{"id":201710,"date":"2022-04-19T15:07:30","date_gmt":"2022-04-19T15:07:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ultraspire.com\/?p=201710"},"modified":"2022-04-19T15:07:34","modified_gmt":"2022-04-19T15:07:34","slug":"ultraspire-inspired-by-henry-howard-and-finding-joy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/de-stage.ultraspire.com\/en\/ultraspire-inspired-by-henry-howard-and-finding-joy\/","title":{"rendered":"UltrAspire Inspired By: Henry Howard and Finding Joy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Written by: Anja Hayes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the past decade, Henry Howard has been on a mission to #FindJoy and inspire others to do the same. Aside from participating in nearly 35 ultramarathons and marathons collectively, he seeks to uplift the running community through incredible stories he writes on his website, runspirited.com<\/a>. Beyond the time he invests in his own work, Henry is a personal coach with Marathon Training Academy <\/a>and is committed to fostering the best in other racers. He understands the difficult path many dedicated athletes take. Having endured a bumpy start and thousands of hours of grueling training, Henry knows that crossing the finish line means more than the work before the race. Rather, strength to keep running often comes from a community. Just as he finds motivation from other ultrarunners, Henry uses his skills to bring other endurance athletes\u00a0 closer to finding their personal drive.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Henry launched his blog RunSpirited in 2017 as an effort to highlight members of the ultra and trail running community. As an experienced editor and writer, he recognizes the power of his peers\u2019 stories and their ability to build momentum in others just as they do in him. \u201c[Other runners] have overcome drugs, alcohol, or mental illness,\u201d he explains. \u201cMaybe they finish in the middle or back of the pack. But their stories are just as inspiring as the people in the front.\u201d Henry quickly saw his blog grow into more than a passion project. Since launching, the blog aims to reflect the number one reason why Henry loves trail and ultra running: the people. \u201c I would like to see [RunSpirited] grow into something that can reach even more people,\u201d he hopes. \u201cThe more we can raise up the community, the more the community will raise us up as well.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Henry also aspires to shine light on the stories of underrepresented demographics within trail and road running. Henry notes that, \u201cFinding more ways to get women involved,\u201d in ultras and other races is crucial to the entire running world. \u201cThere definitely is a disparity, though it is getting better, of women at the start lines,\u201d he asserts, adding that, \u201cThere is no one size fits all solution. There needs to be efforts by race directors to have women-friendly events. There needs to be better research done for women and their coaches to look at to understand training needs.\u201d To celebrate Women\u2019s International History Month in March, Henry sat down with accomplished USA Track and Field star Megan Roche<\/a> to discuss the groundbreaking research she is conducting at Stanford University. Henry is confident that her work will break barriers and close gaps within the world of women\u2019s athletic endurance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The thousands of miles Henry has run and stories he has shared all began in 2011 with a simple quest to check off a bucket list item. Alongside other goals, like taking his kids to Disney World, he aimed to finish a marathon in the coming years as a way to reconnect with the lifestyle he was fond of as a young adult. \u201cI always liked being active,\u201d he reveals. \u201cAfter college, I played softball with coworkers and random pickup basketball games with friends.\u201d Preparations began soon after setting his goal, with a brisk mile-and-a-half jog. However, his eagerness to start was quickly replaced with fatigue: \u201cI stopped three times, puked in my driveway when I got back, and couldn\u2019t believe how out of shape I was.\u201d He pushed past the embarrassing incident, unwilling to let it deter him from rediscovering the strength he first found in his youth. Within a year-and-a-half, Henry managed to check his goal from his bucket list at the Indianapolis Monumental, his first marathon milestone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was the independent nature of running that initially drew him. \u201cAs I got older,\u201d he explains, \u201cit was the individual sport appeal that got to me.\u201d Henry also notes that his high school wrestling career likely influenced his preference for the lone road. He experienced a sudden change in view, however, around the 18th mile of Monumental, when he crossed paths with a remarkable stranger. \u201cThere was a woman out there, by herself, clapping for every runner who came by,\u201d he recounts. \u201cShe kept saying \u2018you can and you will.\u2019\u201d For Henry, her words of enthusiasm marked a transition of the meaning behind why he wanted to be a part of the race. Despite never learning her name, he can not forget the bystander\u2019s graciousness. \u201cHer, the volunteers, and the whole race community were so welcoming,\u201d gushes Henry. \u201cThat was when I caught the bug.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond his brief encounter at Monumental, Henry has gained meaningful connections that expanded his horizons. He cites his first running coach, Angie Spencer, as one of these important influences, recalling first breaking ground with her through an unexpected workout. \u201cLiterally the first day of my training plan, she had me do yoga,\u201d he recalls, adding that at the time, he did not understand how it benefited his training. \u201cI thought, \u2018I am a runner. What does this have to do with me?\u201d With her help, though, Henry quickly saw the benefits of mindful movement and every lesson learned in training, running, and beyond. Later, as the two continued working together, Henry strived to go further than his role as a student and came full circle now coaching for MTA, which is owned by Angie and her husband. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Henry, coaching runners is an important part in giving back to the community that guides him forward. Before focusing on coaching runners, he taught his sons tennis, baseball and other sports. Now, as a certified running coach, he naturally excels in mentoring runners, and loves doing so. Working with 15 or so other athletes, Henry is passionate about steering them towards paths of betterment. \u201cI tell my athletes to dream big,\u201d he says. \u201cDon\u2019t limit yourself\u2026 By showing up, you are going to achieve that goal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year, Henry is also focusing on qualifying for Western States. He will soon be participating in the Zion 100k, where he hopes to gain his third ticket for the drawing  into States. While his race calendar beyond Zion is unclear, Henry is certain about other goals: learning more about the community he loves and continuing to find joy in running. \u201cNon-runners often find what we do hard to comprehend,\u201d he mentions while describing the ultra community. \u201cWhat we do is get up way before the sun is ready to rise; do hard workouts when it’s five degrees, rainy, hot, or windy. Day after day\u2026 all to get to the end of a race for a free banana and water. But that\u2019s not why we do it. We do it to challenge ourselves, inspire others and to keep finding out what is possible.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written by: Anja Hayes For the past decade, Henry Howard has been on a mission to #FindJoy and inspire others to do the same. Aside from participating in nearly 35 ultramarathons and marathons collectively, he seeks to uplift the running community through incredible stories he writes on his website, runspirited.com. Beyond the time he invests […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3800,"featured_media":201711,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-201710","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog_posts"],"yoast_head":"\nUltrAspire Inspired By: Henry Howard and Finding Joy - UltrAspire<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"For the past decade, Henry Howard has been on a mission to #FindJoy and inspire others to do the same.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"UltrAspire Inspired By: Henry Howard and Finding Joy - 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