantra and or song.

I just gave a spoiler.

I mean, yeah, eye the tiger and look at I'll show you my little iPod shuffle.

1:22:02

I've had this for over a.

Decade.

Yeah, I've heard you talk about that.

Yeah, so Morgan used to fill Morgan and Noel used to fill this with songs, just random songs.

So like, you know, it's funny.

A girl asked me what, you know, I need to know what he's listening to right now.

Like when they took that video of the TikTok of me walking the high heels and I said what people probably think I'm or what what people think I'm listening to is like Mötley Crüe kick start my heart.

1:22:24

What I'm really listening to is T Swift, you know, because there's random songs I got like, you know, I go from, you know, hardcore rock to Backstreet Boys to country to whatever on this.

But yeah, I the tigers huge for me.

And it was actually, it was pretty cool.

1:22:39

So on my homecoming, on my run across Canada, I shared a photo with you with my beard looking like Forrest Gump.

You do.

And when I ran into the energy center, there was about 1600 people waiting for me and they had Eye of the Tiger blaring for me running into the energy center, which is probably one of the coolest moments of my life.

1:22:56

So they live streamed me coming to the Energy center.

So what they did is when I came into Coal Lake, there's a huge hill and we have sailboats saying welcome to Coal Lake.

So at the top of the hill there was a bunch of sponsors.

So the diamond sponsors or whatever, the mayor, my friend Amanda was a rodeo queen.

1:23:11

She was on her horse.

We had the veterans on their motorcycles, the firefighters and the fire truck.

We had all the media riders connection donated side by side so the all the news companies could ride on the side by sides and feel me running in.

And then there was a van in front of me with an iPad live streaming me to the whole community.

1:23:28

The city shut down the streets.

People lined the streets.

And then, yeah, like I said, I ran in into the energy center to eye the tigers.

Probably one of the coolest moments of my life.

But yeah, like, this thing's been with me for over a decade.

I love this thing.

That's so funny, I.

Had to raw dog it in camp.

I forgot my headphones in camp so running that 24, running that 14 miles on the treadmill was rough.

1:23:49

But you did it with no headphones on the treadmill.

Yeah, but I turn on the TV.

OK, School of Rock happened to be on, so I was listening to Jack Black sing.

You know, I heard the concert part of that.

So there's a little bit of singing going on.

Yeah, thank goodness.

Oh my gosh, I just picture being on alone on the treadmill with my own thoughts would be.

1:24:09

It's terrible.

Yeah.

Which brings us to kind of the next part of that question too, like mantras.

I think just given all the things you've done, you have to your mindset and your mind is really powerful.

So what are some of the things you tell yourself?

I've mentioned it on this podcast a couple times, You know, like the pain I go through is nothing compared to what people go through.

1:24:28

So like, you know, the women and children are, you know, the kids with cancer, the people with cancer, anybody that I'm raising money for.

And then I look at it as like, I'm a fully able bodied person, you know?

Yeah, I tore my Achilles.

You know, I even felt bad complaining about that because you know what?

1:24:43

My Achilles, I've healed.

I've ran marathons since I've tore my Achilles.

There's some people that, you know, just they, they injure themselves or they have things going on, they lose limbs.

There's people like, you know, can't run or can't do these things.

And that's one thing I'm very thankful for.

I'm thankful for the body that I've been given.

1:24:59

And I'm using that body to, you know, help others and do the things that I want to do in the community.

And that's just what I look at is, you know, I'm so thankful.

And, you know, of course I've got a big, big following, a big community of supporters.

1:25:15

And they're the real reason why I'm out here doing the things that I do.

They're the, they're the ones that should be called heroes.

The supporters, the people donating money, the people donating their time and sharing the word, those are the ones that are heroes.

The people that I'm running for are the heroes.

And, and that's what I use.

1:25:31

And then of course, I have pretty thick skin.

I mean, I still, you know, like, I still share the stories of people doing it because that's the stuff that fuels my fire.

