Hometown Hero Outdoors
Welcome to the Hometown Hero Outdoors Podcast, where we’re more than just a show—we’re a mission. As a non-profit dedicated to enhancing mental health through life-changing outdoor adventures for military service members, veterans, law enforcement officers, firefighters, and EMS personnel, we bring you stories of resilience, healing, and community.
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Whether you’re here for thrilling outdoor adventures, meaningful conversations about mental health, or to hear from real people who’ve used the outdoors to heal and grow, this podcast has something for everyone.
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Hometown Hero Outdoors
Unearthing Wisdom through Outdoor Therapy: A Second Conversation with Pete Ripmaster
We're thrilled to bring you a fascinating discussion part 2 with our friend and adventurer extraordinaire, Pete Ripmaster. Discover how Pete ran his way to self-love and mental healing using outdoor therapy. Unearth the wisdom of his transformational journey, how he found solace in nature, and the cruciality of the present moment in his spiritual awakening.
Venture alongside Pete as he narrates his unique adventure of running 100 miles in every state, a testament to his indomitable spirit. Listen in as he regales us with tales from his journey across 25 states, reveals his anticipation for Montana, his 50th 100-mile run, and the significance it holds for him. But his journey isn't only about personal achievement. Discover how he's leveraging his passion for running to support the Owl Research Institute in Montana, making his journey a voyage of purpose.
We top off our conversation with Pete with an unexpected twist - his love for golf! Be amazed as he shares his exhilaration at scoring a double eagle and a hole-in-one, a rare feat in the game. We then shift gears, drawing inspiration from the legendary Amelia Earhart, a distant cousin of Pete's. He offers inspiring insights on achieving goals and reconnecting with your childhood dreams. This episode is a treasure trove of inspiration for anyone seeking to push boundaries and pursue their passion.
Guest Host: Phil Ewert
Special Guest: Pete Ripmaster
www.peteripmaster.com
Produced by Phil Ewert Productions
Theme Music: Hero's Journey
Joel Loopez Tunepocket.com
Licensed by: Phil Ewert Productions
hometownherooutdoors.org
Music. Welcome to the hometown hero Outdoors podcast. Here is your host, chris Tatro Music. Welcome everyone to another edition of the hometown hero outdoors podcast. I'm guest host Phil Ewart filling in for Chris Tatro, who is just returning from Texas from an HHO event. Chris has been burning the midnight oil for HHO the last few weeks and had family obligations tonight so unfortunately he could not be here with us. So I get to fly solo with my special guest and friend, pete Ripmaster. As you may remember, pete and Chris and I had a great chat about a month ago with Pete Ended up running out of time on the podcast, so Pete graciously agreed to return because he apparently has a lot more to talk about. So welcome, pete. Thanks for joining us again. How are we doing tonight?
Speaker 2:They're doing wonderful, Phil. Thanks for having me back.
Speaker 1:Absolutely.
Speaker 2:And, yeah, a few things left to be on set, so let's have another chat.
Speaker 1:Outstanding, and so, for those who might have missed part one of our podcasts, I highly recommend going back and listening to it, as Pete kind of recounts a lot of his, some of his growing up and going through his, what he did on the I Did Herod foot race and so Pete is a complex guy found his peace of mind through the outdoor therapy when he won the 2018 I Did Herod trail imitational, which is a 1000 mile foot race Still boggling the human mind that you can do 1000 miles on foot. And so, again, go back, listen to that podcast. You can hear some of that. But what I do want to do is I want to touch briefly on the I T I that you talked about in the last podcast, because we ended up. You were talking about how you had a spiritual moment on the trail, and so I'd like you to give us some parting highlights of the 1000 mile race and then how that set you up for what you're doing now.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know, as you talked about that, you know it's been almost six years now that I did ride will be the I did a lot trail invitation will take place in late February and that will be six years since I've done the race and so it's been a little chunk of time, but there's still a lot of vivid memories from from that time in my life and I learned a lot about myself through that and it was nothing short of therapy for me. I had struggled a lot. I had kind of been a lifelong searcher, I think I'd be willing to say just, you know, always looking for something deeper and trying to understand myself a little bit better. And I found that, you know, pushing myself in the outdoors Most of the time by myself was a great way to just kind of be there with your own thoughts, you know, and think through your life and and think through you know where you want to go in life, where you've been. But most most importantly, I truly feel like I found I found mindfulness out there. I found I found the present moment, which had been escaping me for a long time.
Speaker 2:I think I spoke about last time that you know my most of my life, all, up until you know, numerous six years ago, was either living in depression about things, about things I couldn't change about my life or things I wished I could have changed and things like that, or else I would be in anxiety about, you know, what I needed to do and who I needed to become, and you know that whole entire time I really wasn't given any any thought about now, the present moment, and so that really about 800 miles into the I did rod trail.
Speaker 2:You know that just kind of came over me, as I call it, kind of a spiritual epiphany.
