Ever since I ran a half marathon in the Spring of 2016, my knees have never been the same. I still have a desire to run another one at some point, but my main priority is getting to a place where it’s not painful being in the mountains chasing elk for a week. I dream of that day! At the end of my 2018 elk season, after 21 grueling days in the wilderness of Colorado, the pain was so bad that I went and had MRI’s done on both knees upon my return to normal life. Thankfully the results from the doc were, “extreme inflammation with possible minor tears.” At this point it hurt to go up or down stairs, and the worst was sitting down to use the restroom. My knees were certainly better during the 2019 elk season, but then my achilles tendons were inflamed. It’s tough to choose which one I’d rather deal with on the mountain because they both suck.