Like, I had someone tell me, oh, you know, the 2025 Chicago Marathon would like to welcome Curtis Hargrove, double amputee, you know, just because of my high heel stuff.

1:25:48

Right.

Like, just stupid stuff.

Yeah.

Or, you know, this guy's never going to like this woman said, oh, he's never going to run a marathon in his life ever again.

He's stupid.

Like, those are the things I had this guy, Jeremy, no one cares about your running injuries or your running career.

Those are the the things that I love.

I love hearing those things.

1:26:05

It actually feels my fire.

Those are the things I build off of them.

I'm like, yeah, I'll show you.

Yeah, I'll show you this year.

You'll see.

And I just build off everything like that.

And the negative energy turns into positive energy.

And then of course, I love being out on the road.

We're out on the course, which is me and my thoughts and my music, you know, thinking about why I'm doing this.

1:26:26

Your iPod shuffled.

You have to wear old school headphones, don't you?

I do, yeah.

Just a little.

The wired Yeah, you do.

That's funny.

Yeah, since we.

So my next question is always like next finish line or milestone.

Like clearly we've covered that.

1:26:42

So I'm changing this question and I would like to talk about your Guitar Hero skills.

Yeah, so I, I'm kind of a nerd, so like in between like my sports and stuff growing up, I would, you know, something to calm me and relax.

1:26:57

Dude, I play Guitar Hero and I got really good at it and I actually won $6000 playing Guitar Hero.

You know, it was something, you know, when you just, you take the time to learn it and you know, they say it takes you about 1600 hours to be a professional at something.

And I've got well over that, I believe.

1:27:15

And yeah, so my I, my uncle saw some things and saw some tournaments in the newspaper.

I went and competed and I won some tournaments.

And you know, I still kind of play to this day.

It's something that I do just when I'm relaxing, it's really good for hand eye coordination.

And I, like I said, it's just peaceful.

1:27:30

Yeah.

Yeah, that's kind of a dirty side about me and.

That's the gamer.

And then and then too, when I tore my Achilles to help me with my, you know, struggles with mental health and stuff.

And you know, of course, through my addiction phase, you know, a lot of people in the gaming community, they, there's a lot of people that struggle as well mentally.

1:27:46

And I find like, that's their out like that, you know, like some people obviously with running and stuff that's, you know, that's a lot of people's way to do their mental health.

A lot of people, you know, play gaming to deal with that.

And that's something I did when I tore my Achilles.

I used to stream on Twitch, play Guitar Hero for people, they'd request songs and play Halo, stuff like that.

1:28:05

Oh, that's just something that I did to keep myself busy, to keep myself sane because I couldn't do the things that I wanted to do.

Yeah.

So yeah, that's kind of my nerdy side.

That's so funny.

That's a whole.

There's a whole another subculture of like Guitar Hero tournaments.

I didn't even know.

1:28:21

I mean, of course I should know.

Like that exists.

I've played.

I'm not as good.

My sister's pretty good.

And we also had Rock Band.

So then we could all, like, play.

Yeah, but I'm not not very good.

But that's that's.

So what's your favorite Guitar Hero song to play?

Well, I mean, I, I love playing.

1:28:37

There's a song like Opera.

It's a, it's actually, it's a cool one.

It's Through Fire and Flames.

It's Operation Ground and Pound Remastered.

It's like Through Fire and Flames and Operation Ground and Pound, two Dragon Force songs mixed together and it's pretty awesome.

And then, yeah, I don't know.

1:28:53

I love playing everything like I was actually gonna do.

Somebody challenged me to, I was gonna, I was gonna do this.

I was gonna take video filming me playing guitar girl while running on the treadmill.

Oh God, seeing how well I could do that would be a tough challenge.

That would be pretty hard.

1:29:08

You know, like do a marathon while beating all the.

Guitar heroes like guitar.

Hero 1-2 and three and if I fail I have to start over.

OK, wow.

That would be interesting.

Make sure you wear that safety key.

OK, Wear the safety.

Keys.

So if you fall off, God, the treadmill stops.