Speaker 2:But you know I just had, I had I have beaten myself up, I was a professional at that and I tend to see that. You know I learned to love myself out there, you know warts and all I just became really comfortable with, with who I was, and so and you know it took me all that time and all those thousands of miles to get there, and you know I had my, my faith, my Christian faith, and then also, you know, the spiritual teachers that I was trying to listen to and really it kind of just was like a big you know tornado that all of a sudden just hit and and took me over and I haven't stopped since. So mindfulness is something that I, you know, bring to the table daily and it's helped me a lot and has helped me, you know, kind of mitigate the depression and anxiety that I felt that I know a lot of people struggle with and it's been a game changer for me. So intensive physical therapy and the wilderness was a great, great tonic for me.
Speaker 1:Awesome, and so just to, we talked about it. You know, briefly last time as well, it's not like the depression and anxiety went away Right, like you were cured because you were at 800 miles of a thousand mile race, but helped you deal with it, right.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, you know, you're exactly right. You know it's certainly what, and I still deal with it. I think you could talk to my daughters or my wife and and they will tell you that I still have my moments and you know there's still some, some dark times and some darkness that that comes. But you know I tend to look at it as a roadblock. You know, when, when I get too far down that road of depression or anxiety, I kind of center myself and and and a lot of times when I'm, when I'm kind of fired up and thinking things through in my mind, I'm not breathing real well, you know. So it's something that like just comes back to the simple breath and and kind of understanding that you're okay right now. You know you're not threatened at the moment and and all is good it's.
Speaker 2:It's a lot of, you know, back and forth with with a monkey mind, as, as, as I used to call it, a lot, you know, just chasing all the thoughts that go through your mind and and never really finding that piece, and so, yeah, both, both, you know depression still there, but but I don't, I don't go down those roads like I used to, and and now I and also I still, you know, get outside, you know, and so you know, I find that to be the best therapy for me. You know, I feel I feel my my best when I'm outside, you know, and that's always been the way for me. But but you know, we live in a world where there's a lot of indoor and there's a lot of, you know, technology and things, and sometimes I'll just get to the point where I go you know, I got to give this a break and and take a walk or going a long run or or what you know any, any number of things in the outdoors.
Speaker 2:But but yeah, it's always been, you know some somewhat of a church for me, you know.
Speaker 1:Well, and there's a famous quote and I'm not going to pretend to know who said it first, because I've seen it on different places, but it it says something like I would rather be in the outdoors thinking about God that in church thinking about the outdoors, and I've seen it and I've been attributed to hunting or fishing or all the other things, and I'm not taking anything away from going to church, so don't, don't hate you, no, no, oh, there is.
Speaker 1:There is something very special.
Speaker 1:I'm a deer hunter and so I spend time out in the woods and some of my absolute most favorite times is climbing up in my tree stand with my bow, when it's still like 4am and it's totally dark and it's totally silent and the woods start waking up and you start hearing the rustling of the birds and they start waking up and you just see a glint, just a glint, in the distance of sunlight and the sky's turning different shades of gray and then pinks, and then orange, and that sun comes up and it's like blinding but and I have goosebumps when I'm even saying this just because that experience is spiritual, yes, you know, and it's amazing to just have that just wash over you and just the calmness and not having your phone out and whatever, and just experiencing that nature moment like that.
Speaker 1:And so everyone has a different thing. For me it's maybe early morning deer stand. For you it's a run or some right. For other people it's you know, it could be a horseback ride or it could be just a walk. It could be sitting on their deck and having a cup of coffee, but just having that alone time in the outdoors is and obviously HHO is huge with that.
Speaker 2:Absolutely I agree and I love that. That was a great visual. You know, and I think about the same thing when I'm doing my my long Ultra runs. You know my 100 mile runs and we'll talk more about that in a little bit.
Speaker 2:But you know, there's the, there's the really dark time that's like usually from you know midnight to four or five am, when it's really a challenge to stay awake and you know you're fighting the sleep monsters and you're tired and you're hungry and your feet hurt and you got chafing and and you know, and then, but like you said, then all of a sudden it's just like you start hearing the birds come up and and you know that, you know, you know that another day's come and you get encouraged by that, you know, and and your body kind of picks up on that and like all of a sudden you feel like a little bit more fired up and a lot of times, you know, at that point I'll have been running for 70, 80 miles, and so now it's like, okay, you know the sun's right rising and the next few hours I'm going to finish this run, and you know.
Speaker 2:So it's always like fighting through some tough times to get to that peaceful moment or that, that, that new day, that new dawn, and those are my favorite moments, and ultra running for sure. So and again, like you know, we each have our own thing. You know I'm a big believer that we all have our own path. We all have our own things that make us happy. It's different for everybody, you know, and so I never am like, you know. I find it this way because the person next to me finds it a different way and whatever I just really appreciate people that find their, their path, you know, have enough courage to go down those roads to find it.
