I donated a kidney to my sister Pam on December 14^th, 2017. It’s been a long journey for her as she was one of the first liver transplant recipients at University Hospital in Denver in 1990. This was also the year I ran my first ultramarathon, a 35-mile trail race in Glenwood Springs, Colorado.

Pam would need a kidney transplant in 2002 because of all the anti-rejection medicine she had to take. My brother Brian (Uncle B) donated one of his kidneys to Pam that year. Up until that point, Uncle B had competed in triathlons and finished numerous ultras, including the Leadville Trail 100 run multiple times. He still bikes nearly every day, although he doesn’t compete anymore. I have continued to run ultras every year since that first race and still have that same sense of adventure and wonder if I can finish an ultra, especially a 100 miler.

During the fall of 2017, I underwent the tests required to be a kidney donor. The chance of being a donor isn’t great, let alone being a perfect match. But that’s what happened for Pam and I. My antigen count and crossmatch tests were perfect. After taking the stress test, on a treadmill, I was given the go-ahead to donate my kidney and scheduled the surgery for December at UC Health in Colorado. I continued to train because I wanted to go into the operation as fit as could be. I was wondering how I would do in running races after surgery, especially ultras. The training paid off because my recovery went really well.

After surgery, I walked down to Pam’s room that very afternoon. The next morning, I got out of bed after the nurse removed my catheter. By midday, the attending physician walked into my room, saw me standing next to my bed and asked if I peed on my own. Why yes I have! Ok, you can go home. What? Ok cool!

Pam had to stay in the hospital for a few more days, so we went to the Airbnb house we rented across the street and recovered there for a couple of days. I didn’t eat much those first few days and I was in some discomfort. I only took Tylenol because I didn’t want to take the oxy prescription they gave me.

I could only lay on my back. If I rolled over, it felt like my insides were moving around. Haha! My surgeon, Dr. Pshak, told me it would feel like I did 20,000 sit-ups. That’s exactly how it felt for me. By the time I got home on Day 4 post surgery, I was starving and ate a huge plate of lasagna that a friend made for us. Anxious to begin or plan some form of exercise, yet determined not to run for 30 days, I ordered an exercise bike. For $200 I got a pretty good bike to spin on.

On Day 7, my surgeon said my incisions looked good and said I’ll be running in 4-6 weeks. I didn’t want to push it but I did want to be active so I walked a lot. Up to 5 miles per day for the first month. On Day 9, I walked in a holiday 1-mile fun run. On day 16, I walked in a 5K snowshoe race being careful not to trip myself. My abdomen was still sore so it would’ve been dumb to push it.

By this time, Pam was doing great. I went back to work on January 2^nd, careful not to lift anything too heavy. After 30 days, I started easy running and continued to spin on my trainer. During January, February, and March, I ran/walked another 5 snowshoe races. Snowshoe racing is hard, so while I wasn’t running these like I normally do, they are in the mountains so my heart rate was maxing out. In April, we traveled out to California to visit our son and run a hilly 50K together. It turned out to be really rainy weather, but I finished without much trouble. Two weeks after that, I entered a 24-hour race to see how I would do. The weather was rainy and snowy, but I was able to run/walk 78 miles. In June, I traveled to Ohio to run in another 24-hour race. I was ready to push this one and see if I could hit 100 miles. The poor weather seemed to follow me and so I had to push through heavy rain again. Without taking any long breaks, I finished 100 miles in 23:58! In July I ran a 7-mile uphill mountain race in Vail, then followed that with a tough, mountainous 50K in Utah called Speedgoat. This was the one race that kicked my butt. 2 hours after I finished I started puking. I felt fine after that, but it was a wake-up call to not get complacent and think everything is the same.

On August 18^th, I began the Leadville Trail 100 with my son Ethan, who was running again for his 2^nd time. This would be my 28^th consecutive start at the race and will always be one of the most memorable. During the race, I kept a watchful eye on my fluid and food intake. During the heat of the day, I felt like crap, but that’s nothing unusual at Leadville due to the heat midday combined with the altitude. I finished with Ethan, my sister Pam and the rest of our families in just over 29 hours. (my 24^th finish)

It’s still a learning process for me, but if you’re motivated to get back doing endurance racing, you can do it. When I began the tests last fall, I decided to not consume any alcohol for a year and to clean up my diet a little. I don’t take any ibuprofen and I’ve kept my weight at a good level for racing. I do think about my health, my kidney and how lucky I was to be able to donate. My sister Pam is on a very low level of anti-rejection medicine now which is terrific and she is doing great. Listen to your body and have fun out there.