1:29:26

Oh, Lord.

All right.

Well, your invitation to come to Indy stands if you decide you want to do that.

I'll hook you up.

We'll get you a hotel room.

We'll get you an entry to the race.

Like, whatever you need, You just you come, you're invited.

That would be awesome.

I, you know, I, I actually landed.

There briefly before I flew to Chicago.

1:29:43

You did.

I had a little.

I had a little layover there.

On my way to Chicago.

What a wild place to have a layover going to Chicago from where you?

Are usually you can get right into Chicago you had to come to us well so this is something I'll explain to you sorry I know I keep.

1:29:59

Talking for days prior prior to Chicago, I was.

Working.

And three days before my flight got pushed and cancelled to another date, a flight that I had booked for six months and I was going to have me coming flying in in in on Saturday.

1:30:15

And I, I called the company.

I'm like, listen, like I this can't happen.

I said I won't be able to pick up my race package.

I'm not going to be able to race Chicago.

Nobody's allowed to pick up my package for me.

So I told work.

I'm like, listen, I have to figure this out.

So it was like 6:00 in the morning and I saw this e-mail, so I cancelled my flights.

1:30:31

Well, I didn't.

Yeah, I like, they've rescheduled my flights.

I cancelled like, I want my money back.

They gave me credits, which is fine.

I used them, but I had to book flights through WestJet and I found flights for like it was last minute was still, it was all right.

It was $1200 Canadian, so probably like 7 or 800 US last minute just so I could get there for the.

1:30:54

I didn't get there till the Friday at like midnight and then I went and picked up my race package and everything and I lost like 5 days in Chicago.

So yeah.

So on my flight there, that was where my connecting flight was Indianapolis.

That's so funny.

Our airport is phenomenal.

1:31:11

It's.

I mean small but mighty like we are.

Like I can come, I can go from my house to like my gate in like an hour.

It's crazy how easy.

Oh that must be nice.

I'm jealous I I have to drive 3 1/2 hours to.

Edmonton just to get on a plane.

It sucks.

1:31:26

OK, yeah, that does suck.

Wow.

And then my flight.

Home really sucked I had sorry.

I saw I did that and then I had to leave.

On the Monday I flew from from Chicago to Detroit and I had a 15 hour layover in Detroit 'cause that was great.

1:31:42

Cheapest flight I could get.

I was gonna go to the Pink concert.

I was like, you know what, what should I do?

I should.

Maybe I'll just go to Little Caesars Arena and I'll go to the Pink concert.

But by the time it landed and I got myself checked in, I ended up staying at the Hilton, at at the airport, inside the airport.

Yeah.

And I just slept there.

1:31:59

And then I flew home and I went straight back to work.

Yeah.

So my, my whole journey, actually, Chicago was mayhem after the marathon.

Well, I just hope this year after all the travels you have.

You don't have a ton of stories like that.

Undoubtedly, something will happen, but hopefully nothing too crazy.

1:32:15

Pretty good chance, yeah.

Curtis, thank you so much for doing.

This this has been.

A blast.

I can't wait to cheer you on all year and beyond.

So awesome.

Well, thank you so much for having me, Allie.

I like I said.

I truly appreciate you reaching out to me.

You know, I'm thankful for people like you that helped get the story out there and you know I'll continue to.

1:32:33

I will cheer cheer you on now too as well.

You know, now that we know each other, you can keep me posted with all your goals and all your.

Stuff that you're.

Doing and you know, you know, I'll spread the word, I'll share your podcast and you know, I had a great time and it's it's great sharing stories and, you know, hopefully, you know, I know we did a lot of talking about me, but hopefully we can talk about you and you know, your family in the future and, you know, discuss things that you got going on.

1:32:55

So thank you so much, thank you and thank you to everybody who has listened and happy running.

If you enjoyed this Sandy Boy Productions podcast, please go share.

Rate Review Thanks again to Pure Fuel and Cure for supporting this.

Podcast and I can't.

1:33:10

Wait to tell you about Las Vegas.

Stay tuned.