Speaker 1:Totally agree, yeah, and so, like you said, it's been six years, it's going to be six years, been about five and a half years, and we can't take it away from you. You were the winner, which is amazing, but now you're doing new things, yeah, yeah, so so what? Obviously you're not letting it define you, and so tell me about what you've been doing since.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely so. When I got home from the I did or, I realized, I mean, it was such a arduous, tough road and you know, and putting it all together and tinkering enough to end up winning the race and finishing most importantly. But when I got home, you know, I found myself. What am I? I'll be? I'll be 47 next month. So I was like early 40s when I won the I did or odd and came back to Asheville and you know, I was proud of the effort and realized that it was something that I definitely was going to hang my head on, like as far as like it was a childhood dream of mine to run the I did or odd. You know, I thought it would be with dogs, but I found a way to do it on my own, and so it was like it was this great thing. But I also like and one of these people that always wants to move forward, you know, like I don't want to be pigeonholed as Pete is this, you know, because Pete's a lot of different things and so when I got home, I kind of had this weird time when I was like, okay, well, you know, that was literally my dream from childhood and now I've accomplished it and won the race, and, and here I am back home like you know, what do I do now with my life and I told you that I had run 50 marathons and 50 states before I did all this.
Speaker 2:I did rod stuff and raised a lot of good money for for breast cancer research and my mom's name, and so I started thinking long and hard and I did some research and I found that there was roughly about 15 or 1600 people in this country that have run a marathon in all 50 states, of which I am proudly one, and but I kind of like to say that you know, my mom and dad never raised me to be one of 1500 people that have done something. You know it's. And so I started looking digging a little deeper and I said I wonder. I had run a couple hundred mile runs before and I thought I wonder how many people have run 100? Well, if there's 15 or 1600 people that have run marathons and all 50 states. And I kind of put my feelers out there to the ultra running community and the answer comes back that no one's ever done it, it's never been done, and so so with that I started thinking about things that I want to fundraise for, and I was like I'm going to be in this incredible snowy owl experience when I ran the IDID erod, my first year on the IDID erod trail.
Speaker 2:I was in last place, all by myself in the wilderness, feeling bad for myself and a pretty dark time, and I remember this beautiful white owl flies out of nowhere and just lays on a tree next to me and is just staring at me and I had this, this incredible kind of spiritual encounter with this owl and it made such an impact on me and I remember thinking to myself like I vividly feel this is somebody coming to check on me. Like you know, owls are omens to a lot of people and I had this feeling that and I've lost both of my parents at this point and I was in my mind thinking, you know, this might be my mom or dad coming to check on me on the trail and all of a sudden it gave me this kind of strength and, you know, I didn't feel alone and I felt much better and I went down the trail and this owl followed me for a little while and then flew away.
Speaker 2:But it made such an incredible impression on me that when I decided that I was going to try and attempt to be the first person to run 100 miles in all 50 states, I thought why don't I fundraise for the Owl Research Institute, which was this awesome nonprofit that I found up in Montana, and so that you know that there, as they say, the rest is history. I've been working like a madman towards this goal and I find myself now 25 states in to the project.
Speaker 1:Hey brother.
Speaker 2:Yeah, halfway man, and oh my gosh, it's taken so much effort to get halfway and so I know what I still have in front of me and it's. I don't take anything for granted, but I'll be heading to Omaha, nebraska, next month, and that will be actually this month and in a few weeks, and that will be state 26. And I've raised, I think, $34,000 so far for Owl Research Institute so far in the project. So it's going.
Speaker 1:Congratulations.
Speaker 2:It's going fantastic and it gives me purpose and it helps me feel like I'm doing good for others, and which is a big part of you know why I do this, and so it's good. It gives me a purpose, but it's also doing good for others, and in this case, owls and the people that studied them. But it's been awesome and it's been so fun.
Speaker 1:So you've gotten 25 states down. You have 25 to go, right. So I have a two part question. Sure, which state upcoming are you most looking forward to?
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:I want to hear some of your craziest or best stories from the previous 25.
Speaker 2:Okay, okay. Well, you know I'm, I love the West. You know I live in North Carolina and Asheville and super happy here. But like my, my, I feel most comfortable in my spirit when I'm out in the wide open spaces. So I love you know, I've kind of kept a few states for later in the project. Montana will be my last state. I'm really looking forward to Idaho. Let's see Hawaii. You know my. You know my family wants to come to Hawaii, if you can imagine you know, they wonder why?
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly they want to be a part of that one, so that that will be fun, I think. Vermont and Maine I love Maine, I love you know, love New Hampshire. So you know, like just the, you know I don't really get off too much on the big state, the big cities. It's certainly not what I'm about, although they're fun for a little couple days for me. I just don't ever feel quite at peace when I'm in the big cities, and so I try and find, you know, kind of easy, logistically easy routes to do. And so, yeah, those are some of the states I'm looking forward to. And then a story I'll tell you a great. I'll tell you a great story. And so there's a ultra runner. Her name is Darcy Peque, and Darcy, in the ultra running world, is just the luminary. She's a legend, right, she's a. There's a race out in Colorado called the Hard Rock 100. And it's like one of the toughest races in the country.
Speaker 1:I can imagine a lot of elevation changes, tons of weather, really tough route.
Speaker 2:And she's won that numerous, numerous times, and so she's a famous ultra runner and me and Darcy somehow were. We both were brought up in Birmingham, michigan, so, and so we kind of kept tabs on each other a little bit. I certainly was watching what she was up to and I would, you know, we would touch base here and there. And you know, at one point I was going to run the Leadville 100 in Colorado.
