Our Crowdfunding Groups
Now that the dust has settled, I am putting much effort into recovering from a long year. I am scheduled to have hip surgery next week. This is unrelated to my running and racing, but I will be out of action for the winter. I will take the time to start planning an adventure for next year during my rest period. This will be my last update related to the 100-mile race as the campaign built around the ultramarathon comes to an end. In the meantime, the fundraiser page will go into a mode not attached directly with my race efforts but will remain open to continue receiving donations indefinitely. The COBE Student Hardship Fund will next be featured in Dean Bannister’s upcoming Monday Morning Note, the Bronco Business News, and the Fund will be listed as one of the COBE priorities for the annual phonathon campaign and included in the Bronco Giving Day priorities as well. If the full $25,000 has not been raised by next summer, I will open another campaign built around a new epic adventure. I want to thank everyone again for the support, encouragement, and donations throughout the year…until next time. Stallings out!
Well, I made it! It took me a little over 28.5 hours, but I completed the 100-mile race! I want to thank my crew and pacers and everyone for the support, encouragement, and donations along the way. The race was quite difficult and took much fortitude to reach the finish line. The course was technical and unforgiving throughout most of the race, but I ran the best I could and left it all out on the trail...finishing with a grimace. It was a long year of training and several months of fundraising, so I am looking forward to some recovery. With everyone’s support, I was able to raise around 36% of the $25,000 goal. Unfortunately, the students won’t have access to the funds until the full amount is reached, so I will see what additional fundraising channels and future challenges I can come up with to keep raising money and finish populating the fund to create the endowment, so stay tuned. Stallings out!
Live tracking for my race is now available on the following website:
https://ultrasignup.com/live/live.htm?dtid=47008
If you click on ‘Live Standings’ you can search by my last name, Stallings, or my race number, 172. When you click on my name it will take you to a screen with the aid station numbers and mileage. Throughout the race, this page can be refreshed to show my time and place when I pass through an aid station. The race will begin on Saturday, November 5 at 6:00am Central time. Just a few more days until go time. Stallings out!
Boise State University Marketing professor Anne Hamby and I completed the Boise Grand Slam Peaks Challenge yesterday. The Challenge consists of summitting Kepros Mountain, Shaw Mountain, Cervidae Peak, and Mount Heinen all in one consecutive run. The total mileage is approximately 35.7 with over 11,000 feet of elevation gain. The overall time is from start to finish, including the vehicle transitions between peak trailheads. The previous record was 12 hours and 58 minutes. Anne and I crushed this time by over two and a half hours to set a new fastest known time (FKT) of 10 hours and 27 minutes. A big thanks to Anne for the support and for completing the Challenge with me. My fitness and confidence are on point to have a successful 100-mile race in three weeks. With only 30 days left for my fundraiser, I am hoping the word will still be spreading for donations to complete my endowed hardship fund as well. In the next three weeks, I will be tapering from a long year of training and fine-tuning any last nutrition issues and gear selections before the big day. Stallings out!
I recently competed in the local Bogus 50K trail race on October 1st and took 2nd in my age group (the old dudes) and 15th overall. The race was difficult and had approximately 6,600 feet of elevation gain over 50 kilometers (31 miles). I finished in a time of 5 hours and 38 minutes. It was a solid result and gives me confidence that my training is on track leading to my 100-mile race next month. Thanks again to everyone for the support and encouragement. Stallings out!
A lot of long runs this summer in 100+ degrees heat here in Boise and now the smoke has rolled in. Hopefully this was the last hot week of the year, and the unhealthy air quality will subside soon. It has been like running through a campfire. This is a selfie I took mid-run before I got rehydrated and moving again. Happy to report we are now above 25% of the fundraising goal! Still a long way to go with only a couple of months left, but I am holding out hope we can get to the finish. Stallings out!
A solid 25-mile training day today with a portion on the Oregon Trail! The Oregon Trail is a 2,000-mile route that was used during the mid-1800s by emigrants traveling out west. It took travelers on average around four to six months by wagon to traverse the trail from the Missouri River to Willamette Valley. Free history lesson for you…courtesy of Google!
Stallings out!
Idaho Education News featured a story on the COBE Student Hardship Fund and my ultramarathon race and training efforts to raise money for our students! The article reiterates my dedication to the students and discusses my reasoning and motivation behind launching the fundraiser. COBE Dean Mark Bannister and one of my former advanced accounting students, Coleman Benson, were also interviewed for the story. I really appreciate their kind words and support! The full article is linked below. Stallings out!
COBE marketing professor Anne Hamby came out to support the training with a run together up Mount Heinen! In return, I will help pace her in achieving the fastest known time (FKT) on the Boise Grand Slam Challenge (Mount Heinen, Shaw Mountain, Cervidae Peak, Kepros Mountain) this fall. The Grand Slam Challenge consists of summiting all four peaks (35.7 miles and 11,493 feet of elevation gain) in one day’s run! The fundraiser has now passed 20% and I want to again thank everyone for their support. The training is going perfect and there is still plenty of time to reach our fundraising goal! Stallings out!
This update is coming at you from the summit of Kepros Mountain. In just one month, we have passed 15% of our fundraising goal! I want to thank everyone for their support, donations, thoughts, and encouragement. I have seen students struggle with their academics due to financial reasons and this hardship fund will help alleviate some of that burden for them so they can focus on their studies and college experiences with less distractions. My training is going well, and I have more plans to continue advertising the campaign through multiple outlets to reach our goals. Overall, we are on a great trajectory to finish the 100-mile ultramarathon race this fall and raise the money to create the endowed fund. Stallings out!