Story

We’re a small family living in the NorthWest. Born to the wilderness, we have always thrived outdoors. Years ago we were found by/given a friend group here who are freakin’ awesome. But, they’re runners. Like, good ones. So, we said, “What the heck” and gave it a try. We found we love these people, we love the trails, we love the mountains and the rivers and beaches. But, we couldn’t care less about our split times or where we finished in races. We enjoy 5k’s, kids runs, White Elephant Runs, All-Comers track meets, and are still making up our minds about the 100k’s. Running has become one of the things we do, but that’s not who we are. Our hearts soar when we load the van or truck for any adventure: surfing, backpacking, fly fishing, road-tripping, or any type of camping. When we get home from one, we charge each other to “rinse and rally” to the next adventure.

We started taking our kids cross-country skiing at 3 weeks old, backpacking at 6 months, and it shaped how we do family and friends. We don’t want to put things on hold, but rather take those we love with us. We’ve also bailed 1 night in with a screaming 2 year-old and a puking niece. But you have to try.

We know that life is hard and it’s good for you to do just about anything that is hard, especially if there’s a chance of failure. But, you had better have joy in there. It’s what motivates us, attaches us to those we love, and makes the hard also sweet.

We also deeply believe in the restoration of all things. Somehow, joy is mysteriously mixed into the hard when we set our hands to this work.

We teach our kids this. They teach us this. We are learning each day and keep finding ourselves coming back to this - find Joy, do Hard things.

Get out there with those you love: JoyHard!