Speaker 1:And.
Speaker 2:I thought I'd just give it a try. So I was like you know, darcy, is there any chance that you would pace me, you know, for the for the Leadville 100? And you know, I thought it was kind of a long shot, you know, but she is so nice and so sweet and she's like, yeah, like right away. She's like yeah, I don't have anything going on, I'll, I'll come I think she lives outside of Boulder I'll come to Leadville and pace you for the 100. So I was like awesome, this is, this is great. You know, it's pretty crazy that two people from Birmingham, michigan, end up doing all this stuff in the ultra running world and we had never met, never met physically, and so I was like super excited and I was going to pick her up at mile 50. And so I got yeah, at about like 40 to 45, you have to start going up over Hope Pass, which is the high point of the whole route, and you go up over Hope Pass and then you go down, and that was mile 50, but then you have to turn around and come back up over Hope Pass and back down to the rest of the route.
Speaker 2:Well, when I picked up Darcy, I had the starting of elevation sickness, altitude sickness really starting to take its toll on me. I tried to sneak in like a day before the race started. I didn't come like 10 days early to acclimatize, so I was just trying to kind of sneak in on the altitude and there I was getting over Hope Pass. And next thing I know I am just feeling very nauseous. And so I picked Darcy up and you know I was like it's so great to meet you, I'm so fired up. And then, like you know, like five minutes after we're running, I'm like Darcy, I'm sorry, I think I'm going to get sick, I'm not feeling good at all. And so so there I am on the side of the trail just like throwing up, and then at the same time like like farting and, like you know, like my body was like both ends, it was coming out of both ends and I just couldn't do anything about it. You know, as much as I wanted to, you know, not be doing that, especially in front of Darcy, right.
Speaker 1:Maybe a little embarrassing.
Speaker 2:Quite, a bit embarrassing, but you know it was. So I'll never forget because she's like you know, she goes. You know she's like Pete, I've been doing this a long time, I've seen it all. Don't worry about it, you know, just take care of yourself. So she kind of turned her back on me for a little while.
Speaker 2:I'm like just kind of taking care of myself and and I was white as a ghost and you know, I just thought, you know, I'm going to have Darcy kind of take me to the next checkpoint and I'm going to call it a day. I'm going to quit. You know I and I'm not a quitter. I think anyone that listens to me for five minutes realized I'm stubborn and all this stuff. So I get to the next checkpoint and my crew refuses to let me quit. They're like you know I'm saying, you know I'm done, I'm, you know, here's my bib. And they're like no, just keep that on, let's try and get a little food in you, let's get a little, you know. And they just kind of kept prodding me along.
Speaker 2:And then someone came up and by the time I was, by the time I felt like I had given up too much time at the eight stations when someone came by and said if you get up right now and you jog and walk, you have enough time to finish the lead bill 100. And I was like let's go. So I like got up and persevered and they have a 30 hour cutoff. I came in at like 29 and a half hours across the finish line and and finished that race and so that was awesome but very embarrassing. But. But Darcy was a great sport about it and helped a lot, so that was pretty cool.
Speaker 1:Well, glad to hear you finished. Yeah, you got it out, literally, I guess. Yeah, you know I might have mentioned to you one of our last times we spoke that I think the longest run I ever did was a five mile knife, and that was in a former lifetime, when I was in law enforcement and I was qualifying for SWAT school. Okay, and I am not a runner. Okay, I'm a football sized linebacker sized human being. Running is not my thing, buddy. So it was. It was very hard, but I was very proud of myself for finishing. Yeah, so I have a lot I have. I have no idea how mentally someone could go a hundred miles, because when I think of a hundred miles I think, oh, that's like you know, 80 minutes of driving.
Speaker 1:Oh my God, Two hours of driving or whatever right, I guess not 80 minutes, about two hours of driving, and so, yeah, that's absolutely amazing. And and To do it for a cause, that's really cool. And so again, some inside baseball. For those who might have missed round one of our podcasts, as I did narrate your autobiography, so I know the story of the snowy owl and so I find it fascinating that you did tie those two things together. That's really cool, man. We'll return to the podcast in just a moment, but first hometown hero outdoors would like to thank the following companies that support HHO and our mission Relentless defender apparel and gear, silencer, central suppressors, best defense armory and range in Forest Lake, minnesota, and Tito's handmade vodka. We thank them for their support. Now back to our podcast.
Speaker 2:It was great. And this owl research institute up in Charlo Montana, which is just outside of Missoula Montana, this guy, denver Holt, he's in charge of it and he is incredible. He's probably the number one world educator in owls. Like he's just so well versed in owls, he studies them all over the world and journals everywhere and for kind of a science nerdy guy like me, like he's one of my heroes and we've gotten to know each other. We're going to do some talks together and things, and so some fun things are coming together just because of the partnership and the fundraising. But it's been fantastic and, like I said, I made a $50,000 goal and I'm about $34,000 in halfway. So it's looking great and I'm super, super happy to help in that realm.
Speaker 1:So have you had any owl encounters since the one up in Alaska?
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, definitely. I've seen a handful of owls and actually here in Asheville they come in my backyard quite often, and so I'll hear Eastern screech owls and then I'll hear the great horned owls, which are the biggest owls, and I'll just sit out my back porch and try and call them in. And or sometimes what will happen is the crows. We have a lot of crows and the crows will mob. The crows will get together and really bother like the hawks and the owls. It's like a preemptive mobbing where they're just because what happens is the owls or the hawks can actually kill the crows if they want to, and so the crows will kind of proactively get together and just kind of bother the owls.
Speaker 2:And so sometimes once, while in like early winter, I'll wake up early in the morning and I'll walk outside and I'll hear a bunch of crows kind of calling and I realize, oh, this is probably a hawker and owl, that they got treed. And so I will kind of search out where the sounds coming from with my binoculars and quite a few times I've kind of found the action and looked up there and there's a beautiful owl just kind of sitting there peacefully in the tree. And so, yeah, I've gotten to know the owls and I'm studying them a lot all the different kinds, so it's fun. I think they're awesome. I love that. Now I'm kind of known as the owl guy, since I'm fundraising, so anytime one of my friends or acquaintances sees an owl or hears an owl or sees you know like you know something at a secondhand shop that's got an owl on it, you know they're sending it to me and taking pictures of owls and so they're wonderful. I think they're the coolest creatures around, so I've been really interested in them.
Speaker 1:So in my mind now, I'm thinking when you run your last race and you cross the finish line, you need that group, owl City, to be singing for you, right? Oh, yeah, that'd be great. Yeah, we could get that together. It's good.
Speaker 2:Like I said, I'm going to save my 50th 100 mile run for Montana and I'm going to bring a ton of friends and family up there, just like I did for my 50th when I ran the marathons, and we're going to throw a bash and have a party and a fundraiser and just live it up. And so you know who knows what will come by that time. I'm just making. Obviously, I'm taking them one at a time. I can't.
Speaker 2:For a while I thought I could kind of rush through this project, but not so much. You know these things. Any one 100 mile run just takes it out of you and you know you really pay the price for a while after you run. And so I kind of kind of took a little step back and now I'm running, probably I'll probably run four or five a year until I finish the project. So we're talking, you know, five, six more years before, god willing, before this project is done. But, like I said, I'm not fighting for the finish. I'm just kind of, you know, using my mindfulness and just saying, hey, all right, this month I'm going to Omaha, nebraska, and I'm super fired up for that and see what unfolds there. So it's just a really cool way to travel and to see a bunch of different places and meet a bunch of cool people.
Speaker 1:So thinking about that you had mentioned you're. There's nobody who has done 100 of these or 100 miles in every state yet, correct, right yeah?
Speaker 2:The best of my knowledge. You know I've reached out to people that are like historians of the ultra running realm and you know it's like I have not heard of anyone that has done it. But then, at the same time, like there's been times when I've like like asked, you know, like Alexa, or you know chat GPT or something hey, is there someone that's run 100? And they're like, yes, numerous, a few people have done it, but the people that they mentioned that have done it, I know for a fact, haven't. And so you know and I have to say this too like the reason I'm doing this is that, you know, it's not only because it's never been done. You know, it's my happy place. I love going out and running and I love all that comes with it. I love inspiring others, I love fundraising. If it comes that I'm the first person that does it, that's fantastic. If it comes that I'm the fourth person that's done it, that's fantastic too. You know I'm not I'm not like all in on being the first, but that's cool and a lot of people like to hear that. You know, it's kind of like something that you lead with when you're when you're doing advertising and stuff like that. But to be honest, it really doesn't make much difference whether I'm first or fifth, or you know, I think it's a hell of an accomplishment. I think, you know, I think it will take everything in my heart and soul to get there.
Speaker 2:I've wanted to quit already numerous times I can't even tell you how many times where I've been deep into a hundred mile run in some state that I might not necessarily want to be in, away from my family. You know, with all the things I mentioned, the chafing and the cramps and the sour gut and the blisters and and, and I'm like you know I'm done. When I finish this one, I am out, I don't care what anyone says, I'm done. And then you know, it's just amazing that you know, a day or two after I run, it's like, next thing I know I'm looking for another run. Or you know I'm like, all right, I've come too far to quit and my stubbornness takes over and I I'm plodding along. So it's it's, it's mayhem, it's like a controlled mayhem, but but it's, it's like it's. It's, it's who I am, it's what I want to do with my life, and so it's been a lot of fun.
Speaker 1:What is the closest in days that you ever ran to 100s?
Speaker 2:Huh, well, I have to say that I ran a race called the Tahoe 200, which was a 200 mile run that circumnavigated Lake Tahoe.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow.
Speaker 2:And that was that. Took 86 hours to run around Lake Tahoe from point to point.
Speaker 2:And so that was a, that was a super tough one. But yeah, I would say a couple of weeks, you know. You know, and and I, you know it's amazing I'll see people like a friend of mine here from Asheville did, I think, five, 100s this summer alone. And so there's a people, there's people that their bodies are made to do this. They recover better than I do and again, part of me wants to try and like do you know, it's definitely crossed my mind to do 10 a year and try and get this thing done in a couple of few years, you know. And so I can kind of move on with my life. Because it takes a lot of my extra money.
Speaker 2:You know I didn't mention but I'm paying my way through this project, and so you know, all the money fundraise goes directly to our research institute. I don't touch a dime of that money, and so I the promise was that I would pay my my, my way through the project in order for all the donations to go straight to our research institute. So you know it's a, it's a financial commitment, it's a time commitment, it's a physical commitment. It's certainly, you know, I would say, taken, taken time off my life, just the grind of of doing that and beating your body up so much. But I'm willing. You know, I promised myself long ago that I would rather be old with stories than old with regrets, and so I kind of promised myself that I was going to go after life, not thinking that at some point I'll pay the price, and because we're not guaranteed tomorrow, and so I really wanted to attack life with as much gusto as I could, and I feel like I'm doing that with this project.
Speaker 1:So we spoke briefly in the last podcast. But you are, you have a lot of interests and one of those is golf, yes, and so I understand you. You like to play golf. I follow you on LinkedIn and I see you, you've gone golfing with your buddies and things, but you have the distinction of two things that escapes most golfers.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you have a hole in one and a double eagle, and for those of, for those who don't golf, a double eagle is actually what I've been told is more rare than a hole in one, because it's when you get you sink the ball into the hole on your second shot, on a par five, and so a lot of times that's a longer distance than a par three shot. Right, so can you recount for golf geeks like myself? Yes, and those, those two events that happened because I'm fascinated. So my father is also a very good golfer, as is. I have a brother who's a scratch golfer. I am not but um and my uh, but my father had a double eagle once, uh, but no holes in one, and so can you. Can you talk about those for a minute?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'd be happy to. Yes, I love the sport. It's maddening. I mean, it is such a tough sport. Those guys that play on the professional level make it look so easy. I don't know how they do it. It must just be the amount of practice they put in on a daily basis. But it's not that easy to get out there and swing and put the ball towards the hole. So it's a very humbling sport, but I've had some incredible times with it.
Speaker 2:I'll tell you about the double eagle first, the Albatross. So I was playing with my father-in-law and my another friend and we're in Raleigh and it's funny, I don't even remember the name of the course, but we're in Raleigh, north Carolina. We're on the 18th hole and it's a par five, the 18th hole and I can hit the driver. Well, that's never been an issue for me. I can hit the ball a long ways. So I hit probably like a 320 or 330 yard drive and I was in the middle. That's a good one. Yeah, it was a good one. I used to hit a lot further than I do now, but this was probably 10 years ago or more. So I hit a big drive.
Speaker 2:I was out in the middle of the fairway and the green was such that you could see the flagstick but you couldn't see the green. And then there was water on the other side of the green. And so my father-in-law was talking to me and I was like, well, how should I shape the shot? You know, and he goes well, send it up towards that power line. You see that power line over there, aim it, aim it, start it at that power line. And then I usually have a draw. And so he says, you know, hit it at the power line and then let it draw into the green.
Speaker 2:And so I took like a long iron I think it was like 190 yards to the hole and you know, I hit this ball and I had, right when I hit it, there was something kind of interesting about it Because right when I hit it, it went straight at that power line that he told me to hit it at and then turned over and started going towards the green. And I was like I did exactly what she said to do, like it was a great shot. It was just exactly the shape that he asked for and it looked like it was going right onto the green. And so I was like super excited. And so you know, as we're getting up towards the hole, you know I told you there was water on the other side of it.
Speaker 2:So when I got up to the green, I scanned the green and I didn't see a single ball on the green. I was like what the hell? I was like you know that that that was a good shot. So I was like I bet it went over the green and went into the water. So I was. I was walking on, walking to the water's edge to kind of look for golf balls. Meanwhile my father-in-law, you know, walks by the cup and goes hey, pete, why don't you go look in the hole? And I was like.
Speaker 2:I was like you got to be kidding me and I walked by. And here's the best part of it you know I had lost my mom to breast cancer research and that day I was I was playing a ball that had the pink ribbon on it.
Speaker 1:Sure.
Speaker 2:And I looked down in the hole and that pink ribbon is looking up at me from the bottom of the hole Albatross two on a par five. And I just started running and screaming and yelling and I really didn't know how rare it was. I mean, it's many times more rare than a hole in one, but it was. It was fantastic, you know, and great way to end around.
Speaker 2:And it was super, super cool. So that that was the the Albatross story, and then the whole one story was I'm a member at the club here in Asheville and I hit it. It was a par three that you could see the green this time and I hit a great seven iron.
Speaker 2:It was like a hundred and say a hundred and seventy yards, something like that, a hundred and sixty yards and it landed on the green and started tracking like a putt and dropped right into the hole. Oh nice, and so I started screaming. I was playing with three guys. I started screaming, I started running down towards the green because I just still couldn't believe that it was in the hole.
Speaker 2:While I was going down running towards the green, I took my shirt off and I was swinging my shirt around like this it's like losing my mind screaming, and went down there, got the ball out of the cup, held it back up and then ran back up to the T box, you know, and hugged all my buddies and and come in and they said well, we still need to hit our balls. So it was like it was awesome and but it was it was. It was funny because at the time I was like three under par or four under par, I had birdie on two, and then was two under on that hole in one and I ended up with like eighty or so.
Speaker 2:I mean I thought, oh my gosh, I'm going to shoot like a sixty, sixty five today, you know, like not even close, and I and I started doing a little bit of celebrating, you know, on the back nine too.
Speaker 1:So good for you, yeah that's awesome yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, my, my closest ever. There was a club that my father and I used to play a league at, nine hole league and there's a par three. It's, I want to say it's about depending on there's two sets of teas for that particular hole, but depending on the teas, it's, it's right at that, you know, one fifty. So for me that's eight iron, depending on wind. And that day I hit an eight and it landed in front and the way the green sloped away from you. So you know when it's rolling you can see the ball and I hit the green and it starts rolling towards the pin and it stopped 18 inches in front of the hole. But I'll take it. I'll take it. It was a beautiful shot.
Speaker 2:I got the birdie, happy birdies are great, you know, but it's like it's it's a lucky thing, I mean, I don't like I have played with golfers that are ten times better than me and they've never had one, you know, and they've been close numerous times, and so I just think it's like the way it bounces, there are, you know, I very rarely do I think someone's so good that they literally put it exactly where they want to. It's just like kind of, you know, it's it's up to the golf gods. I don't know, you know, but that's awesome.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, no, it's, it's fun. I didn't get to play this year as much as I wanted, but yeah, I agree with you it's. It's probably the most frustrating but can be the most rewarding when you're playing well or when you strike a good one, because you can have a horrible round and you get to like you say the 18th hole and you par the 18th hole. You're like this game's great. I know, I can't play again.
Speaker 2:You know exactly it takes to make you want to come back. So it's, it's a great sport, super fun. I've had, and hope to still have a lot of fun with that. That's something I definitely want to put some more time and energy into when, when this All Run Hundreds project is over. But you know that I just kind of take it when it comes, for now I'm raising two girls and I'm busy and I don't get to play as often as I'd like either.
Speaker 1:But then then you start the Owl Foundation golf tournament every year down there in. Asheville Right.
Speaker 2:Talking yes, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'll be waiting for my invite. For that You'll get it.
Speaker 2:You're on the list, man, you're on nice, yeah, so.
Speaker 1:So then, for a guy who has all this stuff going on right, you're an avid outdoorsman when it comes to running golf, spending time in the great outdoors. What's next? What are you looking forward to doing after you get the 100s done?
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's a great question. You know, this is like I said this is still gonna be a Chunk of time longer.
Speaker 2:So it's not anything that I'm super close to, but, but I do have some. There's a couple things that I'll say that I really would like to do before my life is over. One is I would like to go down to Antarctica, and I'd like to get to that. I'd like to get to the South Pole, I think. I think a South Pole expedition would be really, really, really cool. I've I've done a lot of studying about it, and I don't know if you've ever heard of the endurance or Shackleton Boy absolutely and that that book made a gigantic impression on me and and and and.
Speaker 2:So the history of of that place is called my name. And I don't think, you know, I don't think it will be the type of thing where I'm trying to do it as fast as as possible. I think it will be just a really fun. You know, you know Our Jewish time with a couple friends and and just kind of earning your way to the South Pole. I I don't see it as being, you know, one of those things where you're trying to, you know, break Time records or anything like that.
Speaker 2:I think I probably, by the time I get down there and do that, you know, I'll probably be a little bit older and a little bit grayer and it will probably be more just about the adventure than than anything else. And then I also want to climb Denali. You know I've spent so much time in Alaska and Study that, that mountain so often, and you know I lived in the foothills of that mountain for a while and I Would look up there and just say, you know, at one one time I would love to to, you know, to have a mountaineering trip to Denali and if I could ski down, I'm a telemark skier, so if I could ski down, that make it even better. But you know, just just just taking the time and I have some people I've started kind of talking through that with and that are interested in it as well, and so, yeah, those those things are those things are two things that I'd really love to do Before it's all said and done. So you know, there's some big, hairy, audacious goals.
Speaker 1:You got there, brother.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's the way I roll, man. I just, I really like those big, hairy goals that are tough to gnaw at and that that fight back. You know, I learned that from running the marathons, you know, I'm just, I'm just not the one that wants the low-hanging fruit. You know, I want the, the physical and the spiritual and the mental aspect kind of all to come together and make it, you know, very difficult. So, yeah, you know, I Shoot for the moon and that's that's the way I, that's the way I was raised. You know, like, like I said, you know, a Amelia Earhart is, as you know, from from, from you know it's helping me with the book.
Speaker 2:Amelia Earhart is a distant cousin of mine and she comes from my family line and and I remember kind of studying her when I was younger and thinking, you know, amelia's dead and gone and has been for a long time, but yet people are still talking about her and like that was a legacy, you know, and I wanted to make a legacy of my own and so you know, these things that I do, you know, yes, they're fun for me, but I really want to put something out in my life to where, you know, when I'm dead and gone.
Speaker 2:I want people to be like well, you know, pete, while he was alive he did, he did these things and you know, maybe some others can you know, following my footsteps, or or take it a step further, as as most young people do. You know I'm I certainly am not doing it thinking, you know I have arrived at any. I'm a lifelong learner. I, you know I've learned a lot about myself. So you know, I know that there's more talented athletes that can do the things I've done on a On a grander scale, and more power to them. I hope I can inspire others to do those things, but I would lie if I said I didn't want to leave a legacy in this, in this life.
Speaker 1:All that being said and all your life experiences, pete, what is a piece of advice that you would give to people struggling to find themselves or maybe having self doubt?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think I I'm glad you asked that. You know, I really feel like being, I really feel like it's important to put your dreams and your thoughts out on paper. You know, I Feel it's important to kind of you know, you know, think of it, what, what you want to do, and the way I think about it is like, what did you want to do when you were a kid? You know, you hear about so many people that are like you know they had these big dreams when they are younger and then all of a sudden, you know they, they get in the middle age and you know they think, oh well, shoot, I missed the boat and oh well, so I'll just give up and I'll just give up on life and I'll just kind of talk about what I did when I was 18 and it's like I just never had much time for people like that. You know, I'm like, what are you doing today? What are you doing now? I don't really care what you did 20 years ago and I I would hope people to say the same with me and so you know, I would just say that you know, yeah, put those goals out on paper and then kind of work backwards for those, like you know, rather than being like you know, this is what I want to do. I don't have no, any idea. Well, you know, kind of take the latter steps that you need to.
Speaker 2:You know, like when I ran my marathons, it wasn't like, well, if for me I did run a marathon, kind of impromptu, but, like for most people, they're not gonna just go run a marathon, right. So you like, like you run the 5k and you run either five mile run and you run the half marathon, and you know, and so you kind of methodically work towards your goals. But I really feel, like you know, in order to Understand what those goals are, you have to think back to when you're younger and and you know, anytime you can reconnect with goals from your childhood. I think it's beautiful, you know, because life just happens so fast, you know. I mean, I'm turning 47 next month. I can't believe that, you know, and and so it's for me it's like you know, I still have these goals that I want to work towards, but it's I'm not just a dreamer, you know. I'm willing to kind of lay the groundwork and work towards those goals.
Speaker 2:So I would say that's a piece of advice, is just to you know, make realistic goals and then methodically chew them apart and be a bulldog about it. You know, and and and also Let me say this right something that I have Really lean on a lot is Using failures as stepping stones to success. You know, I think, I think a lot of times, if you make big enough goals, you should be failing. You know, and I, when I give my, when I talk and my public speaking, I hone in on this a lot because, you know, a lot of people say you know, I have these goals, and then you try and you fail, and and some people just give up, and it's like you know, if you're making big goals, you should be failing, like that's going to be a part of the whole equation, and so just to learn from those failures and kind of keep moving forward is a big piece of advice as well.
Speaker 1:Pete, if people want more information about your hour one, I will run 100s or to have you as their special event speaker. Where can they find that information or find you?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm on social media. You know, pete ripmaster, I, let's see, I do Facebook and Instagram and LinkedIn, and then my website is Pete ripmastercom and that's got. That's got information about the public speaking and about the hour run, hundreds, and then it's definitely got a Got a way to get in touch with me and you know, and so, yeah, that that would be the best ways for sure, but I'm wide open and so I'm free to talk to anybody too. Like definitely Don't mind people reaching out, asking advice or questions or you know, or the likes.
Speaker 1:So no, and that's very appreciative. We were very appreciative for that and we very much appreciate you taking the time twice to talk to us and our HHO audience and I really hope that the things that we talked about would be inspiring to some folks. And Especially, I really like what you just said a minute ago about that your big goals that you Will fail right, because if it's a that big of a goal, it's gonna be hard to achieve, and I really like that thought process.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know I, I remind people regularly. You know I, yes, I won the, I did rod, but my first year I was last place. I Tried and failed twice to get to gnome and and quit two years in a row, and so it was littered with Failures along the way, but I did. I never took those, as you know, as things that were gonna set me back. I just thought, okay, I'm back to the drawing board, what can I learn? And so it ended up in a good place. But I always like to tell people you know, my first year I was last place and so it was, uh, you know I, just, I just not away at it, and that's what I feel like people can do for sure.
Speaker 1:Pete, you're a great human being. I just I love it. You inspire me and I love it. I also want to let everyone know that you can find Pete's autobiography anywhere. Books are sold called the Long Way Home how I won the 1,000 mile. I did a rod foot race with persistence, patience and passion, also available on audible, and so thank you, pete, for For taking time to join us again on the this week's podcast and as a listener to this podcast. If you are in a dark place or having a difficult time, please reach out to us at hometown hero outdoors. Our staff is trained and applied suicide intervention specialty training, also called assist, which is crisis intervention training. You can also call 988, which is the national suicide and crisis hotline, because there's always someone willing to help you through your dark times and talk to you. I'm phil ewert, guest hosting for chris tatro on the hometown hero outdoors podcast. Thank you for watching this week and we'll see you next time. Thank you for listening to the hometown hero outdoors podcast. For more information, visit our website at hometownherooutdoorsorg.
